-
Netflix’s ‘Bright’ reached 11M viewers in its first three days, according to Nielsen
Netflix spent $90 million on the production of Bright, an unlikely hybrid of buddy cop movie and high fantasy. Will that investment pay off? Well, Nielsen has released some initial viewership numbers, reporting that the film reached 11 million U.S. viewers in its first three days. Read More
-
Amazon filed for ‘AmazonTube’ trademark after Google pulled YouTube from the Echo Show
Google’s decision to block YouTube content was a real kick in the pants to Amazon as it got ready to launch its Echo Show device. After all, YouTube videos are the perfect content for the device and its smaller counterpart, the Echo Spot. Earlier this week, the site TV Answer Man spotted an interesting Amazon filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that could point to the next… Read More
-
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
-
SoundCloud resuscitates home screen with personalized playlists
After laying off 40% of its staff and securing $169 million in emergency funding, SoundCloud’s first product push is a much needed step in the right direction. It’s filling its home page with personalized playlists and best of collections from top genres rather than other content like it’s feed. The hope is to make SoundCloud instantly accessible to new users and a more… Read More
-
Why content crowdfunder Patreon is halting its hated fee change
Overhauling the creative economy turns out to be tricky. Following massive backlash, Patreon is at least temporarily pausing its plan to change its payment processing fee structure from charging creators 2-10% on the first of the next month to charging patrons 2.9 percent plus $0.35 per transaction upfront and on the monthly anniversary of their first pledge beyond the 5% Patreon takes. Read More
-
To fix SoundCloud, it must become the anti-Spotify
Startups die by suicide, not competition. It wasn’t that anyone was stealing SoundCloud’s underground rappers, bedroom remixers and garage bands. SoundCloud stumbled because it neglected these hardcore loyalists as it wrongly strove to usurp Spotify as the streaming home of music’s superstars. Read More
-
‘The Last Jedi’ is the most moving Star Wars movie — and the funniest
One of the most common ways to praise a new Star Wars movie is to claim that it’s the best one since The Empire Strikes Back. But sometimes the clichés are accurate. And this time, I have to say it: The Last Jedi is the best Star Wars movie since The Empire Strikes Back. The comparison seems particularly apt, since Last Jedi occupies a similar spot in the new Star Wars trilogy. It… Read More
-
YouTube TV hits 34 new markets
The unbundling of the cable media empire is well underway, as players like Netflix grow and others like Hulu and YouTube offer live TV service. YouTube TV, in particular, is executing an aggressive rollout, just yesterday making the service available to another 34 markets. That brings us to a total of 83 U.S. markets in which YouTube TV is currently available. 🗣️ Cable-free live TV is… Read More
-
Popular podcast ‘Welcome to Night Vale’ scores an FX development deal
With narrative podcasting on the rise, it’s no surprise that TV execs have begun looking at the medium as a resource for new shows. If there is a surprise in all of this, it’s that Welcome to Night Vale didn’t get picked up sooner. The podcast has developed an organic fan base through platforms like Twitter, several touring shows, spin-off podcasts and two novels. Read More
-
Here is the first official Ready Player One trailer
Ready Player One, the Ernest Cline book sensation that was, in part, the inspiration for Oculus VR, has been turned into a movie ready to hit the big screen in March. And today, we’ve gotten the first official trailer for the movie. There are some very mild spoiler alerts ahead, so if you’re hyper sensitive you can click this link to watch the trailer without reading on. Ready… Read More
-
Apple confirms Shazam acquisition; Snap and Spotify also expressed interest
After we broke the story last week that Apple was acquiring London-based music and image recognition service Shazam, Apple confirmed the news today. It is purchasing the startup — one of earliest players in the world of mobile music — as part of its bigger ambitions in the music business. Here is the statement that Apple provided us. “We are thrilled that Shazam and its… Read More
-
Sources: Apple is acquiring music recognition app Shazam
Update: this story has now been confirmed. As Spotify continues to inch towards a public listing, Apple is making a move of its own to step up its game in music services. Sources tell us that the company is close to acquiring Shazam, the popular app that lets people identify any song, TV show, film or advert in seconds, by listening to an audio clip or (in the case of, say, an ad) a visual… Read More
-
Facebook Sound Collection lets you add no-name music to videos
The right soundtrack can make a boring video interesting. So after years of reported discussions with the record labels, Facebook is launching video editing tool Sound Collection for inserting into Facebook and Instagram clips “songs, vocals, noises, and instrumental tracks spanning genres like hip hop, pop, jazz, country, and more.” Read More
-
Netflix posts trailers for each episode of Black Mirror Season 4, plus a release date
Netflix has been teasing the next season of Black Mirror at an excruciatingly slow pace. But now, we have everything we need to emotionally prepare for Season 4, including a release date. Yesterday, Netflix released the full Season 4 trailer, finally informing a desperate fanbase that the new season will be released on December 29. Ring in 2018 with hope and optimism, right? If you… Read More
-
Drake, ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Moana’ top Apple’s 2017 most downloaded list
Over the past several years, tech year-end lists have become as much of an annual tradition as Twilight Zone marathons and going to a bar to get away from the family on Christmas Eve. Apple dropped its big list today and surprise, there aren’t really too many surprises here — though it’s a useful reminder that, at least so far as entertainment is concerned, 2017 wasn’t… Read More
-
‘Wolverine: The Long Night’ is Marvel’s first scripted podcast
Having conquered just about every other form of media, Marvel’s getting into the scripted podcasting game. Launching in Spring of next year, ’Wolverine: The Long Night’ marks the comics-turned-multimedia company’s first foray into the space. The series kicks off with a 10-episode season, premiering on Stitcher’s premium service, where it will be an exclusive until… Read More
-
Watch Ultrahaptics use ultrasound to let you feel imaginary objects
Ultrahaptics lets you touch what you see in virtual and augmented reality, or even give a 2D poster 3D feeling. It uses small speaker-like ultrasound wave emitters to give the sensation of pressure and texture when you’re just waving your hands in the open air. Ultrahaptics CTO Tom Carter demoed the technology onstage today at TechCrunch’s Disrupt Berlin conference. Read More
-
House of Cards will resume production on final season early next year without Kevin Spacey
Popular Netflix political drama House of Cards is set to return to production early next year — but it will do so without its embattled star, Kevin Spacey. The news was confirmed by the company’s Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos on stage at UBS’s Global Media and Communications Conference this morning in New York City. This morning’s announcement follows news that… Read More
Message Us