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Hulu Adds ABC News’ Live-Streaming Channel for All Subscribers, Citing Coronavirus Crisis (Variety)
Hulu is now giving on-demand subscribers access to the free 24-hour ABC News Live streaming channel, in a bit of corporate synergy under their common parent, Disney. Subscribers to... More
Disney+ Will Reduce Impact on Europe’s Internet, as Streamers Adjust to the Coronavirus (LA Times)
Disney+ joined a growing number of streaming services that agreed to reduce their load on Europe’s internet infrastructure after a commissioner raised concerns about whether the ... More
Analysis: Residential Internet Usage Surges 98% Amid COVID-19-Related Social Distancing (Next TV)
As Americans move encase to conduct their work, schooling and overall social interaction at home via the internet, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, residential broadband usage... More
Ted Sarandos Says ‘Viewing is Up’ for Netflix Amid Coronavirus (THR)
"It's been a massive disruption," said the exec. "Every one of our productions around the world are shut down. I believe that's unprecedented in history. And we have a lot of folks... More
Warner Bros. Puts Ben Affleck Film ‘The Way Back’ on VOD as Theaters Go Dark (THR)
The studio is the latest to break the theatrical window to put current films at theaters on digital platforms as cinemas shutter across the nation.... More
Pixar’s ‘Onward’ Available Now on Digital, Just Two Weeks After It Hit Theaters (/Film)
Pixar’s Onward is hitting digital platforms today (March 20), merely two weeks after the animated fantasy-adventure film hit theaters. The film’s Disney+ streaming debut will f... More
Coronavirus Giving Livestreaming the Chance to Prove Itself (RollingStone)
It’s taken some time — and the unfortunate circumstance of a pandemic — but concert livestreaming could finally be having its moment. Amid major festival cancellations and hu... More
Consumers Nearly Twice as Likely to Spend More on Streaming Due to Coronavirus (Morning Consult)
As movie screens, amusement parks and concert halls go dark in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, leaving consumers stuck at home, new polling finds that adults are n... More
YouTube Joins Netflix in Move to Reduce Video Quality in Europe During Coronavirus Crisis (Variety)
YouTube will limit streaming in European countries to standard-definition video by default, following a similar move by Netflix to curtail bandwidth usage across the continent amid... More
NASCAR is Replacing Canceled Races with eSports Featuring Pro Drivers (Engadget)
Sports leagues and broadcasters are scrambling to fill the void now that many live competitions are cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and for NASCAR and Fox Sports that means... More
Conan O’Brien Will Return to TV With Shows Shot on iPhone, Over Video Chat (TechCrunch)
Apple’s promise of high-quality video “shot on iPhone” is getting another real-world stress test, as late-night TV host Conan O’Brien announced he will return to doing full... More
Disney+ to Reset the Streaming War in Europe Amidst the COVID-19 Crisis (Forbes)
Competitors in the video streaming service space come from any place in the ecosystem. Netflix was a mere DVD-by-mail distributor in the US until 2010, Amazon’s core business mod... More
Vin Diesel’s ‘Bloodshot’ Will Arrive on VOD 12 Days After Opening Day (Forbes)
And now Sony’s Bloodshot is the latest major studio release to go from theaters to electronic sell-through in near-record time. We got word the other day that Warner Bros. was re... More
Sky Allows Customers to Pause Sports Subscription During Pandemic (DTE)
Comcast-owned Sky will give residential customers an option to pause their sports subscriptions while the coronavirus has effectively brought the sporting world to a halt. The oper... More
Insights for M&E Success in 2020: A Consumer-Driven Industry (NAGRA Blog)
We know the consumer is king. And, when it comes to consumers’ evolving wants and needs, there are various topics to address to ensure you have a solid business strategy that wil... More
Streamers Urged to Degrade Video Quality to Conserve Internet Bandwidth (Variety)
A top European Union official called on Netflix and other streaming-video services to reduce video quality to standard-definition format — forgoing HD for now — so that interne... More
Sony Reveals PlayStation 5 Specs (Engadget)
PlayStation 5 lead system architect Mark Cerny gave a glimpse into what the new console’s architecture has to offer gamers. In a pre-recorded speech titled “The Road to PS5,”... More
Study: 116M U.S. Consumers Bought Music Last Year, Highest Number Since 2007 (Billboard)
A reported 80 million consumers paid for a music subscription in 2019, up 12 million from the previous year. The rebound in music consumption continued in 2019 thanks to continued ... More
TiVo’s Skip Button Changed How We Watch TV Forever (The Verge)
For years, the word TiVo was synonymous with DVRs. Launched back in the heady days of 1999, the product came on the scene and quickly changed how we watched TV forever — and it a... More
No Theater? No Problem – Plays and Musicals Switch to Streaming (NY Times)
As bans on public gatherings have proliferated nationwide in response to coronavirus, shows and special programs are announcing streaming plans daily.... More