Tech

Netflix and YouTube are still the leaders of the streaming pack — but they’re finally facing some significant rivals that will start carving into the digital-video pie. The two video giants are expected to continue to be the most-watched video platforms next year, with Netflix remaining No. 1 in the U.S. in terms of time

Facebook and Singapore’s Infocomm Development Authority (IMDA) announced the renewal of the Facebook Creator Lab Singapore for a second season on Tuesday. The partnership renewal was announced on the sidelines of Singapore’s first VidCon Asia Summit conference. The Lab oversees the creation of videos that premiere on Facebook Watch, the video platform that is part

Bloomberg Media is dropping TicToc as the name of its two-year-old social-media news service, rebranding it as “QuickTake by Bloomberg.” The move comes as the media company preps the launch of an over-the-top streaming news channel in 2020, with the new QuickTake group merging its TicToc and longer-form digital video teams for a total staff

Drake, Ed Sheeran Top Spotify’s Decade-End Charts – Variety You will be redirected back to your article in seconds December 2, 2019 8:55PM PT Amid a forest of decade-end statistics posted by Spotify today, Drake and Ed Sheeran hit some notable marks. The full lists appear below, but highlights Drake as the most-streamed artist of

GKids will release the entire Studio Ghibli catalog of animated films for digital purchase for the first time in North America on Dec. 17. The Tokyo-based Studio Ghibli catalog includes best animated film Academy Award winner “Spirited Away” and five other Oscar-nominated titles: “Howl’s Moving Castle,” “The Wind Rises,” “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya,”

December 2, 2019 11:00AM PT Location-based virtual reality (VR) startup Dreamscape has teamed up with DreamWorks Animation to launch a new “How to Train Your Dragons” experience at its flagship Westfield Century City VR center in Los Angeles later this month. The 11-minute “DreamWorks Dragons Flight Academy” experience allows up to 8 participants to hone

YouTube announced a change to its content guidelines that will be more permissive in allowing depictions of violence in video-game content — as long as it’s not the sole focus of a video. Starting on Dec. 2, YouTube said, scripted or simulated violent content found in video games will be treated the same as scripted

December 2, 2019 9:00AM PT “The Baller Alert Show” is headed to iHeartMedia’s iHeartPodcast Network. The pop-culture podcast will air weekly on Mondays, discussing and dissecting entertainment news, opinion and gossip. Closing in on 90 episodes, “The Baller Alert Show” podcast is hosted by Kenny Burns, dubbed the “lifestyle specialist”; Su Solo, an entrepreneur, influencer

Disney is getting into the Cyber Monday deals swing with a special, limited-time offer: You can get the Disney Plus streaming service for $59.99 per year — a $10 discount off the regular $69.99 annual price. The Disney Plus discounted offer for the 12-month plan is available only to customers in the U.S. and Puerto

Laurie Segall spent years at CNN examining the rise of Big Tech. Now she hopes to help people inundated by everything digital to feel a little more flesh and blood. The journalist, who covered tech start-ups and Silicon Valley while at the news outlet, is launching her own production company, Dot Dot Dot, with colleague

December 1, 2019 5:24PM PT Lori Loughlin’s daughter Olivia Jade Giannulli has returned to YouTube after taking a monthslong hiatus following the college admissions scandal, known as Operation Varsity Blues. Giannulli, who has 1.93 million subscribers on YouTube, posted a two-minute video titled “hi again” Sunday explaining her return. “Obviously I’ve been gone for a

Facebook said on Saturday that it had complied with a Singapore government directive issued under the country’s recently enacted “fake news law.” Underneath a posting by the States Times Review, a third party publishing company, the social media giant added a written disclaimer. “(Facebook) is legally required to tell you that the Singapore government says

Singapore media conglomerate mm2 Entertainment is to launch streaming service mPlay Asia. It will focus on Chinese-language short form video and launch from April 2020. At launch, mPlay will focus on four key Chinese-speaking markets – Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Hong Kong – with an addressable audience size of over 40 million. The target audience

Multinational Asian video-streaming operator Viu is to begin carrying factual and lifestyle content from Discovery Networks. Content will be sourced from Discovery, Discovery Asia, Animal Planet, Food Network, TLC, and HGTV. Lifestyle shows include: “Jason Tastes Asia”; “Family Kitchen with Sherson”; and “Cooking for Love.” Reality content includes: “Cake Boss”; “Dr. Pimple Popper”; “90 Day Fiance”; and “Iron Chef Gauntlet.”

Ali Wong may be best known for her standup comedy, and for starring in Netflix’s romcom hit “Always Be My Maybe.” Earlier this year, the comedian participated in a different kind of project: Baobab Studio’s interactive virtual reality (VR) movie “Bonfire,” in which Wong voices the robot sidekick of a stranded intergalactic explorer. To commemorate

November 28, 2019 8:20AM PT It’s an unhappy Thanksgiving for many Facebook and Instagram users: The Facebook-owned apps were both having widespread outages and access problems on Nov. 28. Instagram users are reporting the most trouble accessing the service in Western Europe and the U.K., while Facebook users across the U.S. are reporting outages, according

Hulu is looking to harvest a crop of Black Friday bargain-seekers: The subscription streamer is offering the ad-supported tier to new customers for $1.99 per month for a full year for a limited time. That’s a 66% discount off the regular $5.99 monthly price for Hulu’s entry-level service. The offer is available to new Hulu customers

November 28, 2019 3:39AM PT Amazon Prime Video’s India service has renewed spy thriller series “The Family Man,” created by Raj and DK, via their D2R Films, for a second season. Season one was the most watched Amazon Original in India. Manoj Bajpayee and Priyamani will reprise their roles from the first season. Popular South

Now United, the international pop group formed by “American Idol” creator Simon Fuller, has initiated a search for a new member the Middle East and North Africa. The group, comprised of 14 young artists, each from different countries, was founded with the mission of “supporting emerging music artists globally.” Said Fuller: “Now United is all

November 27, 2019 2:36PM PT As every year, tech companies are once again using Thanksgiving weekend as a way to sell their streaming devices and smart speakers with deep discounts. And since you can use some of these devices to cut the cord, you’ll be able to save even more over time — or spend

November 27, 2019 12:39PM PT Getting your own virtual reality (VR) setup at home used to be costly, requiring not only an expensive headset but also a full-blown gaming PC. Not anymore: The latest generation of all-in-one devices has made VR a lot more affordable, and deep discounts for the holiday season serve as another

UPDATED: Twitter changed course on its plan to purge inactive accounts — telling users it won’t start deleting any accounts until it has developed a way to preserve the accounts of people who have died. On Tuesday, the company said that as of Dec. 11, it will begin notifying users who haven’t logged in within

The snarky bots of “Mystery Science Theater 3000” and their human companion, Jonah Ray, will not be returning for another season on Netflix, Variety has confirmed. Jonah Ray, host of the new “MST3K,” tweeted Tuesday that Netflix had canceled the show, a long-running cult favorite. Netflix confirmed that the series will not return for another

In earnings results posted Wednesday morning, Warner Music Group announced that its recorded-music division saw an annual streaming growth of 22.8% for the financial year ending September 30, 2019. The company saw streaming revenues for the year of $2.13 billion, up from $1.73 billion the previous year. For the fiscal fourth quarter, streaming revenues were

Andy Samberg is set to host and executive produce Quibi’s tiny food competition series “Biggest Little Cook-Off.” In the show, the comedian-actor-singer-writer will oversee a showdown between two top chefs who must battle to create the most delicious single bite of food — like spaghetti and meatballs on a plate the size of a dime

A round-the-clock AwesomenessTV channel will launch on Pluto TV’s U.K. service as the AVOD ramps up internationally. Having been bought by Viacom, Pluto TV has been adding content from its parent group to its lineup. It will roll out AwesomenessTV, also acquired by Viacom, on Dec. 6, said Olivier Jollet, the platform’s managing director for

Specialist streamer Mubi has expanded its India offering by partnering with the country’s leading cinema chain, PVR Cinemas, to launch the cinema-going initiative Mubi Go. Subscribers will receive one complimentary ticket every week to watch a Mubi-selected film at any PVR cinema, via the Mubi Go app that will be available from Friday on the

Diane Nelson, the former president of DC Entertainment who joined Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Quibi as head of content operations less than a year ago, is leaving the mobile subscription video startup. Nelson is the latest high-profile Quibi exec to leave the company recently — with her departure coming less than six months before the company is

November 26, 2019 4:13PM PT Here’s your chance to take advantage of Black Friday without adding to the clutter in your home: A number of streaming services are using the holiday shopping event to promote their fares with deep discounts, giving you a chance to watch movies, or listen to your favorite music or podcasts,

Facebook has acquired Beat Games, the maker of the popular virtual reality (VR) music game “Beat Saber”, the social media giant announced Tuesday. Beat Games will operate as an independent studio under Oculus Studios, and continue to support “Beat Saber” on all existing platforms, according to a blog post penned by Facebook AR/VR director of