Chinese video entertainment platform Bilibili saw its losses deepen in 2020, but they reflected further investment in growth, as Middle Kingdom consumers become increasingly digitally focused. Average monthly active users (MAUs) reached 202 million representing an increase of 55%, compared with 2019. Those paying for use reached 17.9 million, a 103% increase. Bilibili’s total net
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Back in the heyday of Hong Kong movies, the city’s film stars and those groomed by the Hong Kong industry were among the biggest stars in Asia. Now, facing the twin pressures of coronavirus’ impact on productions and performances and, for some, a cold shoulder from mainland Chinese audiences, many Hong Kong stars are becoming
After months of buildup, ViacomCBS next week is set to flip the switch for Paramount Plus — its bulked-up streaming platform engineered to throw bigger elbows in an increasingly crowded market. For now, the pricing won’t change. But this summer, the media conglomerate will lower the entry-level price for Paramount Plus, the new name of
Facebook’s top policy exec said the temporary ban of sharing news links in Australia was a difficult but “legally necessary” step for the social giant to protect itself. And, doing some damage control, the company has pledged to invest at least $1 billion over the next three years in payments to news media companies. The
Kris Lamberson, better known as Faze Swagg, started out as many professional streamers do: playing “Call of Duty” with his friends, and eventually realizing he’s much better at the game than those friends, so he took his skills to the internet. After he injured himself playing sports during his sophomore year of college, he made
The international version of Hulu is here, and it’s prompting Disney’s global buyers to think long and hard about how much of the media giant’s licensed content they can live without. Years after the international industry first began speculating about a global Hulu, Disney has unveiled Star, the ambitious sixth tile on streamer Disney Plus,
Since mid-January, Pelin Distas, Netflix’s director of original content for Turkey, has happily started going back to work in a physical office in Istanbul. It’s still just a temporary base for the streaming giant, which has plans to launch a proper Turkish outpost in the second half of 2021. The new Netflix office “will be
Audible is punching up its scripted comedy podcast lineup with two new shows from Broadway Video: “Hit Job,” a high-concept workplace comedy starring Keke Palmer and “Saturday Night Live” cast member Pete Davidson, and “Hot White Heist,” a queer action comedy featuring “SNL’s” Bowen Yang and directed by Alan Cumming. Broadway Video, which struck a
YouTube is launching a PG version of the internet’s biggest video service. A new “supervised” YouTube account option, rolling out over the next few months, is aimed at parents who feel their tweens or teens have outgrown the walled-garden confines of the YouTube Kids app — but aren’t yet ready for the weird, wide world
Discovery has forged a multi-year strategic partnership with Saudi Telecom’s Intigral media unit for its OTT service Jawwy TV, involving some 4,000 hours of premium on-demand content. Under the deal, seven of Discovery’s linear channels including Discovery Channel, Fatafeat, TLC, Discovery Family, Animal Planet, Discovery Science and Investigation Discovery will air on the Jawwy TV
China has this week imposed its tightest restrictions to date on the publication of original content online via short video and “self-media” accounts, in the latest escalation of its ongoing crackdown on public discourse that strays from the party line. The country’s internet watchdog, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), has issued new regulations requiring
Jeff Blackburn, an Amazon veteran of more than two decades who previously oversaw the Prime Video, Amazon Studios and Amazon Music divisions, is leaving the ecommerce giant. Blackburn, most recently Amazon’s senior VP of business development, took a one-year sabbatical in 2020; the role he would play at the company on his return was unclear.
UPDATED: At its first investor day conference, Snap outlined a bullish future for the Snapchat app — with senior execs saying they expect the company to generate 50% revenue growth over the next several years. On the upbeat forecast, Snap shares popped 11% for the day Tuesday, with the stock closing at an all-time high
McKayla Maroney is evidently impressed with United Talent Agency, having signed in all areas with the representation firm, Variety has learned exclusively. The Olympic gold medalist rose to fame as part of the “fierce five” team of gymnasts to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. When photographed with a hesitant expression after winning
Who blinked in the fight between the Australian government and Facebook? Both sides were able to claim some measure of victory Tuesday, after Facebook said it will restore the ability for users and publishers to share news on its platform Down Under following the government’s agreement to make certain revisions to a pending law that
Maven Media, which runs the publishing businesses of Sports Illustrated and TheStreet, has tapped digital-media veteran Rob Barrett as president of media. Barrett reports to Maven CEO Ross Levinsohn. All of the company’s media brands, including SI and TheStreet, and editorial teams report to Barrett, who will remain based in the New York area. He
Ted Farnsworth, the U.S. financier who set in motion the meteoric rise of MediaPass, and early TikTok investor Jaeson Ma, are behind a pair of moves which could create a new stock market-listed short video empire. Zash Global Media, which is backed by Farnsworth, Ma and Vincent Butta, have agreed plans to acquire Lomotif, a
Facebook has reversed its decision to block the sharing of news content in Australia. “After further discussions with the Australian government, we have come to an agreement that will allow us to support the publishers we choose to, including small and local publishers. We’re restoring news on Facebook in Australia in the coming days,” Campbell
Barack Obama sat down with Bruce Springsteen for a series of wide-ranging conversations that will hit Spotify as an exclusive original podcast — the newest entry in the company’s expanding slate of audio programming. “Renegades: Born in the USA” is an eight-episode podcast featuring the former president and The Boss, who have been friends for
Spotify unveiled plans to launch in 85 new markets over the next few days, areas that represent more than 1 billion potential new listeners, according the company. The company made the announcement Monday at its Stream On event for creators and partners. The 85 new markets — which include Pakistan and Bangladesh — span Asia,
As part of a long presentation called “Stream On,” Spotify announced that it will be introducing a hi-fi option later this year, among other benefits for fans and creators. CEO and cofounder Daniel Ek also said the company paid out $5 billion in royalties in 2020. Ek also mentioned the company be launching in new
Netflix has a new way to get content in front of subscribers: It launched a feature that will automatically download TV shows or movies you might be interested in to your smartphone in based on your preferences and viewing history, so you can watch them in offline mode. The new Downloads For You feature is
The gaming platform Twitch, which has had no shortage of music-copyright problems in recent months, cut off the audio for Metallica’s BlizzCon performance Friday due to legal concerns, replacing it with comically inappropriate instrumental folk music. That the switch came in the middle of “Enter Sandman,” one of the group’s biggest hits, only made the
David Dobrik has roughly 75 million followers across multiple platforms and more than eight billion views on YouTube. But the social media star’s grand ambition is to be the next Jimmy Fallon — and as a stepping stone to get to late-night TV, he built his own podcast studio in his new house. The 24-year-old
Comcast has again delayed a plan to impose data-usage limits on Xfinity Internet broadband customers in its northeast U.S. region — which sparked a backlash from customers and politicos — this time, until sometime in 2022. Originally, the cable giant said it would start enforcing usage caps in 14 states and Washington, D.C., and levying
Quibi winked offline in December, most of its employees have been let go and Roku now owns Quibi’s content library. But Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman’s ill-fated video streamer is still battling a lawsuit trying to extract more than $100 million in damages from the defunct startup — and now, Quibi’s lawyers are suggesting the
Riding a big wave of stay-at-home streaming usage, Roku boosted revenue in the fourth quarter 58%, to a record $649.9 million — and posted a $65.2 million net profit for the quarter, whereas Wall Street had expected a loss. The company already announced last month that it ended 2020 with 51.2 million active accounts, up
Thursday, Feb. 18 Independent label, distributor and publisher EMPIRE has opened a division in the US to help grow the local scene in West Asia and North Africa and its diaspora. To head up the territory, EMPIRE has hired Suhel Nafar (pictured above) as Vice President of Strategy & Market Development. Nafar will be based
Justin Bieber’s Valentine’s Day partnership with TikTok for a full-length live performance “Journals live from the Drew house” drew more than 4 million unique views. The event, which was social media app’s first-ever full-length single-artist live performance, was the most-viewed livestream in TikTok history, according to the company. The livestream, #JournalsLive, marked Bieber’s first performance
Plugging a notable gap in its streaming lineup, Google has added the Apple TV app — the only way to get the Apple TV Plus service — to its newest Chromecast device. Starting Thursday, users with the $50 Chromecast with Google TV adapter will be able to access Apple TV. In addition, the Apple TV