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

Google has quietly launched a film and television production initiative called “100 Zeroes” to fund projects (initially from respected indie studios) that are positive about tech and could help promote a positive take on Google’s own products and services. Google is teaming with talent management and production company Range Media Partners on the initiative. While product placement is expected to be one element (for example: a movie character uses an Android device rather than an iPhone), Google is reportedly more focused on a broader plan to promote a general positive view on technology, especially to younger demographics such as Gen Z. Continue reading Google Launches Initiative for Positive Film, TV Views on Tech

Since launching in 2005, YouTube has hosted more than 20 billion videos including music, shorts and podcasts. Now, to celebrate its 20th birthday, the original video streamer is celebrating by sharing stats, unveiling new features and hiding Easter eggs. In the coming weeks, YouTube TV members will be able to “experiment with building their own multiview” with non-sports content and more creators will be able to voice-reply to comments on their videos, something started as a small test last year. Then, this summer, YouTube’s TV app will unveil a makeover. Continue reading YouTube Adds Features to Celebrate 20 Years, 20 Billion Vids

LG has partnered with AI startup Zenapse and will leverage its proprietary large emotion model (LEM) to power advertising that reflects viewers’ moods and emotions. Building on Zenapse’s “emotional AI and psychographic targeting,” the companies say they will “redefine viewer engagement, personalization, and campaign performance” by applying the technology to LG Ad Solutions’ advanced connected TV platform. As part of the multi-year deal, Zenapse and LG Innovation Labs will work to develop new CTV ad products that integrate emotional intelligence to deliver “more meaningful and measurable brand experiences across 200 million LG smart TVs globally.” Continue reading LG and Zenapse Partner on Emotionally Intelligent Advertising

DirecTV is leaning even further into streaming despite its current decision to ditch its “Stream” branding. As of Sunday, the DirecTV Stream landing page had disappeared, its traffic rerouted to DirecTV.com.  The emphasis is now on streaming on any device, “satellite-free and with no annual contract or hidden fees.” Choosing what to watch and how to watch it “should be simple,” which is why DirecTV says it’s now marketing under a single brand. The main messaging on the new landing page includes a build-your-own channel lineup option and streaming via DirecTV’s bespoke dongle Gemini Air. Continue reading DirecTV Leans into Streaming, Bringing It Under Main Banner

Netflix has gone multilingual, adding a feature that lets viewers choose from a list of more than 30 languages for dubbing or subtitles on any title. The option has previously only been available via mobile and Web browsers, with TV options limited to a handful of choices deemed relevant based on geographic location. Referencing some of its most popular programming — such as South Korea’s “Squid Game,” Spain’s “Berlin” and France’s “Lupin” — Netflix explains, “we know that language availability is what helped these stories and characters find fans beyond their country of origin.” Continue reading Netflix Expands Dubbing and Subtitle Options to 30 Languages

Gamers have been waiting for years for Nintendo’s new gaming device and now they only have to wait until June 5 when the Switch 2 hits shelves starting at $450. The device has a larger, 1080p LCD screen, and supports 4K and in-game chat. Details were revealed during a Nintendo Direct online presentation. Nintendo, which announced details of the new console in January, will over the next few months be holding a series of global roadshow events aimed at letting people have a hands-on experience with Switch 2. The original has sold more than 150 million units. Continue reading Nintendo Switch 2 Out in June with 4K Support, In-Game Chat

Ad measurement firm iSpot has launched Outcomes at Scale with Paramount as its first customer. Designed to speed performance tracking across TV and streaming by helping brands see campaign results almost instantly, allowing them to optimize on the fly, iSpot says Outcomes at Scale makes “attribution” (consumer response to commercials) available rapidly, while making low-funnel insights — metrics occurring closer to the conversion point — more accessible. The company’s new offering aims to provide advertisers with access to conversion-rate tracking, allowing them to see how audience segments are responding to campaigns throughout the ads and dayparts. Continue reading Paramount Adopts iSpot’s New Ad Tech: Outcomes at Scale

Netflix has begun streaming HDR10+ programming for AV1-enabled devices, enhancing the customer viewing experience for subscribers at the $25 per month Premium level. Previously, high-definition content had been limited to HDR10 and Dolby Vision, which it will continue to offer. Netflix has been “a pioneering adopter of High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology” starting nearly a decade ago, not only streaming in the format but also producing and encoding in it. “In the last five years, HDR streaming has increased by more than 300 percent” on Netflix while HDR-configured devices have more than doubled, according to the company. Continue reading Netflix Enhanced Viewing Supports HDR10+ on AV1 Devices

CES 2025 welcomed over 141,000 attendees from around the globe to Las Vegas. With more than 4,500 exhibitors, including 1,400 startups, and more than 6,000 media attendees, CES highlights the innovation and technology trends addressing global challenges and shaping the future. This year’s show focused on artificial intelligence, unveiling a wave of innovative offerings — whether practical, visionary or experimental. Among the show’s major trends were AI integration across all industries, shifting demographics and purchasing patterns (with Gen Z the one to watch), sustainability and security, and smart devices and smarter homes. ETC@USC attended the conference for live reporting on products and services. Our post-show report features extensive coverage and perspectives related to key creative, business, and technology areas. Continue reading ETC’s CES 2025 Report: Focus on AI Innovation & Integration

Staircase Studios AI — the film, television and gaming studio launched by “Divergent” franchise producer Pouya Shahbazian — has announced its investors and shared plans to produce more than 30 projects at budgets under $500,000 over the next 3-4 years. The company will be using a proprietary AI workflow it invented called ForwardMotion that the company says will revolutionize film and television production. The company has acquired multiple pieces of IP, including more than 20 scripts that have appeared on the Black List, which tallies the most popular unproduced scripts. Continue reading Staircase Studios AI Plans 30 Projects Over Next 3 to 4 Years

DirecTV is competing in the budget streaming service space with new Genre Packs available now via streamtv.directv.com and, in the coming months, through device partners. The three new Genre Packs — MyEntertainment, MyNews and MiEspañol — are available starting at $35 a month. They join other new streaming offerings, MyFree DirecTV and DirecTV’s MySports, released in November and January, respectively. Subscribers to any Genre Pack gain access to 100+ channels available through MyFree DirecTV. Only MySports customers can also bundle two new Mini-Packs — MyCinema for $10 a month or MySports Extra for $13 monthly. Continue reading DirecTV Invites Skinny Bundles with Streaming ‘Genre Packs’

TVs have become the primary viewing platform for YouTube in the U.S., surpassing mobile and desktop by watch time. The platform, which turns 20 this year, has gone from people “filming grainy videos of themselves on desktop computers to building studios and producing popular talk shows and feature-length films.” Content creators are “becoming the startups of Hollywood,” wrote CEO Neal Mohan in his annual letter to the YouTube user base. Mohan emphasized the company’s role in the entertainment ecosystem as 2024 marked the second consecutive year that YouTube was the most-watched streaming platform in the U.S., according to Nielsen. Continue reading TV Surpasses Mobile as YouTube’s Primary Viewing Platform

NASCAR has added a new experience that gives spectators a view from race car cockpits with its new “Driver Cam.” Courtesy of TNT Sports and streaming service Max, NASCAR fans were able to see and hear what went on from the driver POV behind the wheel, choosing from among up to 40 vehicles at the 2025 Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina this past weekend. Viewers can select and monitor up to four simultaneous feeds with an array of specialized video, audio and graphics features for the duration of the NASCAR Cup Series calendar for 2025, exclusively on Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max. Continue reading NASCAR Rolls Out a Cockpit ‘Driver Cam’ Exclusively on Max

U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-California) has introduced a bill to thwart foreign-run pirate websites from exploiting loopholes in U.S. law. H.R. 791 — the Foreign Anti-Digital Piracy Act (FADPA) — would allow copyright holders to seek court orders requiring U.S. ISPs to block websites operated by foreign infringers who “present a massive and growing threat — costing American jobs, harming the creative community, and exposing consumers to dangerous security risks.” Lofgren said she worked with members of the tech, film and television industries to craft a proposal that remedies copyright violation without disrupting the free Internet for law abiders. Continue reading MPA Supports Lofgren’s Bill Targeting Foreign Digital Pirates