Cable TV is about to get a run for its money.
Cast by Genii is a sharing system that enables users to select and stream paid content with friends that have the proper device and application. This means a lot for sports fans.
No longer will we all have to meet at Joe’s house on Friday night to catch the Knicks game on his flat screen or drive over to Jen’s apartment to watch the Jets game on Sunday. With Cast, up to six users are able to stream, connect, chat, and video chat through a host on each other’s screen from anywhere around the world. So, while Jen is cooking on Sunday for her family in New Jersey, she is also streaming Sunday football on her IPad, video chatting with five other friends in New York on the screen’s sidebar, watching and enjoying the game in real time.
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A game-changer for this content provider is that only one user needs the necessary subscription to host a streaming party. So hypothetically, only one in every six people owning Cast, needs cable, a network bundle, Netflix, Hulu, or any other subscription.
With appointment viewing, friends can be invited to watch live sports, movies, YouTube videos, or play videogames in the most social form of content streaming to date. Genii’s Co-Founder, Frederic Robert, claims the app operates within the rules of Netflix and other services. “It’s like you’re sitting next to someone on a sofa, but it’s a virtual sofa.” He highlights that Cast is restricted to your “normal circle of a family and acquaintances” and sharing is only prohibited if users are not watching the same thing.
With back lash from many providers, terms of use agreements are up for debate regarding interpretation of how Cast actually functions. Nevertheless, in the world of sports, cable, and media rights, this could be the first big push through the door for cable cutters and those teetering on the edge. Sports fans alike crave a live game like no other. There is nothing worse than missing the game and hearing the highlight the next day. Cast solves that problem with a stroke of a finger, sharing live content on mobile devices around the world.
Unfortunately, for cable providers and networks, if Cast comes out on top, and hypothetically all cable-owning Americans go all in on the device, roughly 83% of cable subscribers could be lost, leaving one of six friends with that black box in their living rooms. This would only be just the beginning of the revolution. With a majority of all professional sports revenues streaming from media rights deals, an entire revenue restructuring would occur leaving ticket sales and sponsorship up for grabs as the two cash cows.
Cast is projected to officially launch this year with a few providers weary of its content strength. Yet, on the user side, fans should be ecstatic about the ability to stream, video chat, and cheer from New York to China, in the comfort of their own homes.