Tom Sandoval is getting his co-stars really, really mad.
23.05.2023 - 16:07 / variety.com
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor With cord-cutting at an all-time high, Comcast is introducing a new streaming subscription option to keep broadband customers in the video fold. On Tuesday, Comcast announced Now TV, a new streaming offering that includes more than 40 live cable entertainment channels from A+E Networks, AMC, Hallmark and Warner Bros. Discovery — but no local broadcast TV or sports channels — plus 20-plus integrated free, ad-supported television (FAST) channels from NBC, Sky and Xumo Play. In addition. Now TV includes a bundled subscription to Peacock Premium with ads. Now TV will be available to Comcast’s Xfinity Internet customers within the next few weeks, priced at $20 per month. Now TV does not require an additional set-top box and lets customers sign up or cancel at any time.
At launch, Now TV Live and Xfinity Stream’s FAST channels will be accessible through the Xfinity Stream app on supported devices, including Xfinity Flex, Amazon’s Fire TV, iOS- and Android-powered devices, and via casting through Apple AirPlay and Google Chromecast. According to Comcast, it developed Now TV “to meet the needs of the value-conscious consumer who wants an entertainment product that is simple and convenient with quality programming movies, top shows, live sports and news.” “With content and connectivity at the core of our company, we are uniquely positioned to build and deliver streaming entertainment offerings unlike anything else out there today,” Dave Watson, president and CEO of Comcast Cable, said in announcing the service. Comcast, the largest pay-TV provider in the U.S., dropped 614,000 video customers in Q1 — the most of any single company — to stand at 15.53 million at the end of the period. Asked about
Tom Sandoval is getting his co-stars really, really mad.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Twitch to creators: Oops, never mind. The Amazon-owned livestreaming platform on Wednesday revoked its new branded-content guidelines the day after putting them into place, following a backlash from creators. The changes, which were scheduled to be effective July 1, would have restricted the kinds of ads allowed on Twitch — completely banning “burned-in” (i.e., in-stream) video, audio and display ads on the platform and restricting on-screen logos to a maximum of 3% of the screen size. Twitch on Wednesday reversed course. “Yesterday, we released new Branded Content Guidelines that impacted your ability to work with sponsors to increase your income from streaming. These guidelines are bad for you and bad for Twitch, and we are removing them immediately,” Twitch said in a statement.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor A software update for Apple TV devices coming this fall can turn customers’ big-screen TVs into videconferencing hubs with the addition of Apple’s FaceTime, and later Zoom and Webex. The tvOS 17 update, the next version of Apple’s operating system for Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD, also includes a feature called Enhance Dialogue, which promises to let users more clearly hear what is being said over the effects, action and music in a movie or TV show. The catch: It will work only on Apple TV 4K devices that are paired with Apple’s HomePod (second generation) smart speakers. In one handy new feature, tvOS 17 will let iPhone users locate the Apple TV’s Siri Remote if, say, it gets stuck between couch cushions or has fallen behind a cabinet. With the Apple TV remote inside the iPhone’s Control Center, an onscreen circle grows in size as users get closer to the misplaced remote.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor N’Jeri Eaton, former head of audio at Netflix and head of content at Apple Podcasts, is joining Wondery as head of co-productions for limited series. Eaton reports to George Lavender, head of creative production for limited series at Wondery. Eaton will oversee the podcast studio and network’s external collaborations, managing multiple shows from their initial idea through production and launch. For its original limited series, Wondery — a division of Amazon — has collaborated with partners including the Boston Globe’s Spotlight Team (“Gladiator”), NBC News (“Do No Harm”) and Bloomberg (“The Shrink Next Door,” which was adapted as an Apple TV+ show).
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney, after removing dozens of shows and movies from Disney+ and Hulu last week, said it will incur a $1.5 billion impairment charge for the June quarter. In an SEC filing Friday, the company said that on May 26, 2023, it removed “certain produced content” from its direct-to-consumer streaming services. As a result, Disney will record a $1.5 billion impairment charge in its fiscal third quarter financial statements “to adjust the carrying value of these content assets to fair value.” Disney said it’s continuing to review content on streaming platforms and “currently anticipates additional produced content will be removed from its DTC and other platforms, largely during the remainder of its third fiscal quarter.” As a result, Disney currently estimates it may incur further impairment charges of up to about $400 million related to produced content.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ella Irwin, after less than seven months as head of trust and safety at Elon Musk’s Twitter, has resigned from the company. Irwin confirmed to Reuters that she resigned but did not provide a reason for her exit. Earlier, Fortune reported that Irwin’s Slack account at Twitter appeared to have been deactivated. Neither Irwin nor Musk have publicly tweeted about her departure. An email to Twitter’s press account requesting comment returned an autoreply with a poop emoji. Attempts to contact Irwin were unsuccessful. As Twitter’s head of trust and safety, Irwin oversaw enforcement of its content moderation policies. Musk, a self-described “free-speech absolutist,” has eased some restrictions in Twitter’s content policies — and reinstated thousands of previously banned accounts. Third-party groups have criticized Twitter for apparent increases in instances of hate speech and lax policy enforcement since Musk assumed control; Musk has previously denied that an increase in hate speech on Twitter.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor In a symbolic rebuke of Netflix’s top executives, company shareholders voted against approving the compensation packages of leaders including co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters. At the streamer’s June 1 annual shareholders meeting, investors failed to approve the proposed exec pay packages for 2023. But the vote was a non-binding “say on pay” measure, meaning Netflix’s board can disregard the result. The vote came after the WGA had urged investors to vote against Netflix’s exec compensation measures in a letter Tuesday. “While investors have long taken issue with Netflix’s executive pay, the compensation structure is more egregious against the backdrop of the strike,” WGA West president Meredith Stiehm wrote in the letter to Netflix shareholders.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Vimeo is ending support for its existing TV apps — with the video management and hosting provider telling customers they’ll have a “better ongoing experience” by using video-casting features instead. The company is ceasing support for Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, and Roku as of June 27, 2023. “That means we will remove the TV apps from the app stores and we will not publish any new releases, security updates or provide technical support for TV apps,” Vimeo says in a notice on its help site. Why is Vimeo ending support for its TV apps? According to the message on the customer-support site, “Occasionally, we retire legacy products and features that are no longer consistent with our standards. We believe that our users looking to view Vimeo videos will receive a better ongoing experience by casting via our mobile app, enabling customers to enjoy Vimeo content on their TV.”
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Meta — still trying to make the metaverse happen — unveiled its next-generation VR and mixed-reality headset, the Meta Quest 3, which will ship this fall for a price point starting at $500. Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg announced the Quest 3 in an Instagram post Thursday. The headset is “the first mainstream headset with high-res color mixed reality” capabilities, according to Zuckerberg. It’s 40% thinner than the Quest 2 and “more comfortable” than its predecessor, he added. Meta’s announcement comes ahead of Apple’s 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference next week, where Apple is expected to introduce its own mixed-reality headset.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor AMC Theatres is mothballing its on-demand movie service — and moving users and their content libraries over to Vudu, the video rental and sell-through streaming platform owned by NBCUniversal’s Fandango. Starting Thursday, June 1, AMC Theatres On Demand users can transfer their accounts to Vudu, which now serves as the theater chain’s streaming platform. With the transition, the companies said, many of the movies previously purchased through AMC Theatres On Demand will be “upgraded to the highest-quality format available” on Vudu, including 4K Ultra HD. Consumers with applicable titles in their libraries will automatically receive those upgrades for free. Additionally, AMC Theatres On Demand users who are new Vudu consumers are eligible for a 15% discount on each purchase made on the service in their first month.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Pluto TV is reprising its summer movie event with a rotating batch of more than 200 films coming to the streaming service — all for the low price of free. The titles include installments of fan-favorite franchises ahead of their upcoming new releases in theaters this summer, including the first four movies in the Indiana Jones and Mission: Impossible series, plus “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.” Pluto TV’s Popcorn Summer Movies 2023 slate, the third year of the programming event, also includes popular films such as “Titanic,” “Gladiator,” “Old School,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.” The additional movies are on top of Pluto TV’s existing catalog of several thousand free films.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Disney+ is now streaming the first four Indiana Jones movies, starring Harrison Ford as the legendary snake-hating archeologist action hero. The media company is looking to whip up interest in the theatrical release of the franchise’s fifth and final installment, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” Starting May 31, Disney+ subscribers can stream “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” as well as the TV series “The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones.” The upcoming “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this month, opens exclusively in theaters June 30; Disney hasn’t announced a premiere date for the film on Disney+.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor DirecTV announced a multiyear deal to sell the NFL’s Sunday Ticket out-of-market games package to commercial venues in the U.S., starting with the 2023 season. Under the pact with the NFL’s EverPass Media, DirecTV will continue to offer the Sunday football games to customers including casinos, restaurants, bars, hotel lounges and retail shops. The announcement comes after DirecTV lost its 28-year hold on Sunday Ticket for consumers, with Google securing a seven-year deal with the NFL to sell the package via YouTube. The satellite TV operator didn’t announce pricing for Sunday Ticket — which includes all Sunday day games broadcast by CBS and Fox — under the new commercial agreement. In past years, DirecTV’s pricing for the package has been tiered based on fire code occupancy (FCO) rates starting at $650/season for establishments with a certified FCO of 1-100, stepping up to $6,000/season for establishments with capacity of 101-200 and even higher for larger venues.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor It’s back! MoviePass, after emerging from bankruptcy under new ownership, is launching its movie-theater subscription service nationwide ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. The service lets MoviePass members choose from more than 4,000 theater locations across the U.S., including those operated by AMC Theatres, Regal Cinemas and Cinemark. However, the reincarnated MoviePass is a far cry from the too-good-to-be-true $9.95-per-month subscription for one movie per day that the company had offered in its previous life. Plans start at $10/month for 1-3 movies per month, ranging up to $40/month for up to 30. The new MoviePass uses a credit-based system to offer different options for the total amount of films a subscriber can see each month (see plan details below).
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has officially launched his battle with Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. On Wednesday, the conservative politician filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission declaring his candidacy. That came ahead of DeDantis’ scheduled interview with Twitter owner Elon Musk on the social media platform’s Spaces live-audio feature, set for 6 p.m. ET. DeSantis, 44, has gained national prominence for pursuing an “anti-woke” agenda as governor of the Sunshine State. That has included his very public fight with Disney, ignited by the media conglomerate’s opposition to Florida’s so-called Don’t Say Gay law.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Jeffrey Katzenberg took a massive swing at the streaming biz with Quibi — and despite the startup’s shutdown just six months after it launched, he says he’s still proud of the effort. Katzenberg, an investor, Hollywood producer and former top studio chief, founded Quibi with former eBay and Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman. The streaming service had positioned itself as the HBO of short-form mobile video and had raised $1.75 billion before it closed its doors in late 2020 after failing to attract subscribers. Katzenberg reflected on Quibi in an interview with LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky on the latest episode of the business-focused social network’s “The Path” series. “I’m humbled by the failure,” Katzenberg said. “But I’m proud that what we tried was a moonshot.”
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor If you’re sharing your Netflix password with someone who doesn’t live with you, get ready to pay up — it will cost $7.99 per month extra to add another user to your account. On Tuesday, Netflix said it is launching its crackdown on illicit password sharing to its biggest market, the U.S., angling to squeeze a bigger chunk of change from customers who share their logins with friends and family outside their household. “Your Netflix account is for you and the people you live with your household,” Netflix says in an email to U.S. customers. To share Netflix with someone outside of your household, you can transfer a profile to a new membership that someone else pays for, or you can buy an extra member for $7.99/month in addition the cost of the main subscription.
Comcast is rolling out Now TV, a streaming offering aimed at what it calls “the value-conscious consumer who wants an entertainment product.”
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor It’s the big launch day for Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max — and the newly revamped streaming service appears to encountering some technical problems right off the bat. On Wednesday morning, subscribers took to social media to complain that they were having logging in to Max, which is replacing the three-year-old HBO Max service. As reported by users, the issues spanned the Max.com website as well as mobile apps including iOS and connected-TV apps on Roku and Samsung TV. Of course, there are bound to be some problems in migrating millions of customers over to a new streaming platform. A Warner Bros. Discovery rep declined to specify how widespread the issues that users are encountering may be. The May 23 conversion from HBO Max to Max covers only the U.S.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Max, Warner Bros. Discovery’s bulked-up and revamped streaming service that takes the place of HBO Max, makes it U.S. debut on Wednesday (May 23). Max makes several subtle enhancements aimed at making the service easier to use and more engaging — while execs say it should also be more stable than HBO Max. According to the company, a “large portion” of HBO Max subscribers will have their apps automatically updated to Max — while in some cases, users will be prompted to download an updated Max app. If all goes as planned, HBO Max subscribers will have their previous plan (including their username, password and billing information), profiles, avatars, and settings including “Continue Watching” and “My List” items migrated over to the new Max.