Air TV Doubling Up
Air TV has been around for a while, largely as a device that broadcasts a signal from your OTA antenna to TVs within your home seamless Sling TV integration. The new Air TV Anywhere tuner basically doubles the capability of its predecessor at double the price. The new device has an integrated DVR instead of being DVR capable and it can throw its single to 4, not 2 TVs simultaneously. It can also send the OTA signal to your mobile device outside of the home.
The NPD Take:
- This is in part about attracting new Sling TV customers as the device comes at half price with an HD antenna bundle when new customers prepay for three months of Sling TV.
- Seamless integration is and has been a critical component of cord cutting. The combination of Air TV and Sling TV continue to offer a best in class experience.
All Access Re-Ups with Amazon
ViacomCBS just announced that the company extended its deal for CBS All Access distribution on Amazon Prime Channels. Indeed, Amazon Channels has been a significant driver of subscriber growth for the companies Showtime and CBS DTC services. This deal however, is in contrast to the ongoing stalemate between Amazon and both Comcast’s Peacock and AT&T’s HBO Max that remain absent from Fire TV devices. These divergent paths show the difference in strategy from the vertically integrated media conglomerates such as Comcast and AT&T and the media distribution focused Disney and CBS organizations.
The NPD Take:
- ViacomCBS as with Disney are focused heavily on subscriber growth and ensuring all distribution channels remains open.
- Amazon Channels distribution has the potential to play a significant role in the launch of the re-worked ViacomCBS streaming service.