Media & Entertainment

Amazon introduces a $7.3 annual Prime Video subscription tier in India • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 7, 2022Posted in Amazon, Amazon Prime Video, Apps, india, Media & Entertainment, prime videoNo Comments

Amazon has introduced a new price tier for Prime Video in India, making the on-demand video streaming service even more affordable as it races to win more customers in the South Asian market where it competes with giants including Disney’s Hotstar and Netflix. The e-commerce group said it will offer the yearly subscription to Prime Video Mobile Edition, an affordable tier it introduced last year, at 599 Indian rupees, or $7.3. At this price, it’s the cheapest way to subscribe to Amazon’s on-demand video streaming service in the country. Prime Video Mobile Edition limits viewing to mobile devices and caps the video resolution at standard definition. “India is one of our fastest growing and most engaged locales worldwide. Our success in the country can be attributed to innovations that are focused on creating an exceptional entertainment experience for customers,” said Kelly Day, VP of International at Prime Video, in a statement. “In fact, India is turning into an innovation hub for Prime Video. An initiative like Prime Video Mobile Edition, that had its genesis in India, is now being rolled out across multiple countries in Latin America and South East Asia. We are confident that the new Prime Video Mobile Edition annual plan will further help accelerate the growth of our India business and give an even larger customer base access to the high-quality content on the service. With this launch we look forward to entertaining every Indian with our popular on-demand entertainment content and live sports.” (More to follow)

Puzzle Tales’ with new gameplay • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 6, 2022Posted in Apps, Gaming, Media & Entertainment, Netflix, Stranger ThingsNo Comments

Netflix is bringing the “Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales” game to its platform with new gameplay based on the content from Season 4 of the show. Users will be able to play as new characters features in Season 4 in this no-ads game as the company continues its push towards gaming. Users have to solve puzzles in this game to beat enemies like Demogorgons and other supernatural monsters. In the process, they can collect up to 50 versions of characters from the show. The company describes the game’s graphics as “nostalgic 1980s Saturday morning cartoon art style.” “Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales” was first released in 2021 and it was removed from the App Store and Play Store in August after Netflix acquired the game’s publisher for $72 million. At that time, the streaming service announced that it is working on revamping the game and moving it to Netflix exclusively. Users can download the updated game starting today using this link. This release of the title joins other Stranger Things games like “Stranger Things: 1984” and “Stranger Things 3: The Game.” The game also builds on Netflix’s efforts to let fans engage with the show in various ways. Earlier this year, the streaming company partnered with Reddit for Stranger Things-based customized avatars and teamed up with Spotify for personalized playlists. At ZebethMedia Disrupt, the company’s VP for gaming Mike Verdu said that Netflix is exploring avenues to get into cloud gaming. He added that the streaming giant is also opening its second gaming studio in California after establishing its first studio in Helsinki in August. The company also launched game handles that can be used across exclusive titles in September. While the company making a lot of efforts into making gaming a success, it hasn’t seen stellar results. According to a report from Apptopia published in August, Netflix games were only averaging 1.7 million daily users. During its Q3 2022 earnings, the company announced that it now has 223 million subscribers.

Elon guts Twitter, Google shutters Hangouts, and the tech layoffs continue • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 5, 2022Posted in Layoffs, Media & Entertainment, Startups, Twitter, Week in ReviewNo Comments

Hey, all — welcome back to Week in Review, the newsletter where we sum up the most read ZebethMedia stories from the past week. And oof, what a week it was. Want this newsletter in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here. Signed up? Let’s just dive right in. most read Mass layoffs at Twitter: It was Elon’s first full week as the boss of Twitter post-$44 billion acquisition. Sweeping layoffs were said to be on the way — and, well, they’ve begun. After a painfully impersonal heads-up email went out Thursday evening, entire teams are waking up to find their access suddenly revoked. With reports suggesting layoffs could impact up to half the company, Twitter employees have reportedly taken to referring to the whole thing as “the snap” (à la Thanos). A class action lawsuit has already been filed alleging that Twitter isn’t following the proper legal processes here. Layoffs everywhere: Meanwhile, news of tech industry layoffs continues to pour in. Lyft let go of 13% of its workforce, Stripe cut 14%, Opendoor reduced its workforce by 18%, Chime parted ways with 12%, and more. Meanwhile, both Apple and Amazon have reportedly gone into hiring freezes. Google kills Hangouts: We knew it was coming, but this week Google put the final nail in Hangouts’ coffin, shutting down the chat-focused web app (the Hangouts Android/iOS apps were shuttered last year) in favor of Google Chat. Of course, given Google’s history with chat apps, I expect at least two more to be launched and/or shuttered by the time I finish this newsletter. Falcon Heavy returns to space: This week SpaceX launched its Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time since 2019, finally moving forward on a mission that had been delayed (“due to payload readiness issues”) since late 2020. Amazon expands its Music service: “The company said it will now offer Prime subscribers a full music catalog with 100 million songs, instead of the previously more limited selection of just 2 million songs,” writes Sarah, “and will make most of the top podcasts on its service available without ads.” audio roundup Whats up in TC podcast land this week? Here’s some of the highlights: The Equity crew chatted about the ever-evolving role of the venture capitalist, and our friend Melia Russell from Business Insider stopped by to fill us in on her recent story about how “investors are rewriting the playbooks when it comes to maternity leave policies at their firms.” Amanda joined Darrell on the TC Podcast to discuss Elon’s “questionable plans” to change up how identity verification works on Twitter The Chain Reaction team dive into the growing list of troubles that have developed for Bitcoin miners in the last few months. techcrunch+ Not a part of ZebethMedia+ yet? Here’s what TC+ members were reading most behind the paywall: Pilot’s CEO tears down their $60 million Series C deck: Published in early 2021, this one blew up for some reason this week! Just a few weeks after raising a big Series C, Pilot CEO Waseem Daher sat down with Lucas Matney to break down what worked about their pitch deck. The most common pitch deck mistakes: Speaking of pitch decks, TC’s resident pitch expert, Haje Jan Kamps, has a list of the mistakes he’s tired of seeing in decks, having reviewed thousands of them.

Twitter begins rolling out $7.99 Twitter Blue plan with verification, fewer ads • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 5, 2022Posted in Apps, Elon Musk, Media & Entertainment, Social, social media, Twitter, twitter blueNo Comments

Just days after newly minted Twitter CEO Elon Musk floated changes to Twitter’s system for verifying user accounts, including charging $8 per month for the privilege, Twitter appears to have begun rolling out a new tier of Twitter Blue, its premium subscription service, that reflects some of the changes that Musk has proposed. According to an in-app iOS notification viewed by ZebethMedia, the upgraded Twitter Blue, starting at $7.99 per month, will add the blue verification checkmark previously reserved for accounts that applied through Twitter’s free verification process. Other benefits include “half the ads” seen by non-paying Twitter users as well as ostensibly “twice as relevant” ads, and the ability to post longer videos to Twitter (although it’s not clear just how long; the notification doesn’t specify). Image Credits: ZebethMedia The new, pricier Twitter Blue will also offer priority ranking for “quality content,” promising to boost subscribers’ visibility in replies, mentions and search. Twitter’s making the claim that this will help “lower the visibility of scams, spam and bots,” but time will time will tell whether that’s truly the case. Image Credits: ZebethMedia Musk earlier claimed that Twitter, which recently ended support for ad-free articles offered under Blue, would create a new program for bypassing paywalls for publishers willing to work with the company. But if he intends to follow through with the proposal, the program doesn’t appear to have made it into the new Blue — at least not at launch. Available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. on iOS to start, the new Twitter Blue arrives after mass layoffs at Twitter affecting roughly half of the company’s staff, including employees on key human rights, accessibility, AI ethics and curation teams. Musk has claimed that the cuts — along with the introduction of new paid features — are necessary to bring Twitter to profitability, as the company faces an estimated $1 billion a year in interest payments on $13 billion in debt. It’s likely to be an uphill battle. Data from analytics firm Sensor Tower suggests that Twitter’s app has generated only $6.4 million in in-app purchases to date, with Blue being the top purchase. Musk’s management of Twitter doesn’t appear to have instilled much confidence in major advertisers, however, many of whom have paused campaigns on the platform. In a tweet on Friday, Musk blamed a “massive drop” in Twitter revenue on “activist groups pressuring advertisers,” likely referring to an open letter sent Tuesday by civil society organizations urging Twitter advertisers to suspend their ads if Musk didn’t commit to enforcing safety standards and community guidelines.

Jack Dorsey breaks his silence, owns “responsibility for why everyone is in this situation” at Twitter • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 5, 2022Posted in Elon Musk, jack dorsey, Layoffs, Media & Entertainment, Startups, TwitterNo Comments

Jack Dorsey, who stepped down as Twitter CEO less than one year ago, finally addressed the layoffs that impacted approximately 50% of the company he co-founded in 2006. The workforce reduction, led by Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk, impacted thousands of people – and key teams working on human rights, accessibility, AI ethics and curation. “Folks at Twitter past and present are strong and resilient,” Dorsey said on Twitter on Saturday morning. “They will always find a way no matter how difficult the moment. I realize many are angry with me. I own the responsibility for why everyone is in this situation: I grew the company size too quickly. I apologize for that.” Dorsey, who also stepped down from Twitter’s board five months ago, added that he’s “grateful for, and love, everyone who has ever worked at Twitter. I don’t expect that to be mutual in this moment…or ever…and I understand.” Folks at Twitter past and present are strong and resilient. They will always find a way no matter how difficult the moment. I realize many are angry with me. I own the responsibility for why everyone is in this situation: I grew the company size too quickly. I apologize for that. — jack (@jack) November 5, 2022 This is Dorsey’s first public comment since Musk took over the platform last week. In the past, Dorsey said that Musk is the “singular solution I trust.” Leaked documents from the Elon Musk v. Twitter trial give some insight into how Dorsey was thinking about the future of the social media company. Dorsey texted Musk that he left because Twitter needed to become a new platform – one that isn’t a company. “I believe it must be an open source protocol, funded by a foundation of sorts that doesn’t own the protocol, only advances it. A bit like what Signal has done. It can’t have an advertising model,” Dorsey texted Musk. Yesterday, impacted Twitter employees used the hashtag #LoveWhereYouWorked, a riff on the internal hashtag #LoveWhereYouWork, to thank each other, say goodbye and share personal news. As one former employee put it, the new hashtag is a “bittersweet phrase — not because I’m gone, but because it’s gone.” Despite Dorsey’s departure from his official roles at Twitter, his silence was noticed. Musk, meanwhile, addressed the layoffs on Friday evening. “Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over [$4 million a day],” Musk tweeted. “Everyone exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required.” Current and former Twitter employees can reach out to Natasha Mascarenhas at @nmasc_ or Signal, a secure messaging app, at (925) 271 0912.

It’s no surprise HBO canceled “Westworld” after four seasons • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 4, 2022Posted in HBO, HBO Max, Media & Entertainment, streaming service, Warner Bros DiscoveryNo Comments

In a series of cancellations, HBO has managed to disappoint many viewers as of late. Now, “Westworld” fans will be among them. The network announced today that it is canceling the sci-fi drama after four seasons. The show just aired its season four finale in August. HBO, in a prepared statement, said, “Over the past four seasons, Lisa and Jonah have taken viewers on a mind-bending odyssey, raising the bar at every step. We are tremendously grateful to them, along with their immensely talented cast, producers and crew, and all of our partners at Kilter Films, Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Television. It’s been a thrill to join them on this journey.” “Westworld,” created by Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, had the potential to be the network’s next “Game of Thrones.” At least in the beginning. The series earned nine Emmys and starred Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Tessa Thompson, Thandiwe Newton, Luke Hemsworth and Aaron Paul. But, sadly, “Westworld” will never get the fifth season Nolan hoped for. It’s likely the network made the decision after watching viewership ratings for “Westworld” continue to drop and drop. For instance, the third season only drew in 1.8 million viewers across multiple platforms for the season 3 finale, down 18% from the final episode of season 2, according to The Wrap. Westworld’s absolutely abysmal cratering in the ratings wasn’t completely surprising but it’s still pretty shocking how steep it is pic.twitter.com/HfDFHtcFc0 — Sage Hyden → “Just Write” on Youtube (@sagehyden) July 24, 2022 Fans and critics alike anticipated the failure. One Twitter user said, “I won’t pretend like I didn’t see this coming.” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has been on a cost-cutting spree for months, shelving the highly anticipated DC movie “Batgirl” and canceling multiple shows that were deemed unsuccessful. “We are being deliberate about measuring how are the shows doing,” Zaslav said in yesterday’s earnings call. “Let me be very clear, we did not get rid of any show that is helping us… It’s a business of failure, but we’d rather take that money and spend it again and have a chance of having a show that will engage and delight.” Zaslav also noted that the company would focus on popular franchises, including “Superman,” “Harry Potter” and “Game of Thrones.” He’s been particularly vocal about improving the DC slate. The company even brought on Marvel filmmaker James Gunn and producer Peter Safran as the new co-chairmen and chief executive officers of DC Studios. After Warner Bros. Discovery missed expectations yesterday, the company is probably feeling the pressure to deliver better content as it gets ready to launch its combined HBO Max/Discovery+ streaming service next year.

YouTube will soon roll out a ‘Go Live Together’ co-streaming feature to select creators • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 4, 2022Posted in Apps, Media & Entertainment, TikTok, Twitch, YouTubeNo Comments

YouTube is gearing up to roll out a new feature that will allow select creators to invite a guest to go live with them, the company announced on its Creator Insider channel and in a blog post. At launch, creators will only be able to co-stream via a phone, as the feature won’t available on the desktop version of YouTube. The new feature will initially only be available to a select group of creators, but YouTube plans to expand co-streaming to more creators in the future. Creators can schedule a live stream with a guest from their computer and then go live from a mobile phone. Or, they can go live immediately from their mobile phone. Although you can rotate guests on your live stream, you can only have one guest appear at a time. Once you invite a guest, your stream feed will show above your guest’s. In the next few weeks, some creators will be able to select the new “Go Live Together” button on their accounts. Creators need to start by entering their stream details, including the title, description, monetization settings, thumbnails and visibility settings. After selecting the “Invite a co-streamer” option, creators will be able to choose a guest to invite to their live stream. After the guest clicks the invite, they will be sent to a waiting room. When both people are ready, the host can tap the “Go Live” button. YouTube’s guest streams can run advertisements, but revenue will solely go to the host. It’s worth noting that the stream won’t appear on the guest’s channel, but YouTube says it’s aware that visibility on guest channels is important, which indicates that the company could potentially ship the feature in the future. The launch of the new feature comes as TikTok and Twitch recently launched their own co-streaming features. A few weeks ago, TikTok rolled out a new feature called “Multi-Guest” that lets hosts go live with up to five other people using a grid or panel layout. Last week, Twitch officially launched a new feature called Guest, which lets streamers easily pull other creators and fans into their streams for talk show-like experience. Guest Star makes it possible for anyone to pull up to five speakers into a stream at once. Unlike with YouTube’s co-streaming feature, TikTok and Twitch both allow you go live with more than one person. Given that YouTube’s co-streaming is still in the early stages, it’s possible that it may expand the limit to allow creators to go live with multiple people.

Combined HBO Max/Discovery+ service gets an earlier launch date, price hike is to be expected • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 4, 2022Posted in Discovery, HBO Max, Media & Entertainment, streaming service, Warner Bros DiscoveryNo Comments

After Warner Bros. Discovery reported its third-quarter earnings results yesterday, the company told investors and analysts in a call that the forthcoming combined HBO Max/Discovery+ streaming service will now launch in the U.S. earlier than previously announced. CEO David Zaslav said the yet-to-be-named service is now getting a spring 2023 launch instead of in the summer. Following its debut in the United States, the service will roll out in Latin America and then in Europe in 2024. While the company has yet to announce how much the service will cost or what it’ll be called, it will get an ad-free and ad-lite plan. Also, HBO Max’s ad-free plan might get a price hike next year, the company noted during yesterday’s call. “By 2023, HBO Max will not have raised prices since its launch. So, it will have been three years since pricing has moved. Which we think is an opportunity, particularly in this environment,” JB Perrette, President and CEO of Global Streaming and Games, said. The $14.99/month price of HBO Max’s ad-free plan has not budged since its launch in 2020. As more streaming services increase its prices for subscribers, HBO Max will likely join in on the trend. And while many subscribers won’t be happy with a price hike, it also makes sense for the streamer. Once HBO Max merges with Discovery+, the higher cost seems justifiable because subscribers will get double the amount of content. Another reason for the potential price hike is that not enough subscribers are choosing HBO Max’s $9.99/month ad-supported tier, which launched last year. “We were frankly a little surprised in the HBO Max ad-lite offering that more people have not moved to that offering… We believe there’s actually some pricing advantage for us on the ad-free service, and we can probably move north of where the prices are today,” Perrette added. Separately, Zaslav mentioned that the company is still “aggressively attacking the AVOD market with our own FAST offering in 2023.” WBD stated last quarter that it was exploring a free ad-supported streaming TV service (FAST). “As a company with the largest film and TV library in the industry, we have a unique opportunity to increase our addressable market and drive real value, and we plan to move quickly,” he said yesterday. WBD’s future FAST offering will join other media company-owned FAST services like NBCUniversal’s Peacock, Paramount’s Pluto TV, Fox’s Tubi and Comcast’s Xumo. The company reported a net add of 2.8 million global subscribers across HBO, HBO Max and Discovery+ in the third quarter, bringing the total to 94.9 million. Only 500,000 domestic subs were added.

Hulu set to raise the cost of the Hulu Live TV bundle in December • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 4, 2022Posted in Hulu, hulu live tv, Media & Entertainment, streaming serviceNo Comments

A month after Hulu raised the subscription prices of its on-demand streaming service, it is now targeting the subscribers of its live TV streaming bundle. Parent company Disney announced in August that it would increase the cost of the Hulu Live TV bundle later in the year. Starting on December 8, Hulu Live TV subscribers will have to pay $74.99 per month for the bundle with Hulu Live TV (Ads), ESPN+ (Ads) and Disney+ (No Ads)– which was previously the basic $69.99/month plan. Since Disney+’s ad-supported plan is launching on December 8, subscribers can opt for a basic Hulu Live TV plan for $69.99 per month. The updated basic plan will include the new Disney+ tier with ads, “Disney+ Basic,” as well as Hulu Live TV (Ads) and ESPN+ (Ads). The premium plan with Hulu Live TV (No Ads), ESPN+ (Ads) and Disney+ (No Ads) will increase to $82.99 per month, up from $75.99/month. Those who only want live TV content and not Hulu streaming content or Disney+ and ESPN+ content can pay $68.99 per month. It’s, unfortunately, very standard for streaming services to hike up their prices, especially Hulu Live TV, which has increased its plan every year since 2019. In 2021, the company increased the Hulu Live TV bundle from $64.99/month to $69.99/month, up from $54.99/month in 2019. At launch, Hulu Live TV was only $39.99/month before it offered the Disney+/ESPN+ bundle. Disney+, ESPN+, among other streaming services like YouTube Premium’s family plan, Apple TV+ and Sling TV, have announced price hikes this year. Netflix also raised its prices in January 2022, ten months before launching its cheaper ad-supported tier.

AfroTech Conference heads to Austin for first in-person event since 2019 • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 4, 2022Posted in AfroTech, conference, EC DEI, Media & Entertainment, startupNo Comments

The AfroTech Conference, one of the nation’s most prominent Black tech gatherings, will touch down in Austin on November 13 for its first in-person event since 2019. The event is put on annually by the publication AfroTech, with this year’s theme being web3. High-profile speakers for the conference include NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, billionaire Mark Cuban, and “venture rapitivist” — VC and rapper — Chamillionaire, who will speak about brand-building and investments. Other speakers include 15 Percent Pledge founder Aurora James, Career Karma CEO Ruben Harris, and Backstage Capital founder Arlan Hamilton. Speaking to ZebethMedia, Morgan DeBaun, the co-founder and CEO of AfroTech’s parent company, Blavity, said this year’s event aims to bridge the gap between music, culture, technology, and fintech. It’s added new sessions and programming to help build the skills of attendees in various technical positions and will host workshops on how to find mentors and advisers. “Tech continues to be the fastest-growing industry in the world,” DeBaun told ZebethMedia. “We want to make sure that our community is not just getting the early career jobs, but actually making it all the way through the career ladder.” Unlike many other tech conferences, culture and music play a central role at AfroTech. DeBaun said her goal was to make the event as entertaining as possible, and music is a defining feature of African American culture. There will be live musical performances from artists like Bia, Wale, and Zaytoven, and Disney will premiere “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”