Users of Talkspace -- a mobile, Web and text messaging platform for remotely communicating with therapists -- had higher satisfaction than traditional face-to-face therapy, said research from Columbia University clinical psychology doctoral candidate Thomas Hull. The study collected data from 58 Talkspace clients and found the majority reported "significantly greater well-being after 3.86 months of text therapy" than before beginning treatment, he wrote in a paper released Wednesday. It estimated the text therapy service to be one-third the cost of traditional therapy to achieve effective results, and found patient-provider relationships were "comparable to those found in traditional treatment settings."
The market for in-building wireless services is expected to balloon to $16.71 billion by 2020, said research released Friday by MarketsandMarkets. The market currently is $4.83 billion, but the report suggests an increased reliance on mobile data will initiate more demand for in-building wireless services, causing an annual compounded growth rate of 28.1 percent.
An FCC order modifying the HD Carriage Exemption rule will take effect July 23, the FCC said in a public notice Tuesday. The exemption was modified according to a broadly supported compromise proposal from the American Cable Association and NAB (see 1506100063).
As Netflix generated much of the recent noise about ambitions to stream high dynamic range content to consumers this year, Amazon claimed to have become the first “video service” to do so. Amazon Prime subscribers in the U.S. can instantly watch the debut season of the Amazon original series Mozart in the Jungle in HDR through the Amazon Instant Video app on Samsung SUHD TVs at no additional cost, Amazon said in a news release. Having worked to expand Amazon’s offering of 4K movies and TV shows since launching 4K streaming last year, HDR “is the next step,” the company said. Additional titles in HDR and “expanded device compatibility” can be expected this year “as Amazon continues to work with Hollywood studios, technology leaders and global consumer electronics companies to expand the Amazon HDR experience,” it said. Only Samsung, and no other TV brands, figured in Wednesday’s Amazon announcement. Amazon HDR streaming will be available “in the coming weeks” through the Amazon Instant Video app on 2015 LG OLED Ultra HD TVs, LG Electronics said Wednesday. “HDR content promises to further enhance the Ultra HD viewing experience, and Amazon and LG are at the forefront of bringing consumers advanced picture quality by streaming HDR on LG OLED 4K TVs,” said Tim Alessi, LG director-new product development, home entertainment. In TVs, “the expanded range of brightness creates a well-defined image, while maintaining clarity, by producing greater contrast between light and dark images on the screen,” Amazon said on a newly posted FAQs page accompanying Wednesday’s announcement. “Dark parts of the picture contain subtle details that are often invisible with non-HDR screens,” it said in a description. The pilot episode of Red Oaks, another Amazon original series, also is available in HDR, “and many more series and movies will be available in the near future,” the page said.
Amazon made its voice-operated Echo device available to the public for pre-order, the company said in a news release Tuesday. It said the device costs $179.99 and offers a wide variety of services, including hands-free access to news, sports information, weather reports and music. Amazon will begin shipments July 14, it said.
DHX Media -- the producer of such youth programming as Yo Gabba Gabba! and the Degrassi franchise -- will be listed on the Nasdaq starting Tuesday, since its variable voting shares have been approved for trading on the exchange's Global Select Market under the ticker DHXM, DHX said Monday. It said DHX's common and variable shares will continue to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Wireless service provider TruConnect finalized a joint marketing agreement with over-the-top broadband television service YipTV, allowing TruConnect customers to access streaming, live-channel broadcasts from YipTV beginning in Q3, a news release said Friday. The partnership will allow TruConnect to preload YipTV's Android app to its own smartphones and offer the service through mobile hotspots. Both companies have a "common goal" of "reaching millions of multi-lingual consumers -- particularly Spanish-speaking consumers" in the U.S, said the release.
Starz Play was launched on Amazon Fire TV, including Fire TV Stick, said the cable programmer in a news release Friday. The app allows Fire TV users to stream TV shows and movies shown on the Starz network. Starz Play subscribers can also view a live stream of the premium channel on any Mac or PC, said Starz.
Consumers ages 18-35 will account for 65 percent of all over-the-top (OTT) video viewing in Latin America by 2025, said research released Wednesday by The Diffusion Group. It forecast that by the same year, OTT will make up 25 percent of all video viewed in Latin America, creating $8 billion in revenue annually.
Annual revenue generated from the shipment of connected, residential devices is expected to increase nearly tenfold -- from $7.3 billion in 2015 to $67.7 billion -- by 2025, said a report Thursday by Navigant Research. It said barriers could stunt market growth, including "multiple protocols and standards among devices," which Navigant said has contributed to an "interoperability barrier" that could potentially stall device adoption.