Tag: smart TVs

Sony's proposed $1 billion Bravia joint venture with TCL would give TCL 51% ownership and operational control of the TV business, while Sony keeps a 49% stake, retains the Bravia brand in market, and shifts manufacturing, distribution, and support to…

Basics of Streaming explains how TV operating systems like Roku OS, Fire TV, LG webOS, Samsung Tizen, Vizio SmartCast, and Android TV shape discovery, advertising, subscription billing, and data collection, making them powerful gatekeepers in streaming. The piece argues that…

Basics of Streaming breaks down how streaming hardware devices function as specialized computers, managing everything from video decoding to app execution and security. These devices deliver consistent performance across TVs, support advanced formats such as 4K HDR, and provide platforms…

Streaming's discovery crisis isn’t a UX issue, it's a business model problem. Services are optimized to retain attention and protect internal data, not to help viewers find content, resulting in user frustration, lower engagement, and higher churn. Without real incentives…

DIRECTV has launched its native app on LG Smart TVs (2021+ models), enabling users to stream live channels, on-demand content, and over 100 FAST channels without extra hardware. The integration simplifies access to DIRECTV's Signature plans, Genre Packs, and MyFree…

Kirby argues discovery is streaming’s biggest growth bottleneck. Fragmented metadata, poor UX, and smart TV platform control are stalling monetization and engagement. To reach its $1T potential, the industry must treat discovery as infrastructure, prioritizing metadata, interface control, and reducing…

Xperi is cutting 250 jobs as part of a major restructuring to streamline operations and pivot toward its connected TV platform, TiVo OS. The move follows the end of TiVo DVR manufacturing and reflects Xperi’s growing focus on ad-supported CTV,…

Gracenote’s 2025 State of Play report reveals that content discovery has become a top churn trigger in streaming, with 49% of viewers willing to cancel services if they can’t find something to watch. As streaming platforms fragment and user frustration…

Ask Skip argues that every smart TV OEM needs its own FAST service, not to please viewers, but to control the interface and claim a stake in the OS-driven streaming landscape. While the strategic rationale is sound, most OEM FASTs…

Basics of Streaming explores how FAST has matured into a critical pillar of the streaming ecosystem. Introduced by Pluto TV in 2014, FAST has expanded far beyond linear channels to include hybrid delivery formats, all unified by an ad-supported, free-to-watch…