Intel Confirms Plan To Offer Streaming TV Service And Device

The chipmaker will offer live and 7-day catch-up viewing over the net sometime this year to people who buy an Intel streaming device. But this isn’t about receiving cable channels a la carte — or even saving consumers money. “It’s not a value play,” Intel Media corporate VP Erik Huggers said at All Things D’s “D: Dive Into Media” confab. “It is a quality play. We will create a superior experience.” No word about what channels will be available, how much they’ll cost, the name of the service, or precisely when it will be available. But “we will create new bundles,” he says. “We can bring an incredible television experience via the Internet to consumers” where live and catch-up TV “all live in the same paradigm” created by the networks themselves. Intel’s device will include a camera so it can detect who’s watching, and come up with personalized viewing recommendations. The company has been talking to content providers for the last year or so about possible opportunities to offer their programming apart from a cable or satellite subscription. Executives and analysts for the most part have scoffed at the idea that major players would agree to let Intel undermine the highly lucrative pay TV ecosystem.

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