The Smart TV Weekly Digest is a curated collection of the week’s best articles about smart TVs and the future of content.

Netflix’s DVD Spin-Off Plan Further Infuriates Customers
“Netflix is spinning off its DVD-by-mail business into a new brand called Qwikster and running it separately from the streaming business, which will continue to be called Netflix. Qwikster, which will be run by company veteran Andy Rendich, will also now include video game rentals…”

REPORT: Microsoft Is Close To Deals With Comcast And Verizon For Live TV On Xbox
“Since June, Microsoft has been talking about plans to deliver live TV over Xbox Live in the U.S., as it does today with BSkyB in the U.K. But it needs to strike deals with TV providers.Today, Digiday reported that Microsoft is talking to at least two providers for a deal: cable giant Comcast and Verizon…”

Follow tweets about recorded TV shows as if you were watching live, with Rewinder
“…if you watch a show that you’ve recorded, you lose that sense of community as you can’t watch the tweets appear in sync with the show. Rewinder is a new mobile Web app that sets out to solve this by playing tweets back from the time the show went out, as you watch it.”

Cable wins broadband subs as telcos take TV
“In the fight for new subscribers, cable companies are winning on broadband and telecommunications providers are winning over TV viewers according to data from Telegeography. The research firm posted data that shows while telcos are winning subscribers with IPTV, they are losing the war on digital voice and broadband, so their pay TV victory may be a Pyrrhic one…”

Your company is not the next TV Guide, says TV Guide Digital
“Tanner reached out to VentureBeat after we published the story “Fav.Tv ain’t your grandmother’s TV Guide.” We received pitches from about a dozen other companies saying they’re the next TV guide, as well. Tanner says there’s been a rash of startups creating business models around features similar to those TV Guide…”

Hulu hits a million paying subscribers; will invest $375M in new content this year
“Despite an impending sale from its owners who no longer what it, Hulu continues to grow in popularity and revenues. The streaming video service has reaching a million paying customers, reports Reuters…”

CTAM picks ‘iTV Idol’ finalists
“Interactive TV applications from Showtime Networks, The Weather Channel and other technology vendors will be featured during CTAM’s (the Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing) second annual “iTV Idol” competition at its convention next month in New York…”

How Facebook just kicked social TV into high gear
“In a nutshell, once you authorize this new level of sharing within an app, everything you do within that context will appear in the real-time ticker on Facebook. So if you’re watching 30 Rock on the Hulu app — within Facebook — your friends will see that you’re watching in their real-time tickers…”

Dish’s Blockbuster Movie Pass: Streaming, mail and on-demand, $10, Oct 1st
“Today Dish and Blockbuster announced that it is announcing Blockbuster Movie Pass. This is a service that will offer movie streaming, DVD and Blu-ray discs by mail and on-demand movie channels. The service will launch October 1st. The service includes over 100k movies and TV shows by mail with no extra charge for Blu-ray discs…”

TiVo integrates with Facebook
“TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO) is integrating its TV navigation software with Facebook’s social media platform, allowing DVR users to share details about every show they are watching with Facebook friends in real time…”

Social TV Just Got Real With Hulu On Facebook
“…today at F8, Hulu announced the launch of a brand new Facebook app, which endeavors to make the Hulu experience social. How exactly? For Hulu users this means getting to watch the video platform’s content directly within Facebook…”

Online Video Ads Now Reach 50 Percent Of The U.S. Population
“…That’s nearly one ad per person for 80 percent of the entire population of the planet. What’s more video advertising reached 50 percent of the total U.S. population an average of 37.6 times during August, with the total time spend watching video ads totaling more than 2.5 billion minutes last month…”