Online VOD services such as YouTube and VUDU have been getting quite a lot of attention in recent years, representing as they do, one more aspect of the online video juggernaut that seems poised to run roughshod over traditional subscription TV services, but according to the NPD, it might be too early to rule out the old guard. The NPD's VideoWatch VOD report for H1 2012 reveals that nearly half of all paid VOD rentals are ordered through the traditional cable companies with Comcast leading the charge. In fact, of the top 5 leading VOD providers the only online provider is iTunes, a provider that arguably has more in common with the cable, satellite, and telco old guard than with the mass of online upstarts. The report highlights the fact that there is a great deal of room to grow in the market for online VOD providers, but it also underscores the entrenched forces that stand in the way.

According to The NPD Group, a leading market research company, although renting movies through Internet video on demand (iVOD) is making inroads with a small but growing group of consumers, cable companies are consumers’ first choice when they order on-demand movies on a per-use basis. Led by Comcast in the first half of 2012, 48 percent of all paid video-on-demand (VOD) movie rentals were generated from cable VOD. 

NPD Group

You Tube has been very busy over the last year. In addition to building out their VOD offerings by striking deals with studios such as Paramount or engaging the movie studios in special deals as the company has done with Digital HD initiative with Fox that brought Prometheus to YouTube two weeks before it was released on DVD or Blu-ray, You Tube has been looking to build out and highlight their original content. The site received a UI makeover late last year to concentrate content into channels as part of a plan that saw YouTube pledging hundreds of millions of dollars to establishing and promoting original, professional. longish-form content on the site. The jury may be out on whether those efforts have helped YouTube's bottom line, but the program has definitely been successful in elevating the profile of content creators on YouTube as evidenced by the recent announcement that Recipe Rehab, a show on the Everyday Health YouTube channel will become a syndicated show broadcast on ABC networks. The announcement also highlights the growing bonds between YouTube and ABC's parent company, Disney, an early partner in the development of original programming intended to cross-pollinate the web and traditional broadcast networks.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Recipe Rehab, a show from Everyday Health's YouTube channel, will grow from a web-only series into a full, 30-minute syndicated show that will be broadcast on ABC networks. This marks the first time a show that is part of YouTube's original channel program has been picked up by a broadcast TV network — a move that certainly helps validate YouTube's position of pushing professional, premium content.

The Verge

TiVo has established a brand that is virtually synonymous with DVRs, but has always struggled to capitalize on that brand recognition with consumers. Fortunately, the company has not only built up brand cachet, but also a sizable patent portfolio, and that patent portfolio has been quite useful. In the last couple of years TiVo has forced some big companies to settle patent infringement lawsuits. Last year it was $500M from DISH/Echostar and then another $215M from AT&T. This week, TiVo forced Verizon to cough up some cash. Verizon settled with TiVo for $250.4M. As with the AT&T and DISH/Echostar settlements, there is also a whole lot of patent cross-licensing and marketing agreements bundled in with the settlement, so the possiblity of some Verizon-Redbox love coming to TiVo at some point definitely should not be too surprising. At the same time, be on the lookout for further settlement news as TiVo's continued success has got to be making companies still facing lawsuits from TiVo such as Motorola and Cisco nervous.

TiVo announced today that Verizon will pay it a total of $250.4 million in compensation through July 2018 in order to settle an ongoing patent dispute between the two companies. The companies will also be looking at future combined distribution of streaming video services through Redbox, of which Verizon has a key stake, and TiVo’s DVRs.

Few types of content bring in the 13-24 male demographic quite as consistently as professional wrestling, and in the world of pro wrestling, the WWE is the brand that rules the ring. Generations of young American males have grown out of professional wrestling, unaware that the "sport" continued with a new audience. The WWE is hoping to bring some of that perennial cachet online by signing an exclusive deal with Hulu to bring WWE programming to Hulu Plus the day after it airs on various cable networks. The WWE has made archive material available through Hulu for a while, but this deal marks a major push for the WWE into digital distribution. It's also reasonable to assume Hulu is looking forward to being a part of that push, particularly given the large video game console cross-over audience the company can look forward to tapping into.

Beginning today, subscribers of Hulu's paid service will be able to watch WWE's roster of shows that currently includes WWE's "Monday Night Raw," "Friday Night SmackDown," "WWE NXT," "WWE Superstars," "WWE Main Event" and "WWE en Espanol." Deal could eventually include "WWE Saturday Morning Slam," which recently began airing on the CW's new Vortexx-branded kids programming block, produced by Saban Brands.

Variety

The Ceton Companion app hasn't been out for that long, but it must have seemed like an eternity for NOOK users watching with envy while everyone else enjoyed managing their Windows Media Center lineups and discovering upcoming premiers from the convenient interface. Fortunately for them the wait is now over (along with some other things like iPhone 5 support) with the $5 app available in the B&N app store.

Now if only Microsoft could get their act together and certify the WP7 version that let's me use a password .

Have you wondered what you can do next as a Home Server? Trying to find the next option and still have backups and all your data in one location? Windows 8 has a bunch of features built into the OS without having to buy the Server version. Our friends over at We Got Server have a very useful guide on how to use Windows 8 as a Home Server. Even if you haven't thought about it you should head over and check it out, it made me think of some good options and possibilities.

I've been looking forward to Roku's Streaming Stick since they first mentioned it back at CES. Of course the specifics around pricing and how long we'd have to wait were unknown, but today that changed a little with Roku announcing that the MHL enabled streamer would be available "soon" at $99. The lack of a clear when is a little disappointing, but for those who like instant gratification VUDU has finally made it's way to the platform - HUZZAH! - and they've updated the mobile application. Who knew that today would be media streamer day , full PRs after the click.

UPDATE: Not sure why this wasn't included in the PR, but the Streaming Stick will support 1080p24 (24p) from VUDU. Unfortunately the current generation boxes don't .