streaming Stories March 17, 2020
Fox acquires free, ad-supported streaming service ‘Tubi’ for $440 million
Fox is planning to dive into the streaming industry with a $440 million acquisition of ad-supported streaming service Tubi. Fox Corporation is pushing to expand its direct-to-consumer offerings, and it believes the Tubi acquisition will allow it to do just that.
streaming Stories February 6, 2020
The streaming industry continues to expand and evolve, and not necessarily for the sake of clarity. CNBC reports today that ViacomCBS is planning a new streaming service that will build on CBS All Access by combining it with Viacom and Paramount assets.
streaming Stories January 16, 2020
NBC has officially entered the streaming wars today with the announcement of its upcoming Peacock service. While various reports over the last several months painted a picture of what to expect from Peacock, NBCUniversal unveiled most of the official details today.
streaming Stories October 19, 2019
AT&T is raising prices for its streaming TV service yet again. AT&T TV Now, previously known as DirecTV Now, is raising prices by as much as 30% starting next month, as detailed in a report from Bloomberg.
streaming Stories August 13, 2019
CBS and Viacom have officially announced their plans for a merger. The deal would value the combined company at $30 billion, and reunites the companies for the first time since 2005. The new company will be named ViacomCBS.
streaming Stories July 30, 2019
AT&T has announced today that it is rebranding its DirecTV Now streaming service ‘AT&T TV Now.’ The effort is seemingly part of AT&T’s work to streamline its online TV platforms and move everything into a single application.
streaming Stories July 9, 2019
WarnerMedia today officially unveiled new details about its upcoming streaming TV service. The company says the new direct-to-consumer service will be called “HBO Max” and include content from various different networks, as well as new original TV.
streaming Stories January 25, 2019
Cheddar reports that T-Mobile is set to launch a new, ad-supported television streaming service for subscribers within the coming weeks. However, the service is not the supposed “disruptive” streaming platform CEO John Legere made promise of last year.
streaming Stories January 22, 2019
Viacom acquires completely free, ad-based TV streaming service ‘Pluto TV’
As the streaming TV market continues to evolve, Viacom today announced that it has acquired streaming service Pluto TV for $340 million. As reported by Variety, the deal is expected to close this quarter.
streaming Stories August 8, 2016
Hulu will no longer offer free TV episodes, moves to subscription-only model
After over 9 years, Hulu is making a major change to its services by shutting down free TV episodes and moving to subscription services only (via Variety). Current subscribers won’t be affected and prices won’t be changing as the same $7.99 and $11.99 plans will be available, however all free content will be moving over to “Yahoo View”.
streaming Stories May 17, 2016
T-Mobile expands Binge On data-free video streaming to NBC, Google Play Music, Spotify, Tidal & more
T-Mobile today announced new services being added to its Binge On program, which allows its wireless subscribers to stream video content from certain apps without dipping into their mobile data caps.
streaming Stories May 12, 2016
While Apple has denied a report that it was planning to stop selling music downloads in either two years or 3-4 years, the denial to Re/code was somewhat vague.
Apple rep Tom Neumayr wouldn’t expand on [the ‘not true’] comment, except to make it clear that he was responding to both timelines proposed in today’s story from Digital Music News.
And really, nobody should be surprised if the broader report is true: that Apple has discussed how and when it might exit the music download business …
Taylor Swift is continuing her partnership with Apple Music, with yet another ad featuring the singer and the streaming service. The new minute-long commercial features Taylor Swift dancing around to ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ by The Darkness.
Swift demonstrates using the Apple Music discovery features (via the ‘Friday Night Rocks!’ playlist) to find the track. The ad ends with the slogan ‘Dance like no one’s watching’. Watch the ad after the jump …
streaming Stories April 25, 2016
Initially billed as an exclusive to Tidal, Beyonce’s new Lemonade album is now available to buy on iTunes. Jay-Z’s streaming music service had been touting itself as an exclusive location to listen to Beyonce’s latest album. While Tidal maintains exclusive streaming rights, the album is now being freely sold for download elsewhere.
Tidal has attempted similar stunts in the past, with Kanye West famously stating his album ‘The Life of Pablo’ would never be on Apple Music and would be exclusive to Tidal. However, a track from the album soon showed up on Apple’s services a few weeks later. There is currently a class action lawsuit forming around the false claims of exclusivity.
streaming Stories April 22, 2016
I love the concept of streaming music around the home. There are a lot of great wireless Bluetooth speakers for wireless music on the move, but it’s still unclear what to choose for a static home environment. Apple’s answer is AirPlay, but it has flaws: no multi-room support from iOS devices, limited adoption by speaker manufacturers, and spotty reliability at best.
I’ve been trying an AirPlay alternative, called Play-Fi, which is a competing industry technology for home Wi-Fi music streaming from DTS. Specifically, I tested the Definitive W7 wireless speaker which integrates Play-Fi. Read on for my review ….
streaming Stories April 21, 2016
Siri for Mac with OS X 10.12, iTunes and App Store redesigns, improved iCloud encryption, and original programming for the Apple TV. These are just a few of the projects Apple has reportedly been working on and they are also likely candidates for stage time at its upcoming WWDC press event and developer conference. Add in the last of the Macs that are due for updates and the usual dose of new developer tools, and we already have a lot to look forward to at WWDC slated for June 13-17.
Below we take a look at the latest rumors and reports for all of the expected product updates and new features in the cards for the event.
streaming Stories April 18, 2016
Apple shares new collection of Earth Day-inspired playlists on Apple Music
Continuing its Earth Day efforts, Apple today has shared a collection of new playlists on Apple Music that the company says provides the “perfect soundtrack for Earth day – and beyond.” The collection consists of five different playlists containing a wide array of artists.
streaming Stories April 11, 2016
Since Apple Music was officially announced, Apple has had a deep partnership with rapper Drake, even bringing him on stage last year at WWDC to discuss Connect. Drake and Apple reportedly inked a $19 million deal to have the rapper host a show on Beats 1 among other things, and now, BuzzFeed News reports that Drake’s highly anticipated new album “Views From The 6” will be an Apple Music exclusive when released on April 29th…but only for a week.
streaming Stories March 24, 2016
Apple has long been rumored to be creating its own original TV content, and now it’s made its first plans official. Apple shared today that it will work with TV executives Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens, as well as rapper Will.i.am on its first TV project (via NY Times). Silverman is perhaps best known for his work on shows like The Biggest Loser, while Owens is one of the minds behind MasterChef Junior.
streaming Stories March 15, 2016
Update: Games airing on CBS are not available for streaming on Apple TV as of right now. The company’s reasoning for this is unclear, but we’re looking into it and will update further if we’re able to get to the bottom of it. CBS games are streaming via iOS devices and the web, so you can AirPlay to the Apple TV.
Furthermore, TruTV, TNT, and TBS games require a cable login for streaming on Apple TV.
Original Post:
Every basketball fan’s favorite time of year kicks off later today with the play-in round of the NCCA March Madness tournament. After tonight, we’re looking at non-stop basketball for the rest of the month and it really doesn’t get much better than that.
Earlier this month, the NCAA announced that it would be live streaming all of the 2016 March Madness games on various platforms, and even teased an exclusive feature for Apple TV users. With games commencing this evening, it’s time to make sure you have everything setup so you’ll never run the chance of missing a game this year…
streaming Stories March 7, 2016
As we head into March, we’re quickly approaching every basketball fan’s favorite time of year: March Madness. The first games begin on March 15th, and today, the NCAA has announced all of the ways you will be able to stream the tournament. The NCAA touts that this year, the games are streaming across more platforms than ever before, including an exclusive feature for Apple TV viewers.
streaming Stories March 3, 2016
Earlier this year it was reported that Apple was among a handful of tech companies negotiating for the streaming rights to NFL Thursday Night Football games. While CBS and NBC obtained the rights to the television broadcasts, the NFL is looking for other options for the streaming rights. Re/code reports today, however, that Apple is no longer interested in purchasing the rights to Thursday Night Football.
streaming Stories February 15, 2016
The 58th Annual Grammys are broadcasting tonight and thanks to CBS All Access, nearly anyone can watch it for free without a cable subscription or TV set. The show starts at 8PM ET, with a pre-telecast red carpet show at 7PM ET. Viewers can catch the show on CBS’s site, or by using the iOS or Apple TV app. Here’s how to do it for free:
streaming Stories February 11, 2016
Apple’s streaming web TV service has been rumored for nearly a year now, with reports originating last March claiming that Apple was planning to announce a service at $30-$40 per month. The service was said to feature upwards of 25 channels and be available on the fourth-gen Apple TV. Recently, however, reports have claimed that Apple’s talks with major networks have stalled. Now, speaking to CNN, CBS CEO Les Moonves has confirmed that talks between Apple and CBS have stopped recently.
