Facebook Gaming has been invaded by spammers and infomercials, according to recent reports that found Ukrainian war footage and video clips featuring individuals hawking foot callus removal kits and diet pill purveyors posted on what was supposed to be Meta Platforms’ answer to Amazon’s Twitch. Some of the videos masquerading as “live” featured up to 11 hours of looped recordings. In late 2021, Facebook Gaming listed seven such spurious accounts in the Top 10, sometimes attracting as many as 50,000 simultaneous viewers, according to data analytics firm Stream Hatchet. Continue reading Facebook Gaming Inundated by Spam, Strange Infomercials

Streaming video service Disney+ plans to introduce an ad-supported subscription tier in the U.S. later this year, with plans to expand the tier internationally in 2023. While the company has yet to announce pricing or specific launch dates, the AVOD plan will cost less than the current $7.99-per-month ad-free version. According to the entertainment giant, the new ad-supported offering is part of a larger goal to attract 230-260 million subscribers globally by the close of Disney’s 2024 fiscal year. Streaming leaders such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video do not currently offer ad-supported options. Disney’s Hulu does offer an ad-supported streaming plan. Continue reading Disney+ to Roll Out Ad-Supported Plan in U.S. Later This Year

Verizon is introducing +Play, which allows customers to bundle third-party subscriptions under its mobile carrier account. Through new partnerships with Netflix, Peloton, Live Nation’s Veeps concert streaming platform, the new hub features services including Disney+, Discovery+, A+E Networks and AMC+. With the new hub, Verizon promises “a simple and efficient way” to get exclusive deals “in one place.” In some ways, it harkens back to a traditional cable package. Verizon will begin testing +Play through select customers and streaming partners in late March, followed by a broad consumer rollout later this year. Continue reading Verizon Reveals Launch of +Play Streaming Aggregation Hub

In an effort to thwart misinformation, Amazon-owned live-streaming video service Twitch is cracking down on bad actors. “We do not believe that individuals who use online services to spread false, harmful information, have a place in our community,” the company stated. Twitch worked with researchers and experts to identify three characteristics that all bad actors share: an online presence dedicated to (1) persistently sharing (2) widely disproven and broadly shared (3) harmful misinformation topics, such as conspiracies that promote violence. Twitch specified that it will not take action against “one-off” statements containing misinformation. Continue reading Twitch Aims to Remove Channels That Spread Misinformation

Netflix will premiere daily interactive quiz series “Trivia Quest” on April 1. Based on Etermax’s hit game “Trivia Crack” — which Netflix says is “the No. 1 multi-platform trivia franchise in the world” — the streaming animated show will feature 24 questions (12 standard, 12 difficult) across categories including science, history, entertainment, sports, art and geography. As with Netflix’s prior interactive specials, “Trivia Quest” has a “narrative twist,” taking players on a mission to help Willy “rescue the animated citizens of Trivia Land from the Evil Rocky, who’s bent on hoarding all the knowledge in the world.” Continue reading Netflix to Introduce Daily ‘Trivia Quest’ Game Show on April 1

As the Renaissance was a reaction to the Dark Ages that preceded it, so too the entertainment industrial complex finds itself on the brink of a fruitful new era of technological and creative achievement triggered by COVID-19. The need for remote production has encouraged a cross pollination of new tools and techniques that will likely lead to significant change in the next era of media production. Roaring back to an in-person event in Rancho Mirage last week after hosting a virtual summit in 2021, the HPA Tech Retreat 2022 showcased the groundbreaking exchange between content-makers and tech providers. Continue reading HPA Tech Retreat: Bridge Between Creatives and Tech Firms

A group of state attorneys general has announced an investigation into TikTok and the potential harm it may cause younger users. The fact-finding is not unlike that launched by top state legal advisors last year into Meta Platforms. The bipartisan group is exploring whether TikTok is violating state consumer protection laws with engagement tactics that may cause minors to become “hooked” on the app. Kids in the age of social media “feel like they need to measure up to the filtered versions of reality that they see on their screens,” said California attorney general Rob Bonta. Continue reading State AGs Launch Investigation into Effects of TikTok on Kids

Epic Games has purchased online music store and community Bandcamp. Citing a shared “mission of building the most artist friendly platform that enables creators to keep the majority of their hard-earned money,” the blockbuster game developer explained in a statement that Bandcamp will play an important role in the gamer’s “vision to build out a creator marketplace ecosystem for content, technology, games, art, music and more.” It’s an interesting strategic move. Competitor Electronic Arts has had success with music, getting its “Star Wars” scores released and creating hits through its “FIFA” and “Madden NFL” games. Continue reading Epic Pitches Big Tent in Metaverse with Bandcamp Purchase

Marvel series are moving from Netflix to Disney+. Beginning March 16, “Daredevil,” “The Defenders,” “Iron Fist,” “Jessica Jones,” “Luke Cage” and “The Punisher” will begin streaming from Disney+ in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The Netflix licensing rights expired on February 28, reverting back to Marvel parent Disney. “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” will also join the Disney+ streaming fold on March 16 after seven seasons on ABC. The seven series will be made available to the rest of the Disney+ global markets later this year. Continue reading Marvel Live-Action Series to Exit Netflix and Move to Disney+

Instagram is making changes to its videos, adding auto-generated captions in 17 languages even as it discontinues support for the standalone IGTV video app to “focus on having all video on the main Instagram app.” It is eliminating the in-stream advertising known as IGTV ads while exploring ways to help creators monetize the short-form Reels format that “continues to be the largest contributor to engagement growth on Instagram,” according to the social platform. Instagram says it will “begin testing a new ad experience” later this year that will “allow creators to earn revenue from ads displayed on their Reels.”  Continue reading Instagram Introduces Video Captions, Shutters the IGTV App

After a year of limited availability, Amazon is officially launching its Luna cloud streaming subscription game service in the U.S. with new channels and integration with Prime and Twitch. Amazon Prime Gaming already offers a quantity of downloadable monthly games. Luna+ expands those offerings and adds three new a la carte channels — for Twitch, Jackbox Games and arcade favorites. “Play high-quality and immersive games, without lengthy game downloads, hardware upgrades, or game updates,” Amazon announced. Amazon debuted Luna in September 2020, offering it on an invitation-only basis as it tested the service. Continue reading Amazon Luna Streaming Game Service Launches with Twitch

“A world without synthetic humans is not an option anymore,” the audience at the 2022 HPA Tech Retreat in Rancho Mirage were advised by “Fathead” virtual production producer Tom Thudiyanplackal. Equally unimaginable is a world without synthetic sets, as was obvious at Tuesday’s daylong HPA Super Session, themed “Immerse Yourself in Virtual Production.” “Fathead,” the fifth short from the USC Entertainment Technology Center’s Annual ETC Innovation and Technology Grant, was all about in-camera VFX, captured in real-time on a stage lined and lidded with LEDs — 280-degrees around and on the ceiling, too. Continue reading ETC Pushes Boundaries of Virtual Production with ‘Fathead’

“Preparing for the Multiverse” was the subject of ETC@USC’s latest virtual Digital Town Square event. As the culture, art and commerce spaces rebalance to incorporate blended physical and virtual options, it is clearly important that we understand early on how changes will impact our business and creative endeavors. Our speakers spend their days thinking about how the emerging metaverses will impact creativity, business development and the fabric of society. We chose the word “multiverse” because we expect many metaverses to develop and compete — some designed top-down by multinational corporations and others developed bottom-up by DAO communities. Continue reading ETC Examines Realities of Multiverse at Digital Town Square

LG has unveiled two new 4K HDR projectors that the company says are its most advanced models to date. Both the LG CineBeam HU715Q and HU710P feature 2,000,000:1 contrast ratios. With a retail price of $2,500, the HU710P uses a hybrid laser-LED light source that doesn’t require a color wheel and can pump up to 2,000 lumens of brightness. The $3,000 HU715Q ultra short-throw (UST) relies only on laser light, producing up to 2,500 lumens. Both projectors are designed for indoors, but LG says they’ll also work outside after sundown. Continue reading New CineBeam Models Are Most Advanced LG 4K Projectors

TCL is expanding its affordable 30-series smartphone line with five new models, all of them featuring AMOLED displays and 50-megapixel main cameras for prices ranging from about $155 for the TCL 30 E to $277 for the TCL 5G. The 30 Series phones, which TCL teased at CES 2022, will be available in Europe beginning in April. Also at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, TCL unveiled two foldable concept phones and several tablets, including the NxtPaper MAX 10, a tablet featuring a paper-like 10.36-inch display in FHD+ for around $300 when it becomes available later this year, initially in Asia. Continue reading TCL Announces New Phones, Foldables and Tablets at MWC