Tag Archives: cmcsa

Hulu Reveals Fast Subscriber Growth, Live-TV Streaming Plans

Internet TV service Hulu announced Wednesday that it will reach 12 million subscribers in the U.S. this month, up 30% from a year ago. It also confirmed media reports that it plans to offer a live-TV service in 2017 to complement its on-demand video service. Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins made the announcements at an upfront event in New York City for advertisers. Hopkins said the live-TV service will offer news, sports and entertainment from broadcast and cable TV, but it did not detail content and pricing, TechCrunch reported . “We’re going to fuse the best of linear television and on-demand in a deeply personalized experience optimized for the contemporary, always-connected television fan,” Hopkins said. Hulu’s live-TV service is targeted at cord cutters and cord nevers — those consumers who don’t subscribe to traditional pay-TV services but might be interested in a lower-cost, “skinny bundle” of TV channels. Hulu is looking to charge about $40 a month for the live TV package, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday . It would compete with other live-TV streaming services, such as Dish Network ‘s ( DISH ) Sling TV and Sony ‘s ( SNE ) PlayStation Vue. Dish stock was down 2%, above 46, and Sony’s U.S.-listed shares were down nearly 2%, below 24, in early afternoon trading on the stock market today . Hulu is co-owned by Walt Disney ( DIS ), Comcast ’s ( CMCSA ) NBCUniversal and 21st Century Fox ( FOXA ). Disney also owns ABC, ESPN and Disney Channel; Comcast owns NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, Syfy and USA; and 21st Century Fox owns Fox, Fox News, FX and Fox’s sports channels. Hulu competes with Netflix ( NFLX ) and Amazon.com ( AMZN ) in the subscription video-on-demand sector. Like its rivals, Hulu has been increasing its original programming, most recently with shows such as “11.22.63” and “The Path.”

BroadSoft Stock Falls After Weak Q2 Earnings Guidance

BroadSoft ( BSFT ) early Monday posted Q1 earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street views, but it forecast current-quarter EPS ex items below consensus estimates. BroadSoft stock was down 1% in morning trading in the stock market today , near 38.50, but it had fallen more than 10% earlier. BroadSoft stock broke out of a cup-with-handle base on March 29 at 39.20, but the stock has been testing its 50-day line during the past two trading days. The telecom software maker said it earned 37 cents per share, minus items, in the first quarter, with revenue jumping 31% to $73.1 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had modeled profit of 26 cents on revenue of $71.7 million. In the current quarter, BroadSoft  forecast EPS  ex items of 25 cents to 40 cents vs. consensus estimates of 44 cents profit. BroadSoft said it expects Q2 revenue of $76 million to $81 million,  vs. analyst expectations of $79.9 million. That’s compared with 43 cents and $43.9 million in Q2 2015. Gaithersburg, Md.-based BroadSoft competes vs. 8×8 ( EGHT ) and RingCentral ( RNG ), as well as much-bigger Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Cisco Systems ( CSCO ). BroadSoft has a highest-possible IBD Composite Rating of 99, putting it among the top 1% of all stocks in such metrics as earnings and sales growth in recent quarters and years. BroadSoft helps big telecoms such as Verizon Communications ( VZ ) and Comcast ( CMCSA ) deliver unified communications , integrating voice, video and text messaging and other forms into a single stream.

Patent Bully Rovi Gets Makeover With Acquisition Of TiVo

TV patent giant Rovi ( ROVI ) on Friday announced a $1.1 billion deal to buy digital video recorder pioneer TiVo ( TIVO ) and adopt TiVo as its new corporate name. San Carlos, Calif.-based Rovi agreed to pay $10.70 a share in cash and stock for San Jose, Calif.-based TiVo. The acquisition had been rumored for several weeks. Rovi stock was down a fraction to about 17 in afternoon trading in the stock market today . TiVo stock was up more than 5% to near 10. “Rovi’s acquisition of TiVo, with its innovative products, talented team and substantial intellectual property portfolio, strengthens Rovi’s position as a global leader in media discovery, metadata, analytics and IP licensing,” Rovi CEO Tom Carson said in a statement . “It’s an exciting time as the media and entertainment landscape undergoes a significant evolution. “The combined capabilities of TiVo and Rovi place us in a tremendous position to extend services across platforms and to a customer base that includes traditional, over-the-top and emerging players across the globe.” Rovi has earned a reputation as a patent bully for its litigious behavior. This month, Rovi sued Comcast ( CMCSA ) for patent infringement after failing to come to terms on a new licensing agreement. Last year, Netflix ( NFLX ) successfully defended itself from a Rovi patent infringement lawsuit. A U.S. federal judge ruled that the five Rovi-owned patents it wielded against the streaming video company were invalid. Rovi holds more than 5,000 patents in areas such as digital entertainment guides, DVRs and on-demand programming. It generates the majority of its revenue through patent-licensing agreements with pay TV services. Once the TiVo acquisition closes, the combined company will have over 6,000 patents. Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson looked favorably on the deal. “The rationale for the deal makes sense, with overlapping customers and organizational goals, and synergies that could make the combined business more profitable,” he said in a report Friday. “Specifically, the company is expecting $100 million of cost synergies and that the deal will be EPS accretive within the first 12 months.” Olson reiterated his overweight rating on Rovi stock with a price target of 29. Olson noted that litigation is a component of both companies’ business models.