Todd Spangler Ny: Last News

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor If you’re sharing your Netflix password with someone who doesn’t live with you, get ready to pay up — it will cost $7.99 per month extra to add another user to your account. On Tuesday, Netflix said it is launching its crackdown on illicit password sharing to its biggest market, the U.S., angling to squeeze a bigger chunk of change from customers who share their logins with friends and family outside their household. “Your Netflix account is for you and the people you live with your household,” Netflix says in an email to U.S. customers. To share Netflix with someone outside of your household, you can transfer a profile to a new membership that someone else pays for, or you can buy an extra member for $7.99/month in addition the cost of the main subscription.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor This week, HBO Max faded to black — and was reborn as Max. But many people are still wondering: Why did Warner Bros. Discovery decide to change the name? HBO, after all, remains a solid-gold brand representing premium-quality original TV shows, going back decades, from “The Sopranos” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” to “Game of Thrones” and “Succession.” Meanwhile, Max, as observers have pointed out, is a pretty generic name from a branding standpoint. (Note that the Twitter handle @Max belongs to Instacart co-founder Max Mullen, while on Instagram it’s held by hockey star Max Domi, a forward for the Dallas Stars.) Here are the two basic reasons Warner Bros. Discovery chose to excise HBO from the HBO Max with the relaunch:

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor DirecTV announced a multiyear deal to sell the NFL’s Sunday Ticket out-of-market games package to commercial venues in the U.S., starting with the 2023 season. Under the pact with the NFL’s EverPass Media, DirecTV will continue to offer the Sunday football games to customers including casinos, restaurants, bars, hotel lounges and retail shops. The announcement comes after DirecTV lost its 28-year hold on Sunday Ticket for consumers, with Google securing a seven-year deal with the NFL to sell the package via YouTube. The satellite TV operator didn’t announce pricing for Sunday Ticket — which includes all Sunday day games broadcast by CBS and Fox — under the new commercial agreement. In past years, DirecTV’s pricing for the package has been tiered based on fire code occupancy (FCO) rates starting at $650/season for establishments with a certified FCO of 1-100, stepping up to $6,000/season for establishments with capacity of 101-200 and even higher for larger venues.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The four-season run of “Succession,” HBO’s highbrow family corporate drama, is coming to its conclusion — with the show giving viewers no clear tea leaves on what the future holds for Waystar Royco or the media conglomerate’s internecine clan. Will one of the Roy progeny ultimately take the throne as the new CEO, fulfilling the prophecy implicit in the show’s title? Or will Waystar Royco wind up in the clutches of GoJo? Ahead of the series finale’s airing on Sunday, May 28 (on HBO and the newly relaunched Max), wagering site DraftKings drew up hypothetical odds for the likeliest outcomes. SEE ALSO: Jeremy Strong’s ‘Succession’ Method Acting Was So Intense That He’d Practice Asking Strangers Where the Bathroom Was

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor It’s back! MoviePass, after emerging from bankruptcy under new ownership, is launching its movie-theater subscription service nationwide ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. The service lets MoviePass members choose from more than 4,000 theater locations across the U.S., including those operated by AMC Theatres, Regal Cinemas and Cinemark. However, the reincarnated MoviePass is a far cry from the too-good-to-be-true $9.95-per-month subscription for one movie per day that the company had offered in its previous life. Plans start at $10/month for 1-3 movies per month, ranging up to $40/month for up to 30. The new MoviePass uses a credit-based system to offer different options for the total amount of films a subscriber can see each month (see plan details below).

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has officially launched his battle with Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. On Wednesday, the conservative politician filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission declaring his candidacy. That came ahead of DeDantis’ scheduled interview with Twitter owner Elon Musk on the social media platform’s Spaces live-audio feature, set for 6 p.m. ET. DeSantis, 44, has gained national prominence for pursuing an “anti-woke” agenda as governor of the Sunshine State. That has included his very public fight with Disney, ignited by the media conglomerate’s opposition to Florida’s so-called Don’t Say Gay law.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Semafor, the digital new startup launched last fall, announced that it has raised $19 million in a new financing round, bringing its total raised to $34 million. The New York-based company was co-founded by Ben Smith, previously media columnist for the New York Times and editor in chief of BuzzFeed News, and Justin B. Smith, former CEO of Bloomberg Media Group. (The two are not related.) Semafor said the additional investments are an extension on the same terms of the company’s previous financing round. The new total also takes into account the repurchase of the approximately $10 million in funds from Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of cryptocurrency company FTX whom federal prosecutors have charged with fraud, money laundering and campaign finance offenses. The funding from Bankman-Fried will be returned to FTX creditors as directed by officials, according to Semafor.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Jeffrey Katzenberg took a massive swing at the streaming biz with Quibi — and despite the startup’s shutdown just six months after it launched, he says he’s still proud of the effort. Katzenberg, an investor, Hollywood producer and former top studio chief, founded Quibi with former eBay and Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman. The streaming service had positioned itself as the HBO of short-form mobile video and had raised $1.75 billion before it closed its doors in late 2020 after failing to attract subscribers. Katzenberg reflected on Quibi in an interview with LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky on the latest episode of the business-focused social network’s “The Path” series. “I’m humbled by the failure,” Katzenberg said. “But I’m proud that what we tried was a moonshot.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor With cord-cutting at an all-time high, Comcast is introducing a new streaming subscription option to keep broadband customers in the video fold. On Tuesday, Comcast announced Now TV, a new streaming offering that includes more than 40 live cable entertainment channels from A+E Networks, AMC, Hallmark and Warner Bros. Discovery — but no local broadcast TV or sports channels — plus 20-plus integrated free, ad-supported television (FAST) channels from NBC, Sky and Xumo Play. In addition. Now TV includes a bundled subscription to Peacock Premium with ads. Now TV will be available to Comcast’s Xfinity Internet customers within the next few weeks, priced at $20 per month. Now TV does not require an additional set-top box and lets customers sign up or cancel at any time.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor It’s the big launch day for Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max — and the newly revamped streaming service appears to encountering some technical problems right off the bat. On Wednesday morning, subscribers took to social media to complain that they were having logging in to Max, which is replacing the three-year-old HBO Max service. As reported by users, the issues spanned the Max.com website as well as mobile apps including iOS and connected-TV apps on Roku and Samsung TV. Of course, there are bound to be some problems in migrating millions of customers over to a new streaming platform. A Warner Bros. Discovery rep declined to specify how widespread the issues that users are encountering may be. The May 23 conversion from HBO Max to Max covers only the U.S.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Meta is offloading Giphy — which maintains the world’s biggest database of animated GIFs — to content marketplace company Shutterstock. Shutterstock is paying $53 million for Giphy. Three years ago, Meta (then Facebook) bought Giphy for $400 million. However, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ruled that Meta’s acquisition of Giphy was anti-competitive — and last fall ordered Meta to sell Giphy. As part of the deal, Meta is entering into an API agreement with Shutterstock to ensure continued access to Giphy’s content across Meta’s platform. The sale is expected to close in June 2023, subject to usual closing conditions.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Max, Warner Bros. Discovery’s bulked-up and revamped streaming service that takes the place of HBO Max, makes it U.S. debut on Wednesday (May 23). Max makes several subtle enhancements aimed at making the service easier to use and more engaging — while execs say it should also be more stable than HBO Max. According to the company, a “large portion” of HBO Max subscribers will have their apps automatically updated to Max — while in some cases, users will be prompted to download an updated Max app. If all goes as planned, HBO Max subscribers will have their previous plan (including their username, password and billing information), profiles, avatars, and settings including “Continue Watching” and “My List” items migrated over to the new Max.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor It’s the beginning of the end for Showtime as a standalone brand. Paramount Global will launch the newly integrated Paramount+ With Showtime service in the U.S. on June 27, establishing it as the company’s top-tier streaming product without commercials. As previously announced, the Paramount+ With Showtime plan will cost $11.99 per month — up 17% from $9.99/month, but still less than the standard ad-free packages from rivals like Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max (nee HBO Max) and Netflix. At the same time, the price of the Paramount+ Essential Plan (without Showtime) will increase from $4.99 to $5.99 per month.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor With HBO Max turning into Max, Warner Bros. Discovery is introducing a higher-priced plan — $19.99 per month — with an expanded bouquet of 4K Ultra HD content aimed at pushing customers to the pricier package. On Monday, the company announced that the 4K tier will feature more than 1,000 films and episodes in 4K UHD, an increase of nearly eightfold over what has been available in HBO Max. The 4K UHD content on Max will include “Game of Thrones,” “The Last of Us,” the Harry Potter films, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Dark Knight trilogy, the Matrix films and more. Additionally, all Warner Bros. movies released this year and going forward will be available in 4K UHD when they arrive on Max following their theatrical windows.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor TikTok says Montana’s newly enacted law that would criminalize usage of the short-form video app is unconstitutional — and the app company has taken legal action to fight the state’s ban. TikTok filed a lawsuit Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana seeking to have the law reversed. It was signed into law last week by Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, who said it would “protect Montanans’ private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party.” TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a China-based internet conglomerate. “We are challenging Montana’s unconstitutional TikTok ban to protect our business and the hundreds of thousands of TikTok users in Montana,” the app maker said in a statement. “We believe our legal challenge will prevail based on an exceedingly strong set of precedents and facts.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor On Tuesday, May 23, HBO Max is going away — when it will be reskinned as Max, stocked with more than twice the total amount of programming. Max’s expanded streaming menu includes the addition of hundreds of episodes of Discovery+ shows, and it’s set to get dozens of new TV shows and movies over the next month. The new Max will feature 35,000 hours of programming, more than double what has been available on HBO Max. According to Warner Bros. Discovery, the service will be continuously updated with fresh content, averaging more than 40 new movie titles and TV seasons per month. SEE ALSO: What Max Launch Means for Existing HBO Max Customers

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor After 10 years as Cinedigm, the streaming and content distribution company is adopting a new moniker: Cineverse. According to the company, which announced the name change Monday, the Cineverse rebranding “is an important step forward” in its “evolution into a streaming content and technology company — focused on transforming the way people discover and interact with a universe of films, television series and other streamed content all bound together by compelling and innovative storytelling.” Along with the corporate name change to Cineverse Corp., the company’s stock symbol will also change from CIDM to CNVS. The shares will begin trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the “CNVS” ticker at the market opening on May 23.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Proving that people can’t resist the offer of getting something for nothing, startup Telly said more than 100,000 people registered to get a free 4K TV set that displays a continuous rotation of ads on a second screen within the first 36 hours of launch. Telly CEO and founder Ilya Pozin, who previously co-founded free-streaming company Pluto TV, said the interest in the offer surpassed “even our most optimistic expectations.” The 100,000-plus signups, averaging nearly one per second, came without Telly having to spend “a single dollar on marketing,” he continued, “and we’re just getting started!” Two thirds of those signing up for a Telly are Gen Z and millennial households, according to Pozin, “and are eager to have a TV in the living room that matches their lifestyle.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday issued unanimous rulings on two cases that could have upended the existing legal-liability shield internet companies have regarding user posts on social media. The decisions left untouched Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. As currently interpreted, Section 230 grants internet companies broad legal protections for user-posted content on their services. The two related cases, which had been appealed to the Supreme Court, threatened to erode the protections of Section 230. In the first case, Twitter v. Taamneh, plaintiffs claimed that Twitter was liable for allegedly “aiding and abetting” an attack in Istanbul by ISIS because Twitter failed to adequately block or remove content promoting terrorism (even though Twitter had no specific knowledge that any particular post furthered a terrorist act). In its ruling, the Supreme Court held that hosting, displaying and recommending videos, without more, is not aiding and abetting terrorism. The court noted that all content is sorted by algorithms and that using content-agnostic recommendation algorithms is insufficient to create liability.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor YouTube’s biggest ad innovation for 2023? It might be borrowing a well-worn page from old-fashioned linear TV. At the YouTube Brandcast upfront event Wednesday in New York, execs announced the introduction of 30-second unskippable ads in top-performing YouTube content on TVs — you know, just like the commercials that have run on broadcast and cable networks for decades. YouTube also will start testing new “Pause Experiences” for YouTube on TV screens, showing an ad when viewers pause a video akin to the pause ads Hulu first bowed four years ago. In their pitch to Madison Avenue types, YouTube execs also boasted of the streaming service’s massive reach: More than 150 million unique viewers in the U.S. watched YouTube and YouTube TV on televisions for the month of December 2022, according to Nielsen estimates. YouTube remains the No. 1 most-watched service on TV screens in America (across both streaming platforms and traditional TV networks), and in April was one of the only streamers to see month-to-month growth, per Nielsen.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney has pegged total cash content spending at around $30 billion for this year — but the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike may drive that down, CFO Christine McCarthy said. “If you haven’t noticed we’re in the middle of a writers strike,” McCarthy said, speaking Wednesday at MoffettNathanson’s Technology, Media and Telecom Conference in New York. The WGA walkout may reduce Disney’s cash spending on content for the balance of the year, she said. At the MoffettNathanson conference, MCarthy appeared alongside Disney president of ad sales Rita Ferro. The two Disney execs spoke a day after the media conglom’s upfront presentation in the Big Apple to ad buyers and brands — which was noticeably light on scripted fare, given the writers strike. Marvel’s Kevin Feige previewed upcoming Disney+ series “Secret Invasion,” featuring Samuel L. Jackson and Don Cheadle, and announced premiere dates for “Loki” Season 2 and “Hawkeye” spinoff “Echo.”