Microsoft officially unveiled its new global game streaming technology called “Project xCloud” on Monday. Microsoft is testing the tech out today, it said in a blog post. Project xCloud runs on devices paired with an Xbox Wireless Controller via Bluetooth and it’s playable using touch input. It’s complementary to Microsoft’s ongoing work with console hardware,
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Facebook unveiled Portal, video-communication devices that incorporate smart-speaker features using Amazon’s Alexa, and provide a way to listen to music and watch videos together with friends. Portal ($199) and the larger-screen Portal+ ($349) will begin shipping in November. The devices, which feature 12-megapixel cameras, make video calling “easier and more like hanging out,” according to Facebook.
Walmart, America’s biggest bricks-and-mortar retailer, is taking its first crack at original entertainment. Vudu, the company’s streaming-video arm, has struck a partnership with MGM under which the studio will create original series based on franchises from its extensive film and TV catalog. Those shows will be exclusively licensed to Vudu for North America, and available
Southeast Asian streaming service HOOQ has struck a crucial partnership deal with India’s Hotstar. The pact provides Hotstar with a significant upscaling of its Hollywood content, while for HOOQ, the arrangement is a massive expansion of its reach in India. Launched less than four years ago, Hotstar claims over 350 million downloads, and 150 million
Would you watch an entire episode of a show you’ve never heard of — just for the chance to win a $10 gift card to Amazon.com or Burger King? NBCUniversal hopes to create new fans for its networks’ TV shows with WatchBack, a new app designed as a promotional and research tool. The free WatchBack
The team behind three recently released superhero-themed smartwatches are working on a smartwatch inspired by the Pip-Boy hardware found in the “Fallout” video games and a “Rick & Morty”-themed watch, Michael Donato, director of product development at One61 Studio told Variety. Both are expected out in time with the launch of each property’s latest release.
Snap’s vice president of marketing and brand identity Steve LaBella is leaving, the company confirmed Friday. A Snap spokesperson told Variety that LaBella is resigning for personal reasons, adding in a statement: “Steve has been a valuable member of our team, building our consumer marketing department and continually finding new ways to surprise and inspire the Snapchat
Participant Media’s SoulPancake — the studio and production company founded by Rainn Wilson — and food and lifestyle media company Tastemade are collaborating on TV shows the companies hope to sell to a network or streaming platform. Under the agreement, SoulPancake and Tastemade are jointly develop and producing three unscripted long-form TV projects: matchmaker series
October 5, 2018 6:41AM PT Nintendo may be working on a case that can turn a smartphone into a working Game Boy, complete with functioning buttons and directional pad, according to a recently published patent uncovered by Siliconera. The folio case fully encloses a phone and uses a sheet of conductive material to transmit a
Netflix is set to occupy even more real estate in Hollywood. The streaming giant signed a lease with Hudson Pacific Properties to fully occupy all 327,913 square feet of EPIC, its 13-story office development located at 5901 Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles. Netflix is planning to move into the building, which is currently under construction,
Facebook’s virtual reality (VR) unit Oculus is getting ready to get out of the house: The subsidiary is looking to embrace VR centers and arcades in malls and movie theaters, and has plans to strike deals with producers of location-based VR content. Ultimately, Oculus wants to use location-based VR to get more consumers interested in
October 4, 2018 1:05PM PT Sony Pictures has bought a sponsored Snapchat augmented-reality lens for “Venom” — giving fans the ability to inhabit the title character, complete with Venom’s unsettling, deep-timbred voice. The “Venom” lens, which also features a clip of Eminem’s track for the movie of the same name, began rolling out Thursday on
Refinery29 has hired Nicholas Butterworth, most recently Time Inc.’s head of digital product engineering, as executive VP overseeing product and engineering teams. In addition, the female-targeted media company announced that Marissa Rosenblum — after a four-and-a-half-year stint at retailer Barneys New York — has rejoined Refinery29 as senior director of commerce. Butterworth will be responsible for
October 4, 2018 10:10AM PT Spotify is beta testing a new program to get more podcasts onto its service. Spotify for Podcasters gives any podcaster the ability to syndicate their show via the music service, the company announced this week. “Through this new platform that we’re testing, podcast creators who are hosting their podcasts elsewhere
Helios & Matheson Analytics, the owner of MoviePass, has struggled to maintain operating capital this year — and it seemed to have good news this week when its CEO announced that it recently brought in $65 million in financing. An article Tuesday published by The Wrap described the $65 million as “new” funding, citing comments
Bay Area-based virtual reality (VR) startup Nomadic is getting ready to open up its first VR center in Orlando, Florida this fall. Nomadic is opening its first space at the Pointe Orlando mall with an adaptation of “Arizona Sunshine,” a zombie VR shooter that’s already popular on in-home VR systems as well as in VR
First Look Media’s Topic Studios and Mermade, the new digital-focused division of Sharon Horgan and Clelia Mountford’s Merman production company, announced a first-look pact to develop and produce premium short-form content. Topic Studios and Mermade plan to collaborate on scripted and non-scripted series, working with both established and emerging filmmakers and talent. It’s the first
October 4, 2018 6:29AM PT Spotify’s founder Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon have signaled their intention to sell more shares in the company, according to the Swedish publication Di Digital, citing SEC filings registered Oct. 1 and 2 that were not available digitally at press time. When the most recent sale is completed, the pair
Audio-sharing platform SoundCloud and Pandora are joining forces in the U.S., inking a deal making Pandora the exclusive advertising and sales rep for SoundCloud in the States. The agreement, bringing together two large streaming-music players, is set to commence in 2019. SoundCloud and Pandora have a combined U.S. audience of more than 100 million unduplicated listeners,
October 3, 2018 10:00AM PT Google is making it easier for developers to earn money with voice experiences: Developers are now able to charge their users for digital goods via Google’s Assistant, the search giant announced Wednesday. These new monetization options will be available both through devices like the Google Home smart speaker, as well
The fourth quarter — the music business’s traditional cash-in period coinciding with the holiday season — is well under way. But while in the past, record labels backloaded their schedule with superstar releases targeting Black Friday and beyond, Christmas 2018 paints a different picture. A look at the albums coming out between now and December
Here comes Laugh Exchange — a sort of “American Idol” for comedians, packaged in an HQ Trivia-like app. Laugh Exchange, a startup co-founded by former Comedy Central GM David Bernath, is coming out of beta with its app that lets comedians compete for a chance to win cash from their original material and also lets
Media center specialist Plex is adding more online content to its apps: Plex added a new category for web shows Wednesday, which allows users to stream content from publishers like Fandor, GQ, Vanity Fair, the New Yorker, TWIT, Junkin Media, and others. Web shows will be available for free to all Plex users, and will
October 3, 2018 5:58AM PT “Keeping up with the Kardashians” fans in Canada can binge on the series and other reality shows after streaming service hayu had its official launch, Wednesday. Canada marked another international launch for the unscripted SVOD service, which is owned by NBCUniversal. NBCU announced earlier this year that hayu would roll
Turns out Amazon wasn’t done with its fall device announcements: Two weeks after introducing a number of new Echo speakers and accessories as well as a new DVR, the company announced a new 4K Fire TV stick as well as a new Alexa voice remote Wednesday. The new Fire TV Stick 4K supports Dolby Vision and
Apple Music and the Ministry of Sound label have struck an exclusive playlist deal that will effectively shut out Spotify, a rep for Apple confirmed to Variety. News of the deal, which was first reported by Music Business Worldwide, will see exclusive Ministry of Sound-branded playlists being posted on Apple Music beginning Thursday (Oct. 4).
ABC’s new drama “A Million Little Things” was the most engaging new broadcast TV show across social media following its premiere last week, with CBS’s “Murphy Brown” reboot with Candice Bergen also turning in strong numbers, according to data compiled by ListenFirst Media. Social posts for “A Million Little Things” garnered 220,349 social reactions the
October 2, 2018 11:38AM PT As expected, Tencent Music Entertainment Group, the largest music-streaming company in China, has officially filed for an initial public offering in the U.S. In an F-1 filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company set a placeholder amount of $1 billion to indicate the size of the IPO and
October 2, 2018 10:00AM PT Popular MOBA “Honour of Kings” is now using facial recognition software in China to restrict children’s playtime, the South China Morning Post reported Monday. The mobile game, which is known as “Arena of Valor” in the west, is a massively popular game in China which has similar elements to “League
While the nation waits to hear whether former Vice President Joe Biden will join the 2020 presidential race, he’s not quietly sitting on the sidelines. He just launched an episodic series on Instagram’s new IGTV created by ATTN:, a company devoted to making its “purpose-driven” content entertaining on digital platforms. In this week’s episode of