Tech

Universal’s upcoming films will premiere on Peacock, the streaming service owned by NBCUniversal, as early as 45 days after debuting on the big screen. The arrangement does not impact the studio’s existing premium video-on-demand deals with exhibition. It does, however, shrink the traditional Pay 1 window — which was roughly 120 days prior to the

Universal Music Group and leading avatar technology company Genies have announced a global partnership to develop avatars and digital wearables for UMG’s artist roster, building on the companies’ early collaborations to bring recording artists into the metaverse. UMG and Genies will equip artists with official virtual identities for use in Web 3.0, providing a persistent virtual representation

It’s another case of the streaming wars making strange bedfellows: Comcast announced that starting today, Google’s YouTube TV is now available on Xfinity Flex, the cable giant’s video platform for broadband-only customers. YouTube TV, of course, is directly competitive with Comcast’s Xfinity TV — but like other cable operators, Comcast is increasingly a broadband-first provider.

Paramount Plus is taking a page from ViacomCBS’s Pluto TV streaming service with the launch of 18 linear channels that let subscribers surf through always-on themed collections of shows — you know, just like old-fashioned television. On Thursday, Paramount Plus launched Live Channels, a new feature that curates popular shows and movies on the service

SiriusXM and Pandora have teamed with Amazon’s Audible for “Chapter and Verse,” an audio series featuring conversations with top authors of Audible audiobook originals about the music and artists that inspire them. “Chapter and Verse” will be a monthly feature with a rotation of notable authors whose titles are available on Audible discuss music as

Amazon early next year will pull the plug on Alexa.com — a website ranking and analytics service that’s unrelated to the ecommerce giant’s Alexa voice assistant platform. “After more than two decades of helping you find, reach, and convert your digital audience, we will be retiring Alexa.com on May 1, 2022,” a notice on the

Webfest Berlin, one of the leading global showcases for episodic short-form content, will hold its seventh edition as an online event running from Dec. 13-15. This year’s edition will be the festival’s first under the banner of Red Carpet Studio, a web series promotion and development outfit that also runs Russia’s Realist Web Fest. “Webfest

Playing Dec. 13-15, the seventh edition of Webfest Berlin will run under new ownership but the same set of goals: To spotlight the finest in short-format web series production and to herald them on the international stage. This year’s edition will feature 27 short-form series from 13 countries in nearly as many languages, all spread

Scener, the three-year-old co-viewing streaming video platform incubated by RealNetworks, is hoping to kick its business into higher gear with a new CEO and the backing of a slate of new investors and advisers, including filmmaker J.J. Abrams. The company announced the hiring of David Baron, a nearly 14-year veteran of Hulu, as its new

This year’s YouTube Streamy Awards, honoring the top digital creators and content of 2021, will feature special musical performances by Ari Lennox and Måneskin. For the Dec. 11 event, which will stream free on YouTube, R&B singer-songwriter Ari Lennox will perform her hit “Pressure” and Italian rock band Måneskin will perform their global chart-topping single

UPDATED: Roku and Google have buried the hatchet, announcing a multiyear extension for both YouTube and YouTube TV apps on the Roku streaming platform. The companies reached the agreement just days before their previous deal covering YouTube on Roku was set to expire Dec. 9. In April 2021, Roku’s deal to distribute YouTube TV expired and Roku

ViacomCBS International Studios and Wattpad Webtoon Studios revealed a global partnership to source emerging content and creative talent from around the world to develop a slate of original series based on hit Wattpad and Webtoon stories. Wattpad Webtoon Studios and ViacomCBS International Studios’ production arm, VIS, will coproduce content for ViacomCBS’ networks and platforms, including

Kanye West is set to perform in his first headlining show in five years at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Thursday. The Free Larry Hoover benefit concert, which will feature a special guest appearance by Drake, will be free to stream on Amazon Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories across the

Vevo is pulling a FAST one in a new partnership with Roku. The music-video digital network launched 11 themed linear streaming channels on the Roku Channel for users in the U.S., including one with Christmas music available only through the end of the year. The free, ad-supported television (FAST) channels join the flagship Vevo on-demand

Shares of BuzzFeed dropped 11% on the company’s first day of trading as a public entity after merging with a special purpose acquisition company — a disappointing debut for the 15-year-old digital media player, which is unprofitable. BuzzFeed stock started trading on Nasdaq under the symbol “BZFD” on Monday. Shares opened at $10.95 per share

Imagine Entertainment is launching a new audio division tied to an exclusive deal with iHeartMedia. The film and TV company’s chairmen Brian Grazer and Ron Howard announced Tuesday that Imagine will co-produce a slate of unscripted podcasts for the digital giant. The agreement will encompass six new series over the next two years. The effort

After a two-year pandemic-induced hiatus, VidCon’s flagship convention for internet video creators and fans — for now — is set to return IRL to Anaheim in June 2022, with TikTok on board as title sponsor. Cranking up the hype machine early, ViacomCBS-owned VidCon announced the initial group of featured creators who are scheduled to appear

Disney has decided kill off the “FX on Hulu” name less than two years after it launched — a piece of brand-management microsurgery many people probably won’t even notice. At the same time, the FX mark will move above the titles on all of its shows across Disney’s streaming services worldwide. The “FX on Hulu”

Crooked Media hired Crystal Ponzio-Busto, an eight-year veteran of Netflix, to lead marketing for the podcasting and media company. As Crooked’s SVP of marketing, Ponzio-Busto will oversee marketing and communications strategy for the brand, working to broaden its reach in podcasting, digital content and ecommerce and helping to launch Crooked’s upcoming TV and film projects.

Discovery inked a development deal for a slate of new original series for Discovery Plus from Group Nine Media, the digital media company whose brands include NowThis, the Dodo, Thrillist and Seeker. Discovery is one of the founding investors in New York-based Group Nine and has already licensed some Group Nine programming for Discovery Plus.

Democrats in Congress are taking aim at the pending $43 billion merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, pushing the Justice Department to scrutinize the transaction on antitrust grounds. In a letter sent Monday to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Justice Department antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter, the legislators assert that too much consolidation in media will hurt

UPDATED: Ludwig Ahgren, an esports commentator and pro gamer who had amassed a large following on Twitch, inked an exclusive livestreaming deal with YouTube Gaming that commenced Dec. 1. Then, on Dec. 2, YouTube abruptly suspended Ludwig’s livestream. The YouTube block came Thursday in the middle of his second exclusive broadcast on the platform —

Dean Reinhard, technical account manager, Southeast Asia, at Epic Games, and an evangelist for virtual production spoke this week at an Asia TV Forum & Market panel on virtual production. He chatted with Variety after the session and identified Asia’s strengths and weaknesses with the technique. Variety: What do you think the possibilities are and

The online edition of the Singapore Comic Con lasts nearly a month (Dec. 3, 2021 – Jan. 2, 2022) and is has a full program of activities. The SGCC is part of the Singapore Media Festival. In the first week, those who tune in can enjoy a “meet and greet” with talent from three keenly

BuzzFeed told employees of BuzzFeed News who staged a walkout Thursday — protesting what their union claims is the media company’s refusal to negotiate on key contract terms — that their pay would be docked by one day, unless they retroactively applied for paid time off. “This morning, after learning our union members were walking

Gaming media and esports company 100 Thieves said it secured a $60 million third round of funding, which the company claimed brings its valuation to $460 million. The Series C was led by Green Bay Ventures with participation from existing and new investors including Breyer Capital, Aglae Ventures, Tao Capital, Willoughby Capital and Artist Capital

Hulu on Wednesday released a new documentary special — “Astroworld: Concert From Hell,” recapping the deadly events at a Travis Scott festival in Houston last month — but quickly pulled it from the service after a social-media backlash. The news special was produced by KTRK, ABC’s owned-and-operated local station in Houston. The 50-minute documentary can

Nascar inked a multiyear deal with FloSports that will make the sports streamer the exclusive global home of the Nascar Roots series of 280-plus annual racing events starting in 2022. The Nascar grassroots programming previously has been available on the NBC Sports Gold subscription streaming service, which NBCUniversal is phasing out. NBCU, which also is

Redbox plans to run digital video ads on nearly 4,000 of its trademark DVD rental kiosks across the U.S. — inventory it hopes to sell to Hollywood studios as well as national and local marketers. The company announced it has already deployed digital video signage on the top of more than 2,000 kiosks so far,

Finland’s leading indie company Rabbit Films, which has been thriving with non-scripted content for two decades, including local adaptations of “Saturday Night Live” and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” has bowed its scripted division with a bang. Under the leadership of CEO Olli Suominen, the Helsinki-headquartered company has built a bullish slate including some