YouTube’s Viewing on TV Screens Climbed in April as Most Other Streamers Flat or Down: Nielsen

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor On Dec. 9, 2020, YouTube enacted a ban on videos that falsely claimed then-President Trump won the U.S. presidential election. Since then, according to the platform, it has removed “tens of thousands” of videos that violated the policy. As of June 2, 2023, YouTube has reversed that decision: The video giant announced that it “will stop removing content that advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors or glitches occurred in the 2020 and other past U.S. Presidential elections.” Why is YouTube making this change? The Google-owned service, in an unsigned blog post Friday, tried to explain it this way: “In the current environment, we find that while removing this content does curb some misinformation, it could also have the unintended effect of curtailing political speech without meaningfully reducing the risk of violence or other real-world harm.”

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 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.

While it will definitely (as Kevin Feige so eloquently puts it in the same discussion below) go down as one of the best decisions in Hollywood history, there has already been so much written about Robert Downey, Jr. being cast as Tony Stark in 2008’s “Iron Man.” However, in a new interview with Feige and filmmaker Jon Favreau, it’s revealed that RDJ could have shown up in a Marvel film years before his “Iron Man” debut.

When you hear the name Tony Stark the actor that comes to mind is Robert Downey Jr. as he played him in the MCU starting with 2008’s Iron Man. However, Downey was not always going to play the billionaire philanthropist and was in talks to play a whole different character.

Playing Tony Stark/Iron Man in the 2008 movie that spawned the Marvel Cinematic Universe not only cemented the comeback of Robert Downey Jr., it also made him one of Hollywood’s most sought-after and highest-paid actors.

After years of playing a humble scullery maid in Downton Abbey, Sophie McShera was thrilled to land a “lady of the manor” role in a gripping new period drama. Sophie stars as powerhouse Grace in acclaimed film director Shane Meadows’ BBC drama The Gallows Pole. “Maybe I’m delusional,” Sophie, 37, says.

Robert Downey Jr. is so linked to the role of Iron Man that it is impossible to imagine anyone else playing the mouthy hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor This week, HBO Max faded to black — and was reborn as Max. But many people are still wondering: Why did Warner Bros. Discovery decide to change the name? HBO, after all, remains a solid-gold brand representing premium-quality original TV shows, going back decades, from “The Sopranos” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” to “Game of Thrones” and “Succession.” Meanwhile, Max, as observers have pointed out, is a pretty generic name from a branding standpoint. (Note that the Twitter handle @Max belongs to Instacart co-founder Max Mullen, while on Instagram it’s held by hockey star Max Domi, a forward for the Dallas Stars.) Here are the two basic reasons Warner Bros. Discovery chose to excise HBO from the HBO Max with the relaunch:

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.

Over the past few years, CBS has canceled some massive fan favorites. In addition, some big hits also wrapped up way too soon.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor It’s the beginning of the end for Showtime as a standalone brand. Paramount Global will launch the newly integrated Paramount+ With Showtime service in the U.S. on June 27, establishing it as the company’s top-tier streaming product without commercials. As previously announced, the Paramount+ With Showtime plan will cost $11.99 per month — up 17% from $9.99/month, but still less than the standard ad-free packages from rivals like Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max (nee HBO Max) and Netflix. At the same time, the price of the Paramount+ Essential Plan (without Showtime) will increase from $4.99 to $5.99 per month.

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount’s sequel to the Oscar-winning hit Gladiator is rounding out its cast as sources tell Deadline the untitled pic has added May Calamawy, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Peter Mensah and Matt Lucas.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor YouTube’s biggest ad innovation for 2023? It might be borrowing a well-worn page from old-fashioned linear TV. At the YouTube Brandcast upfront event Wednesday in New York, execs announced the introduction of 30-second unskippable ads in top-performing YouTube content on TVs — you know, just like the commercials that have run on broadcast and cable networks for decades. YouTube also will start testing new “Pause Experiences” for YouTube on TV screens, showing an ad when viewers pause a video akin to the pause ads Hulu first bowed four years ago. In their pitch to Madison Avenue types, YouTube execs also boasted of the streaming service’s massive reach: More than 150 million unique viewers in the U.S. watched YouTube and YouTube TV on televisions for the month of December 2022, according to Nielsen estimates. YouTube remains the No. 1 most-watched service on TV screens in America (across both streaming platforms and traditional TV networks), and in April was one of the only streamers to see month-to-month growth, per Nielsen.

Jonas Brothers have announced their massive 35-date ‘Five Albums, One Night’ North American tour for this summer.Following the band’s Broadway residency which saw them perform one album from their discography in its entirety each night and their planning for their Yankee Stadium five albums, one-night show, the brothers have decided that instead of doing a one-off show, they will take the Five Albums, One Night show across North America.The 35-date run is set to kick off on August 12 with two nights at Yankee Stadium in New York City. From there, the band will spend the following two months making their way through North America making stops at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Arlington’s Globe Life Field and Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium, Toronto’s Rogers Centre.

Jonas Brothers made their first joint appearance on on Sunday, and looked back at their younger years in the spotlight.During a segment called «Agree or Disagree,» Nick, Joe and Kevin Jonas were posed a series of questions by host Andy Cohen, including if they think is a better movie than (agree), and if they were the best singers in a Disney Channel collaboration that also featured their exes, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato (disagree).One burning question the brothers weren't shy about answering was about their infamous purity rings, which they wore during the start of their career — publicly vowing that they would wait until marriage to have sex.«The purity rings were a bad idea, one, two, agree or disagree,» Cohen asked. Joe, Nick and Kevin all turned their paddles around to flash «agree.» «In theory they're not a bad idea,» Nick quipped. «But you should know what you're signing up for before you sign up for it.»«When you're 12 versus when you're like 16 is a very big difference,» Joe added.Cohen then asked the brothers if there was a big moment when they took the rings off, to which Nick replied, «It just sort of happened.» Today, the singers are all married.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ilya Pozin made a bunch of money when Viacom bought Pluto TV, the free video-streaming company he co-founded, for $340 million four years ago. Since exiting Pluto about a year after that deal closed, Pozin has been working on another startup venture — one he thinks will be a much bigger deal. On Monday, Pozin’s brainchild, Telly, comes out of stealth after two years in development. Telly wants to ship out thousands (and eventually millions) of free 4K HDTVs, which would cost more than $1,000 at retail, according Pozin. The 55-inch main screen is a regular TV panel, with three HDMI inputs and an over-the-air tuner, plus an integrated soundbar. The Telly TVs don’t actually run any streaming apps that let you access services like Netflix, Prime Video or Disney+; instead, they’re bundled with a free Chromecast with Google TV adapter.

New Music Friday! The weekend is here, which means more streaming, new playlists and the best that music has to offer. ET has you covered for everything in between.The Jonas Brothers lead this week's releases with, the group's second album following their 2019 reunion.

After Jeremy Renner suffered blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries from a near-fatal snowplow accident, his "Avengers" co-star Scarlett Johansson wasn’t sure if she would ever see her friend again. Johansson, 38, recalled the moment she learned that Renner had been crushed by a nearly 15,000-pound snow machine while he attempted to save his nephew’s car. "I was very upset," the Marvel star recounted during an interview with Variety.

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar nominee Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Movie Film), two-times Cesar Award nominee Jean Reno (Leon), Ty Simpkins (Jurassic World) and Connie Nielsen (Gladiator) are attached to star in action movie Birdseye, which The Exchange will be launching for international sales ahead of the Cannes market.