Sugar Rush: Verken de Kleurrijke Wereld van Cascading Wins

In de Sugar Rush stappen

Wanneer spelers inloggen op Sugar Rush, worden ze onmiddellijk ondergedompeld in een levendige en speelse omgeving. De kleurrijke graphics en levendige geluidseffecten creëren een energieke sfeer die moeilijk te weerstaan is. De Sugar Rush game is een 7×7 cluster pays online slot dat ontworpen is om snelle, opwindende uitkomsten te bieden. Terwijl spelers de reels draaien, worden ze getrakteerd op een reeks cascading wins, waarvan elke meer opwindend is dan de vorige. De Sugar Rush-ervaring draait helemaal om korte, hoog-intensieve sessies gericht op snelle resultaten. Spelers loggen meestal voor korte periodes in, proberen groot te winnen en loggen dan uit, enthousiast om hun volgende sessie te starten.

Belangrijkste kenmerken van Sugar Rush

  • Cascading wins: Elke winnende combinatie triggert een kettingreactie van nieuwe wins, wat een opwindende ervaring creëert.
  • Multiplier spots: Bepaalde symbolen op de reels kunnen wins vermenigvuldigen, wat een extra laag spanning aan het spel toevoegt.
  • Free spins: Spelers kunnen free spins verdienen door specifieke combinaties te landen, waardoor ze nog meer kunnen winnen.

Hoe je het meeste uit je Sugar Rush-ervaring haalt

Om het beste uit Sugar Rush te halen, moeten spelers de mechanica van het spel begrijpen en hun strategie dienovereenkomstig aanpassen. Een van de belangrijkste aspecten van het spel is het cascading wins-systeem. Wanneer een winnende combinatie wordt gevormd, verdwijnen de symbolen die betrokken zijn bij de winst, en vallen er nieuwe symbolen op hun plaats, wat mogelijk nieuwe winnende combinaties creëert. Dit proces kan doorgaan zolang er nieuwe wins worden gevormd, wat een opwindende ervaring oplevert.

Tips voor succesvol spelen

  • Focus op snelle wins: Sugar Rush draait om korte, hoog-intensieve sessies. Spelers moeten zich richten op grote scores in elke sessie en daarna uitloggen.
  • Beheer je bankroll: Het is essentieel om je bankroll effectief te beheren om te voorkomen dat je tijdens een sessie zonder geld komt te zitten.
  • Neem pauzes: Het spelen van Sugar Rush kan intens zijn, dus het is belangrijk om pauzes te nemen en op te laden voordat je een nieuwe sessie begint.

De Sugar Rush-gemeenschap

Ondanks de individualistische aard, heeft Sugar Rush een sterke online community van spelers die tips, strategieën en ervaringen delen. Spelers communiceren vaak via sociale mediaplatforms, forums en online groepen, waardoor een gevoel van kameraadschap en gedeelde opwinding ontstaat. De Sugar Rush-gemeenschap is een geweldige bron voor nieuwe spelers die meer willen leren over het spel en hun vaardigheden willen verbeteren.

Spelersprofielen

  • De casual speler: Deze spelers loggen voor korte periodes in op Sugar Rush, proberen groot te winnen en loggen dan uit.
  • De frequente speler: Deze spelers loggen regelmatig in op Sugar Rush, vaak meerdere keren per dag, en richten zich op het maximaliseren van hun wins.
  • De expert speler: Deze spelers hebben de mechanica en strategie van het spel onder de knie en delen vaak hun kennis met anderen.

De spanning van Sugar Rush

Sugar Rush is meer dan alleen een spel – het is een ervaring. De kleurrijke graphics, levendige geluidseffecten en opwindende gameplay komen samen om een verslavende en boeiende ervaring te creëren. Spelers worden meegenomen in de wereld van Sugar Rush, waar ze de rush van snelle wins kunnen ervaren en de voldoening van het overtreffen van hun persoonlijke record.

Toepassingen in de echte wereld

  • Stressvermindering: Het spelen van Sugar Rush kan een geweldige manier zijn om te ontspannen en stress te verlichten na een lange dag.
  • Sociale interactie: De Sugar Rush-gemeenschap biedt een platform voor spelers om contact te maken met anderen die dezelfde interesses delen.
  • Persoonlijke uitdaging: Spelers kunnen persoonlijke uitdagingen voor zichzelf stellen, zoals het overtreffen van hun high score of het behalen van een specifiek aantal wins.

Ontvang nu je Bonus!

Voor nieuwe spelers die lid willen worden van de Sugar Rush-gemeenschap, zijn er verschillende manieren om te beginnen. Door in te loggen op de site en een account te registreren, kunnen spelers toegang krijgen tot exclusieve bonussen en promoties die hen kunnen helpen om te starten. Met zijn kleurrijke graphics, levendige geluidseffecten en opwindende gameplay is Sugar Rush het perfecte spel voor iedereen die op zoek is naar een leuke en spannende ervaring.

Registreren voor een account

Om te beginnen met Sugar Rush, moeten spelers zich registreren voor een account op de site. Dit houdt in dat ze basisinformatie verstrekken zoals naam, e-mailadres en wachtwoord. Na registratie kunnen spelers toegang krijgen tot exclusieve bonussen en promoties die hen kunnen helpen om te starten.

De toekomst van Sugar Rush

In conclusie,

Maak je klaar om de ultieme Sugar Rush te ervaren!

Ontgrendel de Sweet Bonanza 1000 Slot Ervaring: Verken Candy-Themed Bliss

Introductie tot Sweet Bonanza 1000

De Sweet Bonanza 1000 slotgame is een visueel verbluffende 6×5 candy-themed slot die de harten heeft veroverd van vele spelers wereldwijd. Met zijn levendige kleuren en aantrekkelijke gameplay is het geen wonder dat spelers blijven terugkomen voor meer.

In dit artikel duiken we in de wereld van Sweet Bonanza 1000 en ontdekken we wat het zo’n opvallende game maakt in de online casino scene. We kijken naar hoe spelers doorgaans omgaan met het platform tijdens korte of herhaalde sessies, en welke praktische gameplay situaties besluitvorming, risicobeheer en sessiestromen illustreren.

Laten we dus beginnen en de geheimen achter het succes van Sweet Bonanza 1000 onthullen!

Een Korte Geschiedenis van Sweet Bonanza 1000

De Sweet Bonanza 1000 game bestaat al een tijdje, en haar populariteit lijkt niet af te nemen. Met zijn 6×5 raster en candy-themed ontwerp is het een spel dat zeker in de smaak zal vallen bij spelers van alle leeftijden.

Maar wat maakt Sweet Bonanza 1000 zo bijzonder? Ten eerste heeft het een unieke tumble mechanic waarmee spelers bonusmultipliers tot 1000× kunnen activeren. Dit betekent dat zelfs kleine winsten snel kunnen oplopen en leiden tot indrukwekkende uitbetalingen.

  • Het matchen van 8+ symbolen activeert tumbles en bonus multipliers.
  • Het spel heeft een 6×5 raster, waardoor het gemakkelijk te navigeren en te begrijpen is.
  • Het candy-themed ontwerp is zowel visueel aantrekkelijk als leuk om te spelen.

Beginnen met Sweet Bonanza 1000

Dus, je bent klaar om te beginnen met spelen van Sweet Bonanza 1000? Geweldig! De eerste stap is het kiezen van je inzetbedrag en het selecteren van je gewenste aantal paylines. Zodra je dit hebt gedaan, kun je beginnen met het draaien van de rollen en zien welke prijzen je kunt winnen.

Een van de beste dingen aan Sweet Bonanza 1000 is het gebruiksgemak. Zelfs nieuwe spelers kunnen snel aan de slag en genieten van het spel zonder gedoe. Bovendien maakt de intuïtieve interface het gemakkelijk te navigeren en te begrijpen.

Praktische Gameplay Situaties

Laten we eens kijken naar enkele praktische gameplay situaties die besluitvorming, risicobeheer en sessiestromen illustreren. Bijvoorbeeld, bij het spelen van Sweet Bonanza 1000 bevinden spelers zich vaak in een situatie waarin ze moeten beslissen of ze door willen gaan of hun winst willen cashen.

  • Spelers kunnen ervoor kiezen door te gaan als ze een hot streak hebben of als ze denken dat ze aan een grote winst toe zijn.
  • Aan de andere kant kunnen spelers ervoor kiezen hun winst te cashen als ze hun gewenste doel hebben bereikt of als ze het spel te intens vinden worden.
  • Spelers kunnen ook besluiten om pauzes te nemen en later terug te keren naar het spel als ze vermoeid zijn of even willen opladen.

Mobiel Spelen met Sweet Bonanza 1000

Een van de beste aspecten van Sweet Bonanza 1000 is de mobiele gameplay ervaring. Met de intuïtieve interface en soepele gameplay kunnen spelers het spel gemakkelijk op hun mobiele apparaten spelen, of ze nu onderweg zijn of thuis ontspannen.

Bij het spelen van Sweet Bonanza 1000 op mobiel, merken spelers vaak dat ze korte sessies spelen, met pauzes ertussen om hun ogen te rusten en op te laden. Dit komt doordat mobiele gameplay intens kan zijn, vooral bij langdurig spelen.

Besluitvorming en Risicobeheer

Bij het spelen van Sweet Bonanza 1000 moeten spelers vaak snel beslissingen nemen over wanneer door te gaan en wanneer hun winst te cashen. Dit vereist een goed begrip van risicobeheer en besluitvorming.

  • Spelers kunnen ervoor kiezen door te gaan als ze denken dat ze aan een grote winst toe zijn of als ze een hot streak hebben.
  • Aan de andere kant kunnen spelers ervoor kiezen hun winst te cashen als ze hun gewenste doel hebben bereikt of als ze het spel te intens vinden worden.
  • Spelers kunnen ook besluiten om pauzes te nemen en later terug te keren naar het spel als ze vermoeid zijn of even willen opladen.

Sessiestroom en Spelermotivatie

Bij het spelen van Sweet Bonanza 1000 bevinden spelers zich vaak in een staat van flow, waarin ze volledig betrokken zijn bij het spel en gemotiveerd blijven om door te gaan. Dit komt doordat de intuïtieve interface en soepele gameplay het gemakkelijk maken om te navigeren en te begrijpen.

  • Spelers kunnen zich in een staat van flow bevinden tijdens het spelen van Sweet Bonanza 1000, waarin ze volledig betrokken zijn en gemotiveerd blijven om door te gaan.
  • Dit kan leiden tot indrukwekkende uitbetalingen en veel plezier.
  • De intuïtieve interface en soepele gameplay maken het gemakkelijk te navigeren en te begrijpen.

De Geheimen van Sweet Bonanza 1000 Ontdekken

Klaar om de geheimen van Sweet Bonanza 1000 te ontgrendelen? Met zijn unieke tumble mechanic, candy-themed ontwerp en soepele gameplay, is het een spel dat zeker in de smaak zal vallen bij spelers van alle leeftijden.

Dus, waar wacht je nog op? Krijg nu je bonus en begin te genieten van de Sweet Bonanza 1000 ervaring!

Conclusie: Krijg Nu Je Bonus!

De Sweet Bonanza 1000 slotgame is een visueel verbluffende 6×5 candy-themed slot die de harten heeft veroverd van vele spelers wereldwijd. Met zijn unieke tumble mechanic, candy-themed ontwerp en soepele gameplay, is het een spel dat zeker in de smaak zal vallen bij spelers van alle leeftijden.

Dus, waarom haal je je bonus niet nu en begin je te genieten van de Sweet Bonanza 1000 ervaring? Met zijn intuïtieve interface en soepele gameplay kun je het spel gemakkelijk navigeren en onderweg indrukwekkende uitbetalingen genieten.

Mis deze kans niet om de geheimen van Sweet Bonanza 1000 te ontgrendelen. Krijg nu je bonus en begin vandaag nog met spelen!

Big Bass Bonanza – Meisterung des Reel-In großer Gewinne

Der Nervenkitzel, einen großen Fang zu landen, ist einzigartig. Spieler, die das Erlebnis von fisching-themed online slots erleben möchten, können dies mit Big Bass Bonanza tun. Die Seite, die unter https://bigbassbonanzaoffiziell.de/de-de/ zugänglich ist, bietet ein immersives 5×3 Grid-Erlebnis mit Free Spins und money-collecting wilds. In diesem Artikel tauchen wir in die Welt von Big Bass Bonanza ein und erkunden Strategien und Verhaltensweisen, die zu großen Boni führen können.

Getting Hooked: Erste Eindrücke

Wenn Spieler erstmals in die Welt von https://bigbassbonanzaoffiziell.de/de-de/ eintauchen, fühlen sie sich oft vom einfachen, aber ansprechenden Design des Spiels angezogen. Das 5×3 Grid ist leicht zu navigieren, und die intuitiven Steuerungen des Spiels machen es neuen Spielern einfach, loszulegen. Während die Spieler beginnen, Gewinne zu landen, können sie ein Gefühl von Aufregung und Erwartung entwickeln, was den Wunsch wecken kann, mehr zu spielen und die Spielfunktionen zu erkunden.

Entscheidungsfindung während des Spiels

Für viele Spieler ist Big Bass Bonanza ein Spiel schneller Entscheidungen und rasanten Handelns. Während die Spieler versuchen, große Gewinne zu landen, müssen sie in Sekundenschnelle entscheiden, welche Reels sie drehen und wann sie stoppen. Dieses hochintensive Gameplay kann zu einem Gefühl von Engagement und Konzentration führen, da die Spieler vollständig in das Spiel eintauchen.

Reeling in the Wins: Strategien für Erfolg

Obwohl Glück eine bedeutende Rolle bei Big Bass Bonanza spielt, gibt es bestimmte Strategien, die Spieler anwenden können, um ihre Chancen auf große Gewinne zu erhöhen. Ein Ansatz ist, sich auf das Sammeln von money-collecting wilds zu konzentrieren, die zu großen Bonusauszahlungen führen können. Spieler können auch mit unterschiedlichen Einsatzgrößen und Reel-Kombinationen experimentieren, um die optimale Strategie für ihren Spielstil zu finden.

Risiko-Management: Ein Schlüssel zum Erfolg

Wenn die Spieler mehr Vertrauen in ihre Fähigkeiten gewinnen, könnten sie dazu neigen, mehr Risiko im Spiel einzugehen. Es ist jedoch wichtig, sich daran zu erinnern, dass Big Bass Bonanza ein Spiel des Zufalls ist und es immer die Möglichkeit gibt, zu verlieren. Um Risiken effektiv zu managen, sollten Spieler Limits setzen und sich daran halten, um der Versuchung zu widerstehen, Verluste zu jagen.

The Thrill of the Chase: Spieler-Verhalten

In Big Bass Bonanza befinden sich die Spieler oft in einem Zustand erhöhter Aufregung und Erwartung, während sie nach großen Gewinnen jagen. Dies kann zu einem Phänomen führen, das als “variable ratio scheduling” bekannt ist, bei dem Spieler süchtig nach der unvorhersehbaren Natur des Spiels werden. Während die Spieler dieses Gefühl der Spannung erleben, spielen sie möglicherweise längere Zeit oder nehmen häufiger an Spielsitzungen teil.

Session Flow: Ein Schlüssel zur Spielerbindung

Um die Spielerbindung aufrechtzuerhalten und Burnout zu vermeiden, ist es wichtig, einen nahtlosen Session-Flow zu schaffen. Dies kann erreicht werden, indem den Spielern regelmäßig Gewinnmöglichkeiten geboten werden sowie durch eine Vielzahl von Features und Boni, die das Gameplay frisch und spannend halten. Durch eine sorgfältige Balance zwischen Risiko und Belohnung können Spieleanbieter ein fesselndes Erlebnis schaffen, das die Spieler anfixen.

The Art of Waiting: Geduld ist eine Tugend

In Big Bass Bonanza ist Geduld oft eine wichtige Tugend für Spieler, die große Gewinne landen möchten. Während die Spieler auf die richtige Kombination der Reels warten, können sie sich in einem Zustand erhöhter Spannung und Aufregung befinden. Dies kann zu einem Gefühl der Erwartung und Vorfreude führen, das ebenso befriedigend sein kann wie der tatsächliche Gewinn selbst.

From Casual to Core: Die Entwicklung der Spieler

Wenn die Spieler sich mit Big Bass Bonanza vertrauter fühlen, könnten sie vom Casual-Gameplay zu einer stärkeren Kernbindung übergehen. Dies kann das Ausprobieren verschiedener Strategien, die Erhöhung der Einsatzgrößen oder das Erkunden neuer Features und Boni umfassen. Durch die Bereitstellung einer Vielzahl von Optionen und Herausforderungen können Spieleanbieter die Spieler engagiert und motiviert halten.

The Allure of Progression: Ein Schlüssel zur Bindung

Einer der faszinierendsten Aspekte von Big Bass Bonanza ist das Potenzial für Progression. Während die Spieler Gewinne landen und money-collecting wilds sammeln, können sie ein Gefühl der Errungenschaft und des Stolzes entwickeln. Dies kann den Wunsch wecken, weiterzuspielen und die Spielfunktionen zu erkunden, um neue Belohnungen und Boni freizuschalten.

Real-World Applications: Verwendung von Big Bass Bonanza im Alltag

Obwohl Big Bass Bonanza wie ein rein virtuelles Erlebnis erscheint, kann es tatsächlich praktische Anwendungen im echten Leben haben. Zum Beispiel könnten die Spieler Geduld und Ausdauer entwickeln, die auf andere Lebensbereiche übertragbar sind. Durch die Anwendung dieser Fähigkeiten in realen Situationen können die Spieler selbstbewusster und effektiver werden.

Fazit: Get Hooked and Reel it In!

Big Bass Bonanza ist mehr als nur ein Spiel – es ist ein Erlebnis, das Spieler auf eine Weise fesseln und engagieren kann, die sie nie für möglich gehalten hätten. Durch das Meisterung des Reel-In großer Gewinne und die Anwendung von Strategien für Erfolg können Spieler das volle Potenzial dieses immersiven online slots entfalten. Warum also warten? Get hooked and reel it in – treten Sie noch heute in die Welt von Big Bass Bonanza ein!

Why stuff looks funny on Netflix

Recently the interwebs have been ablaze with outrage over the format of some videos seen on Netflix.  The site What Netflix Does kicked it off.  Kudos to the person behind for taking the time to make the site.  Many seemed to think that Netflix was manipulating the video for some unknown reason.

While the idea of a secret conspiracy is appealing, there’s nothing secret going on here.  As someone who’s spent a career in media companies and helped with the process of getting content to distribution partners, I can explain exactly what’s going on.
 
Here’s how the Internet thinks things work:
 
Media Company Staff #1:  The people in affiliate sales cut another deal with Netflix to show more of our stuff.
 
Media Company Staff #2:  Awesome.  Let’s make sure we provide the absolute best quality versions possible. Cost is no object! Those viewers at home deserve only the absolute best!
 
Media Company Staff #1:  I agree.  Let’s spend a lot of time and money getting this right.
 
How things actually work:
 
Media Company Staff #1:  The people in affiliate sales cut another deal with Netflix to show more of our stuff.
 
Media Company Staff #2:  Dammit! We are already overloaded with other deals and are understaffed. What do we have ready to go that doesn’t cost anything?
 
Media Company Staff #1:  Well, I think we have an up-scaled PAL version with pan & scan?  The audio is just stereo, but it’s ready to go.  Don’t cost nuthin’.
 
Media Company Staff #2: Not even HD? Well, the viewers won’t notice and we’re too busy to give a shit.  Ship it.
 
Yes, I know it sounds bad, but it’s very close to the truth.
 
The world of TV and film technology is full of subtle variations in aspect ratio, frame rate, color space, edits, and many other geeky ways.  To suit all the various traditional distributors of TV and film, studios end up with multiple versions.
 
Everyone has a different point of view on how best to display 2.35 or 1.78 ratio films on a 16×9 television screen.  Don’t forget that for YEARS studios made cropped ‘Full Screen’ versions of wide screen films on DVD because many consumers hated letter box versions.  Not everyone is an aspect ration perfectionist.  In addition to aspect ratios, there are different video edits, text languages, and caption & subtitle tracks to boot.  Literally hundreds of versions of each film.
 
Since traditional media deals are still so ridiculously profitable, the studios are happy to meet the whims of the traditional distributors.  Better yet, in these circles, there are even some standards that are industry-wide making the same versions usable by many.
 
In the wild west of digital media however, everyone is a delicate, unique snowflake and there are basically no standards.  No major digital media distributor has the same delivery specification.  Each has their own blend of metadata, graphics, and video standards.  This is a high pain in the ass.
 
So the media companies have built (or in many cases, rent) digital factories that you stick a digital master in on one end, turn the selector knob, push go, and out squirts the proper delivery package.
 
These digital factories aren’t cheap to run and the digital media deals are not nearly as lucrative as the traditional ones.  Billions vs. millions.
 
Making a new ‘digital master’ can be a very costly proposition.  Going from the highest resolution version in an uncompressed file or on a HDCAM SR tape is a nontrivial task.  Multiple layers of expensive eyes, quality controls, and other fun geekery costs a lot of money.  Spending a lot of money is not what the media studios want to do when it comes to fulfilling deals with digital distribution companies.  Billions vs. millions.
 
What this leads to is the poor souls responsible for fulfilling the deals & getting packages out the door choosing to use whatever digital master they have available, regardless of whether it’s the ‘best’ quality or not.  So if a traditional distribution deal led to the creation of a digital master, it will be used.  Even if it’s a 4×3 pan & scan version of a film or show that was made in 16×9.  I’m not saying this is right, it is simply the way it is.
 
Bringing this back to Netflix, you can see that they are at the mercy of the media companies as to the version of ‘digital master’ that they get.  Sure, Netflix could try to reject everything, but in reality this would slow everything down, and prevent films getting changed into the 100+ versions Netflix needs make them available to viewers at home.  “Best get something online even if it’s not great, rather than not have it available.”
 
When you start comparing international versions, the problem is even more amplified as the language and country edits create even more variation and lack of a ‘one true standard version’.
 
Yes, it’s not how things should work.  Yes, you want as good as a version as possible.  But this is the reality of digital distribution today.
 
If you really want the best possible version, go buy the Blu-Ray.  Those versions are as good as it gets and have received by far, the most tender loving care of anything you can put in front of your eyeballs at home.  Anything that streams online is going to be a compromise.  Likely things will change in the future, but for now, don’t be surprised to see the kinds of things continue for a while.
 
The person behind What Netflix Does is right that there is a big issue, but the majority of blame doesn’t lie with Netflix, it lies firmly with the studios.
 
If you have questions, let me know. ;)
 

What Silicon Valley can learn from NBC and the Olympics

The 2012 London Olympics are over and in this age of instant global communications and mobile computing, the time delayed, traditional television broadcast of the Olympics on NBC has the best ratings ever.  This flies in the face of all the “old media is dead” prognostications.  How could this have just happened? What can Silicon Valley and the puzzled VC crowd takeaway from this?

Huge amounts of people watch traditional television and like it.  – The producer of the NBC Olympics was the producer of the Today show. NBC wanted the Olympics to have all the insipid commentary, celebrity focus, and stories of hard struggle that fill morning television.  All the stuff people hated on Twitter?  Yeah, America ate that up and asked for second helpings.  Averaging over 31 million television viewers a night and serving up almost 160 million video streams, the audience was monstrous. The echo chamber of cable cutters and tech pundits is small. The experience of the web saavy and cutting edge viewers is not shared by the vast majority.

Takeaway – Take a good hard look at the reality of what’s popular in America, not in your social graph.

Hashtags aren’t magic bullets. –  All the twitter fury in the world about #nbcfail, and NBC didn’t change a thing.  Their reward?  Highest ratings ever and huge profits.  Sure it was enjoyable reading people trying to make the wittiest post, but even a Tweetstorm of that magnitude had little effect on the vast majority of the television audience who kept watching. NBC pushed out a one paragraph quote to dampen the whole thing and never addressed it again.  Even with strikingly bad decisions to cut swathes out of opening and closing ceremonies, inane commentary, and bad promo coordination, NBC simply marched onwards according to plan and is reaping huge benefits such as high ratings and ad revenue, extreme promotion of other NBC shows, and validation of it’s deal with cable and satellite companies to paywall the video streams, all from sticking to plan.

Takeaway – Social media can hurt smaller brands to a degree, but large brands can still shake it off like water on a dog after a bath. Yes, social media can still highlight truly outrageous behavior and push change, but it’s not as effective for fixing all grievances.

Traditional media companies are learning to use the Internet. – NBC made every event available online and in realtime, on the web and on most mobile devices.  Yes, it was awkward and difficult to use. Yes, the authentication was shaky.  Yes, you couldn’t buy it ala carte.  Yes, the commentary was missing.   Yes, the BBC did it much better.  But the fact is that they pulled it off.  It only gets better from here.  Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare.  They are a couple revs away from the being as good as the beloved HBOGo system. The people inside the big media studios are well funded, take a long view, and have the most to lose by getting disrupted.  They are going to cannibalize themselves and ride though the disruption at this pace while the distribution companies have a war for viewers.

Takeaway – Traditional media will continue to improve slowly and continuously, so expecting them to stand still is a mistake.

People want new options for distribution, but the same content that they enjoy now. – No question that even traditional television viewers wanted more options to watch the Olympics.  The content is what they want and they are loyal to it. It is the distribution providers that don’t allow or offer them what they want that put their undies in a bunch.  People are willing to pay for content. Not everything has to be free.  Find ways to work with the major media studios instead of against them. For new, disruptive companies and viewers at home, the common enemies are the companies with strangleholds on distribution.

Takeaway – Technology solves distribution issues, not content issues.

Access to good content is critical to success in the online video business – Viewers are not going to give up sports, news, and high production value film and TV simply because VCs like the business model of YouTube content better.  Trying to bend an industry to a technology is tough to do.  It was only done by Apple after file sharing literally crushed the music industry. Steve Jobs walked in and set up camp on the rubble.  Television has not suffered the same fate and like Stalingrad is hunkered down for the long siege.   New businesses need to walk up the gates and see how to work with the defenders, not against them.

Takeaway – Understanding the world of media rights and licensing is crucial to building a disruptive business.

There is plenty of opportunity for new ideas and businesses to be successful in the digital media marketplace, but it would be a mistake to underestimate the incumbent media giants or to overestimate the change of pace of viewer behavior.  Innovators and investors need to balance vision with reality and learn from the existing world of television rather than mock it.  The Olympics show the huge power of the current media ecosystem, and expecting it to fall over anytime soon is a miscalculation.  Real innovation and new products that appeal to the mass audience are needed, not subtle variations that can be adopted by the current players.

The quick fix is the wrong fix

I was out on my bike ride today and stopped for a coffee.  I checked the Twitters, as you do, and saw a tweet by my friend Glenn.  I made a quick reply.

To which Glenn shot back:

That’s too much to reply back to on my phone via Twitter, so now that I’m home, so I can be clear and a little more verbose about why we don’t want the FCC getting into the business of content on the internet.  They’ve done a poor job on broadcast TV, so giving such a politicized group even more control is a bad idea.

Let’s be clear on the differences between over the air, broadcast television and internet video.

In the United States, the public owns the electromagnetic spectrum.  We’ve decided to license that spectrum for various uses, including to private companies for television broadcasting.  Part of the deal is that these licensors provide their service for free to people in their area and act “in the public good”.  It’s a little more complicated than that, but basically we get over the air television (OTA) for free because the airwaves belong to us.  We have the right to record this television, store it, and watch it wherever we want on any device we want.  The media companies don’t want this to be so, but the courts have ruled this way consistently.

The internet is a different story.  The internet is mainly a collection of private networks that are joined together with peering agreement to enable the global connectivity we all enjoy.  In the US, the FCC partially regulates internet access companies, because in many cases the companies enjoy monopoly or duopoly status due to their heritage as cable television and telephone companies and their agreements with local governments (the cable franchise boards Glenn mentions) that allow tearing up streets, easements, and string lines overhead.  But the internet does not belong to the public.  The public doesn’t own the Olympics either.

To force the television broadcasters to stream their content over the internet for free is wrong because we don’t own the internet or the content being shown, all we own is the radio spectrum.  The intent of the ‘public airwaves’ is that we get what the airwaves are used for free.  Expecting otherwise with like saying “I get free water from the fountain at the public park, so I should get free soda at McDonald’s.”  They are two completely different situations and the public’s rights are considerably different.

The FCC net neutrality discussion should be focused on access, not content control.

What combined broadband/media distribution companies would love to put in place is pricing based on KINDS of internet sites you visit.  Nothing would make them happier than to be allowed to charge a premium to visit Netflix and Hulu.  The ramifications of this would terribly restrict competition, innovation, and freedom of speech. THIS is what net neutrality should aim to prevent.

I don’t have a problem with broadband providers charging more for excessive usage or higher speeds.  Sure it sucks, but it’s my choice of what speed/amount of access I want.  Just don’t restrict my access to anywhere on the internet I want to go.  Just like I have a choice of what car I want to buy at widely varied prices and buy whatever gasoline I want, I expect to drive my car on any road I want.

To ask the FCC to start meddling in how media companies deal with the internet and forcing them to do things because of over the air television paradigms is misguided.  Enshrining government intervention into the rapidly evolving digital media marketplace is a sure way to stifle innovation and avoid competition.

Already you see things like Aereo popping up to disrupt the control that OTA broadcasters have on television online.  Let’s let innovation solve these problems, not politicians.

Yes, it sucks that much of the digital Olympics coverage is behind a paywall.  But we all have many options from using an antenna to having a UK based VPN to paying for cable/satellite to relying on pirate retransmissions.  If NBC makes bad choices in how they serve the public online, they will pay for it in the long run as the marketplace walks away from them.

NBC paid for the rights to broadcast the Olympics. Anyone with the cash could have outbid them, with or without a OTA outlet. Compare it to DirecTV, who pays a huge amount for exclusive rights to the NFL games, preventing digital distribution by NBC, CBS, and FOX (the OTA broadcasters). Should the FCC force DirecTV to allow NFL games to be streamed for free as well, just because they air on local stations?  How far down this rabbit hole do you want to go?

Again, I’m not trying to defend NBC, just to point out that the answer to this kind of problem is not to legislate it away.  Just like any trouble on the internet, the answer is to route around the damage.

Patience.  Patience my friends, solve your own problems, and you will get what you want in the end.

“The future is here, it’s just not evenly distributed.” – William Gibson

 

What comes next

Discussion on the interwebs about the much desired HBO Go has heated up again with the launch of takemymoneyhbo.com.

Longtime readers of FoTV will remember my post on Why HBO won’t sell you HBO Go. Where my basic premise is that the economics just don’t make sense for HBO.

In the twitterverse I got a reply from Zach Seward of Cordcutter where he asks:

“Do you see a future in which HBO’s customers are *both* cable companies and individuals rather than either-or?”

I do see this in the future, but IMHO we have a big transition to go through for both the consumer and the media industrial complex.

The next step will be Over-The-Top (aka OTT) Television. OTT has a few meanings, depending to whom you talk to. Some say OTT is any video delivered via broadband. To me, this a worthless definition. Everything will be delivered via broadband whether Youtube, Netflix, or Facebook videos. A clearer defintion is needed.

To me, OTT is the replication of an existing cable/satellite service with live video, DVR capability, and VOD capability delivers via broadband accross a variety of platforms running applications. The application environment is widespread on smart TVs, Blu-ray players, PS3 and Xbox 360 gamin consoles, and specialty devices like Roku and Apple TV. Imagine being able to have a full cable TV experience via an app downloaded to your XBox 360 without the need for any contract, truck roll, or hardware installation.

Once this type of OTT appears, the real battle over video distribution will take place. There are many things that will need to get worked out as this happens, net neutrality, broadband QoS, keyboard entry via remotes, authentication and localization, and the embrace of OTT across the chasm to the early majority. Describing this is probably a whole blog post in itself.

But once a significant portion of viewers are in the broadband OTT environment, the tipping point will have been reached. (Am I using enough industry consultantese?) At this point, with the majority of issues worked out, the market for a la carte content like HBO Go will be viable and likely available. It will arrive with much wailing ang gnashing of teeth, FUD, and declarations of the ‘end of media’, but it will arrive.

To jump from today’s environment where tech saavy people are constantly called by family to get “the Netflix” working on their Walmart Blu-ray player and have to explain the concept of getting internet access to the living room to people with VCRs still flashing 12:00 is simply a bridge too far.

We needed VCRs to get in place the business deals, consumer understanding, infrastructure to enable DVDs, true a la carte video distribution will require OTT to become more than a minor niche inhabited by enthusiasts.

Yes, I know this doesn’t make people happy to read this.  I understand.  When I got my first  Nokia 3650 in 2002, I knew the future was in the smartphones, but why did they have to suck so much in the beginning?  Ten years later and the world is completely different. We had to step through wireless data improvements, financial transaction models,  application environments, and an upending of the traditional phone carrier relationship to get here. Try to remember that the first iPhone didn’t have 3rd party apps. It took a year of working out the technical details, building backends, and developing business relationships to enable the Apple App Store.  It’s easy to forget all the baby steps it took to get to today’s mobile nirvana.

So to answer Zach’s original question, yes, we’ll get there where media companies have direct relationship with consumers, but it won’t until a lot more blood is shed in the distribution wars, product launches and failures, and endless tweets are typed with clenched fists.

Why HBO won’t sell you HBO Go

Hell hath no fury like a geek scorned, especially when you keep them away from a beloved fantasy show.  With the recent arrival of the second season of Game of Thrones and approaching return of True Blood on HBO, the interwebs of posts and discussions, both requesting that HBO sell HBO Go ‘a la carte’ and explaining how to pirate the shows. This widely circulated article crowns Game of Thrones as the most widely pirated of 2012.

HBO Go looks great, functions well, and has what people want – great content. It’s so great, people are willing to pay for it.  So why can’t you buy HBO Go without paying for cable?

Y U NO SELL HBO GOTo understand why you can’t buy HBO Go a la carte, you first need to see things from HBO’s point of view.  When HBO thinks about what their product is and who their customer is, it’s very different than what you might imagine.  HBO’s product is not viewers or ratings and it’s not good television programming.

HBO’s product is cable subscriptions.  HBO’s primary purpose is to get people to sign up for cable and satellite subscriptions.  That is where they make a huge majority of their revenue and the core basis of their fiscal planning and success.

This has been going on a while.  When the Sopranos was popular, there were entire billboard campaigns advertising to subscribe to cable to be able to watch the show.  And it was very, very successful.  Seeing that this kind of Emmy winning programming was able to directly drive cable company results, the game changed for HBO.

Pouring more money into making great shows, they made themselves viewed as an essential channel, able to command much more money from the cable and satellite distributors.

HBO’s customer is not the viewer at home or advertising agencies.

HBO’s customers are the cable and satellite companies.  The same companies that ‘cable cutters’ are trying to get away from are the ones that HBO sees as it’s primary customer.

And why wouldn’t you want them as your customer?  They pay billions of dollars, are willing to sign 8-10 year contracts, and help market your brand.

As well written, passionate, threatening, pleading, and angry as postings on the internet are, they simply can’t compare to the cold hard cash and spreadsheets that drive HBO’s decision to use HBO Go to drive cable subscriptions and not direct revenue.

They are not alone in this.  The entire TV Everywhere ecosystem is being built to help try to buttress and reinforce the value of paying for a cable or satellite subscription.  Many different networks and channels are signing on to the plan, because of the same fact of who their primary customer is currently.

Yes, you don’t pay now and will just pirate the show instead of paying for it and that’s lost revenue to HBO.  Yes, but looking at the scale of possible conversions to paying a la carte versus angering the cable companies, it’s a no brainer to ignore the loss to downloading.

Yes, the internet is changing distribution models and the current system can’t last. Yes, but as long at the billions flow and the executives involved are rewarded for revenue numbers and not innovation, don’t expect change in the existing model.

Yes, it’s pissing you off and you’re shaking your fist at the stupidity.  Yes, but when the distribution wars start in earnest and over-the-top television begins to crack the models of the existing distribution system, the future becomes unpredictable and who knows what’s going to be the winning paradigm.

But until the glorious future arrives, HBO will keep their content behind the walls of the cable and satellite companies, reaping huge profits and ensuring an endless stream of frustrated blog posts, angry tweets, and busy bittorrent trackers.

Game of Thrones torrents

What is Netflix doing talking to cable companies?

Across the interwebs, people are rolling their eyes as they read the Netflix is in discussions with cable companies to bundle services. The ‘cable cutter’ community is near apoplectic over this.

luke_nooo

The reality is that Netflix is positioning themselves for the long game here.

Remember, Netflix is most interested in Netflix’s survival and profits. They are not focused on your hatred of the cable companies.

Revenue – With cable and satellite penetration well over 80% in the US, we are looking at over 100 million households paying a monthly fee for entertainment. Netflix would like to get a slice of those customer’s money. When you multiply any revenue number by millions, the result is big. By bundling with cable companies, Netflix gets the possibility of vastly increased revenues by tapping into these traditional viewers and exposing them to the Netflix service. Getting the ‘late majority’ and ‘laggards’ to see and learn about the Netflix service is a huge benefit to Netflix.

Content distribution – Netflix has been looking into creating it’s own content, like Hulu and Amazon, to bolster it’s attractiveness to viewers. Creating good television content ain’t cheap, so Netflix is going to want maximize the demand for it to get a good return on their investment. The more people that get a chance watch their shows, the more likely they are to get a bonafide hit. Getting a hit that is Netflix-only would be huge. When the Sopranos was airing, HBO created entire campaigns to drive cable subscriptions and package upgrades simply on the desire of viewers not to miss the show. If Netflix can get enough eyeballs on good content they make, the have a good chance to significantly increase subscribers.

Net Neutrality – The situation in the US is bit strange considering the that major providers of broadband are also the major providers of television programming. We see this surface in the debate known as ‘net neutrality’. The broadband providers don’t want consumers to be able to get content without having to subscribe to their programming service. Over The Top type services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and Apple need the broadband pipes to stay open and unmetered. If Netflix can strike agreements with the cable companies that control broadband, they can protect themselves from being frozen out in a broadband toll situation.

world-domination

Again, Netflix is aiming to be in every home, whether they be tech enthusiasts or not. What better way to get into people’s homes than to be invited in by the cable company that is already there. While Netflix would love to eventually love to supplant cable & satellite as primary in the home, they are happy to form a temporary alliance if it fits their long term goals. To paraphrase Machiavelli, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

A quick take on Aereo

Recently, a new company called Aereo was announced. Backed by Barry Diller’s IAC group, the company has sound funding and will launch in New York City.

Basically, it allows NYC viewers to watch over the air television wherever they want ala Slingbox and wherever they want ala DVR.

The legal basis for the service is fairly clear. The courts have ruled that people can watch television they are entitled to watch, like off-air TV, when they want, wherever they want to. This is called timeshifting or placeshifting. Extensive use of DVRs and Slingbox devices are all based on these rulings.  Keeping the recording “in the cloud” is has also been ruled on before. Known as a Network DVR, the idea that a service provider can store a television recording on your behalf as long as you are legally entitled to it was made clear in the Cablevision case.

So the two main features of the service are perfectly valid as long as one small point of fact is ensured. A user of these services needs to be legally entitled to view them. In the case of a NYC resident viewing NYC off air television, all this means is proving they live in New York City.

This is where that tiny antenna comes into play. Now my formal training in antenna theory was about 20 years ago, but I don’t think physics has changed too much since then, so I think I’m safe to say that a thumb sized antenna will get exceedingly poor reception of HD UHF channels. Especially in NYC where the problems with multi-path are legendary. But in this case, that’s OK.

My guess is that all the antenna has to do be able to show that the person using Aereo can actually receive a TV signal from NYC stations. All they need is proof that the viewer’s antenna is physically in the NYC area and the rest is easy. Even if the antenna is rented (like a satellite receiver or cable set-top box), the legal precedent applies.  Aereo is able to create the legal fiction necessary to fall within the confines of the previous rulings.

This legal argument is quite different than the one attempted by Ivi to provide a similar product.  Aereo is completely avoiding the rules of retransmission consent and must carry since they are not a cable company.  Positioned as a personal service based on the rental of an antenna, it’s legally more similar to apartment renters paying to share a common antenna on top of a building.  No one would suggest that renters in an apartment are not allowed to record their TV shows because they share an antenna.

saleve from my room

I’m speculating here that the Aereo folks put up some very nice UHF antennas to pull down all the channels cleanly. Maybe they use a large array of small antennas to get the same result. Next, they convert the baseband video into a streaming video feed that they can rebroadcast over the internet to validated customers. This is fairly trivial stuff today. Next, they built a system that records every TV show that airs on each channel. Again, not hard to do these days.

When a viewer tells Aereo that they want to record/DVR a show, all Aereo does is make a note that a particular viewer has access to that particular show. The key point being that the viewer is requesting the show first. The playback technology is the same as what Netflix, Hulu, and others use. Again, not rocket science.

Slap a billing system, authentication, a channel guide front end in place, build an iPad app, and you have Aereo.

The platform is perfect to make beachhead in the Over The Top marketplace so that the addition of cable channels becomes a trivial expansion. $12 for local TV channels, $30 for local TV plus basic cable will be the next likely step.

I have to say, it’s a smart plan.

The studio and cable attorneys are likely trying to come up with some justification for a court order to stop, but the Aereo and IAC attorneys probably have the rebuttal justifications already written citing all the precedents that allow it.  They likely have more attorneys on staff than engineers at this point.

Moving to another city is fairly easy. Install another set of antennas in a new town, backhaul the feeds to a central data center, and immediately they can bring up another city without any truck rolls, set top boxes, or even offices in that city. DirecTV did a similar thing when they began to offer local channels, by building these exact type of antenna and backhaul systems.  Avoiding all the infrastructure costs that cable and satellite providers carry when adding customers will be key to offering a comparable, but lower cost product.

All of the basic technology has been tested and proven by others and Aereo is putting it together in a new way that is scalable, low cost, and in the long run, profitable.

When it comes to Los Angeles, I’m definitely giving it a try.