The company behind TikTok, the popular short-form video app that incorporated Musical.ly last year, has agreed to pay $5.7 million to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that it illegally collected personal info from children. According to the FTC, it’s the largest civil penalty ever obtained by the agency in a children’s privacy case. The FTC’s
Tech
February 27, 2019 9:26AM PT Dish’s internet TV service Sling TV is introducing significant discounts as part of a tax day promotion: Both of the service’s base plans, Sling Blue and Sling Orange, are available for $15 a month for 3 months, as opposed to the usual $25 per month price tag. Consumers can combine
February 27, 2019 9:23AM PT Will Smith is turning his passion for fear-challenging stunts into new show, funded by Facebook. “Will Smith’s Bucket List,” which debuted on the Facebook Watch video hub Wednesday (Feb. 27), follows the actor-comedian-rapper-daredevil as he ticks off items from his bucket list one at a time. In the six-episode series,
Spotify is finally officially available in India, and it’s offering Indian music fans a perk available nowhere else in the world — the ability to play any song on-demand on the free version of the smartphone app. Spotify began rolling out its app in India on Tuesday, and the company announced Wednesday morning local time
As the generalist streamers dive deeper into sports programming, specialist sports player DAZN is growing its lineup of originals alongside its coverage of live events. Next up is “In Our Blood,” a three-part series about three generations of iconic Spanish MotoGP riders: Alex Criville, Jorge Lorenzo, and Marc Marquez. Former BT, ESPN, and Sky programming
February 26, 2019 10:30PM PT Invar Studios Global, a production entity with offices in Los Angeles, Mumbai and Silicon Valley, will produce three seasons of English and Hindi language crime series “Snake” for Indian OTT platform Zee 5. The series will focus on the life of French national Charles Sobhraj, nicknamed the ‘Bikini Killer’ for
February 26, 2019 5:00PM PT With many economists predicting a recession could hit the U.S. economy in the coming months, the media business could be in for a rough ride. But there’s a lot more roiling this sector right now that must be taken into account to understand what the future might bring. On the
For Facebook, giving its 2.32 billion monthly users the ability to clear out their digital history — something the company plans to launch in 2019 — is going to hurt the social-media colossus’ business, according to a top Facebook exec. “Privacy is a headwind for us in 2019,” CFO David Wehner said, speaking at the
Facebook has long wanted to siphon off TV ad spending into its coffers. Now it’s going to Madison Avenue to try to book video-advertising revenue by pushing “upfront” buys for its mix of originals and long-form creator content. The social-media company unveiled Facebook Showcase, a new premium video-ad program, which execs say will let online
Spotify’s India launch is well underway, with some local users reporting that they can already access the music service on their devices. An official launch in the country is planned for Wednesday local time, according to sources with knowledge of the company’s plans. Indian music fans celebrated the launch on Twitter Tuesday: Earlier on Tuesday,
February 26, 2019 9:27AM PT Apple’s music service is apparently heading to Google Home speakers: Apple Music has appeared as a supported service in Google’s Home app for iPhones, Macrumors was first to report Monday night. The service can’t currently be activated on Google Home speakers, but the appearance of the listing suggests that this
Spotify’s long-delayed launch in India appears imminent — and could take place as soon as Tuesday night, sources say — as the company has revealed pricing in the territory, the second most-populous country in the world. Its premium service will be free for 30 days and then will be 119 rupees (around $1.67) per month
Facebook’s latest bid to drive viewers to its Watch video platform? A cartoon set in prehistoric times starring Anna Kendrick and Zac Efron. The social giant has greenlit animated comedy series “Human Discoveries” starring Kendrick (“Pitch Perfect,” “Up in the Air”) and Efron (“The Greatest Showman,” “High School Musical”). The show is slated to debut
February 26, 2019 6:00AM PT With the growing popularity of smart speakers, more and more consumers are expecting similar functionality from their TVs: 32% of consumers told Adobe Analytics in a recent survey that voice control is an important factor when it comes to buying their next TV set. The tidbit is part of the
TV4 Entertainment, a digital studio and streaming-network operator, is moving its global operations from L.A. to Florida, setting up shop at Full Sail University under a multiyear pact. The company is relocating its headquarters to Full Sail’s campus in Winter Park, Fla., in the Orlando area to tap into the school’s pool of recent grads. The
Irvine, Calif.-based video startup Xumo may be next to get snapped up by a buyer looking to capitalize on the growing popularity of ad-supported video: The company is in talks to sell itself following the acquisition of competitor Pluto, Variety has learned from multiple sources. Key details about these talks are unknown at this point,
February 25, 2019 8:21AM PT Digital star and actor Lilly Singh announced that she is bisexual, eliciting a warm wave of love and approval on social media. In a tweet Sunday, the popular Canadian YouTuber listed herself as “female,” “coloured” and “bisexual,” accompanied by a positive message encouraging fans to embrace their own identities as
February 25, 2019 8:02AM PT Google is getting ready to release its upcoming budged phone any day now, judging from a series of new filings that surfaced Monday morning: The company filed a number of applications with the FCC for a new smartphone that very likely the much-rumored Pixel Lite. Google spokespeople didn’t immediately respond
Lady Gaga struck the biggest chord with Oscars viewers Sunday night, capturing the lion’s share of chatter related to the 91st Academy Awards on social media. Gaga’s first Oscar win — for the song “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born,” which she performed with Bradley Cooper on the ABC telecast — gave her three of
Veteran TV producer David Hatcher is now overseeing BuzzFeed News’ “AM to DM” morning talk show on Twitter as executive producer. Hatcher, who started at BuzzFeed on Feb. 11, has day-to-day showrunning responsibilities for the one-hour weekday show, which streams live on Twitter from 10-11 a.m. ET Monday through Friday. In January, Twitter renewed “AM
Netflix is continuing its push into African originals with its latest order, the South African teen series “Blood & Water.” The series, which is directed by Nosipho Dumisa, the helmer behind the buzzy SXSW title “Number 37,” follows a local teen who discovers her family’s secret past while navigating the complicated world of a South
UPDATED: Spotify’s long-anticipated launch in India could be days away, but the Swedish company is taking its licensing negotiations with the three major music groups to the wire. While the streamer is said to be close to deals with Universal Music Group and Sony Music, it remains “far apart” from acceptable terms with Warner Music
Microsoft unveiled the second generation of its Hololens augmented reality headset at a press event in Barcelona Sunday. The new headset features more than double the field of view of the original Hololens, according to Microsoft technical fellow Alex Kipman, while still offering 47 pixels per degree of sight. Doubling the field of view is
February 24, 2019 9:30AM PT Microsoft’s newly-announced Hololens 2 augmented reality (AR) headset will get an alternative browser, courtesy of Mozilla: The Firefox maker announced Sunday morning that it is bringing its Firefox Reality AR/VR browser to the headset when it launches this summer. Microsoft used a press event ahead of Mobile World Congress in
YouTube, under fire for facilitating the spread of conspiracy theories and other misinformation, said it will no longer serve ads on channels that espouse anti-vaccination rhetoric. The Google-owned video giant cited its advertising policy that bans “dangerous and harmful” content from eligibility in its monetization program. “We have strict policies that govern what videos we
February 22, 2019 3:01PM PT Twitter co-founder Evan “Ev” Williams is stepping down from the company’s board, Twitter announced in a SEC filing Friday afternoon. Williams will depart from the board at the end of this month, according to the filing. “It’s been an incredible 13 years, and I’m proud of what Twitter has accomplished
February 22, 2019 9:51AM PT Responding to a continued backlash over its data collection practices, Facebook pulled the plug on its Ovano VPN app Friday. Ovano, which promised users an added level of privacy while using public Wifi hotspots, was used by Facebook for market research purposes. Facebook removed the app from the Google Play
Smosh, the long-running YouTube comedy brand, has been acquired by Mythical Entertainment, the company formed by Rhett & Link, hosts of comedy show “Good Mythical Morning.” As first reported by Variety last week, Mythical emerged as the leading candidate to buy Smosh, which was left stranded after parent company Defy Media shut down without warning
All bets are on for the Action Network, the sports-wagering content and analytics roll-up formed by Peter Chernin’s Chernin Group. The company closed $17.5 million in Series B funding led by Fertitta Capital, the investment firm of former UFC owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta. The Chernin Group, which created the Action Network in October 2017
Chinese video streaming firm iQIYI lost over $1.3 billion in 2018, as revenues and subscriber numbers ballooned. The deepening losses reflected ever higher spending on original content production. Announcing its first full-year financials since a March IPO that launched it onto the NASDAQ, iQIYI said that it lost $1.3 billion (RMB9.1 billion) last compared with