HBO Max will start streaming as Max in the U.S. beginning May 23, according to Warner Bros. Discovery. With the rebrand, significant content from Discovery+ as well as new original programming including a series derived from “The Big Bang Theory” and a prequel to the HBO Original “Game of Thrones” will join the platform’s offerings. “The one to watch for every mood and every moment,” is WBD’s tagline for Max, which will offer three tiers. The top-tier Max Ultimate, at $19.99 a month or $199.99 per year, will stream ad-free at up to 4K UHD with Dolby Atmos sound. Continue reading WBD Rebrands HBO Max, Announces New Original Content

Virtual production in its current form has been around for about two years, but they’ve been light years. From novice to veteran, everyone is still learning the ins and outs, the difference between previs and techvis, 3D and 2.5D. The pandemic fast-forwarded “to about six months a development process that used to happen on a four-year cycle, so a lot of buzzwords and concepts went from zero to 100 percent very quickly,” Lux Machina president Zach Alexander shared at the first annual SVG Silicon Valley Video Summit (SVVS), which brought together more than 400 digital practitioners from numerous areas. Continue reading Panelists Evaluate Challenges, Benefits of Virtual Production

Warner Bros. Discovery saw streaming subscriptions grow to almost 95 million globally in Q3 across HBO, HBO Max and Discovery+, propelled largely by “House of the Dragon,” the hotly anticipated “Game of Thrones” prequel. The buoyant performance prompted WBD CEO David Zaslav to announce on the earnings call that the company has accelerated the U.S. launch for the new streaming platform that combines HBO Max and Discovery+ to spring, rather than waiting until summer 2023 as originally planned. The growth translates to 2.8 million HBO, HBO Max and Discovery+ subscriptions added from Q2 to Q3 — 500,000 of them domestically. Continue reading Warner Bros. Discovery Adds Nearly 3 Million DTC Subs in Q3

Streaming broke another all-time record in September, claiming 36.9 percent of total television usage. YouTube captured an 8 percent streaming share, enough to make it the No. 1 most-watched service, a first for the Google-owned platform, according to Nielsen’s monthly media snapshot “The Gauge.” Broadcast’s share also grew in September, climbing to 24.2 percent, while cable dropped to 33.8 percent. Total television usage increased 2.4 percent over August, with Nielsen citing the return of football as the rising tide that lifted all boats in in September, “as it provided new content across broadcast, cable and streaming.” Meanwhile, Pluto TV made a splash entering the rankings for the first time. Continue reading YouTube Tops Nielsen Gauge for First Time, Pluto Breaks Out

Entertainment company CJ ENM has opened what is being described as the world’s largest virtual production stage to use Samsung MicroLED technology. The facility, created in collaboration with Samsung Electronics, is outfitted with connected cameras and offers a 360-degree backdrop using Samsung’s “The Wall.” The South Korean virtual production stage will be used to produce scripted and unscripted shows for film and television and serve as a venue for concerts and other entertainment events. CJ ENM says the virtual production technology will also produce the next generation of immersive content for augmented reality experiences and the metaverse. Continue reading CJ ENM Opens the Largest MicroLED Virtual Production Stage

Unity has agreed to acquire the technology division of filmmaker Peter Jackson’s Weta Digital for a price reported at $1.625 billion. The San Francisco-based creator of the popular 3D game platform says the Academy Award-winning VFX firm will “continue as a standalone entity” renamed WetaFX, which Unity predicts will become its largest customer in the media and entertainment space, delivering tools Unity says will “unlock the full potential of the metaverse.” Weta and Unity have already been deeply involved over the years, collaborating on a host of tools used for films, games and immersive experiences. Continue reading Unity to Acquire Tech Division of Peter Jackson’s Weta Digital

WarnerMedia’s ad sales division is launching House of Max in Q4 this year to develop commercials that incorporate characters and concepts from its various HBO Max series. WarnerMedia senior VP of entertainment marketing solutions Maureen Polo said the studio’s “wide array of programs” will “allow brands to make more thoughtful and meaningful connections” with consumers, adding “we can produce content that doesn’t feel like advertising.” Intellectual property will be available from programs including “Hacks,” “The Flight Attendant,” and “Gossip Girl.” Continue reading WarnerMedia Launches House of Max Studio to Produce Ads

Thanks to a new partnership between WarnerMedia’s HBO Max and social messaging platform Snapchat, up to 64 Snapchatters will be able to co-watch full-length episodes of HBO series via the HBO Max Mini, part of the Snap Minis feature, which debuted last year to host third-party experiences through the social app. With Minis, the user can access Headspace to meditate, buy movie tickets with friends via Atom and, now, watch entire HBO episodes including pilots of “Lovecraft Country” and “Game of Thrones.” Viewers will be able to synchronize playback and watch the same title together. Continue reading HBO to Stream Episodes, Enable Watch Parties on Snapchat

In 2020 Amazon spent $11 billion on Prime services content, up 41 percent from the $7.8 billion it spent in 2019. The sum includes licensing and production costs and costs related to digital subscriptions and content it sells and rents. The first season of its “Lord of the Rings” TV show reportedly cost $465 million to produce. However, Amazon canceled the “Lord of the Rings” online role-playing game announced in 2019. The huge sums Amazon is putting into content reflects its desire to dominate global digital entertainment. Continue reading Amazon Spent Heavily on Video and Music Content Last Year

WarnerMedia’s HBO has partnered with Seattle-based Scener to allow HBO Now and HBO GO subscribers to create a private virtual theater, including video chat, for up to 20 people. Scener already allows co-viewing for Netflix accounts. This is HBO’s first significant partnership with an online co-viewing platform. Scener co-founder Joe Braidwood said the company saw a “crazy surge in demand” for the product with the COVID-19 pandemic. The partnership, which began in March, includes a new design for the site and update for Google Chrome browsers. Continue reading Scener Offers Virtual Theater and Video Chat for HBO, Netflix

Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill built “League of Legends,” a monster video game that draws up to 8 million concurrent players daily and has reaped billions of dollars. But, tired of being disrespected by the broader culture as a game maker, Merrill has come up with a way he hopes will minimize the negative judgment: expand beyond the video gaming world to produce a TV show, “Arcane.” The two “Angry Birds” films earned a combined $500 million at the box office and “Assassin’s Creed” made $240.6 million. Continue reading Riot Games to Produce Show Based on ‘League of Legends’

In the first month since its debut, streaming platform Disney+ ranked No. 1 every day in Apple’s App Store and Google Play in the U.S., with 22 million global downloads of its mobile app. According to Apptopia, Disney+ has averaged 9.5 million daily active users, 84 percent of whom reside in the U.S. It added that the new streaming service also has 5.8 percent longer average session times on a per-user basis than Netflix and 7.8 percent longer than Amazon Prime Video. Google reported that “Disney Plus” was its top search trend for 2019. Continue reading New Disney Streamer Tops App Downloads, Google Search

Facebook announced plans to release three new ad units under the banner Advertising You Can Play With: polls, playable ads (both in the mobile News Feed), and, last, AR ads that will debut in beta in the fall. Playable ads, first shown at the ChinaJoy gaming conference in August 2018, allow users to install and try apps before buying them. AR ads have been in a test phase, with select advertisers, since Facebook revealed them at its F8 developer conference in 2018. All three products emphasize interactivity. Continue reading Facebook Unveils Three New Ad Units: Polls, Playable, AR

In a subtle swipe against Netflix’s algorithm-based TV/movie recommendations, HBO unveiled “Recommended by Humans,” a new marketing site featuring 36 video and 150 Twitter recommendations from HBO fans enthusing over new series “Chernobyl,” “Game of Thrones” and “Succession,” as well as older shows such as “Sex and the City,” “The Sopranos,” “The Wire” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” HBO put out a call for viewers willing to go on camera to recommend their favorite shows. “The best recommendations come from real people,” said HBO. Continue reading New HBO Campaign Offers Recommendations by Humans

AT&T plans to rename streaming service DirecTV Now as AT&T TV Now. Its new streaming service AT&T TV will be tested in a handful of markets; customers will be able to access AT&T TV and AT&T TV Now via the same AT&T TV app on mobile devices and/or connected TVs. To continue service, DirecTV Now subscribers will have to accept AT&T’s terms of service, and will then be able to log in with the same credentials. AT&T, which has not released pricing information for the new services yet, lost about two million traditional pay-TV subs last year.  Continue reading AT&T Readies Streaming Service, Rebrands DirecTV Now