“If you’re an opera fan who can’t bring oneself to watch the grand artform on a laptop or tablet screen, the Metropolitan Opera has what it hopes will be another solution,” writes Brian Wise on Monday (7/27) at New York classical radio station WQXR. “The opera house on Monday launched a new channel on Roku, the system that allows you to stream Internet video through your television. The Roku channel is the newest outlet for the Met Opera on Demand, the opera house’s subscription streaming service that presents a trove of 550 performances, including vintage telecasts and recent HD transmissions. The service costs $14.99 a month or $149.99 a year. Roku’s players start at $50. In 2013, the Met launched an iPad app that enables viewers to stream its productions, which can also be beamed to televisions through Apple TV. There hasn’t been an equivalent offering for Android users…. The company has been moving to rebuild its audience base after dramatic dips in ticket sales and donations, leading up to last year’s labor standoff. The company says it recently ended its 2014-15 season with a balanced budget and an erased deficit.”
Posted July 28, 2015
