Spotify revamps its app with TikTok-style discovery feeds, Smart Shuffle for playlists and more

At Spotify’s Stream On event today in LA, the company introduced a significant redesign of its app, which capitalizes on its investments in personalization technology while also adopting a similar short-form video feed as the one popularized by TikTok. In the updated Spotify mobile app, users

Soon, not streaming on Disney+ Hotstar: HBO content

Hotstar will lose HBO content at the end of this month in the latest setback for the Disney-owned on-demand video streaming giant that recently also lost rights for a popular cricket tournament in the country. HBO's catalog — shows such as Succession, The Last of Us, Curb Your Enthusiasm,

Walt Disney Imagineering snags chief creative officer Bruce Vaughn back from Airbnb

Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI), the workshop that makes all of the cool things you experience at the Disney Parks, is bringing back a veteran to co-lead the division. Bruce Vaughn was previously at WDI for 22 years, leaving for VR experience company Dreamscape before landing at Airbnb. Vaughn will

The first Black Friday NFL game will stream for free on Prime Video

It's a glorious day for football fans. Amazon announced that the exclusive Black Friday NFL game is set to be free to watch on Prime Video, regardless whether you are a subscriber. This is the first time that the NFL has had a game the day after Thanksgiving, which the league announced in Octob

Jason Sudeikis teases possible 'Ted Lasso' extended cinematic universe for Apple TV+

While “Ted Lasso” writers and co-stars Jason Sudeikis and Brett Goldstein have confirmed multiple times in interviews that the Apple TV+ original series will likely end after three seasons, the story of AFC Richmond may not be over. Sudeikis recently mentioned that he's open to the idea of

Medium launches a ‘premium’ Mastodon instance as a membership perk

Publishing platform Medium is opening up its debut Mastodon instance, me.dm, to its members, the company announced today. Last month, Medium first teased its plans around the Fediverse — the group of interconnected servers powering a range of open source, decentralized applications, includi

SiriusXM announces layoffs of 475 people, or 8% of its total workforce

SiriusXM, the satellite radio company and Pandora owner, disclosed today it’s laying off 475 employees, representing 8% of its workforce. In an email sent to employees, CEO Jennifer Witz said the cuts would impact “nearly every department” across the company, and follow a review o

Digital locker app Movies Anywhere sunsets 'Screen Pass' and 'Watch Together' features

Movies Anywhere, a previously Disney-backed app that lets users access their digitally owned movie collection from across services, is shutting down two features, “Screen Pass” and “Watch Together.” Screen Pass, which launched in 2020, allows you to loan out three movies per month within th

HBO's 'Succession' releases the official trailer for its final season

The official trailer for the final season of “Succession” premiered today, and it appears the series is ending with an epic mic drop. Season 4 makes its debut on March 26, giving fans 10 more episodes before we bid farewell to the Roy family. The new trailer gives viewers a closer look at the f

Free, ad-supported creator content comes to The Roku Channel

Roku struck a deal with creator company Jellysmack to launch new content featuring 17 popular YouTube and TikTok creators like Brad Mondo, Lauren Riihimaki (LaurDIY), Emmy Cho (Emmymade), Karina Garcia and more. The company announced yesterday that it's launching two free, ad-supported TV (FAST

Audible set to launch its first audio-only singing competition series with judges Kelly Rowland & Sara Bareilles

Audible today announced that it would launch its first-ever singing competition series as an exclusive podcast featuring artists Sara Bareilles and Kelly Rowland as judges. “Breakthrough” will premiere on the Amazon-owned audio service on June 1. On the podcast series, Bareilles and Rowland wil

Netflix's 'Stranger Things' gets a stage play about the origin story of Vecna

A new “Stranger Things” play is coming to the Phoenix Theatre in London’s West End in late 2023, Netflix announced today. “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” is a prequel spinoff play set in Hawkins in 1959, less than 25 years before the Netflix series. It will feature younger version

YouTube’s new head talks 2023 priorities, including AI, podcasting, Shorts and more

YouTube’s new head Neal Mohan penned his first letter to creators emphasizing that the company in the year ahead aims to continue supporting the community by giving them more tools to make money. He also touched on other 2023 priorities, including how YouTube is looking to experiment with gen

TIDAL will cut ‘direct artist payout’ program to invest more in emerging artists

The Block-owned music streaming service TIDAL is shifting the way it pays artists after an experimental program failed to generate results. Unlike Spotify and other market leaders, which pay musicians small fractions (…of fractions) of pennies for each play, TIDAL has taken a more imaginative