Disney+ loses subscribers for second quarter in a row, drops 4M subs
As Disney approaches its third round of expected layoffs and deals with production delays due to the ongoing writers strike, the company delivered more bad news to investors. Its flagship streaming service, Disney+, lost four million subscribers in Q2 2023, bringing the total to 157.8 million subsc
TikTok’s parent ByteDance eyes a new chapter in book publishing
After aggressively promoting its new lifestyle social media platform Lemon8 in the U.S., ByteDance appears to be brewing another content app for its biggest overseas market.
Lemon Inc., a subsidiary of ByteDance, has submitted a trademark application for a range of book publishing products and serv
Amazon to license original series and movies to other media companies
Amazon announced Monday the launch of its new unit Amazon MGM Studios Distribution, which will allow the company to license Amazon Originals and other titles to third-party media companies, which could include streaming services (free, ad-supported or subscription) and cable TV.
For the first time,
SoundCloud debuts a fan engagement tool for artists
Music streaming platform SoundCloud is today launching a new tool to let artists engage with their fans better. The new product, conveniently called Fans, lets artists direct message their followers and sort their listeners through different engagement measures.
SoundCloud said the Fans product was
Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming business set to become profitable in 2023
Warner Bros. Discovery announced Friday that its streaming business will turn a profit in 2023. The company previously said it expected to break even by 2024 and become profitable in 2025.
“It is an important time for Warner Bros. Discovery. We've come through some major restructurings and ha
Warner Bros. Discovery CTO and CPO explain how they made Max less buggy
A few weeks before Warner Bros. Discovery launches its new HBO Max/Discovery+ streaming service, Max, technewss spoke with WBD chief technology officer Avi Saxena and chief product officer Tyler Whitworth about building the new platform from the ground up, rolling out new features, improving funct
Google celebrates Star Wars Day with a fun Grogu Easter egg
Google is celebrating Star Wars Day with a special Easter egg featuring Grogu, also known as Baby Yoda. When you type “Grogu” or “Baby Yoda” into the Google Search bar, the character will appear in the bottom right corner of your screen. Once you click on him, he will use th
Hulu Live TV adds channels to its lineup, including PBS and Magnolia Network
Hulu Live TV announced Thursday that it is adding new channels to its library, bringing the total to over 90 channels across live sports, news and entertainment. The streaming service will soon launch channels like PBS Kids, local PBS stations and Magnolia Network.
In the coming months, local PBS a
Paramount+ grows to 60M subs as it prepares to integrate with Showtime
The previously announced integration of Showtime into Paramount+ draws closer as the company reports its first-quarter fiscal earnings. Paramount+ with Showtime is set to launch in the third quarter.
While the integration is anticipated to generate around $700 million in future annual expense savin
AI can’t replace human writers
In the must-watch final season of “Succession,” Kendall Roy enters a conference room with his siblings. As the scene opens, he takes a seat and declares: “Who will be the successor? Me.”
Of course, that scene didn’t appear on HBO’s hit show, but it’s a goo
50+ ISPs, NGOs and broadcaster groups hit out at ‘Big Telco bias’ driving anti-competitive EU network fee proposal
A coalition of more than 50 European consumer and digitals rights groups, smaller ISPs and broadcasters have inked their name to a joint statement urging EU policymakers and Member States to reject a controversial network fee proposal being lobbied for by major telcos in the region.
They suggest an
Roku touts its new ad products, including an AI that matches campaigns to TV moments
In Roku’s recent quarter, the company posted better-than-expected revenue of $741 million, but worried investors with its warning of an uncertain ad market and declining average revenue per user. Today, at the IAB NewFronts, the streaming media company introduced its latest ad products to pot
Peacock officially launches ‘Must ShopTV’ to let users shop products that appear in content
At the 2023 IAB NewFronts event Tuesday, NBCUniversal revealed four new ad formats for brands to expand their advertising reach with Peacock Premium subscribers, including AI-powered shoppable ads, among others.
The company also announced two new original films set to arrive soon on the streaming s
Amazon debuts free, ad-supported streaming channels just for Fire TV
Amazon is doubling down on free, ad-supported content with today’s introduction of Fire TV Channels, its new, free and ad-supported (FAST) video experience coming to Fire TV devices this week. Though Fire TV had previously offered FAST content, Fire TV Channels will now be continuously update