Intel Announces Web TV Service And Consumer-curated Bundles
redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online
Intel announced on Tuesday that it is developing an Internet television service and set-top box, and hopes to officially enter the media market within a year.
Erik Huggers, head of Intel Media, announced the service in Dana Point at the “Dive into Media” conference sponsored by AllThingsD, saying the company has been working with Apple, Netflix and Google to create the new platform.
“We have been working for (the past) year to set up Intel media, a new group focused on developing an Internet platform,” Huggers said.
“It’s not a value play, it’s a quality play where we’ll create a superior experience for the end user.”
The set-top box will be the centerpiece of the unnamed service, and Intel will offer smaller bundles more tailored to customers’ wishes than those currently offered by cable operators.
“There is an opportunity to offer a bundle that can be curated by the consumer, an opportunity to create smarter bundles.”
“The model we envision is a model where live television and catch-up television live in the same paradigm,” said Huggers, who previously worked at Microsoft and BBC, where he created iPlayer, an online service launched in 2007 that let viewers watch programs they missed on television.
Intel, the world’s No. 1 chipmaker, has had challenges getting its television service off the ground as major content providers resisted letting the company unbundle and license specific networks and shows at lower prices than those paid by cable and satellite partners, according to sources speaking to Reuters.
The company’s current plans put it in direct competition with tech heavyweights such as Apple, Google and Amazon within a cable television ecosystem dominated by major distributors such as Comcast and DirecTV, and content providers Time Warner and Walt Disney. The $100 billion market is believed by many to be ripe for disruption for a variety of reasons, including growing programming costs and changing preferences among viewers.
Intel’s new service, if successful, would surpass rival products currently offered by Apple, Amazon and Netflix by offering live programming and on-demand content.
The company’s set-top-box will also include a camera that watches viewers’ movements and viewing habits, which could be used to automatically tailor content and advertisements.
“My kids may watch programming geared toward them, and I’ll watch programming geared toward me,” Huggers told AllThingsD.
“If there’s a way to distinguish who is watching what, advertisers can then target ads at the proper parties.”
Shares of Intel’s stock rose 16 cents on Tuesday, or 0.76%, closing at $21.19.
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2013-02-13 05:15:47
Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112783081/intel-internet-tv-service-announced-021313/
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