How to watch sports online in 2012, packages from NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS, and ESPN

This is an update of the 2011 post. Not much has changed in the leagues, but ESPN has really pushed the Watch ESPN app. With a cable subscription you can watch ESPN on any mobile device from anywhere. Prices range from $60 – $250 per season for 2012, not a bad deal if you’ve cancelled …

Despite millions of users, Pandora and Spotify are still losing money

The music industry still has a stranglehold on digital music. Pandora and Spotify Rake in the Money and Then Send It Off in Royalties At least 33 million people have tried Spotify, more than 150 million have registered for Pandora…Both are losing money, and for largely the same reason: the cost of music royalties. Pandora…in its …

NBC hits ratings gold, best ever – despite extensive online features, streaming events

NBC’s London Olympics ratings defy expectations NBC’s ratings are on track to outdistance numbers from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which many TV industry executives had figured would be a high-water mark. The last Summer Olympics to consistently attract such large crowds were the Montreal Games in 1976 — long before cable TV networks began splintering the audience. Wow, …

Amazon Studios selects four TV projects for online streaming – further Netflix competition

Just a month after we brought you news that Amazon Studios was calling for original comedy and children’s series projects, the company announced today that it has selected its first four projects, choosing three comedies and one children’s show. The company has switched its focus to four TV projects, they are:   The 100 Deaths of Mort Grimley – Where …

Sales of Blu-ray players should peak this year – be done in a few years

The sale of Blu-ray players is going to peak this year or next, Roku CEO Anthony Wood predicted at the TV of Tomorrow show in San Francisco Wednesday. “Will people use Blu-ray players in four years? I don’t think so,” he said, adding that the streaming performance on Blu-ray players doesn’t compare to the experience …

Netflix subscribers watched 1 billion hours of video in June – one hour per day per customer

Here’s more evidence that Netflix is slowly chipping away at traditional TV viewing. According to a public Facebook post by CEO Reed Hastings, Netflix subscribers watched a total of 1 billion hours of video for the first time in June. Do a little back-of-the-envelope math, and that comes out to more than an hour of video per …

Watch Wimbledon live online – until July 8

For tennis fans, there’s little that could beat the excitement of Wimbledon. It’s the world’s oldest tennis tournament, a chance to see the world’s best players compete. This year’s Wimbledon tournament started Monday and continues until July 8. Of course, since it’s taking place in the U.K., chances are that you’re either at the breakfast …

Netflix meets its heaviest user – 252 movies in one month

Mark Malkoff just can’t help himself. The new York-based comedian is one of those people who find challenges in everything. So when a company like Netflix offers unlimited streaming for $8 a month, someone like Malkoff starts to wonder about his own limits. Earlier this year, Malkoff embarked on his Netflix challenge in an attempt …

11 documentaries about cities – streaming on Netflix

Here are 11 new and new-ish documentaries now streaming that offer interesting, frustrating and downright sad stories about cities.   Bill Cunningham New York 2010, 84 minutes Directed by Richard Press A film about octogenarian and New York Times fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, who rides his bike around New York City taking pictures of clothes …

Universal Music Catalog – just a few years away

With the announcement of Amazon’s new Cloud Player iPhone app, the Universal Music Catalog is one step closer. For years I have dreamed of this Star Trek-like device, where I can find any song I want and listen to it, from anywhere. Preferably this will be an app on a device I already own (smartphone), …