Discovery is launching a premium subscription streaming service in Italy, where it is the country’s third-largest free-to-air commercial broadcaster. The new SVOD service is being described as complementary to Discovery Italia’s existing ad-based video-on-demand service called Dplay, which is nearly four years old. Dplay includes content from its eight free-to-air channels, including Real Time, Dmax,
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Japan’s largest talent agency, Yoshimoto Kogyo has made an investment in regional video streaming platform iflix. The two companies will also cooperate on showcasing Yoshimoto’s content across Asia, the Middle east and Africa. The value of the transaction was not disclosed. Nor was the size of the equity stake, though the two companies described it
Voot, Viacom 18’s OTT service in India, has commissioned more than 30 original shows across genres. Titles include legal drama “Law and Honour,” drama “Naaz,” romantic drama “Love All,” thriller “The Raikar Case,” drama “Marzi,” and crime thriller “Asura.” Now three years old, the service claims some 40 million monthly active users, with plans to
Netflix users can no longer launch videos or control playback on Apple TVs or other AirPlay-compatible devices from the streamer’s iOS app, a change Netflix says is due to unspecified “technical limitations.” Netflix first added support for Apple’s AirPlay in 2013. AirPlay is Apple’s content-sharing feature that lets users play videos, photos, music and other
The money keeps flowing into Critical Role’s hugely popular Dungeons & Dragons animation project — with fans now having contributed almost $9 million on Kickstarter in five weeks. Having crested the final $8.8 million stretch goal, Critical Role on Friday said it will now make 10 22-minute episodes of “The Legend of Vox Machina,” with
April 5, 2019 1:01PM PT Music streaming service Deezer has named Nigel Harding VP of artist marketing team. In his position, Harding is tasked with orchestrating campaigns to help artists, labels and managers grow their reach. Among the initiatives the company has championed is the Deezer NEXT program, which identifies and aids emerging artists. Harding
Dude Perfect, the sports comedy group that hosts one of top 10 most popular channels on YouTube, announced its first-ever live tour. The Pound It Noggin Tour is scheduled to hit 20 U.S. cities this summer. In the live shows, the Dude Perfect dudes — Tyler Toney, Cody Jones, Garrett Hilbert, and twins Coby and
April 5, 2019 10:26AM PT Amazon is working on its own wireless earbuds that will offer direct access to the company’s Alexa smart assistant, according to a Bloomberg report out this week. The earbuds are said to be similar to Apple’s Airpods, and could launch as early as this year. Amazon did not immediately respond
Comcast’s takeover of Sky has resulted in its first round of reorganization plans, including the merger of some Sky and NBCUniversal International operations. In an email to staff Friday, Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch outlined the upcoming changes. The first will see NBCU’s U.K. pay-TV channels folded with Sky’s and based in one location, in Osterley, west
Snapchat maker Snap officially launched its gaming platform at its first partner summit in Los Angeles Thursday, unveiling a six titles from companies like Zynga and ZeptoLabs, and also laying the groundwork for a bigger focus on social gaming. “Last year, mobile gaming was a $77 billion industry,” said Snapchat product director Will Wu Thursday.
Snapchat maker Snap is getting ready to unleash 10 new shows on its audience: The company used its first-ever Snap Partner Summit in Los Angeles Thursday to announce new original content, ranging from unscripted daily entertainment news to scripted shows starring zombies, sneaker culture and teenage angst. “Mobile is now the dominant medium for telling
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel wants to have it both ways: Keep Snapchat insulated from the darker sides of the internet, and also open it up to some of the rest of the web. Spiegel shared these dueling visions during the company’s first partner summit in Los Angeles Thursday. In a keynote speech, the chief executive
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos will keep 75% of the shares in the ecommerce giant that were jointly held with his wife, MacKenzie — and he retain full voting control of all of the couple’s shares — after the two finalized their divorced. In addition, MacKenzie is granting Jeff her full interest in the
A wealth of Jim Henson Co.’s kid-friendly programming is landing on Amazon’s Prime Video service — but there are several notable exclusions for the U.S. because of other licensing deals. Beginning Thursday (April 4), Amazon Prime Video will stream 2,500 hours of the Jim Henson Co.’s classic programming on the streaming platform, including popular specials
After a conspicuous absence, HBO is now available on Roku’s Roku Channel, letting the connected-streaming platform offer subscriptions to the premium service for the first time. The pricing for HBO through The Roku Channel’s premium subscriptions, to be available starting Thursday (April 4), is the same as on other platforms: $14.99 per month, after a
Trade org IAB is bringing NewFronts back to Hollywood, setting the second annual Digital Content NewFronts West for Sept. 11-12, 2019, in L.A. The two-day event, to be held at NeueHouse Hollywood, will feature presentations by digital-media publishers to pitch advertisers on their content offerings. Alongside the main-stage events, the 2019 NewFronts West will introduce
April 4, 2019 7:45AM PT SiriusXM and Pandora today introduced their first joint “listening experience” since the companies combined earlier this year, Pandora Now. According to the announcement, Pandora NOW “harnesses the combined strength of Pandora’s extensive listener data and SiriusXM’s curatorial expertise to create unique access to the most popular and fast-trending music right
Roger Lynch has been named Condé Nast’s first global CEO, with the former Pandora and Dish Network exec stepping into the role April 22. The media and publishing company announced Lynch’s appointment Thursday. Lynch will also join Condé Nast’s board of directors. He assumes the role after the company announced last fall that CEO Bob
In a victory for Netflix’s shareholders on a key corporate-governance issue, the company’s board adopted a provision to let certain investors nominate new members of the board and have them included in its annual meeting proxy materials — something most Netflix stockholders have voted in favor of over the last several years. Netflix disclosed the
As it nears the exit of a year-long bankruptcy reorganization, iHeartMedia filed paperwork laying the groundwork for an initial public offering — to raise money to pay off its debts. The radio broadcasting giant and podcast leader may decide to pursue an IPO, or execute a direct listing (as Spotify did in its unconventional IPO
Dataxu, a provider of software for marketing and media pros, has named Ed Montes president and general manager of TotalTV, its business unit that provides a solution for audience-based planning, targeting buying and measurement across linear, addressable and connected TV platforms. Montes previously served as the company’s president of solutions and chief revenue officer. In
Comcast’s Xfinity TV customers with X1 can now subscribe to Real Vision, a millennial-targeted video-on-demand service for investors, traders and entrepreneurs — marking the latest VOD addition to the cable operator’s menu. Real Vision features 15 original series including interviews, analysis and documentaries focused on “democratizing” financial intelligence. A subscription to Real Vision costs $14.99 per
Netflix is about to get pricier for many users: The streamer this week is notifying more U.S. customers that its previously announced fee hikes will take effect starting with May 2019 billing cycles. The company in January announced higher pricing for all plans — representing its biggest price increase to date. The new rates applied
April 3, 2019 7:55AM PT Cardi B, Juice WRLD, Jaden Smith and Gunna have been announced as the 2019 inductees to Spotify’s RapCaviar “Pantheon,” the streaming giant announced. Last year, Spotify created the Pantheon, which includes life-sized sculptures of the biggest breakthrough artists of the year, “cultural disruptors who are making an undeniable impact on
Ever wanted to casually chat with John Legend? Now you can, in the comfort of your own home no less, thanks to a new Google Assistant mode that makes use of Legend’s voice to respond to everyday queries about the weather, random factoids and more. However, there’s a twist to this: The responses aren’t just
Viacom is coming to T-Mobile’s over-the-top wireless TV packages — which promise to let consumers to fully cut the cable cord — under a broad content-distribution agreement. Under the deal announced Wednesday, Viacom’s portfolio of networks including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, and Paramount will become part of T-Mobile’s new mobile video services slated to
April 2, 2019 2:34PM PT Dave & Buster’s is doubling down on virtual reality: The gaming restaurant chain launched a new “Star Trek” VR experience at 122 of its locations across North America Tuesday that allows players to rescue the “Enterprise” from space debris and evil Klingons. “Star Trek: Dark Remnant” puts up to 4
Interactive video company Eko, which counts Walmart as a major investor, is looking to raise the wattage of its upcoming slate of originals — including “Epic Night,” a college-party adventure from digital studio FBE. “Epic Night” stars Jacob Latimore (“The Chi,” “Maze Runner”), Sasha Pieterse (“Pretty Little Liars,” “Inherent Vice”), Karan Brar (“Diary of a
Troy Carter, formerly Spotify’s global head of creator services and Lady Gaga’s manager for the first five years of her career, has teamed up with his longtime friend and business partner J. Erving to form a “new, modern music and technology company” called Q&A. The pair, who formerly worked together in Carter’s Atom Factory company,
April 2, 2019 9:59AM PT More than 20% of all consumers interact with their TVs or streaming devices via voice commands, according to a new survey from IHS Markit. An additional 30% aren’t currently using voice for TV viewing, but are interested in the technology. Unsurprisingly, voice is more popular with younger consumers, with 33%