Rebecca Day

The HBO Go app won’t be available on most devices as of July 31, WarnerMedia advised customers in a Wednesday email announcing “important changes." The AT&T company told subscribers they can sign into HBO Max, launched in May (see report, May 28), with provider credentials “just as you did for HBO GO.” Roku and Amazon Fire TV customers lack access to HBO Max through those devices. Those who have provider credentials through an MVPD can sign into Max as they did for Go, WarnerMedia said. Roku is “disappointed that HBO will no longer give consumers access to HBO GO -- and that HBO is taking this action when so many people are at home,” a Roku spokesperson emailed Wednesday. The streaming platform has “asked HBO to reconsider their decision since it only harms the existing HBO consumers who will no longer be able to access their subscription on the device of their choosing,” she said. “Unfortunately they are still planning to shut down HBO GO.” Roku customers can access their HBO subscriptions across the Roku platform, the spokeswoman said, through Comcast, Charter and AT&T TV channels on the Roku platform. They can subscribe directly to HBO on The Roku Channel, she said. Amazon declined to comment. WarnerMedia didn’t respond to questions.

Borrowing a model-year approach from the automotive world, Vizio announced a 2021 lineup Tuesday, which “shipped a little bit late,” a spokesperson told us. The sets don’t support ATSC 3.0; the company is "always evaluating new technologies like ATSC 3.0 that might bring value to our customers,” he said, and has no immediate announcements on support. There's much other tech, however, in the products. Vizio is launching its first OLED TVs this fall, it said, along with a matched sound bar with adaptive height speakers that automatically rotate up when Atmos or DTS:X content is detected, said Chief Technology Officer Bill Baxter. It has Bluetooth and a voice assistant input. The company is pushing advanced features for gamers to coincide with releases of the latest PlayStation and Xbox game systems. Vizio’s ProGaming engine has a variable refresh rate and syncs a game's changing frame rate and the TV's refresh rate, said Philip Kim, associate product marketing manager on a call last week. The engine's faster response time and lower input lag let users respond more precisely, he said. Carlos Angulo, director-product marketing, called its HDR10+ strategy part of ensuring consumers don’t have to “degrade their viewing experience because they don’t have a particular format,” just like the company does with voice assistants. Faster processor performance improves the new lineup’s SmartCast streaming platform experience, said Amanda Cross, senior manager-product marketing. Users can navigate more quickly between apps and scroll faster to discover new content, she said. A recent software performance boost is backward compatible and available for all SmartCast TVs back to 2016. SmartCast users can control their TVs with a smartphone app and by voice using Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri, said Cross. Apple AirPlay 2 and Chromecast built-in users can stream entertainment from a phone, tablet or laptop to the TV.

With more employees working from home now, and possibly beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, home network security is a growing concern, experts told a webinar with cybersecurity company Bitdefender. Nearly 80% of U.S. consumers surveyed by Parks Associates are concerned about a data security break or privacy issues, said analyst Brad Russell. The increasing time households are spending on their Wi-Fi networks heightened home network exposure to phishing attacks, Russell noted. WFH puts the home network “in a completely different spotlight,” said Alex Balan, Bitdefender chief security researcher. Bitdefender is tracking 350 IoT-oriented botnets in its labs that are compromising such smart home devices as routers, power outlets, smart cameras, printers, smart TVs and connected coffee makers. Eventually, all devices in the home will be connected and the number of attacks on home networks will “dramatically expand,” said Balan. Vulnerabilities are present in 90% of the devices Bitdefender analyzes, he said, and are “very difficult to defend against.” Consumers can’t buy anti-virus software “for a smart light bulb or a Roomba,” he said. “You don’t know how to tackle security for your smart devices.” The average broadband household has 22 devices, up from 12-15 two years ago, said Razvan Todor, Bitdefender director-connected home security, and that will keep growing. “We’ve just now become painfully aware that we need to protect them,” ideally from a single point, said Todor. ISPs can help with cybersecurity, while clearing up their networks with fewer distributed denial-of-service attacks, experts said.

Sonos is eliminating 12% of its workforce, said a Wednesday SEC filing. It didn't respond to questions on which departments will be affected. It's also closing its New York retail store and six satellite offices. The store was reportedly damaged during looting in the SoHo neighborhood associated with George Floyd protests last month. CEO Patrick Spence said in a statement "the pandemic and resulting economic impacts have caused us to have to make some hard choices, including reductions to our workforce. ... These changes are necessary in order for us to emerge from this period ready to take advantage of opportunities we see in the future." The board approved a 20% cut to Spence’s base salary July 1-Dec. 31. All directors agreed to forgo their annual cash retainers for that period.

The iPhone as a car fob, facial recognition in HomeKit webcams and an immersive sound experience on AirPods Pro were among the highlights of Apple’s virtual Worldwide Developers Conference keynote Monday launching iOS 14. Speaking from an empty Apple Park in Cupertino, California, CEO Tim Cook opened the event addressing racism, inequality and injustice. Apple announced its transition from Intel processors to its own chips for the Mac, for a common architecture across all Apple products, Cook said. The next major release of the macOS is Big Sur, which includes technologies that will “ensure a smooth and seamless transition to Apple silicon,” he said. The first Big Sur silicon will be available by year-end in what the executive called a two-year transition. Intel-based devices will be available “for years to come” and are “still in the pipeline,” he said. Apple engineers have been building and refining the company’s own SoCs as part of a scalable architecture custom-designed for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, the company noted. IOS 14 added home screen features and widgets designed to make it easier for users to get to apps more quickly. Scaled-down versions of apps, called App Clips, load a small part of an app experience within seconds using near field communication. Apple partnered with Amazon, Google and other companies to define an interoperability standard for the smart home. Any accessory using HomeKit or the new standard will work across all Apple devices, said Yah Yah Cason, software engineer. Cook didn’t mention Sonos. A report suggested Apple might buy the wireless multiroom audio company. Sonos shares closed 18% higher at $14.07. The company didn't comment.

Work- and learning-at-home trends emerging from the pandemic are straining broadband networks not equipped for the extra traffic and ISPs’ ability to support consumers’ swelling Wi-Fi management, cybersecurity and technical support needs, vendors said on panels Wednesday. ISPs contend they're weathering the novel coronavirus and have adapted as necessary. Some 90% of call center employees are now working at home, and the cable industry greatly accelerated self-installations by customers, NCTA CEO Michael Powell told C-SPAN's The Communicators. It has meant about "five to seven years worth of work accelerated into three months," he said. Reflecting on COVID-19 generally, Powell said on the interview now online and to have been televised this weekend that "it's a reminder that nature is extraordinarily bigger than we are" and it's "amoral." Customer care company Sweepr uses remote diagnostics, network knowledge and machine learning to solve technical problems, said CEO Alan Coleman on a Maravedis webinar. The increasing complexity of devices, protocols and services are making it more difficult for customers to navigate issues, resulting in more calls to support centers and “material costs to the bottom line” for ISPs, he said. Voice assistants could help, said Coleman, who believes Alexa and Google Assistant could become more prevalent in customer support than call centers. ISPs have evolved into "begrudgingly perhaps, the responsible party for Wi-Fi even though they don’t run the home network,” said Tyler Craig, vice president-business development at managed Wi-Fi and IoT security platform company Minim. He cited an opportunity for an ISP to become the operator of that environment: “Otherwise they risk getting cut out of the process entirely” and may have to rely on tools from other providers. An April Irdeto study said 97% of consumers in the U.S., U.K., France and Germany are concerned about cybersecurity, and 68-80% said they would be willing to pay for a security solution, said Ronald Peters, product manager-trusted home, on a Parks Associates webinar. Irdeto sees the average number of connected home devices reaching 100 in 2025, meaning more cybersecurity concerns, he noted.

Target CEO Brian Cornell said George Floyd could have been one of his retail employees, speaking on a Thursday National Retail Federation Leadership Series webinar. That was the executive's initial reaction to Floyd's death while under police arrest in Minneapolis, near the company's headquarters. The second reaction was to focus on safety as protests and rioting broke out after video of the killing spread on social media, Cornell said. Management reached out to African-American employees, an effort he began with a Zoom meeting with black officers, followed by another led by Target’s African-American business council that was attended by over 7,000. Cornell cited stories of store leaders that are pulled over by police routinely "for simply being black" as they're driving between stores, jogging or looking for a new home after relocating. The consensus was, "It’s enough. We have to drive change,” he said. The company set up a racial equality task force to determine "the right steps to take." Experts want more action: 2006160038. On business during COVID-19, Cornell said "millions and millions” of Americans learned to shop online during the pandemic. Target had 5 million new online users in Q1 and did $3 billion in sales. The five-year vision of retail’s future has been pulled forward “within a few months,” with new shopping methods accelerated in response to sheltering in place, said NRF CEO Matthew Shay.

Mastercard began tokens for transactions in 12 countries including the U.S., working with companies including Amazon. This replaces a physical credit card number and payment information is unique to each transaction and can be used only by the merchant that requested it, the card issuer said Wednesday. More consumers are saving and managing payment card details across websites, it said: Merchants worldwide use its tokenization technology. A May Mastercard report said more than $53 billion in incremental spending occurred on e-commerce in the U.S. vs. what's typical, due to the pandemic. Consumers “adapted to a new reality,” moving to the internet to acquire goods and services, said the report. The company didn't respond to questions on the token rollout.

Video streaming service stacking is likely to continue near term, after accelerating during the shelter-at-home period for the coronavirus, said industry executives on a Parks Associates webinar. Five million more broadband households have an over-the-top video service now than in Q3, said Parks' Steve Nason. Broadband households with four or more OTT services is up 8 points since Q3 to 25%; customers were more likely during lockdown to look for the “optimal” combination of services to meet their needs, said the analyst Wednesday. Among developments enabling the OTT market to grow were MPEG Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP, faster broadband speeds to the home and incremental improvements in Wi-Fi, said Bart Spriester, Comcast Technology Solutions general manager-content and streaming provider solutions. The streaming industry has “come a long, long way,” said Tom Griffiths, director-technology of U.K.-based ITV. Live content presents a “fundamental challenge” to OTT video “that will probably never be solved,” said Spriester. With traditional broadcast and streaming video converging more from providers, rights management can be challenging.

As fears about COVID-19 moderate as regional reopening began last month, U.S. consumers may spend more on telecom products, Cowen Washington Research emailed investors Monday. It said about 78% of respondents canvassed May 26-30 expect to spend the same or more in coming months vs. 66% in mid-April. It was the third straight survey period in which the number of U.S. consumers expecting to spend less the next month declined. Fifteen percent expect to spend more on cable/internet/phone services, 9% on home entertainment/media and 6% on electronics. The U.S. retail sector could take “years to recover from the impact of the coronavirus,” longer than that after the Great Recession, reported eMarketer Monday, saying total retail sales will drop by 10.5% this year vs. an 8.2% drop in 2009. E-commerce is the only “bright spot,” forecast to jump 18% this year, as Americans rely on Amazon and other e-commerce retailers for necessities. Brick-and-mortar sales will fall 14% to $4.18 trillion in 2020, said eMarketer, predicting it will take up to five years for offline sales to return to pre-pandemic levels. Amazon is expected to grow its e-commerce share to 38% and “extend its reign of dominance,” this year, said eMarketer's Andrew Lipsman. Curbside pickup will push Walmart (5.8%) into the No. 2 e-commerce position for the first time, said the analyst. Along with Target, Best Buy, Home Depot and Costco, Walmart is expected to grow e-commerce sales more than 35% this year.