Nvidia is introducing its next-generation cloud gaming platform, GeForce NOW, which offers GeForce RTX 3080-class gaming online. GeForce NOW RTX 3080 will make available to users what Nvidia describes as “the most powerful gaming supercomputer ever built,” ready to take on Google Stadia and Xbox Cloud Gaming’s xCloud. Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang said the company has spent the past decade improving GeForce NOW cloud gaming “to bring the best gaming platform to anyone with a computer,” thanks to second-generation GeForce NOW SuperPOD servers. Continue reading Cloud Gaming: Nvidia Rolls Out Its GeForce NOW RTX 3080

Netflix added 4.4 million subscribers for the third quarter, beating by 20 percent its forecast of 3.5 million. The company attributed the strong performance of new hits including “Squid Game.” Netflix now boasts a total paid global subscriber base of 213.6 million. Last year, Netflix added only 2.2 million memberships in the third quarter, underperforming expectations. South Korean export “Squid Game,” a dystopian 9-episode drama series, debuted on Netflix in September, becoming a global phenomenon. TikTok videos of people replicating the games went viral, while retailers began stocking show-themed Halloween costumes. Continue reading ‘Squid Game’ Propels Netflix to Strong Q3 Subscriber Boost

Surveys indicate the continued acceptance of Connected TV with advertisers, programmers and viewers, making it the fastest growing advertising platform. While this has largely been the result of housebound audiences during the pandemic, future growth is projected to be strong. A Leichtman Research Group survey shows more than 80 percent of TV households possessing at least one connected TV device (higher penetration than cable TV), which translates to 4.1 devices per CTV household. Study results also reveal that 39 percent of adults watch streaming video daily, with 60 percent streaming weekly. Continue reading Streaming Surge Makes CTV Video Top Ad Growth Platform

Apple is expanding its Los Angeles footprint, building new regional headquarters in the northern part of Culver City. Construction is in progress on two adjacent buildings comprising more than 550,000 square feet on a lot flanked by National, Venice and Washington boulevards. Apple says the complex will house teams working on Apple TV+, Apple Music, engineering and artificial intelligence at a site near the new Ivy Station development and Metro Expo Line stop. Apple already has more than 1,500 employees working in a leased 128,000-square-foot Culver City office.  Continue reading Apple to Expand Hollywood Ambitions with Regional Campus

Nielsen is relaunching its streaming measurement solutions as a single suite of ad-supported and subscription-based services that now captures 100 percent of activity across content, ads and platforms, the New York-based ratings and analytics firm says. Embattled of late after decades as measurement’s gold standard, Nielsen says its new emphasis on one-stop streaming measurement comes as U.S. consumers “now spend over a quarter of their total TV time” streaming. The new suite aims to give content creators, platforms, studios and advertisers a detailed look at who is streaming, what they’re watching, when and for how long. Continue reading Nielsen Claims New Suite Captures 100 Percent of Streaming

Comcast’s European subscription service Sky has officially launched its anticipated smart TV set, Sky Glass, which allows customers to stream Sky and other content services over the Internet without a set-top box or satellite dish. Sky was acquired in 2018 by Philadelphia-based Comcast, which paid $39 billion for the European pay TV service. Sky Glass is currently available in 43-, 55- and 65-inch sizes in five colors — white, pink, green, blue and black. The televisions will be sold in the United Kingdom beginning October 18 with launches to other European markets starting next year. Continue reading Comcast Launches Sky Glass Smart TV with Streaming in UK

The growth of streaming TV means it’s getting harder for networks to get their top shows noticed on welcome screens that feature services aggregated by the makers of the television, set-top box or dongle, but UK broadcasters are fighting back. A consortium of interests including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and ViacomCBS’s Channel 5 are banding together to create a shared program service designed to better-position them against U.S. tech giants and new local TV laws currently in the works. The effort is being mounted through Digital UK, owned by the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV. Continue reading UK Broadcasters Unite in Offensive Against Streaming Giants

Video game streaming platform Twitch has suffered a data breach resulting in information about the revenue earned by the biggest game streamers leaked to online chat forum 4chan. “Find out how much your favorite streamer is really making!” the hacker wrote in a 4chan data dump labeled “part one.” The perpetrator claimed to have additional information about Twitch’s creator payouts, source code and internal security tools and creator payouts. Without confirming what data was taken, Twitch confirmed the breach, writing on Twitter, “Our teams are working with urgency to understand the extent of this.” Continue reading Twitch Hack Leaks App Code, Revenue from Streaming Stars

After some false starts, Amazon has released its first hit original video game production, “New World,” and company CEO Andy Jassy is predicting games could become the biggest category in entertainment programming. The new MMORPG, fraught with archers and axe wielders colonizing a fantastical land, scored one of Steam’s biggest launches with more than one million players logging on for launch day last week. The momentum hasn’t slowed down, with more than 277,000 gameplay viewers on Amazon’s live streaming service Twitch and over 700,000 concurrent players on Steam. Continue reading Amazon Achieves Success in Gaming with MMO ‘New World’

ViacomCBS is teaming up with software and data company VideoAmp to develop a new advertising tracking and audience-measurement tool for linear and digital television programming. The move comes as networks and other content providers express increasing dissatisfaction over the methodologies of longtime industry measurement stalwart Nielsen, which media outlets claim has failed to accurately gauge viewers who have shifted from linear viewing to streaming on demand. Last month, Nielsen’s accreditation was suspended by the Media Rating Council. Continue reading ViacomCBS and VideoAmp to Develop TV Measurement Tool

Spotify has launched its first global business-to-business ad campaign, the goal of which is to boost advertising revenue by attracting more small and medium-sized businesses. To that end, Spotify Advertising is the new name of the sector formerly known as Spotify for Brands. Advertising contributed 12 percent of Q2 revenue for Spotify, up from 7 percent the prior year. The subscription music service is also seeking more podcast inventory as it recasts itself as an “audio” streamer. Research firm eMarketer predicts Spotify will have 28.2 million monthly podcast listeners by year’s end, overtaking Apple’s iTunes, at 28 million. Continue reading Spotify Campaigns to Reach New Advertisers, Add Podcasts

Netflix continues its push into video games with the acquisition of Night School Studio, best known for developing narrative titles like “Oxenfree.” The move is part of a plan to expand the Netflix membership library to include “exclusive games designed for every kind of gamer and any level of play,” said vice president of game development Mike Verdu in a statement announcing the purchase. Within the past month the streaming service released two “Stranger Things” games globally and issued three Android mobile games in Poland, Italy and Spain. Netflix games have no ads or in-app purchases. Continue reading Netflix Continues Games Push with Purchase of Night School

After analyzing hundreds of social media ad campaigns by the top streaming ad platforms, BrandTotal has found that Disney+ is leading in paid share-of-voice, with 30 percent of all impressions. HBO Max is next with 23 percent, with Hulu in third place at 21 percent. The top-five included Peacock with 16 percent and Paramount+ at 7 percent. Meanwhile, the report found Apple TV+ and Netflix to be the least active social media advertisers, with 2 percent and 1 percent, respectively. BrandTotal’s report — Social Intelligence Competitive Snapshot: The Streaming Wars — analyzed paid social advertising campaigns over 90 days beginning June 23, 2021. Continue reading Disney+ Leverages Social Platforms to Draw Streaming Subs

Comcast is upping its hardware play, launching a branded wireless streaming device, the XiOne, and offering TVs running its own software, dubbed XClass in the U.S. The cable giant plans to make XiOne its branded global platform. Comcast describes XiOne as a plug-and-play device with faster processing, more memory and a voice-activated remote. It supports Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision, Wi-Fi 6, 4K UHD and HDR. XiOne boxes are currently available in Italy and Germany to some subscribers of Sky Q, which Comcast owns. Comcast has begun introducing the devices in the U.S. to customers using older boxes.  Continue reading Comcast Launching XiOne Streaming Device and XClass TVs

The clout of social media in traditional entertainment is recognized with coverage in The Wall Street Journal, which reports Netflix paid 20-year-old TikTok star Addison Rae more than $20 million as a lead in the romantic comedy “He’s All That,” the top U.S. performer on the streaming service upon its August premiere. A documentary series featuring TikTok’s Charli D’Amelio launched on Disney’s Hulu service this month, while producer Brent Montgomery, with credits including reality TV hits such as “Duck Dynasty” and “Pawn Stars” has sold Netflix “The Hype House,” about influencer roomies. Continue reading Hollywood Is Hiring Social Media Stars for Film and Television