Alphabet Inc. (formerly: Google)

[Drizzt]

i think the long term model is exclusive content and ubiquitous devices.

i was reading the model for DIRECTV which buffett has. their moat seem to be that they own exlucsive saturday night NFL football.

[CY09]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22474715
Youtube is offically launching pay to watch TV subscription channels

It will be interesting if Youtube is successful in ensuring its video quality are as good as what is on TVs.

With ESPN (under Disney) aiming to be a mobile content provider for its live video streaming. perhaps we can see a future where YouTube shows live streaming of Sports ( YouTube and ESPN tie-ups) or US or Korean drama series which are sold via YouTube. As of now, I know of friends who purchase 25Inch LCD monitors to hook up to their computers to play MMPORG games. Imagine now having a computer equipped with 25-32" Inch monitors possessing access to PayTV channels via Goggle's youtube.

While I do admit that youtube will have to improve its video quality to be matching of that of what is shown on TV. The impending change that youtube can do and if it is successful in tying up with content producers like ESPN, CBS, ABC, KBS. is essentially going to change the PayTV industry. Pherhaps in the future, you will see coffee shop owners hooking up their large TV monitors to a CPU to stream live BPL soccer match. If that happens, SingTel and starhub should not be worried too much for the current cross-carriage debacles.

[CityFarmer]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22474715
Youtube is offically launching pay to watch TV subscription channels

It will be interesting if Youtube is successful in ensuring its video quality are as good as what is on TVs.

With ESPN (under Disney) aiming to be a mobile content provider for its live video streaming. perhaps we can see a future where YouTube shows live streaming of Sports ( YouTube and ESPN tie-ups) or US or Korean drama series which are sold via YouTube. As of now, I know of friends who purchase 25Inch LCD monitors to hook up to their computers to play MMPORG games. Imagine now having a computer equipped with 25-32" Inch monitors possessing access to PayTV channels via Goggle's youtube.

While I do admit that youtube will have to improve its video quality to be matching of that of what is shown on TV. The impending change that youtube can do and if it is successful in tying up with content producers like ESPN, CBS, ABC, KBS. is essentially going to change the PayTV industry. Pherhaps in the future, you will see coffee shop owners hooking up their large TV monitors to a CPU to stream live BPL soccer match. If that happens, SingTel and starhub should not be worried too much for the current cross-carriage debacles.

Localized version of similar offer, by Mediacorp via Toggle app.

http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/28/mediaco...ci-toggle/

[CY09]

The company behind Toggle is interesting, Tvinci. They currently have five customers with them. If they are successful in streaming media content over various platform under one content management system, this company could be a potential disruptor in the TV world. But if they are successful, my bets are Microsoft, Goggle or Apple will just acquire them.

This startup, Tvinci, looks interesting, but I am afraid Toggle by Mediacorp will fail cause Mediacorp does not have a large enough captive base.


http://tvinci.com/

[KopiKat]

I have heard of people using AppleTV (even before it was sold locally) and subscribing directly to some of the available US PayTV channels. I think need to modify their routers (or was it local ISP provided box) so that such contents are not blocked.

[CY09]

I have heard of people using AppleTV (even before it was sold locally) and subscribing directly to some of the available US PayTV channels. I think need to modify their routers (or was it local ISP provided box) so that such contents are not blocked.

Just use a foreign credit card registered with a foreign ITunes account and u can avoid IDA's control.

Just a trivia: The app, Whatsapp, is sold for 99 Euro cents (or is it 1.99) in some European countries but free for Sg accounts.

[CityFarmer]

I have almost forgotten the google+, that show its unpopularity...

Google+ struggling to attract brands

SAN FRANCISCO - To mark the Cinco de Mayo holiday this year, Domino’s Pizza festooned its Facebook page with a string of posts, including an image of a Mexican-themed guacamole pizza that garnered over 2,000 “likes”. But visitors to Domino’s companion Google+ page on that day found less festive fare: The most recent post was from October last year.

Two years after introducing its social network, Google is struggling to win over the brands and businesses that have been its most loyal customers in the Internet search market.

http://www.todayonline.com/tech/google-s...act-brands

[CityFarmer]

German court orders changes to Google search

BERLIN — A top German court has ordered Google to act on requests to remove autocomplete entries from the search engine after a suit claimed the feature made defamatory suggestions.

The Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe upheld a complaint from an unidentified company selling nutritional supplements and its founder, identified only as “R.S.”

The plaintiffs claimed when their names were entered on Google’s German-language website, it suggested links to Scientology and fraud.

http://www.todayonline.com/tech/german-c...gle-search

[CityFarmer]

Google is catching-up fast with Apple offerings...

Google girds up to battle Spotify: Report

MOUNTAIN VIEW (California) — Google is set to introduce a subscription music feature to compete against fast-growing streaming services like Spotify, according to several sources briefed on its plans.

Google is planning to introduce the new service as early as Wednesday (Thursday, May 15, morning, Singapore time) at Google I/O, the company’s annual conference for software developers. The subscription feature will be connected to Play — Google’s online media hub — complementing its download store and “locker” feature, which lets people store their digital entertainment collections online, said these sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity before Google’s official announcement.

http://www.todayonline.com/tech/google-g...ify-report

[CityFarmer]

Pretty aggressive in service offering lately...

Google boosts photo offerings to rival Facebook

SAN FRANCISCO — Google is digging deeper into its technology toolkit to turn its social networking service into a more formidable threat to Facebook, sprucing up its photo features at a time when sharing snapshots online and on mobile gadgets is growing more popular.

Many of the 41 new features being added to Google Plus beginning yesterday (May 15) will draw upon the computing power, machine learning, algorithms, semantics analysis and other innovations that established Google’s search engine as the most influential force on the Internet.

http://www.todayonline.com/tech/google-b...l-facebook