Departing Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom told the audience at the Wired 25 Summit in San Francisco on Monday that he isn’t done with tech any time soon. “I figure I have a few more Instagrams, time-wise, in me,” the 34-year-old quipped, adding that he couldn’t guarantee that any of his future ventures would become as
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October 15, 2018 8:45AM PT Digital audio streaming platform Mixcloud has signed a multi-year direct licensing agreement with the Universal Music Group, the companies announced today. Under the agreement, UMG’s recording artists will be compensated for the use of their music on Mixcloud’s advertising-supported and future subscription services. The global agreement, excluding China and Japan,
October 15, 2018 8:23AM PT Amazon is now in the “as-seen-on-TV” business: The ecommerce giant launched an official retail outlet for “Shark Tank,” ABC’s reality-competition show in which entrepreneurs pitch product concepts to vie for funding. More than 70 products funded from “Shark Tank” judges during seasons 1-9 are now available for purchase on Amazon.com
October 15, 2018 6:04AM PT UPDATED: Apple has completed its acquisition of Asaii, an A&R-based music-analytics startup, according to reports in Axios, MusicAlly and Music Business Worldwide, which cite an early investor in the company as well as unnamed sources. However, several hours after the reports were first published, a rep for Apple said the
Group Nine Media, parent of digital-media brands Thrillist, the Dodo, Seeker and NowThis, has hired Jeff Siegel as senior VP of distribution. Most recently, Siegel was head of licensing and syndication for Verizon’s Go90, where he oversaw off-platform content licensing and syndication for the ad-supported service’s original programming. Verizon shut down Go90 this summer after
Hate lugging a bulky, large-screen smartphone everywhere? Verizon has a new gadget for you: The “ultra-mobile” Palm, bigger and more functional than a smartwatch but more compact than a regular mobile phone. The $349 Palm, about the size of a credit card, features a 3.3-inch HD display and weighs in at just 2.2 ounces (62.5
TV’s morning-news wars have a new competitor. CBS News, which already produces “CBS This Morning,” unveiled “CBSN AM,” a one-hour morning program built for its CBSN streaming-video hub. The program. anchored by Anne-Marie Green and Vladimir Duthiers, launched today. The show will stream between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. eastern. Green will anchor the full
Across the globe the TV industry is being disrupted and turned upside-down by the explosive rise of OTT content consumption — and China is no exception. As high-speed internet continues to roll out in the country, and 5G transforms the mobile universe, China’s OTT growth is forecast to soon be double that of traditional television.
Magic Leap’s first-ever L.E.A.P. developer conference in Los Angeles this week was a chance for the company to finally stop the naysayers. Decried as over-funded vaporware for years, the event represented a unique opportunity for Magic Leap to show that it was the real deal, and that it mattered for the future of visual computing.
Facebook gave an update on its recent security incident Friday, detailing that around 30 million accounts were affected by the hack. Out of those 30 million, hackers successfully accessed data from 29 million Facebook members. However, hackers apparently didn’t have access to any third-party app data. The company had disclosed in late September that up
British songstress Amy Winehouse, more than eight years after her death, will return to the stage in holographic form for a live tour set to launch toward the end of 2019. Proceeds from the tour will go toward the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which is dedicated to drug and alcohol abuse awareness and prevention among young
Tech investors turned more bullish Friday following a steep drop in tech and media stocks over the past two days, as they looked to snap up promising bargains. Shares of Netflix jumped more than 5% and Snap was up over 7% in early trading, while Facebook (+1.7%), Amazon (+4%), Apple (+3%), and Twitter (+3.6%) all
The editorial staff at the Thrillist entertainment website has unanimously ratified its first union contract as the Writers Guild of America East boosts its presence in the digital news world. The announcement makes Thrillist the latest in a growing list of digital news sites that have unionized with the WGA East in the last three
German headphone maker Sennheiser unveiled a dedicated set of $250 earbuds for the Magic Leap One augmented reality headset at Magic Leap’s L.E.A.P. developer conference in Los Angeles this week. But for Sennheiser, those new Ambeo AR ear buds are just a first step towards a future of augmented listening. Magic Leap’s AR headset comes
Magic Leap is taking some cues from one of the latest trends in virtual reality: The maker of the Magic Leap One headset is looking to use location-based entertainment to get consumers familiar with its technology, and ultimately prepare them to buy its headsets once a mass-market version is available to the general public. “We
Netflix has dramatically upped its revenue haul through smartphones. For the third quarter in a row, the streamer had the No. 1 grossing non-game mobile app worldwide in Q3 2018, generating around $243.7 million across both Apple’s App Store and Google Play, according to research firm Sensor Tower. That’s up about 90% year over year, from
October 11, 2018 10:25AM PT Lyrics startup Genius has entered a partnership with Apple that will bring an Apple Music web player to Genius.com, letting subscribers of the music service access full-length versions on the site. In addition, Apple is also adding Genius lyrics to its music service. “Being able to read lyrics and annotations
Serial Box has hired Jeff Li, a 12-year veteran of NBCUniversal who most recently oversaw business development for USA Network, Syfy and Chiller, as chief operating officer. Li, based in the serialized-fiction startup’s New York headquarters, reports to co-founder and CEO Molly Barton. Li is tasked with growing Serial Box’s catalog and developing new digital
AT&T, searching to give people another reason to buy Magic Leap’s pricey augmented-reality headset, plans to launch a DirecTV Now app for the AR headset next year. The beta version of the DirecTV Now app for Magic Leap One will let users watch up to four live streams simultaneously, with the individual screens hovering in
Pocket.watch has repackaged content from top YouTube kids franchises — including the mega-popular Ryan ToysReview channel — into half-hour TV show formats that are now streaming on Hulu and Amazon Prime Video. The startup is looking to sell the collection of TV shows internationally, too, through a pact with Paramount Pictures. The shows mark the
Walmart has set up a joint venture with interactive video firm Eko to develop cutting-edge entertainment and advertising content that the retail behemoth hopes will drive more customers to its digital platforms. Walmart has made an investment of about $250 million in Eko, a company based in New York and Tel Aviv that counts former
Love is getting extreme on U.S. cable TV. WE tv is launching a new series “Extreme Love” that will showcase real-life stories of unusual and incredible relationships. The shortform version of the show has a huge following on digital platforms, racking up 290 million views on the Barcroft TV YouTube channel, and 300 million on
Razer Wednesday night unveiled the Razer Phone 2, a redesigned take on its category-defining gaming phone with a beefed up processor, enhanced cooly system, wireless charging support, and Razer Chroma lighting. The phone, which goes on pre-order this week for $800, still features a 120 Hz screen refresh and touch sampling and now also has
The 1983 comedy “Mr. Mom” is being revived as a digital series by its home studio, MGM, as part of a new partnership with Walmart-owned streaming platform Vudu. Vudu made the announcement Wednesday at the NewFronts West just days after revealing its partnership with MGM, which is intended to create a slate of short-form scripted
Within some of the world’s most populous nations cooperation, rather than outright competition, may be the best route to success in the streaming video sector. That principal was neatly illustrated by the recent deal to integrate Asian OTT player HOOQ into the lineup of Indian OTT giant Hotstar. The “seamless” connection between Hotstar’s Premium tier
The kick-off day of the first-ever Digital Content NewFronts West conference in Hollywood highlighted two trends: the expansion of digital media forms like podcasting, as well as creative approaches to advertising, especially influencer marketing. Anna Bager, the executive VP of industry initiative at IAB, which manages the event, said the L.A. iteration was designed to
October 10, 2018 11:51AM PT Insomniac Games previewed its very first game for the Magic Leap One headset at the L.E.A.P. conference in Los Angeles Wednesday. The title, dubbed “Seedling,” will be released on the Magic Leap One headset in November. “’Seedling’ is more of an experience than a traditional game,” said Insomniac Games CEO
Viacom Digital Studios is stepping up its programming investments on social media with a new slate of content unveiled Wednesday at the NewFronts West event in Los Angeles. The year-old arm of the conglomerate, dedicated to serving young viewers watching content on digital platforms, is taking some of its most cherished TV assets, as well
Augmented reality (AR) startup Magic Leap used the opening keynote of its L.E.A.P. developer conference in Los Angeles Wednesday to preview its plans for the future. These include not only software updates for its recently launched Magic Leap One headset as well as an ambitious plan for city-wide AR information layers, but also a possible
ILMxLAB, Lucasfilm’s immersive R&D unit, is going to release an augmented reality experience dubbed “Star Wars: Project Porg” on the Magic Leap One headset in December. ILMxLAB announced the release at Magic Leap’s L.E.A.P. developer conference in Los Angeles Wednesday. “We strive to create experiences that are story-based, cinematic in their visual quality, and experiences