Social platform X, formerly Twitter, has added news summaries generated by Grok, the chatbot of Elon Musk’s xAI, exclusively for Premium subscribers. The personalized trending “Stories” appear in the For You tab of the app’s Explore section. The feature is available on the web and for iOS users for now. For You consists of trending items shared across the platform and within individual networks, along with recommended posts. Grok essentially becomes the voice of X’s news aggregator, teasing articles with short blurbs that link to what X users are saying on the subject. Critics are concerned about Grok’s tone, interpretation of information, and potential for creating fake news. Continue reading X Premium Intros News Blurbs Generated by Musk’s Grok AI

Netflix has completed a worldwide technology upgrade that improves video quality for Premium subscribers viewing 4K HDR titles. The move is being hailed as welcome news in the wake of a price hike to $22.99 from $19.99 for U.S. Premium customers. Netflix used the “dynamic optimization” video encoding method to implement an HDR variant of the company’s VMAF (Video Multimethod Assessment Fusion) quality metric. The new HDR-VMAF is the result of a collaboration between Netflix and Dolby Laboratories that employs “subjective tests with 4K HDR content using high-end OLED panels,” according to Netflix. Continue reading Netflix Uses Deep Learning to Optimize Streaming in 4K HDR

Sweden-based digital music service Spotify has redesigned its television user interface to make it look and feel more like the platform’s desktop and mobile experiences, a move its users have been waiting for. The frequently played content now appears at the top of the interface, while playlists and favorites are also easily accessed. A playback queue that opens from the side of the screen lets you see what’s playing and program what’s coming up, and you can easily switch accounts by toggling profile options. A dark mode option has been added for the television interface as well. Continue reading Spotify Redesigns TV Interface to Better Match Its Mobile App

LinkedIn expects to pass the 1 billion user mark this month, and timed to that feat is unleashing a new suite of AI productivity tools, including job coaching, personalized digests and help writing original content for the platform. The new machine learning assists will initially be available only to Premium subscribers, centered on the aforementioned three main areas. The move follows months in which LinkedIn has been upgrading its AI capabilities in areas like automated recruiter messaging, job descriptions and profile writing suggestions. The improvements draw on OpenAI technology, in which LinkedIn parent Microsoft has an ownership stake. Continue reading Nearing 1 Billion Users, LinkedIn Debuts Job Coach Chatbot

Netflix can chalk up another solid quarter, with Q3 revenue of $8.5 billion, up 8 percent year-over-year, with 9 million new subscribers for a total of 247 million worldwide. Netflix attributes the strong subscriber growth in part to its ongoing password-sharing crackdown. The company has now officially rolled out what it calls “paid sharing” in all regions in which it operates, reporting that there were fewer resulting cancellations than expected. Rather, it says it has largely effectuated its desired result of converting piggybacking customers into paid subscribers. Meanwhile, Netflix is raising its rates as it continues to add originals and “license titles from around the world.” Continue reading Netflix Raising Rates After Profitable Q3, Subscriber Growth

As expected, Spotify unveiled its first premium subscription rate hike in 12 years after mounting pressure from the music industry and musicians — and as competing services hiked their rates. A premium Spotify streaming subscription in the U.S. will now cost $10.99 per month, a $1 increase. Now the largest paid music service in the world, with about 210 million subscribers, Spotify is also raising rates in some 50 additional markets, including Canada, parts of Europe and Asia, South America and Australasia. Existing customers are getting one month’s notice before the new rates kick in. Continue reading Spotify Announces Anticipated Price Hikes for Subscriptions

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

Streamers will have a major presence at the TV Upfront presentations to advertisers in New York this week. Research firm Antenna says nearly 25 percent of domestic customers of Disney+, Netflix and Max opted for reduced-price, ad-supported subscriptions in February, while more than half the customers for Hulu+ and Peacock opted for the same. Antenna CEO Jonathan Carson said that “given the choice, Americans are choosing ads,” which is good news for marketers, who were initially concerned that the shift from cable to a la carte subscription streaming would edge out advertising. Continue reading Ad-Supported Streaming Tiers Vie for Piece of the Upfront Pie

Spotify is adding new features that will allow for more social expression and help users discover new music, among other things. The audio streaming giant service is adding a video feed designed to recommend songs, podcasts and audiobooks via short clips, like those found on TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram. “Previews,” as they’re called, allow users to swipe through content recommendations. Generated either via algorithm or configured by an artist or podcaster, the short videos are meant to encourage a deep dive into something new or saving for later.
Continue reading Spotify Launches New Video Feed to Keep Listeners Listening

OpenAI is piloting a $20 per month subscription plan called ChatGPT Plus for its text-generating chatbot. The paid plan offers benefits over the free version that include faster response times, access to ChatGPT even during peak periods and early access to new features. OpenAI will soon begin inviting U.S. customers to subscribe and said it plans to offer the Plus plan in more territories. Since debuting ChatGPT, the company has received feedback from “millions of people” using the viral to draft prose, edit content, brainstorm ideas, educate and assist with programming. Continue reading ChatGPT, the Fastest Growing App, Intros Subscription Plan

Popular game streaming service Twitch — owned by parent company Amazon — plans to shrink the amount of subscription revenue it shares with top creators. After earnings surpass $100,000 in a 12-month period, the split with these premium streamers will reduce from 70/50 to 50/50, the same subscription share Twitch makes available to all streamers. The change goes into effect in June 2023, but Twitch stars are already rebelling. Having already lost a number of top creators to YouTube Gaming, Twitch potentially finds itself in a precarious position. Continue reading Twitch to Reduce Revenue Sharing with Premium Streamers

Netflix is reportedly considering a move to enforce one of its terms of service: that a customer’s account credentials cannot be shared with individuals beyond the account holder’s household. The company recently introduced a limited test that displays a warning that reads, “if you don’t live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching.” It next prompts viewers with three options: to get an email or text verification code to authenticate the account, click on a button to verify later, or sign up for a new account. Continue reading Netflix Running Test to Curb Unauthorized Password Sharing

Apple TV 4K, with the launch of tvOS 12, is about to get Dolby Atmos surround sound. Dolby Atmos, initially launched in movie theaters, differs from other cinema surround sound systems by replacing a fixed number of audio channels with the concept of audio “objects.” With Atmos, sound designers and mixers can manipulate each sound as an audio “object” and place it anywhere inside the “virtual” theater. When Atmos is played back in a real theater, the mix is mapped to the speakers to recreate the original intent. Continue reading Apple TV Offers a Turnkey Premium Format With Dolby Atmos

Google’s YouTube will now sell Vevo’s music video clips directly to advertisers, as part of a deal struck late last year but just made public. Up until now, Vevo had the first pass at selling its own videos, leaving automated, remnant ad sales to Google. At YouTube’s “Brandcast” pitch event to advertisers, the company did not so much announce the terms of the deal, but let it slip that it was selling Vevo clips in its “Google Preferred” tier, which is a collection of its most valuable and most “brand-safe” content. Continue reading YouTube to Sell Vevo Music Video Clips Direct to Advertisers

Pandora Media is launching free on-demand music with 15-second ads, in an effort to boost declining revenue and users. In doing so, it inches closer to rival Spotify’s model. According to one source, the user will be able to queue up 15 minutes, 30 minutes or an hour of specific songs for every ad watched; the company is still testing models that mix music and ads. By offering free songs in exchange for ads, Pandora hopes to entice listeners to sign up for its $9.99 per month Premium on-demand tier, which was introduced in March. Continue reading Pandora Hopes to Convert Users with Free On-Demand Music