Plex Data Breach: Streaming Service Says User Emails, Passwords Were Accessed by Third Party

German media giant ProSiebenSat.1 has struck a deal to pick up the remaining 50% stake in the German streaming service Joyn from Warner Bros Discovery.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Not surprisingly, the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 8 — ending a historic 70-year reign — spurred renewed interest in “The Crown,” the popular Netflix series that follows the monarch’s life and events during her time on the throne over multiple decades. “The Crown,” which begins in the late 1940s prior to Elizabeth’s becoming the Queen of England, will end with Season 6, taking the show into the early 2000s. Between Friday and Sunday (Sept. 9-11), the show’s viewership in the U.K. increased more than 800% compared with the previous Friday-Sunday period, according to data analytics firm Whip Media. In the U.S., viewership of “The Crown” more than quadrupled from Friday-Sunday compared with the previous week, and in France viewing jumped threefold, per Whip Media.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Roku unveiled a software update to its streaming operating system — OS 11.5 — that among other features will introduce a new section on its streaming devices called “The Buzz,” stocked with short-form promotional content from entertainment partners. The goal: to provide another entry point for users to discover and watch new TV shows and movies. On the hardware side, the company is launching minimal changes to its product family for the 2022 holiday shopping season, with upgraded models of the Roku Express entry-level streaming player and its wireless subwoofer (now called Roku Wireless Bass). In addition to The Buzz, Roku OS 11.5 will add two “significant updates” to its What to Watch feature — a Continue Watching option and an expanded platform-wide Save List — along with updates to Roku Voice, expanding Bluetooth private listening to be compatible with the Roku Ultra, Roku Streambar and Roku Streambar Pro; the addition of categories to the Live TV Channel Guide and a redesigned, “more visual” Roku Store section.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Elon Musk keeps finding new reasons why he believes he can back out of his $44 billion agreement to buy Twitter. In a Sept. 9 letter to Twitter, Musk’s lawyers called out the social network’s separation agreement with Peiter “Mudge” Zatko — its former head of security who was fired in January — under which Twitter made severance payments to Zatko and his counsel totaling $7.75 million. That, according to Musk’s legal team, violated a provision of the acquisition agreement under which Twitter agreed to not “grant or provide any severance or termination payments or benefits to any Company Service Provider other than the payment of severance amounts or benefits in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice” without first getting approval from Musk. The definition of “Company Service Provider” includes Twitter’s former employees, per the letter.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The blowback Warner Bros. Discovery received over its cancellation of “Batgirl” was “blown out of proportion,” according to CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels. Last month came word that “Batgirl,” the $90 million Warner Bros./DC movie starring Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, would not be released theatrically, on HBO Max, or anywhere else. WBD, formed formed earlier this year by Discovery’s acquisition of WarnerMedia, determined that taking a tax write-off for “Batgirl” made more financial sense than releasing it commercially. “To me, you know, it’s blown out of proportion a little bit, in terms of the attention externally,” said Wiedenfels, speaking Thursday at the Bank of America Securities Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference, regarding the “Batgirl” decision. “The focus is, on a go-forward basis here, we’re spending more than ever in the history of the two legacy companies on content. We’re continuing to make significant investments — [but] we’ll make them differently.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The YouTube Streamy Awards are coming back this year in-person for the first time since 2019. The 2022 Streamys — the annual awards recognizing the internet’s most notable video creators, shows and brands — will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Dec. 4. The show will stream exclusively on YouTube for the fifth straight year. Marking its 12th year, the 2022 Streamys will feature more than 45 award categories, including Creator of the Year, Show of the Year and Breakout Creator. The program also features the Streamys Brand Awards, launched in 2018, which spotlights brand advertising innovation.

“I don’t think all streamers are created equal, “ Bob Iger bluntly said today at the 2022 Code Conference. “I don’t think they’ll all make it.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Soumya Sriraman, most recently head of Amazon’s Prime Video Channels, has been hired by Qurate Retail Group, the parent company of QVC and HSN, as president of streaming. In the newly created role at the John Malone-controlled company, Sriraman will lead Qurate Retail’s streaming commerce business, which includes the QVC+ and HSN+ streaming services and QVC’s and HSN’s expanding presence on digital livestreaming TV. Sriraman joins the company effective Sept. 7, reporting to Mary Campbell, president of vCommerce Ventures (the business unit that operates the company’s streaming service). Sriraman spent two years leading Amazon’s Prime Video Channels in the U.S. and exited the role this summer, as first reported by Variety. She was in charge of the business that sells add-on subscription services for Paramount+, Discovery+, Starz, PBS and others to Amazon Prime members. Prior to Amazon, Sriraman was the founding CEO and president of streaming service BritBox, formed by the BBC and ITV. Before that she served was EVP of franchise and digital enterprises at BBC Studios and held senior positions at Tartan, Vivendi Universal, Warner Bros. and Universal Studios.

Big Sean has released an expanded edition of ‘Detroit’ on streaming services, in celebration of the 2012 mixtape’s 10-year anniversary.‘Detroit’ arrives complete with the mixtape’s original 18-song tracklist — which featured guest appearances from Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole and Jhené Aiko — with the addition of the previously unreleased song ‘More Thoughts’.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Serena Williams, considered by many to be the greatest women’s tennis player ever, is also the GOAT on Twitter among female athletes. Williams was defeated by Ajla Tomlijanovic of Australia during their women’s singles third-round match Friday at the 2022 U.S. Open. The loss likely marks the end of Williams’ 27-year tennis career, as she earlier this month said she planned to retire after playing in the U.S. Open. “It’s been the most incredible ride and journey I’ve ever been on in my life,” an emotional Williams said in an on-court interview after the match, which was broadcast on ESPN.

Passionflix, a romance-focused streaming service run by Elon Musk’s sister, Tosca Musk, has raised $9.4 million in a funding round led by AMC Networks.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney confirmed that it’s considering launching a paid membership program that would provide exclusive discounts and benefits across its entire portfolio of products and services. Details on the company’s potential membership program are sparse — right now, the initiative is at the drawing-board stage. What exactly it ends up looking like remains TBD, including what it would cost and what the specific perks would be. Disney’s goal would be to create a personalized membership program to drive attendance at theme parks, cruises and movie theaters, boost subscriptions to Disney+ and its other streaming services, and spur sales of Disney merchandise.

Alejandro González Iñárritu made a spirited appearance at the Venice Film Festival Thursday where he dismissed fears that audiences will be unable to correctly experience his latest film Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths when it is released on Netflix later this year.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor After a grueling, hard-fought and ultimately victorious legal battle over streaming rates for the years 2018-22, the National Music Publishers’ Association, the Nashville Songwriters Association International, and the Digital Media Association today have announced a settlement with streaming services for certain mechanical streaming rates in the U.S. for the years 2023-2027: 15.35%. The announcement comes as a surprise, as the NMPA has been saying for months that it would push for a 20% rate for the forthcoming period. However, sources tell Variety that concessions were made on both sides, likely in the form of modifications that reach beyond the headline rate, such as the way that “bundles” — such as discounted streaming subscription rates for family and student plans — and per-subscriber minimums are treated.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor It’s the start of a new chapter for Samsung TV Plus, TV manufacturer’s free ad-supported TV (FAST) and video on-demand service — which is launching a new brand identity to highlight its latest content lineup and momentum in reaching viewers globally. Launched in 2015 as one of the first FAST services by a device manufacturer, Samsung TV Plus has steadily expanded its reach and content offering to deliver more than 220 channels in the U.S., over 1,600 channels globally, and over 50 owned-and-operated channels spanning news, sports, entertainment and more worldwide. The No. 1 most popular FAST service on Samsung Smart TVs in the last 12 months has seen 100% growth in consumer viewing, including nearly 3 billion hours streamed by users across the globe, according to the company.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Sony Music Entertainment filed a lawsuit against Triller, seeking millions of dollars in damages after the video-sharing app allegedly stopped paying licensing fees in March 2022. According to the suit, filed Monday in New York federal court, Triller continued to allow Sony Music songs to be shared on the app even after the music company terminated their deal. “Despite extolling the importance and value of ‘innovative technology and intellectual property,’ and claiming to hope that its efforts to curb copyright infringement ‘will set a precedent for us and all content creators going forward that stealing is not going to be tolerated,’ Triller displays brazen contempt for the intellectual property rights of Sony Music, its artists, and others,” Sony Music said in the lawsuit.

Peacock continues to expand its offerings in the reality show space and recently added the British series Made in Chelsea. The NBCUniversal streaming service released Season 18 through Season 22 on August 25 of the E4 reality series produced by Monkey Kingdom.

Aubrey Plaza has a liaison with danger and credit card fraud in her newest thriller, “Emily the Criminal.” The “Parks and Recreation” star takes the titular role in the drama as she tries to solve her student debt crisis by taking a shady gig that might cost her more than just money. Written and directed by John Patton Ford, the film first premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, but is now finally releasing courtesy of Vertical Entertainment and Roadside Attractions.But how can you watch “Emily the Criminal” and who else is in it? All your questions answered below.Yes, the drama will premiere exclusively in theaters on Friday, Aug.