| Roku got far in the streaming wars by framing itself as a neutral party. With its inexpensive, straightforward streaming devices that practically anyone could publish on, Roku became a hit with cord-cutters and a valuable platform for content providers.
But it’s an image that Roku’s been shattering lately as it butts heads with publishers like AT&T’s WarnerMedia and Comcast’s NBCUniversal. HBO Max remains unavailable on Roku nearly two months after launch, and NBCUniversal launched Peacock without Roku support last week.
These disputes are happening precisely because Roku isn’t being neutral anymore. Instead, it’s competing with publishers through its own ad-supported app and pressuring them to participate in its own subscription marketplace. Roku is only neutral in the narrow sense that it doesn’t make its own content (though the company has reportedly kicked the tires on that as well).
Roku is of course entitled to profit off the wildly popular platform it’s built. But as cord-cutters shop for new streaming devices and smart TVs, they must now realize that Roku’s revenue targets have taken precedence over unparalleled app support. Read the full column on TechHive. |
| Plex gets free TV: Plex has jumped on the bandwagon of providing a big bundle of live non-cable channels for free. Just head here on the web, or use the Plex app on your streaming device, and you can watch channels like Tastemade, Reuters, Fubo Sports Network, IGN, AFV Family, and Surf Now TV through a cable-style grid guide. There are more than 80 of these channels total, and while the content isn’t much different from what you’d find on, say, Xumo or Redbox Live TV, it’s nice to have if you’re using Plex already.
Keep in mind that this is a separate offering from Plex’s over-the-air TV service, which requires running your own media server with a compatible TV tuner and antenna. Plex says it would like to integrate the two live TV sources in the future, but doesn’t have any set date for that. Plus, any crossover between Plex’s media server and ad-supported offerings will have to be handled with caution, as users of the former tend to be extremely wary of the latter.
A big update for Channels DVR: Speaking of over-the-air DVR, Channels has released a nice update for Apple TV and iOS. The navigation bar is now customizable, there’s auto-play support for series recordings, and the recordings menu now shows all recordings in a list, more like how traditional DVRs work. The app also includes a section for kids content and more ways to sift through large movie and TV show libraries. Perhaps best of all, there’s a shuffle option for recorded shows, which is great for syndicated reruns that you don’t need to see in order.
Much like Plex DVR, Channels DVR requires you to run a media server on a PC, NAS box, Nvidia Shield TV, or Raspberry Pi. You also need an HDHomeRun tuner for capturing channels from an antenna for local channels, though it can grab streams from certain cable channels as well. You can then use an Apple TV, Fire TV, or Android TV device to watch the content that Channels records. While the setup is still burdensome, it’s becoming a really slick DIY cord-cutting solution overall.
Locast expands again: Locast, the non-profit organization that streams local over-the-air channels for free, has launched in Miami and West Palm Beach, Fla. That brings its coverage up to 20 U.S. cities along with Puerto Rico. As before, the service is technically free, but requires a $5 per month donation for uninterrupted streams. (Also worth noting: If you’ve set up Channels DVR in an eligible market, you can record Locast’s streams, even without having your own antenna.)
AT&T TV Now’s regional sports additions: With a truncated baseball season now underway, AT&T TV Now is adding a bunch of regional sports networks that were previously hard for cord-cutters to get (most of which are owned by AT&T itself). The additions include AT&T SportsNet Southwest, Pittsburgh, and Rocky Mountain; NESN; MASN, and Root Sports Northwest. Of those channels, all but NESN and SportsNet Southwest haven’t been available on streaming services before.
Now for the bad news: The regional sports channels are only available through AT&T TV Now’s Max package, which costs $80 per month. They’re also available through the “Choice” package of AT&T TV, a separate service that includes its own streaming box, but the price is even higher at $110 per month after one year. (The first year is $65 per month, but requires a two-year contract.) Maybe it’s time to ask yourself how much you’ve really missed baseball over the past few months. |
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| For about the last year and a half, I’ve been writing laptop reviews for PCWorld as part of my other freelance journalism duties. It’s taught me a lot about what to look for in a computer, so I’ve distilled some of those lessons into my latest Advisorator newsletter. That’s where I provide advice and tips on all kind of tech topics outside the world of cord-cutting.
This week’s issue also includes an easy way to remove junk emails, a new way to block scam calls, a soothing window to the world on the web, and more. Sign up for a free trial and I’ll send the latest newsletter your way. |
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| Thanks for reading! |
| Just in case my presence in print form wasn’t enough, you can also check me out in a couple of recent media appearances. First, my colleagues at Fast Company had me on the Fast Break podcast to talk about Reelgood, JustWatch, and the race to create the best unified streaming TV guide. I also chatted briefly with Ed Reilly at WKBW in Buffalo about cord-cutting in general.
In other personal news, I’ve cleared out nearly all of my reader mail backlog as promised. If you want to ask me anything about cord-cutting or this newsletter, just reply to this email.
Until next week,
Jared |
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