Comcast NBCUniversal continues to lay the groundwork to spin most of its cable television assets off into a new publicly traded entity called Versant, announcing Monday that MSNBC will by year’s end be rebranded as MS NOW — short for “My Source for News Opinion and the World.” The channel’s new logo will no longer include the iconic Peacock, which remains part of the parent company’s NBC branding. The plans were shared in an internal memo from Mark Lazarus, the NBCUniversal Media Group chairman who has been chosen to run Versant as founding CEO. Continue reading MSNBC to Become MS NOW as Part of Versant Cable Spinoff

Comcast’s Xfinity broadband service has launched StreamStore, an online destination for discovering, purchasing and managing streaming apps. Available to Xfinity TV and Internet customers, StreamStore puts a retail spin on a selection of 200,000-plus programs and more than 450 apps. StreamStore is available on a subset of devices that run the Comcast Entertainment OS platform, including X1 set-tops and media players, the Xumo Stream Box and the Xfinity Flex box, and is also being made available via Xfinity.com. Apps for services including Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV+ and others purchased through StreamStore can now be added to Xfinity customer bills. Continue reading Xfinity Bows StreamStore on Web, Comcast Entertainment OS

Fox Corporation found a receptive audience among advertisers during the 2025-26 upfront cycle, where its Tubi streaming service, sports franchise and FOX News operations drew attention and assurances of revenue. Having principally wrapped negotiations, the Murdoch operation won a vote of confidence from Madison Avenue, which promised new spending highs. NBCUniversal, the first company to conclude negotiations, also had a record upfront propelled largely by sports, including what was said to be a sell-out on the Super Bowl inventory across linear, Peacock streaming, and Spanish-language Telemundo platforms (30-second spots reportedly reached $8 million). Continue reading Fox, NBCUniversal Share Results of Successful Upfront Cycle

ABC News will debut an original weekday news show on Disney+. Anchored by James Longman and Rachel Scott, “What You Need to Know” debuts July 21, streaming Monday through Friday beginning at 6:00 a.m. ET and available for 24 hours thereafter on demand. ABC News describes the show as a “short-form series” and “a fast, fresh way to stay ahead of the conversation as viewers start their day.” Formatted for young attention spans, the anchors will deliver headline highlights in an 8-to-10-minute recap. Disney+ President Alisa Bowen says the show offers “smart, bite-sized commentary on the stories that matter most.” Continue reading ABC to Produce Weekday Anchored News Show for Disney+

Peacock wants to be the place to watch basketball this fall when the NBA makes its debut on the streamer with the 2025-2026 season. As the result of an integration between the platform and the NBC Sports production team, Peacock will give basketball fans special functions that make watching NBA games more convenient in their living rooms or on their phones. Multiview and key plays, two popular YouTube features, are coming to the NBA on Peacock. The idea is to provide viewers with an immersive NBA experience. NBCUniversal shared the news at the NBC Upfront presentation at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Continue reading NBCU Enhances Streaming Features for Peacock NBA Debut

Netflix is testing a short-form video feature for mobile to compete for the attention of those spending time on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. The news came out of the company’s inaugural product and tech event where it also shared plans for an OpenAI-powered search tool that lets users describe their desired content conversationally. Netflix plans to introduce improved real-time recommendations and a redesigned TV homepage, rolling out globally in the coming weeks and months, according to Chief Product Officer Eunice Kim, who presided over the event with Chief Technology Officer Elizabeth Stone. Continue reading Netflix Highlights Original Shows in New Vertical Shorts Feed

During the COVID-19 pandemic, gaming enjoyed a tremendous surge in popularity — a high point that has suffered somewhat of a dip in the last year. However, gaming executives are bullish on their 2025 prospects. “During the pandemic we saw double digit growth in mobile, PC and console,” explained Sensor Tower SVP of Gaming & Entertainment Chirag Ambwani. “And now, in the last six months, we’re seeing gaming coming back to growth after that slight dip.” Better, some trends are highlighting the growing importance of gaming, suggest the experts. United Talent Agency’s Michelle Kim moderated a CES panel on Gamevertising to address the latest trends. Continue reading CES: In-Game Sponsorships, Gamified Promos Build Brands

Apple TV+ will be available as a $9.99 monthly add-on with Amazon Prime Video in the U.S., allowing users to use the service in one app with a single bill, the companies announced. The deal has the mutual upside of adding the cachet of award-winning Apple originals like “The Morning Show” and “Ted Lasso” to Amazon Prime, while getting Apple TV+ in front of Prime’s more than 100 million U.S. households. Apple doesn’t release specific subscriber numbers for Apple TV+, which has reportedly accrued about 25 million paid global subscribers since its 2019 launch. Continue reading Apple TV+ to Be Available as an Amazon Prime Video Add-On

Popular video platform Max and food delivery service DoorDash are the latest promotional pairing as streamers vie for new subscribers in an increasingly crowded field. Warner Bros. Discovery has teamed with DoorDash to offer DashPass Annual Plan customers a Max with Ads subscription at no additional cost. It is DoorDash’s first available DashPass member benefit that extends beyond the DoorDash platform. The DashPass Annual Plan membership costs $96 per year, while the Max with Ads tier runs $9.99 per month or $99.99 annually. The new promotion starts this week. Continue reading DoorDash Teams with WBD for a DashPass and Max Bundle

Verizon is offering a year of Netflix Premium at no charge to Verizon Mobile and Home Internet customers who buy an annual subscription to Peacock Premium through its content subscription hub +play. That’s a $275 value (at $22.95 per month) in exchange for a $79.95 Peacock plan, according to the telecom company, which rebranded last month, launching a host of promotional plans in the lead-up to its 2025 silver jubilee. The offer, which started last week, ends August 31. The Peacock push dovetails with parent company NBCUniversal’s presentation of the 2024 Paris Olympics. NBC Sports coverage of the Olympics will include streaming on Peacock. Continue reading Verizon Offering Free Netflix Premium with Peacock Purchase

Nielsen will begin measuring the performance of Lionsgate‘s MovieSphere channel (available on 18 streaming platforms), making it the first major FAST service to get a deep dive regularly disseminated to clients by the analytics firm. Nielsen also collects data from Roku, Peacock, Pluto and Tubi, compiling them as part of the macro view in its monthly trends report “The Gauge.” Detailed MovieSphere data will now be collected and distributed to Nielsen’s ad buyer clients along with the material they receive for traditional networks. Lionsgate launched MovieSphere in 2020, serving-up free movies in AVOD and linear formats. Continue reading MovieSphere Is First Major FAST Channel Measured by Nielsen

Bundling is back. Following the cord-cutting that led to a decline in content subscriptions, consumers now indicate they want multi-service deals, with discounts and choice as to what type of content is included. A new study from Hub Entertainment Research indicates that traditional SVODs have declined overall in household usage while areas such as gaming, music, podcasts and social media have increased. “TV is no longer the center of the entertainment universe,” the study suggests, noting premium video only accounts for about 6.3 percent of consumers’ total entertainment sources. Continue reading Study Finds Many Consumers Seeking Multi-Service Bundles

TikTok is experimenting with allowing users to upload 60-minute videos. The feature is being tested among a limited group of users in certain markets, with no immediate plans for a wider rollout, according to reports, which couch it as a move to take on the short-form platform’s biggest competitor, Google’s YouTube. TikTok debuted in 2016 with a native video format of 15-seconds, though the company has been expanding permissible durations over the years. TikTok users have reportedly been requesting the ability to post longer content for areas such tutorials, demos and sketch comedy. Continue reading TikTok Tests Long-Form Video That Could Challenge YouTube

Comcast broadband and TV customers will be able to subscribe to a streaming bundle that includes Netflix, Apple TV+ and NBCUniversal’s Peacock, Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts announced this week at the 2024 MoffettNathanson Media, Internet and Communications Conference in New York. The package, called StreamSaver, will “come at a vastly reduced price to anything in the market today,” Roberts said, though he did not share pricing. Roberts’ plan comes a week after Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery unveiled plans to bundle Max, Disney+ and Hulu starting this summer, with pricing to be announced. Continue reading Comcast StreamSaver to Bundle Peacock, Netflix, Apple TV+

The summer Olympics are coming to a theater near you, courtesy of NBCUniversal and AMC Theatres. NBC will extend daily live coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics events to 160 AMC locations nationwide, from July 27-August 11. Tickets will be available for purchase through AMC and Fandango this summer. Excluding opening and closing ceremonies, select daytime hours of the NBC network’s coverage will be telecast live to the big screens as they unfold in Paris. A 2024 Paris Olympics promotional trailer will begin running in AMC Theatres beginning March 29. Continue reading NBC Teams with AMC to Bring Live Olympics to the Big Screen