Tech

WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey told the audience of Recode’s Code Media conference in Los Angeles Monday that Disney “did a good job” with Disney Plus, which announced that it reached 10 million sign-ups the day after the service’s launch. “Good for them,” Stankey said. “They are off to a good start.” However, he also cautioned

The first takes on Google Stadia, the internet giant’s new game-streaming service that debuts Nov. 19, are out. And the consensus is that Stadia is needed more time in the oven before it was served up to the gaming crowd. Google’s big promise with Stadia is that players can access top-tier game titles without a

November 18, 2019 9:47AM PT Lara Logan made a name for herself by reporting from global trouble spots for CBS News. Soon, she will be holding forth on a four-part docuseries for Fox Nation, the Fox News streaming-video service. Logan is expected to present “No Agenda,” which will debut in January on Fox Nation, and

WarnerMedia is building out the leadership of its Innovation Lab: The AT&T-owned media company has hired Jeremy Toeman as vice president, technology and product, and Matthew Davis as vice president, creative. Both will be based in New York and report to WarnerMedia executive vice president Jesse Redniss, who is also the general manager of the

November 18, 2019 6:00AM PT Ad-supported streaming video service Xumo is doubling down on news: Xumo is adding ABC News Live to both its owned-and-operated apps as well as to white-labeled services like LG’s Channels video app in the U.S. and Canada. With Aermicans glued to their TVs for the impeachment hearings, and the 2020

San Francisco-based augmented reality (AR) startup Ubiquity6 publicly launched its Displayland mobile app for iOS and Android Monday, giving everyone the ability to capture objects and places in 3D and share those 3D assets with the app’s other users. The public release follows several months of private beta-testing, and comes ahead of plans to turn

Tubi wants America to know: It has thousands of movies and TV shows available to stream for free — including many titles that aren’t on Netflix. The ad-supported VOD company is launching a new branding campaign that kicks off Monday, Nov. 18, and will run for six weeks. For the campaign, Tubi tapped seven celebs

Eep! After an outcry from “The Simpsons” aficionados, Disney has decided to offer classic episodes of the iconic animated sitcom on Disney Plus in their original 4-by-3 aspect ratio early next year. The streaming service launched Nov. 12 in the U.S., Canada and the Netherlands with the full batch of “Simpsons” episodes in 16-by-9 HD

Verizon has an answer to Roku, but it’s not talking much about it: The mobile carrier quietly released a new streaming device this week that promises to bring services like HBO, Hulu and YouTube to your TV. Dubbed Stream TV, the device is a solid streamer based on Google’s Android TV platform, albeit with a

YouTube star and beauty influencer James Charles is launching a “Project Runway”-style reality competition show — in which he’ll pick one up-and-coming makeup artist as the winner of a $50,000 cash prize. The show, which has the working title “James Charles Instant Influencer,” is slated to debut in the spring of 2020 on Charles’ YouTube

Hulu is implementing its second price increase in less than a year for its Hulu With Live TV product — with the base package of 60-plus live channels increasing 22%, to $54.99 per month. The price hike on the monthly base price of Hulu With Live TV will go into effect Dec. 18 for all

Hulu With Live TV has edged out Dish Network’s Sling TV to take the crown as the biggest virtual pay-television service in the U.S., according to new analyst estimates. They were among the only winners amid the cord-cutting carnage that slashed through the sector in the third quarter. As of the end of the third

November 15, 2019 2:39AM PT Film specialist streaming platform Mubi launched on Friday in India with two channels, Mubi India and Mubi World. The channels are available together for an introductory offer of INR 199 ($2.75) for three months. Thereafter the channels will cost INR 499 ($7) a month or INR 4788 ($66.75) annually. For

Barcroft Studios has been bought by Future in a £23.5 million ($30.1 million) deal. The U.K.-based production outfit specializes in factual fare for channels and platforms, and its own branded channels on the likes of YouTube. Future is a U.K.-listed print and online publishing and events business. Sam Barcroft will stay on as CEO at

Quibi has ordered another show with notable Hollywood talent attached: scripted series “Wireless” starring Tye Sheridan with Steven Soderbergh on board as executive producer. In the made-for-mobile-screens thriller, a smartphone has a central role. Sheridan (“Ready Player One,” “X-Men: Apocalypse”) plays a self-obsessed college student who is stranded in the Colorado mountains after he crashes

Like counts will be disappearing from Instagram all over the world starting this week: The Facebook-owned photo sharing service is extending its test of hiding like counts to all of its territories, Techcrunch was first to report Thursday morning. Instagram began hiding like counts for a subset of its users in Canada this spring, and

Every year, Variety seeks to identify the next generation of leaders in the entertainment business, looking for representatives in the creative community, film, TV, music and digital. This year’s group has a heavy New York focus: We selected executives from forward thinking companies such as Spotify, Group Nine and Endeavor Audio, as well as writers

Verizon Media’s Yahoo Sports is getting into the gambling business with the launch of a new section that lets fans see betting odds for various sports. But for now, only users in New Jersey will be able to place actual bets, through the separate BetMGM platform operated by MGM Resorts International. On Thursday, Yahoo Sports

One of the driving forces behind Facebook’s virtual reality efforts is leaving his post: Oculus CTO John Carmack announced Wednesday afternoon that he was transitioning to a “consulting CTO” role this week, and devote most of his time to new challenges outside of the company. “I will still have a voice in the development work,

Workers in the Magic Kingdom are not getting complimentary access to the new Disney Plus streaming platform, but that lack of a perk isn’t actually unusual. Similarly, Netflix also does not provide employees free access to its streaming services. Meanwhile, Amazon doesn’t give employees comped access to Prime or Prime Video, although it does offer

Rachel Brill is departing Epix to join WarnerMedia’s Bleacher Report as senior VP and general manager of B/R Studio, the digital sports division’s recently formed original programming arm. As head of B/R Studio, Brill is tasked with building a slate of mid- and long-form content aimed at Bleacher Report’s millennial and Gen Z-skewing audience. She

Ayesha Curry — wife, mother, restaurateur, author, executive producer and CoverGirl — literally does it all. Receiving Variety’s Inaugural Tastemaker award at the 2019 Napa Valley Film Festival, the entrepreneur is being recognized for her social impact in combining entertainment, philanthropy and her culinary lifestyle. Curry holds her cookbook — her first step toward a

Anthony and Joseph Russo, who have been key creative members of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, are now bringing a new show to Quibi documenting the decades-long rivalry between Marvel and DC. Quibi, the mobile TV subscription startup founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg, greenlit “Slugfest,” a documentary series executive produced by the Russo Brothers, whose directing credits

To thrive in Silicon Valley, hotels must be up to par, technology-wise. “The Nobu brand marries the east and west to create something entirely new — it’s approachable luxury,” says Andrew Tilley, VP of hotel openings. Nobu Hotel Palo Alto (180 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto, 650-666-3311, nobuhotels.com) is the latest retreat from chef Nobu Matsuhisa,

SiriusXM is doubling down on video: The satellite radio service officially announced a new initiative called SiriusXM Video Wednesday, with plans to publish daily videos from dozens of shows to paying subscribers. Some of the SiriusXM hosts you’ll be able to see more from include Kevin Hart, Jenny McCarthy, Joel Osteen, Karen Hunter and Jason

Touting “extraordinary demand,” Disney announced that Disney Plus had signed up over 10 million users in just one day since launching early on Nov. 12. Analysts had projected Disney Plus would achieve upwards of 8 million subscribers by the end of 2019, helped by Verizon’s free one-year giveaway to unlimited wireless customers. While the 10

November 13, 2019 8:32AM PT Cloud computing company Akamai hit a milestone last month when its content delivery network experienced volumes of data exceeding 100 terabytes per second for the first time ever. What was massive enough to clog the Internet’s pipes? The rollout of the second chapter of Fortnite, the video game world’s reigning

Disney Plus had a booming — and technically problematic — coming-out party. In the first 24 hours after its official Nov. 12 launch, the Disney Plus mobile app for iOS and Android was downloaded 3.2 million times, according to research firm Apptopia. About 89% of the downloads were in the U.S., with 9% in Canada and

As Viacom and CBS near the finish line on consummating their merger, Viacom’s Pluto TV is getting additional live programming from CBS Interactive to plug into its free, ad-supported streaming service. Pluto TV, which Viacom acquired in January, already has offered channels for CBS Interactive’s CBSN national news service and CNET tech-news brand. Starting today,

Tencent Music Entertainment (TME), one of China’s biggest online music entertainment platforms, saw better than expected revenue growth in its third quarter thanks to a rise in paywalls and paying users. Announced on Monday, revenue beat analyst estimates by growing 31% to $910 million (RMB6.51 billion) for the quarter ending Sept. 30, up from RMB4.97