Cable Forum - View Single Post - VOD Linear is old tech

**Hugh** · 14-02-2021, 18:42

From mid last year.

https://www.protocol.com/plex-live-tv-linear-streaming

Quote:

With 24/7 programming, the future of TV looks a lot like its past

Plex is the latest video service to add linear online TV channels, a trend that could accelerate cord cutting.

Plex is bringing back the cable grid. The popular media center app added 80 live TV channels Thursday, complete with a programming guide that will look very familiar to anyone who has ever subscribed to pay TV, albeit with a few key differences: Plex's new live TV service is free to use, and it doesn't feature popular cable channels like CNN, TBS or Lifetime.

Instead, its lineup includes channels like Reuters, Toon Goggles and the Bob Ross Channel. This type of ad-supported linear programming is growing in popularity across the industry; with consumers forced to tighten their belts, it could further contribute to cord cutting and fasten the shift from cable bundles to online video — a future that may, at least to consumers, look very much like the best of TV's past.

Plex has long positioned itself as an app for cord cutters, with free on-demand video and DVR functionality for broadcast TV networks. With its 80 new live TV channels, the company wants to offer its customers an experience that's closer to the lean-back viewing known from traditional pay TV. The Los Gatos-based startup has plans to add another 50 to 100 channels in the coming months.

Quote:

The trend toward 24/7 linear streaming is in part driven by a handful of startups, including Frequency, Wurl and Amagi, that have developed technology to program video assets in a TV-like fashion. While linear streaming channels used to be little more than playlists, they now feature channel IDs, and ad breaks aren't interrupting actors midsentence anymore. The next step will be to marry those linear channels with on-demand assets, allowing viewers who stumble across a certain show to explore the rest of a season. "Linear as a discovery tool to other content is really important," Opeka said.