May 14, 2019 2:06PM PT Dish Network has hired Michael Schwimmer, who stepped down as president and CEO of Fuse Media last month, as executive VP of international, business development and strategy. In the role, Schwimmer will be tasked with growing the multicultural businesses of Dish TV and Sling TV, as well as pursuing development
Tech
May 14, 2019 1:00PM PT In an attempt to boost ad spending and commerce across its services, Google is getting ready to add new shopping features to YouTube. Later this year, brands will be able to bring shoppable ads to the video service. YouTube is also planning to give shopping recommendations related to YouTube videos,
Viacom’s VidCon US 2019 this summer will feature appearances by over 250 digital content creators — including Jacksepticeye, David Dobrik and Olympian Adam Rippon — along with a lineup of industry execs. YouTube again will be the title sponsor of VidCon US, the 10th annual edition of the event in Anaheim, Calif., set to run
AT&T shed some new light on plans for the forthcoming WarnerMedia subscription-streaming service, with chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson explaining that HBO customers on pay-TV operators — like Comcast — will have access to the new SVOD service bundled in. Stephenson’s point: that WarnerMedia’s streaming service, centered around the “luxury brand” of HBO, will come
Toronto-based virtual reality (VR) startup Dark Slope Studios has hired former Imax VR executive Eyal Kleiner as its new head of business & corporate development. In his new role, Kleiner will be looking to strike global partnerships, expand Dark Slope’s work to the enterprise and seek out potential acquisitions. Before joining Dark Slope, Kleiner worked
After decades of focusing on blue-chip brands, TV ad sales executives are starting to sweat much smaller stuff. TV has long attracted the world’s largest sponsors, like Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and General Motors. This year, TV networks are chasing upstart advertisers such as the makers of Casper mattresses, Peloton exercise equipment and Warby Parker
Sonos began rolling out Google Assistant support to its entire speaker line-up in the United States Tuesday. The company plans to bring the same feature to the UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, France, and the Netherlands in July, and follow up in other countries in subsequent months. Sonos speakers are gaining support for Google’s voice assistant
AT&T’s DirecTV pay-TV business has been hemorrhaging subscribers, and its DirecTV Now internet service — which was supposed to help offset the customer exodus on the satellite side — saw its user base shrink 5% in the first quarter amid a rate hike and bundle reshuffling. So why is the telco spending time and money
Apple launched its redesigned Apple TV app, now giving users the ability to stream more than 150 video services and subscribe directly to channels like HBO and Showtime. The new version of the app comes ahead of the planned fall launch of Apple TV+, the company’s video-subscription service that will be stocked with original TV
Facebook is going to sell its army of content reviewers a higher hourly wage and additional counseling opportunities, the company announced Monday morning. The wage hike also extends to other contractors, with the company committing to pay a living wage across the U.S. for all of its contractors, and even higher wages for content reviewers.
YouTube is unfurling the rainbow flag for Pride Month, set to release a trio of original documentary films available for free worldwide on the platform. The lineup includes “State of Pride,” from Oscar-winning filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, premiering May 29; “Stonewall Outloud,” from StoryCorps and World of Wonder, premiering June 26; and “This
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that Apple iPhone customers may proceed with a class-action lawsuit against the tech giant that alleges Apple’s App Store operates an illegal monopoly on iPhone apps. The ruling may expose Apple to payments of hundreds of millions in dollars in damages, CNBC reported. Apple shares, already pressured by the
Pocket.watch, a digital-first kids’ media company, has signed overall deals with two big YouTube channels in its wheelhouse — MarMar and the Onyx Family — and is gearing up to launch new programming with both of them, as well as with existing partners EvanTube, JillianTube and HobbyKids TV. Pocket.watch is the studio behind “Ryan’s Mystery
SPOILER ALERT: This article contains key details about the plot and characters of “Avengers: Endgame.” Do not read if you haven’t watched the movie. “I put the brains and the brawn together — and now look at me:” On of the biggest surprises of Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame” is the reinvention of Hulk, who embraces his
Cox Communications’ Contour TV customers now have access to Amazon Prime Video from their set-top box, marking the ecommerce giant’s second distribution deal with a U.S. pay-TV operator after Comcast added the service to Xfinity X1 last fall. To access Prime Video on Cox Contour, users must have a membership in Amazon’s Prime free-shipping program
Facebook’s top communications exec penned his own op-ed in the New York Times, responding to an opinion piece published two days ago in the newspaper by co-founder Chris Hughes — who urged the U.S. government to find a way to break up Facebook and put other checks on its “unprecedented and un-American power.” In the
The Dobre Brothers are hitting the road again. The top YouTube creators, known for their stunts, sibling pranks and original music, have set a 21-stop live tour this year. And they’re promising a stepped-up level of fan participation. The four brothers — twins Lucas and Marcus, 20; Darius, 23; and Cyrus, 25 — will embark
The typical virtual reality (VR) headset owner spends only about 6 hours a month using their device, according to a new IDC Report. One of the top use cases for VR continues to be gaming, with 72% of respondents polled by IDC saying they played a VR game in the past 3 months. IDC’s new
The looming battle for Westeros led “Game of Thrones” to dominate social buzz in the first quarter of 2019 — even before HBO debuted the eighth and final season to record ratings last month. More surprising than “GOT” capturing the social crown, though, has Netflix’s impressive overall social engagement growth, according to data from research
For the kick-off party for “L.A.’s Finest,” the cop drama that’s the first show to debut out of Charter’s Spectrum Originals group, the operator didn’t want the usual red-carpet treatment. Instead, Spectrum Originals is staging a variety-show-themed festival on Saturday, May 11, bringing in comedians, musicians and food vendors — along with show stars Gabrielle
To promote “L.A.’s Finest,” the cop drama that’s the first show to debut out of Charter’s Spectrum Originals group, the operator is staging a variety-show-themed festival in Hollywood on Saturday, May 11, bringing in comedians, musicians and food vendors — along with show stars Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba. To produce the unconventional invite-only event
Global streaming giant Netflix has licensed rights to Chinese series “I Hear You” from Chinese streaming platform Youku. The 24-part romantic comedy will play out from May 15 to Netflix subscribers in 190 countries. Directed by Sunny Hsu, the series is based on a popular Internet novel “The Most Pleasant Thing to Hear,” written by
Sonos finally is bringing the Google Assistant to its smart speakers: The company announced as part of its earnings report Thursday that Assistant support will be rolling out next week. “Through a software upgrade, Sonos One and Beam will support the Google Assistant in the U.S., with more markets to come over the next few
May 9, 2019 11:30AM PT Facebook made some changes to the leadership of its virtual reality unit official Thursday, announcing that former Oculus head Hugo Barra is transitioning into a role focused in interacting with outside partners. His job will be filled by Eric Tseng, who had been director of AR/VR product management at the
Netflix announced that it acquired StoryBots, the children’s media brand created by brothers Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, the founders of JibJab Media. In addition, the Spiridellis have entered into an overall deal with Netflix to expand the preschool entertainment and educational franchise into new areas. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. The price tag is
Audible and Hello Sunshine, Reese Witherspoon’s media company focused on telling women’s stories, have revealed three audio memoirs they’re co-producing exclusively for the Audible platform. Audible’s initial Hello Sunshine originals are first-person narratives from three women: music-industry veteran Sophia Chang, judge Rosemarie Aquilina, and comedian-activist Maysoon Zayid. The multi-hour audio memoirs will be available on
Facebook launched a new Birthday Stories feature that lets users create and share multimedia birthday greetings for friends and family — complete with a selection of famous b-day songs to pick from. The social giant’s Birthday Stories lets users add birthday cards, photos, videos, and songs via a “music sticker” to a story. Facebook has
May 9, 2019 5:31AM PT Netflix took a step toward greater transparency Thursday, at least in the U.K., by publishing its first top-10 lists of most-watched content on its platform after having promised investors that it would start divulging more viewing information. The streaming giant said it would post the lists weekly in the U.K.,
The planned sale of troubled direct-to-fan music marketplace PledgeMusic has fallen through and the company will go into bankruptcy in the coming days, according to cofounder Benji Rogers. A letter to artists from Rogers states: “I am sorry to say that the sale process that I have been speaking to you about over these last
May 8, 2019 1:11PM PT Roku share prices shot up 8.5% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the company announced better-than-expected first-quarter results with a year-over-year revenue growth of 51%. A key factor for Roku’s growth continues to be its partnership with smart TV makers like TCL, with the company estimating that one in every 3