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Podia helps content creators build their online business
More than a year and a half ago, I wrote about Coach, a startup offering tools for tutors and other freelancers to make money and operate their business online. Since then, the company has shifted focus in a big way, and it recently announced that it’s raised $3 million in seed funding. It’s got a new name, too — Podia. Read More
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FabFitFun expands its empire with a new app for Apple TV and Amazon Fire
FabFitFun, the women’s lifestyle subscription service and media company that’s become a household name among influencers of a certain generation, is expanding its empire with the launch of a new video app for Apple TV and Amazon Fire. The Los Angeles company founded by Daniel and Michael Broukhim has become one of the darlings of the tech scene in Southern California. Read More
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Netflix is turning Will Smith streaming original ‘Bright’ into a film franchise
Netflix will launch its first streaming-only franchise, with the news (via Bloomberg) that it’s greenlit a sequel to Will Smith film Bright, which is set to stream beginning December 22. Bright has the budget of a Hollywood blockbuster, and a fantasy setting that could be a good fit for an episodic film franchise, given what has traditionally done well with fans in terms of… Read More
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Twitch announces reality show for up-and-coming streamers
Twitch is planning to highlight some of its most promising users in a reality show called Stream On. The Amazon-owned video game streaming service says the show is for participants who are “right on the cusp of making streaming full-time a possibility.” More concretely, it’s holding auditions for users who have already achieved Partner status — the FAQ discourages… Read More
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Caavo’s over-the-top TV box for over-the-top TV boxes ships February 14
The streaming box that aims to bring sanity to your streaming world by combining all your streaming hardware sources into one will ship on Valentine’s Day next year, according to The Verge. Caavo offers a solution to a very modern problem – making it easy to switch between devices including your DVR, your Roku, your Apple TV, your PS4 and other devices seamlessly, using one remote… Read More
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Plexamp, Plex’s spin on the classic Winamp player, is the first project from new incubator Plex Labs
Media software maker Plex, which has been enjoying a bit of growth following its newer focus on DIY cord-cutters, today announced a new incubator and community resource called Plex Labs. The idea here is to help the company’s internal passion projects gain exposure, along with those from Plex community members. Plex Labs will also offer in-depth technical writing about Plex, the… Read More
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YouTube Red cancels release of Morgan Spurlock’s ‘Super Size Me 2’ following filmmaker’s sexual abuse confessions
YouTube’s subscription service, YouTube Red, is losing another of its bigger names. Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock’s “Super Size Me” sequel will be pulled from YouTube Red’s 2018 lineup, following Spurlock’s recent confessions of sexual misconduct shared on Twitter last week. Spurlock on Wednesday admitted to a sexual encounter in college that sounds… Read More
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Netflix arranged a surprise proposal for two streaming superfans
Netflix is to dating what going to the movies once was, so it makes a lot of sense that couples would remember the streaming service and some of its signature shows as key facets in the progress of their relationships. The company capitalized on that with one couple, Conor and Kamela, to create a perfect proposal guest-starring Santa Clarita Diet leads Drew Barrymore and Timothy… Read More
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The Last Jedi should be the last Star Wars film
At the risk of being ostracized by the vast majority of my TC teammates, let me propose that Star Wars: The Last Jedi would — in a fairer universe — be the last Star Wars film… (Spoiler alerts!) Read More
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Apple picks up a new space drama from the creator of ‘Battlestar Galactica’
What the frak is this? According to a report from Deadline, Apple may have actually gotten its hand on a good show – a new space drama from “Battlestar Galactica” creator, Ronald D. Moore – to aid in its ambitions in building out its original video content. The still untitled series comes from Sony Pictures Television and Moore’s Tall Ship Productions, and has… Read More
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Erik Huggers is stepping down as CEO of Vevo
Vevo, the music video service backed by major record labels, just announced that its CEO Erik Huggers is departing. Huggers previously worked at the BBC, at Verizon (which owns TechCrunch) and elsewhere. He joined Vevo in 2015. Under his leadership, Vevo was working to become less reliant on YouTube (which was its major syndication partner) by developing more apps and products like the… Read More
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Live-streaming app Spotlite raises $10 million from Sequoia Capital China to help singers make money
Described to me as “American Idol meets musical.ly,” startup Spotlite recently raised more than $10 million from Sequoia Capital and BlueRun Ventures. The plan is to use the funding to build out the product, make key hires and expand its marketing and advertising efforts. Read More
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Original Content podcast: Netflix’s ‘Mudbound’ offers a somber look at Mississippi in the 1940s
Mudbound, a Dee Rees-directed film currently streaming on Netflix, is both epic and intimate, telling the intertwined stories of two families (one black, one white) farming on the Mississippi delta. That description might make the movie sound like a home work assignment, or perhaps a too-neat dissection of race relations in the American South. On the latest episode of the Original Content… Read More
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Facebook pushes pre-roll ads on Watch as it stops subsidizing Live
Everyone’s least favorite ads are coming to Facebook, but six-second pre-rolls will only appear on original Watch tab videos you purposefully view and not in the News Feed. Facebook is embracing pre-rolls after years of shunning them as it tries to make payouts to video creators sustainable. Read More
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Disney details overarching direct-to-consumer plan possible through Fox deal
Disney CEO Bob Iger positioned his company’s acquisition of Fox’s TV and movie businesses as a way for the company to prepare for a future in which streaming and direct-to-consumer dominate media consumption, on a conference call this morning to discuss the $52 billion deal. He noted that while they’re still planning to support cable channels and external distribution… Read More
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It’s official: Disney is acquiring Fox’s film and TV divisions for $52.4 billion
We’re about to see two entertainment behemoths come together, as The Walt Disney Company and 21st Century Fox have officially announced a deal. As a result, Disney will acquire Fox’s film division and much of its TV operations for a price of over $52 billion in stock. Disney will take over the Nat Geo network, Star TV, Fox’s movie and TV studios and its stakes in both Sky… Read More
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NASA to screen ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ on the International Space Station
Being an astronaut living and working aboard the International Space Station shouldn’t mean that you have to miss out on much-anticipated movie releases like Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In fact, it should probably mean the opposite, which is why it’s great news that NASA will work with Disney to arrange a screening for ISS crew of the new movie, which is arriving in theatres in the U.S. Read More
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