CBS is launching a unit charged with identifying misinformation and avoiding deepfakes. Called CBS News Confirmed, it will operate out of the news-and-stations division, ferreting out false information generated by artificial intelligence. Claudia Milne, senior VP of CBS News and Stations and its standards and practices chief will run the new group with Ross Dagan, EVP and head of news operations and transformation, CBS News and Stations. CBS plans to hire forensic journalists and will expand training and invest in technologies to assist them in their role. In addition to flagging deepfakes, CBS News Confirmed will also report on them. Continue reading CBS News Confirmed: New Fact-Checking Unit Examining AI

ABC Owned Television Stations, a division of Disney, announced it is launching free 24/7 live and local streaming news services in the eight markets where its stations are located. As brand extensions of New York’s WABC, LA’s KABC, San Francisco’s KGO, Fresno’s KFSN, Philadelphia’s WPVI, Chicago’s WLS, Houston’s KTRK and Raleigh-Durham’s WTVD, the streaming news channels will serve local news and weather, breaking news and lifestyle stories from ABC’s multiplatform Localish as well as exclusive content. The streaming channels will be available via websites, mobile apps, Roku TV, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and more. Continue reading ABC Announces Launch of 8 Local Streaming News Channels

Quibi, the short-form video platform co-founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, signed two new content partners. The Walt Disney Company’s ESPN will provide a daily sports highlights show, which will debut with Quibi’s April launch and be part of that platform’s Daily Essentials. According to Katzenberg, Daily Essentials will curate content and “make it convenient” to viewers. CBS News’ “60 Minutes” will also create “60 in 6,” a version of original news stories condensed into six-minute long episodes specifically for Quibi. Continue reading Quibi Video Platform Inks Deals with ESPN and 60 Minutes

NBC News is introducing its free, ad-supported streaming video service with an eight-hour programming day (3:00-11:00 pm Eastern, Monday through Friday) and a mix of news content. “NBC News Now” hopes to attract a new generation of information aficionados with a blend of short-form “Briefly” updates, live reports and in-depth stories. “We want to be the premiere place for viewers who are news junkies — news savvy, digitally savvy, but may not be watching on traditional platforms or have access to cable service,” explained Rashida Jones, SVP of specials for NBC News and MSNBC, who is overseeing the initiative. Continue reading NBC Targets News Junkies with Ad-Supported OTT Service

NBC plans to launch its free, ad-supported NBC News Now streaming service in early May. The service will be available to everyone, whether or not they subscribe to NBCUniversal cable networks. “It will be something you can access on Apple TV or Roku or any of those other boxes,” NBC News president Noah Oppenheim told a crowd at SXSW in Austin, Texas. “We are going to launch with 8 hours of programming, including live updates at the top of every hour, and when breaking news mandates, we’ll go up live as well.” Continue reading NBC News Plans to Launch Free Streaming Service in May

CBS launched its latest streaming network this week, as part of its strategy to reach younger viewers who are losing interest in traditional pay TV. The free ET Live channel, developed by CBS Interactive and “Entertainment Tonight,” will offer a wide array of entertainment news and related original programming via CBS All Access and ETLive.com, in addition to its own standalone app for Android, iOS, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV (integration with more platforms is expected in the future). CBS recently rolled out a number of streaming services as part of its CBS Local brand. Continue reading CBS Introduces Streaming Network for Entertainment News

CBS is launching apps for Android TV and Amazon Fire TV that will add 360-degree videos to CBSN’s news coverage. The apps will debut with a show documenting production of a “60 Minutes” episode on searching for gorillas in Africa. The apps, which will also feature a new playlist for 360-degree videos, will offer curated video playlists, a personalized playlist of favorite videos and features for finding related videos. Viewers will be able to use their remote control to navigate the videos. Continue reading CBS Brings 360-Degree Video to Android TV, Amazon Fire TV

Earlier this week, we reported that Twitter is partnering with CBS News to live-stream video content from the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. Now YouTube and Facebook have announced they also plan to offer live video. Google’s YouTube will serve as the official streamer for both parties’ conventions (as it did in 2012), which this time will include 360-degree video with an option for VR viewing. Facebook plans to set up media lounges at both conventions and has invited 22 media organizations to broadcast from their spaces. Continue reading YouTube, Facebook to Stream Video from Political Conventions

Twitter announced that it is partnering with CBS News to live-stream the upcoming Democratic and Republican National Conventions. In the company’s latest step toward ramping up its live news and entertainment broadcasting, Twitter will make convention videos available on its desktop and mobile apps via a live feed from the CBSN digital streaming news service. The social platform will also provide a stream of related tweets for real-time commentary. Live events, including the Academy Awards and Grammys, have been popular for online conversations across Twitter. Continue reading Twitter Plans to Live-Stream Political Conventions This Month

The battle between terrorism and privacy has been brewing for quite some time, and the tipping point was the iPhone belonging to Syed Rizwan Farook, who, with his wife, opened fire at an office party in December 2015, killing 14 people and injuring 22. The FBI has been trying to decrypt Farook’s phone, unsuccessfully, and asked Apple to create a “backdoor” code into the phone. Apple refused, and now a court order gives the Silicon Valley company five days to comply. Chief executive Tim Cook is holding firm. Continue reading Apple and U.S. Government Battle Over Privacy vs. Terrorism

With an app from startup Watchup, Apple TV users can now receive free customized newscasts from 160 news partners, including CNN, Fox News Channel, CBS News and Tribune Media, as well as local news covering 80 percent of U.S. markets. Users can select topics of interest and then further refine resulting newscasts by “liking” or “disliking” specific reports. The app supports fourth-generation Apple TV, launched last fall, as well as apps for iOS and Android, Amazon Fire TV, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii U. Continue reading Watchup for Personalized Newscasts is Now Free on Apple TV

CBS announced yesterday that it would likely offer programming from premium cabler Showtime via a streaming service for viewers who do not pay for TV subscriptions. The move follows the launch of a service for the CBS broadcast network and news of HBO’s standalone service. Meanwhile, CBS News is expected to announce a video streaming service today. CBSN will reportedly be distributed via broadband as an effort to attract viewers who are increasingly turning to social media and mobile devices for their news. Continue reading CBS to Offer Showtime and CBS News as Streaming Services