TV viewing apps increase usage, continue to increase offerings
Using an app to view TV shows, especially if you subscribe to a cable service, has been growing over the past year.
For example, more Comcast subscribers have been downloading the year-old Xfinity TV Go app to see more channels and to use them with more Wi-Fi spots around the area.
Comcast, which has its Midwest headquarters in Schaumburg, said this week that its TV Go app has increased its offerings to about 70 channels, about double what it had a year ago. Also, the average viewer is watching more than 7 hours per month on the app, up about 40 percent from the same time last year, said company spokesman Jack Segal.
Comcast isn't the only TV service that offers such an app. AT&T's U-verse also has several apps, including one for TV viewing on your device. The U-verse TV app allows customers to schedule DVR recordings and watch hit TV shows live or On Demand on more than 30 mobile devices.
The AT&T U-verse Mobile app gives U-verse subscribers the ability to download and watch TV content on their iPhone. It's also an integrated app, that allows subscribers to manage their DVR, download and watch select shows.
AT&T customers can log in to Uverse.com to watch more than 350,000 TV shows, movies, sports, and more than 180 channels of live TV. Customers can manage their DVR; update their account, view listings and more. U-verse subscribers do not have to pay an extra fee to use the app. Once downloaded, they can tap the live TV button to watch what's on now. Or they can select from a library of TV shows and movies by selecting On Demand.
"The goal is to deliver U-verse entertainment to customers on their terms, wherever they are and whenever they want it," said AT&T spokesman Jim Kimberly. AT&T has its Midwest headquarters in Hoffman Estates.
As for Comcast, the TV Go app is available for Android and Apple devices and already has been downloaded more than 11 million times, Segal said.
The Comcast On Demand content and the take-it-with-you app helps customers watch even when they're not connected to the Internet. Some of the recently added channels include AMC, BBC America, FOX Deportes, MoviePlex, Showtime, Univision Deportes and The Weather Channel.
After you download the TV Go app, here's how it works: Log in with your Comcast user name and password and then choose one of the menu options along the bottom of the screen. Select live to watch live TV. The guide will appear and you can scroll through it like you would on your home TV. Select TV series, movies or networks to look for on demand content available for streaming on the go.
"Our Xfinity Wi-Fi network includes more than 750,000 hot spots in the region and 8 million in locations nationally," Segal said. "That makes it easy for customers to use Xfinity TV Go and all of our other apps when they're on the go."
Surfing: Rolling Meadows-based Rational, a specialty cooking appliance manufacturer, said its ClubRational has reached 65,000 members worldwide. The portal and its app are for professional chefs. It offers recipes from various categories and videos with tips on preparing a wide range of popular dishes. Club members also mainly use the platform to download the free software updates for their Rational appliances.
• Teaneck, New Jersey-based Cognizant Technology has awarded $44,000 to two Elgin organizations as part of its 2015 Making the Future education initiative. Designed to inspire interest in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, education among students from grade school through high school, the initiative supports hands-on learning opportunities that promote creativity, problem-solving, collaboration and self-expression. Girlstart received $25,000 and Workshop 88 received $19,000. They were part of 34 national grantees in the program.
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