wedotv Signs Content Deals With Fox, ZDF, One Gate, Icon

October 17, 2024

pinho-yjXAtMCPdGs-unsplash (1) — Photo by Pinho . on Unsplash under the Creative Commons License

Broadband TV News reports: “Doubling down on content for its AVOD and FAST Channels, wedotv, the free streaming sports and entertainment network, has closed several licensing deals with leading studios and distributors, including a multi-territory licensing deal with Fox Entertainment Global. The agreement with Fox Entertainment Global will bring hundreds of TV movies to wedotv services in the UK, DACH, Italy, the Nordics and Benelux countries.”

Games VC Funding Is Stabilizing, But Growth-Stage Funding Is Up | Konvoy

Staff Report

October 17, 2024

jack-lucas-smith-JoPFNErcw5c-unsplash — Photo by Jack Lucas Smith on Unsplash under the Creative Commons License

GamesBeat reports: “Gaming VC fund Konvoy Ventures released its latest report on the state of funding in the industry. According to its findings, venture capital funding is overall up about 1% quarter-over-quarter, but growth-stage funding has increased. The overall number of deals has also gone down QoQ.”

YouTube Unveils New Features Including Collaborative Playlists, Fan Badges And A Sleep Timer

Staff Report

October 17, 2024

boliviainteligente-0PbFjeSptx4-unsplash — Photo by boliviainteligente on Unsplash under the Creative Commons License

Music Business Worldwide reports: “YouTube announced a major platform update on Tuesday (October 15), introducing over two dozen new features across its web, mobile, TV, and YouTube Music app, including collaborative playlists and fan badges. Among the most notable additions is a revamped collaborative playlist feature for YouTube Music, allowing users to build, share, and vote on playlists with friends and family through unique links or QR codes.”

Los Angeles Film And TV Production Approaches Historically Low Levels

Staff Report

October 17, 2024

denise-jans-Lq6rcifGjOU-unsplash — Photo by Denise Jans on Unsplash under the Creative Commons License

The Hollywood Reporter reports: “Los Angeles’ film permitting office is ringing the alarm about low production levels after shooting in the region saw another decline. The three-month period from July to September logged the weakest quarter so far this year, slipping 5 percent to roughly 5,000 shoot days, according to the latest report from FilmLA. The figure falls short of shooting in the area during the same time last year, when production was halted amid Hollywood’s dual writers and actors strikes.”

Meta Teams With Blumhouse And Filmmakers Like Casey Affleck To Test Movie Gen AI Tool

Staff Report

October 17, 2024

dima-solomin-mr26tQgHGmc-unsplash — Photo by Dima Solomin on Unsplash under the Creative Commons License

Variety reports: “Meta has put its generative AI video system in the hands of some Hollywood filmmakers — hoping to build goodwill with the industry and gather feedback on how to improve the tool. The tech giant announced Thursday that it has been working with horror studio Blumhouse and select creators as part of a pilot program for Movie Gen, its generative-AI video models. The company said it will continue to expand the program in 2025.”

Circana: 71% Of US Engage With Video Games

Staff Report

October 17, 2024

nasa-1lfI7wkGWZ4-unsplash — Photo by NASA on Unsplash under the Creative Commons License

Games Industry Biz reports: “71% of US consumers play video games, according to Circana’s 2024 Gamer Segmentation Report. An online survey of 5,100 respondents was conducted between May and June 2024, which found there are currently 236.4 million gamers in the US. The largest share of gamers was adults aged 45 and older at 37%, which Circana said was driven by women gamers and a growing interest in consoles.”

YouTube TV Is The Most Popular Live TV Streaming Service For Cord Cutting — Here Is How Fubo, Sling TV, & Others Rank

Staff Report

October 16, 2024

hamed-taha-Ziv3uwvQwIo-unsplash — Photo by Hamed Taha on Unsplash under the Creative Commons License

Cord Cutters News reports: “In 2023, cord cutting grew faster than ever, and the battle to be the service everyone subscribes to was heating up. Now, in the Fall of 2024, cord cutting is continuing to grow as more Americans ditch cable TV for less expensive streaming options, and the fate of live TV streaming is becoming clearer. According to our Fall 2024 survey of more than 1,000 Cord Cutters News readers, YouTube TV dominates the live TV streaming arena with 27.3% of readers subscribing to YouTube TV. In second place was Sling TV with 10.2% of cord cutters subscribing to their skinny bundle of channels.”

Spotify Expands Music Videos Beta To 85 Additional Countries Amid Broader Visual Media Buildout

Staff Report

October 16, 2024

alexander-shatov-w-qqwn5O-4I-unsplash — Photo by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash under the Creative Commons License

Digital Music News reports: “Another day, another video buildout for Spotify, which has officially made music videos available in beta to paid users across 85 more markets.
A rep for the music- and video-streaming platform reached out this morning with word of the feature’s enhanced availability, and Spotify elaborated on the news in a brief announcement message. Previously, the service in March brought its full-length music videos beta to about a dozen nations, among them the U.K., Sweden, the Philippines, and Kenya.”

Anthropic Just Made It Harder For AI To Go Rogue With Its Updated Safety Policy

Staff Report

October 16, 2024

thisisengineering-raeng-sbVu5zitZt0-unsplash — Photo by ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash under the Creative Commons License

VentureBeat reports: “Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the popular Claude chatbot, today announced a sweeping update to its Responsible Scaling Policy (RSP), aimed at mitigating the risks of highly capable AI systems. The policy, originally introduced in 2023, has evolved with new protocols to ensure that AI models, as they grow more powerful, are developed and deployed safely.”

TikTok Partners With South Korean Streaming Service Melon To Expand ‘Add To Music App’ Feature

Staff Report

October 16, 2024

jonathan-kemper-938fuMuOijw-unsplash — Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash under the Creative Commons License

Music Business Worldwide reports: “TikTok has partnered with Kakao Entertainment-owned Melon to integrate the South Korean music streaming service to its ‘Add to Music App’ feature. The feature launched in the US and UK almost a year ago and expanded to more countries over the past year. The tool allows TikTok users to save songs they discover on the platform directly to their preferred music streaming service, such as Spotify, Amazon Music or Apple Music.”

Digital Media Wire