Netflix Shutters Cheapest Streaming Plan Without Advertising

Netflix is marshalling resources around its ad-supported Standard plan, pulling the plug on ad-free Basic in an effort to drive more eyeballs to the service’s sponsored tier. The $9.99 per month Basic plan is no longer available “for new or rejoining members” in the U.S. and UK and was dropped in Canada last month. Existing Basic subs can continue the plan until they decide to change tiers or cancel. Standard with Ads has since its November launch accrued more than 5 million subs, according to Netflix, which says 25 percent of new sign-ups have chosen that package. Continue reading Netflix Shutters Cheapest Streaming Plan Without Advertising

Twitter Rolls Out Its Ad-Revenue Sharing for Verified Creators

As Twitter seeks to reinvent its business model, the company is inviting some high-profile creators to share ad revenue. Described as amounting to “millions of dollars,” the company’s first payments have reportedly been issued to popular Twitter posters including right-wing influencer Andrew Tate and the left-leaning twins Ed and Brian Krassenstein. Platform owner Elon Musk tweeted last month that the first block of payments would total $5 million. Twitter has initially launched the program to an invitation-only group “who will be invited to accept payment” and “will soon launch an application process” for broader outreach. Continue reading Twitter Rolls Out Its Ad-Revenue Sharing for Verified Creators

LG Unveils Plans to Turn webOS into Media and Ad Platform

LG Electronics has unveiled a plan to increase global revenue from 2022’s $51 billion to about $79 billion by 2030 as it transitions to a “smart life solution company.” A big part of that will be through subscriptions to add-on services for its TVs and home appliances. The South Korean tech giant’s CEO William Cho said the idea is to get the LG smart system, webOS, onto more third-party brands. Cho outlined plans for a “platform-based service business model that continuously generates profits, such as content and services, subscriptions and solutions” across all product categories. Continue reading LG Unveils Plans to Turn webOS into Media and Ad Platform

Roku Lets Customers Make Shopify Purchases with Remote

Video streaming tech company Roku has partnered with e-commerce platform Shopify to offer television viewers the ability to purchase products using their TV remotes. When a Roku Action Ad appears featuring a Shopify merchant, viewers can press OK on their Roku remote to get more information about the product and click to purchase directly from their TV. Consumers will be able to check out using Roku Pay. Roku explains Action Ads as “advertisements on Roku streaming devices that provide a down funnel action, such as sending users a text, scanning a QR code, or making a purchase.” Continue reading Roku Lets Customers Make Shopify Purchases with Remote

Twitch to Offer Short Videos, Discovery and Stories This Fall

Video streaming service Twitch is rolling out a Discovery Feed to support growth opportunities for smaller streamers. That and other short-form video features were announced at TwitchCon Paris this past weekend. Though the platform’s primary business remains live-streaming, it wants to give creators a chance to promote their content in the native environment rather than on YouTube and TikTok, where most of the outreach has taken place to date. Like TikTok, the Twitch Discovery Feed is designed as a scrollable vertical feed that relies on algorithms to serve clips to users even when the creators aren’t live. Continue reading Twitch to Offer Short Videos, Discovery and Stories This Fall

California Moves Big Tech News Bill to 2024, But Holds Firm

Having passed the California Assembly June 1 with bipartisan support and moved on to the Senate, the California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA) has been kicked over to the next term, becoming a two-year bill. Instead of a scheduled hearing this week, AB 886 will go on calendar for 2024 while fine-tuning continues. The bill is reminiscent of laws passed in Canada and Australia that require companies including Meta and Google to pay publishers for news content. Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) says legislators are leveraging the session spillover and will not lose ground as they navigate to passage. Continue reading California Moves Big Tech News Bill to 2024, But Holds Firm

Snap’s Ad Revenue-Sharing Draws Creators Back to Platform

After significantly curbing its creator payout program, Snap Inc. has largely rejuvenated its Snapchat platform with the implementation of a revenue-sharing option that has lured back some top talent, according to reports. After a testing period that began last year, Snap in April opened to all eligible users a program that allows creators to earn a portion of revenue from ads appearing between their posts. Several thousand participants are said to have qualified for the program, in which those who achieve certain goals become eligible for “Snap Star” status. Continue reading Snap’s Ad Revenue-Sharing Draws Creators Back to Platform

Threads Breaks App Record with 100 Million Users in 5 Days

Meta Platforms’ Instagram spin-off Threads has racked up more than 100 million users in just five days, making the Twitter challenger the fastest growing app in history, beating ChatGPT’s recent record of 100 million users in two months. Threads was launched in 100 countries on July 5, and surpassed 100 million sign-ups on Monday. On Friday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote from his @zuck account on Threads that the app had already crossed the 70 million mark, performing “way beyond our expectations.” Ramping up the rivalry between Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, Twitter has threatened legal action against Meta due to similarities in the two microblogs. Continue reading Threads Breaks App Record with 100 Million Users in 5 Days

Canada Law Prompts Google and Meta to Block News Links

Google has told the Canadian government it will remove links to that country’s news sources from its products when a new law goes into effect requiring it to bargain with indigenous publishers for the right to display links. Canada’s Online News Act (Bill C-18), passed June 22, is expected to take effect in six months. Google called the measure a “link tax” and said it requires the company to pay for “something that everyone else does for free.” Meta Platforms, which is also affected by the new law, said last week it plans to remove Canadian news links from its apps and services. Continue reading Canada Law Prompts Google and Meta to Block News Links

New Catalyst Stage Brings Virtual Production to ESPN Studio

The new Catalyst Stage at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut blends physical space with virtual production and an LED wall. The facility “opens new possibilities in the future of content customization and scalability” for live, multi-camera shooting that includes augmented reality and extended reality in 1080p or UHD, with 4K available for specialty work, including advertising. ESPN calls Catalyst “the first studio of its kind to support both live multi-camera productions and cinematic-quality projects. GhostFrame, Unreal Engine, Disguise XR, Pixotope and Mark Roberts Motion Control cameras are among Catalyst’s tools. Continue reading New Catalyst Stage Brings Virtual Production to ESPN Studio

SiriusXM to Close Its Stitcher Podcast App and Site in August

SiriusXM is shuttering its Stitcher podcasting app and merging podcast delivery into its flagship SiriusXM subscription offerings. As of August 29, “the Stitcher app and web listening experience will be disabled,” the company told users this week. Stitcher offered listeners the choice of free-to-listen ad-supported programs or a la carte show subscriptions. It also had the $4.95 per month ($34.99 per year) Stitcher Premium, providing a wide variety of ad-free podcasts. “Subscribers can listen to podcasts within the SiriusXM app and will see an all-new listening experience later this year,” the company said. Continue reading SiriusXM to Close Its Stitcher Podcast App and Site in August

Canadian Law Requires That Tech Firms Pay for News Links

The Parliament of Canada passed a law requiring technology companies to pay news outlets when linking to their articles, a move that has Meta Platforms threatening to pull news content from Facebook and Instagram in that country. Canada’s Online News Act, which applies to domestic outlets, is the latest move in a global battle between publishers and Big Tech, and follows a similar law in Australia. “A strong, independent and free press is fundamental to our democracy,” a member of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration tweeted when the law cleared the vote last week. Continue reading Canadian Law Requires That Tech Firms Pay for News Links

Brands Create Their Own Games to Expand Marketing Reach

Brands are eager to promote their products in front of the estimated 3.7 billion people worldwide who play video games. Now, rather than simply purchasing visibility, more adventuresome advertisers including PepsiCo and L’Oreal are creating games of their own. PepsiCo had a quest developed in collaboration with Y2K Games for Mountain Dew inserted into the latest edition of the publisher’s blockbuster “NBA 2K” series. L’Oréal embedded a mini game in Activision Blizzard’s “Candy Crush Saga” and saw 40,000 samples of the Prada Candy fragrance that was the reward for completing the game claimed on day one of the five-week promotion. Continue reading Brands Create Their Own Games to Expand Marketing Reach

Twitter’s New Business Plan Marks Shift to Video, Commerce

Elon Musk and new Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino shared a platform vision heavy on creator-commerce partnerships as well as video, which has grown vertical engagement to “more than 10 percent” of user time on the social service. The duo said on a video call with investors last week that the company is pursuing collaborations with entertainment figures, politicians, media publishers and payment services, and that Twitter is securing “money transmitter licenses” in each of the 50 U.S. states as part of Musk’s vision to turn the service into a super app. Continue reading Twitter’s New Business Plan Marks Shift to Video, Commerce

Peacock Signs Up for Vizio’s WatchFree+ Discovery Feature

Vizio has added a new discovery feature, Content Connections as part of its WatchFree+ service and smart TV interface. NBCUniversal’s Peacock has climbed aboard as the platform’s first Content Connections partner. With Content Connections, users can move seamlessly from Vizio’s FAST environment, WatchFree+, to services available through paid subscription. The Peacock Preview channel will let consumers with Vizio smart TVs have free access for a three-week period to select episodes from more than 16 Peacock series. Content Connections will serve viewers with “intuitive messages” directing them to participating platforms’ streaming apps. Continue reading Peacock Signs Up for Vizio’s WatchFree+ Discovery Feature