The Hollywood Reporter reports: “The 2010s changed home entertainment forever. During this decade, power and momentum swung towards global subscription video on demand (SVOD) platforms selling their content directly to consumers. However, the same period may have been a zero-interest rate phenomenon. These subscription streaming giants are here to stay, but their distribution strategy will become increasingly indirect.”
AdWeek reports: “French news publisher Le Monde, and its entertainment sister magazine Télérama, are partnering with the streaming service Max to bring a bundled subscription to French consumers, launching on April 3. The tie-up is a calculated bid from both companies to acquire new subscribers and increase the retention rate of their existing customers amid a rapidly saturating subscription landscape, according to Le Monde director of digital operations Lou Grasser.”
Variety reports: “India’s media and entertainment sector hit INR2.5 trillion ($29.4 billion) in 2024, according to the annual Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)-EY report. Titled ‘Shape the Future: Indian Media and Entertainment is Scripting a New Story,’ the report reveals that digital media overtook television for the first time, becoming the industry’s largest segment and accounting for 32% of total revenue, ending a two-decade reign by TV.”
Gamespot reports: “Nintendo capped off the March Nintendo Direct by announcing a smartphone app called Nintendo Today. The app will function like a daily calendar, Nintendo said, and it will have news about Nintendo announcements, including details on the Switch 2 when the time comes. A Nintendo Account is required to use Nintendo Today. The app arrives today, March 27, for iOS and Android.”
Media Play News reports: “NBCUniversal and LG Electronics have expanded their content distribution agreement with the addition of 40 free ad-supported streaming television channels with ecommerce opportunities to branded LG Smart TVs. The channels include NBC News Now, Today All Day, Dateline 24/7, SNL Vault, Million Dollar Listing, The Real Housewives, and Top Chef, in addition to Spanish-language news, entertainment from Telemundo, local news, true crime, and sports programming.”
Cord Cutters News reports: “In a surprising turn for cord-cutters and streaming enthusiasts, Crackle, the pioneering free ad-supported streaming service, has made an unexpected comeback this week, as of March 26, 2025. The platform, which had been dormant since its parent company Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment spiraled into bankruptcy last year, is once again operational, offering its catalog of movies and TV shows to viewers at no cost.”
Deadline reports: “ITV Studios is digging into the Indian content market after striking a deal with Rarefied Studio for unscripted shows in India, Malaysia and Japan. The co-production partnership will see the development, production and distribution of new unscripted shows in the three crucial regions by Rarefied, with a focus on India.”
The Conversation reports: “Google announced the launch of AI Overviews, its generative artificial intelligence-fuelled search feature, in May 2024. Initially named Search Generative Experience, AI Overviews offers Google users AI-generated answers by sourcing and summarizing information from different websites.”
TechCrunch reports: “Amazon started the Alexa Fund in 2015 to back early-stage voice startups. With the advent of large language models and Amazon launching Gen AI-powered Alexa+ along with a family of multimodal AI models, the fund now wants to broaden its scope and invest more in AI startups.”
The Verge reports: “Game Informer is back, and so is its entire staff. On Tuesday, editor-in-chief Matt Miller announced that Gunzilla Games has acquired the rights to the gaming magazine, helping to bring the site and its archives back online. GameStop, which previously owned Game Informer, shut down the beloved magazine last August and laid off its entire staff after a more than 30-year run.”
