CBS plans to livestream Super Bowl commercials for the first time

If you've been livestreaming the Super Bowl and missing out on all of those commercials, that's about to change. Variety reports CBS will stream all of the ads during the game in February, so those watching via the internet will be privy to the same quality entertainment each time there's a break in the action. In the past, advertisers have had to choose a streaming option on top of the regular broadcast slots. If you streamed this past February's game, you likely noticed the same handful of commercials on repeat. That's why. This time around, though, CBS is said to be treating all of the ad spots equally and advertisers will have to consider delivering content in both places. The report also indicates that CBS plans to charge a record price for each 30-second spot -- likely more than the $4.5 million NBC commanded this year. What's more, the network won't let companies "opt out" of the livestream either. In recent months, NFL content has made a big splash online with clips on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube alongside Yahoo's plans to stream a regular season game from London.

Disney is toying with selling ESPN as a standalone service like HBO Now

Disney CEO Bob Iger told CNBC’s Squawk Box this morning that ESPN and the company’s other properties might eventually be sold a la carte, but not likely within the next five years.

“Technology is the most disruptive force that so-called traditional media […] is facing,” Iger said. “[But] while the business model may face challenges over the next few years, long term for ESPN […] they’ll be fine.”

Iger said discussion of such a service’s cost “would be conjecture at this point.” Given the amount of administrative and contractual overhead involved in ESPN’s many pots, though, it wouldn’t be cheap. Industry analyst Michael Nathanson projects that in order for the network to maintain its current profit margin, Disney would have to charge at least $36.30 for an a la carte ESPN bundle. By comparison, HBO Now starts at $15 a month

The PGA Tour Gets Its First Over-The-Top Subscription Service

Developed in partnership with MLB Advanced Media, this is the first over-the-top subscription offering from the PGA TOUR, and will include exclusive content that had never before been produced or aired on TV.

The inclusion of this additional content speaks to how a niche subscription service like this can better target the most zealous of fans – meaning, it may have the ability to not just pick up cord cutters who are looking for a different way to tune into the tournament itself, but could convince pay TV subscribers to tack on the subscription service as well.

“Certainly we think that this content will appeal to our core audience. Our sport is unique in that so much competition does not actually make it on to television in that our events are played over four days, with typically over 120 players. This gives us an opportunity to bring the stars of our game to digital platforms, all of which is incremental and complementary to our television products,” he says.

“We also hope that this coverage will appeal to people who prefer to get all of their content on digital platforms and mobile devices. Our goal is to reach as many fans as possible,” Anderson noted.

The new PGA TOUR LIVE subscription service will cost $4.99 per month, and will kick off this Thursday at 7:30 AM ET to provide access to tournament rounds from the Quicken Loans National.

The mobile app will be available today on iTunes, and will feature on-demand highlights and previews until the streams begin on Thursday morning.

Starz Evaluating Direct to Consumer Offering

Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said the premium network is evaluating its own direct-to-consumer offering, but is currently concentrating on its Starz Play TV Everywhere product. - See more here. 

The CEO stated “We certainly see an increased interest; new distributors [are] placing value on premiums, ” Albrecht said of a Starz direct-to-consumer product. “We think that is a good story for Starz. We are evaluating what others are doing; it’s early days, we have yet to see any hard reported data on the benefit of that to brands. That said, I can tell you that a lot of people are interested in distributing Starz. We have the full capability of following in the footsteps of what other premium brands are doing. We are evaluating all of these things on the basis of which ones we think provide the best net benefit to Starz.”

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 A must have app for any cord cutter on android.  I love that it keeps all my services together in a universal watch list. One thing that would be nice: add movies that aren't out yet.

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Why Netflix is spending $5 billion to win the fight for your screens?

Fast Company recently released an article asking its readers why Netflix is spending $5 billion to win the fight for your screens, and showed us just how Netflix plans to do it.  It essentially boils down to providing more original programming.  The streaming giant intends to invest about 10% of its $5 billion on new shows, similar to how it has funded programming like Marco Polo (which cost a whopping $90 million) and the upcoming Marvel series Jessica Jones.  Read more about it at Fast Company.

Amazon sign Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May for new show

Top Gear gurus Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James may have entered into an agreement with Amazon to stream one of the biggest car shows in history.  The program will air for the first time next year, and features a number of other high level producers from the former Top Gear.  The deal ends months of speculation regarding Clarkson's departure from the BBC after 27 years.