Weekly Rewind
AirTV updates: The first streaming box optimized for Sling TV and over-the-air channels had lots of rough edges out of the gate, but it just got a major update that should correct some of its biggest problems. The AirTV Player now supports Sling’s $5 per month Cloud DVR service, letting users record streaming cable channels. It’s also getting some guide improvements for sorting through local channels by genre, seeing what’s on those channels from the home screen, and filtering out unwanted broadcast signals.
Sling TV is also expanding Cloud DVR to iOS and Windows 10, so it’s now available on most devices that Sling TV supports. That service came out of beta last week, and offers 50 hours of recording–with time or scheduling limits–for $5 per month.
Fox gives shorter ads a try: Fox has become the first TV network to adopt a 6-second ad format in its streaming video apps, taking a page from YouTube. The network eventually plans to bring the shorter ads to its linear broadcast as well.
As AdAge points out, there’s still some uncertainty about how much brands should pay for the shorter ads, but it’s clear that the 30-second ad is on its way out. Services like Netflix and Amazon Prime are creating an expectation of minimal commercial interruptions, and the shorter spots may be more effective than traditional four-minute ad breaks anyway.
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