Industry News Archives

Potential Sale of BET Attracts Major Suitors

by Alex Kerai | Mar 17, 2023 | Entertainment, Industry News

Paramount is weighing a sale of BET Media Group, which includes the cable network BET and VH1. Actor-producer Tyler Perry, producer-executive Byron Allen, and musician Sean “Diddy” Combs have all expressed interest in purchasing a majority stake in BET.

HBO in the FAST-lane

by Randy Harward | Feb 20, 2023 | Entertainment, Industry News

The appeal of premium TV networks like HBO is uninterrupted language, sex, and violence. Yet, HBO Max™ and other premium streaming services have ad-supported plans—and Warner Bros. Discovery jettisoned some HBO movies and shows to free, ad-supported TV (FAST) channels on Tubi and the Roku Channel.

A woman celebrates while watching a televised hockey game.

Amazon and Google Keep Their Eyes on the Sportsball

by Randy Harward | Jan 5, 2023 | Entertainment, Industry News

Heads up, live sports fans—big news is comin’ in hot! Amazon Prime Video might split its live sports coverage into a separate, standalone app. And YouTube TV is the big winner in the NFL SUNDAY TICKET bidding wars. We’ll tell you what it means after a word from our sponsors!*

A man watches TV while his partner tries to seduce him.

Survey: 1 in 10 Would Drop Sex Before TV

by Randy Harward | Aug 25, 2022 | Entertainment, Industry News, Outreach

What would you give up for a month to keep your favorite streaming TV service? Of the 983 Americans we polled, more than 1 in 10 said they’d drop sex.

For real? Didn’t sex put the “chill” in “Netflix and chill?” Well, the data is the data, and it’s compelling: 12% of respondents (so more than 1 in 10) said they’d go celibate for a month to keep streaming TV.

Philo Adds 3 New Channels

by Bill Frost | Aug 11, 2022 | Entertainment, Industry News

Philo, CableTV.com’s editorial pick for cheapest live TV streaming service, added three new channels to its skinny-bundle $25-a-month plan this week: MeTV, Heroes & Icons, and Story Television. Along with June 2022 additions Decades and Start TV, this beefs Philo’s channel count to 80+, as opposed to its advertised 60+.

“Female” Discovery+ Meets “Male” HBO Max

by Bill Frost | Aug 8, 2022 | Entertainment, Industry News

Lost in last week’s surprise shelving of the $90 million Batgirl and other movies at HBO Max was this: celebrating the summer 2023 merger of HBO Max and Discovery+ into a single app platform, Warner Bros. Discovery has thrown an internal gender reveal party.

Live TV Streaming Customer Satisfaction Survey 2022

by Bill Frost | Jan 23, 2022 | Best Of, Industry News

Live TV streaming services aren’t exactly like cable or satellite, so curious cord-cutters rightfully have concerns: Is it worth it to switch to streaming? According to our survey results, most people feel they’re getting their money’s worth with YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV.

On-Demand TV streaming percentage bar chart

On-Demand TV Streaming Customer Satisfaction Survey 2022

by Bill Frost | Jan 19, 2022 | Best Of, Industry News

In partnership with Researchscape, CableTV.com surveyed over 6,000 current on-demand TV streaming customers to evaluate their satisfaction with their services’ features, content, functionality, pricing, and more. Some lined up with our own findings in our Best On-Demand Streaming Services 2022 review, some didn’t.