A study recently published in the Journal of Communication found that no significant association exists between media violence consumption and societal violence. Researcher Christopher Ferguson of Stetson University conducted two studies, one which compared movie violence and homicide, and the second which focused on video game violence and youth violence rates. The findings point to an increase in media violence, but not a correlating increase in real-life violence. Continue reading Study Shows Media Violence Not Linked to Societal Violence

“Powers,” a scripted series based on a comic book, won’t make its debut on TV, but on Sony’s PlayStation gaming console. PlayStation consoles have long offered video streaming apps, but this is the first time that Sony has created an original scripted series for the gaming system. Sony is hoping that the series will encourage more people to buy the $50 PlayStation Plus membership, which include access to “Powers” along with free games and online storage. Continue reading Sony to Launch First Scripted Series for PlayStation Console

In the wake of Taylor Swift’s stand against Spotify, a number of music companies are considering pulling their artists’ songs from YouTube and free music services. Global Music Rights (GMR) demanded that YouTube stop playing some 20,000 songs from its artists, including music composed by John Lennon, the Eagles, and Pharrell Williams. Sony is also considering pulling the music of its artists such as One Direction, Calvin Harris, and Carrie Underwood from Spotify. Continue reading YouTube, Online Music Services Face New Wave of Opposition

Snapchat users will now have the ability to send and receive money from friends using a new payment feature called Snapcash. The feature is the latest upgrade to a mobile app that originally began with simple photo-sharing capabilities. To make payments possible, Snapchat partnered with Square, a payments company that recently launched a similar feature to work for email and its own mobile app. Snapcash is available for Android users, with an iOS release coming soon.  Continue reading Snapchat Partners with Square to Offer New Payment Feature

Developers can now start creating apps for Apple’s new wearable, the Apple Watch, with the company’s newly released development platform. WatchKit includes the Xcode 6.2 beta and the iOS 8.2 software development kit. Apple also provided design and user interface guidelines, so that developers can craft seamless apps for the Apple Watch. The iPhone itself will actually do most of the processing in the apps, but the watch will receive the user’s input and display output. Continue reading Apple Releases its WatchKit SDK for Apple Watch Developers

In less than six years, a significant percentage of the world’s population is projected to own a mobile phone. That is 90 percent of all people over the age of six by year 2020, according to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report. And even within those parameters, smartphones only account for about 37 percent of total mobile subscriptions. There is still opportunity for growth, especially as the rising trajectory for mobile video consumption continues to push the demand for “smarter phones.” Continue reading Mobile Devices to Reach Most of World’s Population by 2020

Nielsen is planning to begin measurement of viewership ratings next month of television shows streamed on subscription online video services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video. Nielsen will analyze the audio of programs to identify which shows are being streamed, a new measurement capability that does not require the approval of the streaming services. The data could impact how business is conducted between the services and the studios that license content. Continue reading Nielsen Planning to Measure TV Viewing via Streaming Services

Hulu founding CEO Jason Kilar, who left the service early last year, is among those getting ready to take a run at Google’s YouTube. Kilar is expected to roll out an ad-supported online video service called Vessel as soon as this month, according to insiders. Vessel, to be offered via a free tier or monthly paid subscription service, will reportedly feature videos from top YouTube stars with agreements that will keep the videos off YouTube for three days. Vessel was designed primarily for smartphones and tablets. Continue reading Former Hulu CEO to Target YouTube with Online Video Venture

File sharing network BitTorrent is now giving all artists the option to distribute their content in paid content bundles. A paygate-based distribution model is a major departure for the site that is infamous for its pirating. BitTorrent will get a 10 percent cut of the revenue from these paygate premium content bundles, while artists will earn a whopping 90 percent cut. The artists will also get access to valuable data about the consumers who are buying their content on BitTorrent. Continue reading Artists Get Major Cut from BitTorrent Premium Content Bundles

Breakthroughs in image recognition technology may drastically improve image searches when machines can recognize people, objects, actions, and even the quality of photographs. Researchers at Google and Stanford University recently unveiled new software that can teach itself to identify the characters, actions, and settings of a scene in photos and videos. Photo sharing startup EyeEm has fine-tuned algorithms that rate photographs based on aesthetics. Continue reading New Image Recognition Technology Can See More Than Faces

The aging pay phones of New York City are getting a digital makeover. Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office announced a five-borough “LinkNYC” plan to give New York City residents access to free and fast Internet service. The “Link” devices, installed as replacements to the city’s 6,400 coin-operated pay phones, will also provide free phone calling and a free charging station. City officials expect the digital advertisements on the Link devices to bring in at least $20 million in annual ad revenue. Continue reading New York City Plans to Transform Pay Phones into Wi-Fi Hubs

In an effort to develop universal standards and best practices for high-scale Internet video services, 17 content companies, service providers and technology vendors have gathered to create the Streaming Video Alliance. Together, these companies hope to improve the online video experience. SVA will initially focus on open architecture, quality of experience, and interoperability. Formation of the group comes as net neutrality continues its path as a complex and controversial issue. Continue reading Industry Leaders Join Forces to Form Streaming Video Alliance

For years, Google’s YouTube has been the most visited online destination for free music. And while other companies such as Pandora and Spotify have opted for a pay model to provide consumers with unlimited, uninterrupted music content, YouTube remained out of the subscription streaming business — until now. Last week, YouTube unveiled YouTube Music Key, a music streaming service that offers higher quality, access anywhere, ad-free music for $10 per month. Continue reading YouTube Music Key: A New Player in Subscription Streaming

Following a positive response to the Shield Android tablet, Nvidia hopes to win gamers over once more with the launch of its game-streaming service later this year. The Grid cloud-based service is slated for a North American launch later this month with Europe and Asia scheduled for next year. Nvidia will aim to release new games frequently, every week or so, to quickly amass a library that exceeds 100 games. The gaming service hopes to capture consumers of the Shield products market. Continue reading Nvidia to Stream Games via Grid Cloud-Based Gaming Service

During the recent Nintendo Direct live-streaming broadcast, the company directed its Wii U focus on two familiar games: “Mario Kart 8” and “Super Smash Bros.” However, Nintendo continues to struggle to find software makers for Wii U games. Most of the presentation was devoted to how Nintendo will keep the currently available games interesting. In order to sell more existing games, the company plans to add content to games such as “Mario Kart,” “Hyrule Warriors,” and “Pikmin 3.” Continue reading Nintendo Finds New Ways to Profit from Existing Wii U Games