Tech

Peacock, NBCUniversal’s new video streaming service, now has one fewer of its crown jewels to drive it into homes across the U.S. this summer when it’s rolling out nationwide. That became clear yesterday when International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach and Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe announced that the Tokyo Olympic Games (originally

Multi-territory Asian streamer Viu has struck a new content supply with Singapore’s MediaCorp, and extended its existing three-year-old arrangement with Thailand’s GMM Grammy. Viu enjoyed initial success with carriage of Korean content to a hungry Asian region. It is now diversifying its focus to include more Chinese-language and Thai shows. The GMM Grammy agreement allows

Ad spending is falling off a cliff amid the COVID-19 pandemic — and Facebook and Google, the two heavyweights in digital advertising, are expected to bear the brunt of the downturn in terms of sheer dollars lost. The two internet giants together could see more than $44 billion in worldwide ad revenue evaporate in 2020,

The media and entertainment business was thriving as we entered the new decade in 2020 B.C. (“Before Coronavirus”). All segments — movies, television, mobile video, music, games, esports, immersive (VR and AR), live and experiential entertainment — expanded over the past decade. Massively. To be sure, new platforms like streaming and mobile cannibalized some of

Wild Bunch TV-sold “Albatros,” Turner Latin America’s banner title “Amarres” and REInvent Studios’ globe-trotting “Peacemaker” will feature at a 54 series-strong Buyers Showcase, which launches today March 25 as a backbone of Series Mania’s online Digital Forum, Europe’s first big festival experiment in a virtual marketplace. Also featuring a powerful Co-Pro Pitching lineup, packed by

March 24, 2020 3:45PM PT Classic episodes of “One Day at a Time” are coming to the free TV streaming service Pluto TV, in a special pop-up channel. Pluto TV is launching the new “One Day at a Time” 24-hour streaming channel Tuesday (March 24) at 10 p.m. ET, following the debut of Season 4

YouTube, aiming to reduce strain on internet networks during the coronavirus pandemic, will temporarily serve video in lower-quality standard-definition (SD) format across the globe. However, YouTube users can override the setting — and still watch content in HD formats if available. But by delivering lower bit rates with SD as the default, YouTube and parent

Amazon Music, Facebook, SiriusXM-Pandora, Spotify, Tidal, and YouTube Music announced today that they are contributing to the COVID-19 Relief Fund announced last week by the Recording Academy’s charitable foundation MusiCares to support music industry workers in need. According to the announcement, the fund, which was established with a $2 million donation from the two organizations, has raised

For now, Netflix is not picking up the phone when customers call for help. The company says it currently is providing only live chat and online support globally, citing the surge in support requests and given that customer-service agents working from home. “The COVID-19 crisis has meant that thousands of our customer support agents are

Quarantine and chill: Netflix is seeing unprecedented levels of video streaming, as millions of people are homebound during the COVID-19 outbreak and looking for a diversion. And investors are gaining confidence that Netflix will be one of the few entertainment companies to see gains amid the pandemic. Netflix shares shot up 8.4% on Monday, bucking

Eros Now, the streaming arm of Indian film giant Eros International, is to add an English-language layer as part of a partnership with NBC Universal. The English track is part of the streamer’s soon-to-launch upgrade Eros Now Prime, which will also encompass short video service Quickie. The deal, covering some 2,000 hours of NBCU content,

Twitter said it expects to miss first quarter 2020 financial expectations because of the COVID-19 pandemic, although the company also said the crisis has significantly expanded its average daily user base — with a net gain of 12 million so far in the current period. The social network said it currently expects Q1 revenue to

Things were looking grim for Spanish sports fans heading into the country’s second weekend under a government mandated lockdown, and grimmer still for those with rights to broadcast the nation’s favorite game of football. An early outside-the-box idea materialized when football league La Liga, Banco Santander, Spanish broadcaster Movistar Plus and eSports celebrity Ibai hosted

Bowing to the inevitable, VidCon’s flagship U.S. edition in June has been canceled because of the coronavirus crisis. As recently as last week, VidCon reps said it had remained a go as scheduled for Anaheim, Calif., from June 17-20. But on Monday organizers announced the U.S. confab’s cancellation. “Unfortunately, due to the continued uncertainty surrounding

On Wednesday, Series Mania hosts digital presentations of drama series projects developed during a writing residency attended by 12 writers from France and Israel, whose credits include leading shows like “The Bureau,” “Fauda” and “Braquo.” The week-long residency, initiated by France’s CNC and Israel’s Gesher Multicultural Film Fund, was supervised by Italian scriptwriter Stefano Sardo

With millions of kids cooped up at home, Amazon is opening up free streaming access to more than 40 children’s shows — including its original series — to all customers worldwide. The content, previously available only to Prime Video customers, includes Amazon original series “Just Add Magic,” “Pete the Cat” and “If You Give a

March 23, 2020 8:06AM PT The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit denied the White House’s request for en banc review of a ruling that Donald Trump violated the First Amendment by blocking critics of the president on Twitter. The Trump administration had appealed for a review of the unanimous three-judge ruling by

Over-the-top TV provider FuboTV is getting a lifeline in the form of a proposed merger with virtual entertainment company FaceBank Group. Following the closing of the merger, expected by the end of March, FuboTV will become a wholly owned subsidiary of FaceBank, and FaceBank will be renamed FuboTV Inc. The combined company is expected to

Facebook is contributing its supply of 720,000 respiratory masks to U.S. health care workers and is looking to procure millions of additional masks, joining Apple and others pitching in to provide the protective gear amid critical shortages during the COVID-19 outbreak. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s co-founder and CEO, announced the donation Sunday on the social platform.

Autumn de Wilde, the director of Focus Featres’ “Emma,” flew home to Los Angeles on Thursday night after a London work trip and began a 15-day self-quarantine at a friend’s bungalow. Though not usually a nervous flier nor a germaphobe, de Wilde said she’d had a “stressful” flight because of her anxiety about coronavirus. “I

In the time of “Netflix and quarantine,” more people than ever are looking for the next great TV show to binge-watch. But with literally tens of thousands of titles across multiple streaming services, it’s tough to zero in on the ones you’re most likely to love. Now there’s a new app aiming to offer a

Netflix is squeezing back video bit rates to reduce the strain on bandwidth-stressed networks worldwide, starting in Europe and the U.K. But the company is telling customers in affected regions that, technically speaking, they’ll still be able to stream HD and even Ultra HD content — just that the video will be delivered with lower

Apple is donating several million industrial-grade respirator masks to health care organizations, amid a critical shortage of supplies and equipment needed to respond those affected by the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Tim Cook, the CEO of the tech giant, confirmed Apple’s efforts to help the cause Saturday, saying the supplies would go to providers in

Amazon and Apple are the latest companies to throttle back streaming-video bit rates in Europe, joining an effort to reduce congestion on the region’s internet networks that have become stressed during the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this week, Netflix and YouTube said they were putting measures in place to lower bandwidth usage of their services across

The message to the general public right now is clear: stay at home. As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, Los Angeles has implemented a “safer at home” order, New York mandated that all non-essential businesses keep workers at home and countless public venues have been shut down around the world. Now more than ever, citizens are

Hulu is now giving on-demand subscribers access to the free 24-hour ABC News Live streaming channel, in a bit of corporate synergy under their common parent, Disney. Starting Friday, subscribers to Hulu’s $5.99 monthly ad-supported and $10.99 monthly no-ads plans can access the ABC News Live stream by visiting the “Hulu Picks” section. Hulu With

As the world has been gripped by the coronavirus pandemic and the unprecedented halt to public life, moments of pure joy, however brief, have become even more precious than usual. Perhaps that’s why a series of short videos known as “Vibe Check” — originally posted to TikTok by Brigham Young University senior Daniel Spencer —

Looking to exploit the corornavirus pandemic as a way to grab a quick buck, scammers are increasingly targeting stuck-at-home consumers with offers ranging from fake testing kits to bogus cures as well as soliciting donations to fake charities, according to U.S. government officials. The FCC on Friday warned of a “proliferation of scam phone calls

Finding the look for Netflix’s new four-part series “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker” was something costume designer Karyn Wagner describes as “being in heaven, and a smorgasbord of design.” Set in 1908, the story follows the title character, born Sarah Breedlove and played by Octavia Spencer, who learns about caring

Hello? Welcome to the new owner of Moviefone — whoever that is. Moviefone, the once-popular movie listing service that was left stranded after the Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing of its parent company, has been sold — for the low, low price of just over $1 million. But the identity of the buyer is a question