Further to its goal of becoming a sort of Google-with-benefits for viewers who stream TV shows and movies across multiple platforms, Plex is reformatting its welcome screen to include a discover feature, universal search and universal watchlists. Rolling out in beta, the new Plex interface offers what amounts to personalized search-and-save “across virtually any streaming service,” from Plex’s own free movies and television series to subscription services like Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max. “As of today, Plex searches, personalizes, and organizes all of your content, no matter where that content lives,” the company announced. Continue reading New Plex Features Help Viewers Navigate Streaming Services

Google is advancing to the next stage of trials for its Privacy Sandbox — a  proposal centered on advertising relevance and measurement. The new Sandbox ad targeting tech stack is under consideration as a replacement for the tracking-based cookie approach that has been the norm in Chrome. Described as a revenue-friendly user privacy enhancement, the new stack is being discussed as potentially going into effect in the second half of 2023. Starting last week, developers could begin global testing of the Topics, FLEDGE, and Attribution Reporting APIs in the Canary version of Chrome. Continue reading Google Testing New Data Protections with Privacy Sandbox

Audience measurement firm Nielsen has been sold for $16 billion to a consortium led by private equity firms Evergreen Coast Capital and Brookfield Business Partners. The price represents $28 per share — a 60 percent premium over Nielsen’s share price earlier this month when news of the discussions surfaced and 10 percent more than the consortium offered last week. Nielsen reported global revenue of $3.5 billion in 2021. Media viewership data collected by Nielsen helps guide the spending of billions in advertising dollars each year. Nielsen will go private if the deal closes. Continue reading Nielsen Is Going Private in $16B Sale to Private Equity Group

The audience for streaming audio continues to grow, and advertisers are taking notice. A 2021 survey found that 68 percent of U.S. listeners listened to digital audio in the previous month, compared to 47 percent in 2014. While streaming audio advertising still lags behind traditional radio, changes in consumer privacy policies at Apple and the effect that’s had on social media platforms has prompted brands and small businesses to explore their options. Roughly $5.7 billion will be spent on U.S. digital audio ads in 2022, up 14 percent over 2021, according to Interpublic Group’s Magna media unit. Continue reading National Advertisers Embrace Streaming Audio and Podcasts

YouTube recently announced that it plans to offer full seasons of ad-supported streaming TV series free of charge, a first for the Google video platform. The move will put YouTube in competition with a growing number of free streaming services such as IMDb TV, Peacock, Plex, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, Tubi and Xumo. U.S. consumers can expect more than 4,000 free episodes to start, with up to 100 additional film and television titles to be added each week. The popular video site already offers more than 1,500 free, ad-supported movies, so the television content is expected to serve as a vital expansion of its streaming options. Continue reading YouTube Joins the Free, Ad-Supported Streaming TV Market

The European Parliament and EU member states reached agreement Thursday on key points of the Digital Markets Act, a sweeping measure poised to reshape the technology landscape in Europe and potentially around the world. The DMA objectives are two-fold: reining in anticompetitive measures that advantage Big Tech over competitors and consumers, and putting teeth to the new rules. Considered the biggest digital regulatory expansion anywhere in decades, the proposal has been criticized for singling out U.S. firms like Amazon, Apple, Meta and Alphabet, all of which fall into the gatekeeper category targeted by the act. Continue reading Europe’s Digital Markets Act Designed to Regulate Big Tech

Vimeo is adjusting its bandwidth policies, a result of explosive demand for video consumption and hosting due in part to the expanding creator economy. When some existing Vimeo customers recently complained after being hit with news of a sudden, sizable billing increase, Vimeo quickly apologized. CEO Anjali Sud issued a mea culpa that included photos of an extended bouquet and crossed wires. “For those who consume large amounts of video bandwidth,” wrote Sud, “we have continued to enforce legacy policies that are poorly communicated and that are causing unnecessary friction and anxiety.” Continue reading Vimeo Offers Apology to Customers Irked Over Fee Increase

Google this week announced a host of new features at the Google for Games Developer Summit, a free virtual event designed to help developers get the most out of its platforms. Developers that have more than $5 million in annual consumer games spending will be able to tap a new Google Play Partner Program for Games. A “play as you download” feature for Android 12 users will let itchy-fingered players get to gaming sooner, and an “immersive stream” for games will let developers leverage cloud gaming service Stadia’s underlying technology. Continue reading Google Debuts Game Developer Tools for Android, PC, Cloud

Having risen to the position of world’s largest television network largely on the strength of its ad-free programming, there are now predictions that Netflix will over the next few years begin streaming advertisements. Fueled by a perceived softening in tone toward commercials by Netflix CFO Spencer Neumann at a recent investor conference, an analyst at the Variety Intelligence Platform’s “Future of Content” event at SXSW told festival attendees the change would come due to competition from so-called FAST channels — “free ad-supported streaming television.” Continue reading Hot Topics at SXSW: NFTs and a Possibility of Ads on Netflix

Children’s programming has always been some of the most popular content on YouTube, generating billions of views since the platform launched in 2005. But the accompanying advertising and algorithm-driven recommendations proved problematic, sometimes serving material that parents deemed inappropriate. YouTube has taken various steps to address this, becoming in 2015 the first social platform to launch a children’s version of its main product. It later opted to have humans, not algorithms, make the content recommendations for kids, a costly trade-off that seems to have produced positive results. Continue reading YouTube Kids Finds Right Formula to Improve Video Content

WarnerMedia’s CNN is expected to charge $5.99 per month for its subscription-video streaming news outlet, CNN+, when it rolls out this spring. Early subscribers who sign up for CNN+ during the initial four-week promotion will pay $2.99 and have the option of CNN+ for life at 50 percent off the regular price, as long as the subscription is kept active. While many TV news networks have been launching free, ad-supported streaming outlets, CNN+ will reportedly run the same price as Fox Nation. The news network hopes that CNN+ will attract consumers growing up without cable and help the brand transition to a post-pay TV world. Continue reading CNN Readies Launch of Subscription Streaming News Outlet

TikTok is launching an Agency Center to help creators connect with talent firms for guidance and support. Creators who toggle the “agency invitation” button to “on” in the TikTok LIVE center will allow their profiles to “be searched and invited by any agency.” Eventually, LIVE Agencies can invite creators to join their network for coaching and connection with a community of experienced LIVE talent. The move is the latest effort to help creators earn on TikTok as the app strives to fend off competitors who have added short-form videos but indicate longer-form videos are more ad-friendly. Continue reading TikTok’s ‘Agency Center’ Connects Creators with Talent Pros

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

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

TikTok is pivoting to longer videos. The social platform that became the fastest-growing ever on the strength of short-form videos and had competitors scrambling in its wake to copy the format, is now allowing users to post videos of up to 10 minutes. Launched by China’s ByteDance in September 2016, TikTok was initially formatted for videos of 15-seconds or less. In 2018, when it merged with Chinese lip-sync service Musical.ly, it permitted videos of 1 minute, and then bumped up to three-minutes last summer. By September 2021 TikTok announced it had hit one billion users worldwide in only five years. Continue reading TikTok Shakes-Up Its Content Format with 10-Minute Videos