Deadline Hollywood reports: “NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment has rebranded Craftsy, the digital service it bought a little more than a year ago, as Bluprint. The new entity’s ‘expanded subscription service and premier digital destination for lifestyle learning’ will cost $15 a month, accessible via apps including one on Roku.”
The Hollywood Reporter reports: “Fox Broadcasting and Muhammad Ali Enterprises will be trading punches no longer as a $30 million lawsuit over the boxer’s image in a Super Bowl promo has been settled. The entity that asserts ownership of the legendary boxer’s likeness filed suit in October 2017, contending that a three-minute video before the Super Bowl that year violated publicity rights and represented a false endorsement.”
Variety reports: “In just over two years, Netflix’s Fast.com free tool for checking internet service provider speeds has produced more than 500 million tests. Now the streaming-video provider is adding two new metrics to Fast.com: connection latency and upload speed. Netflix set up the Fast.com tool as a way for customers to see if they were getting sufficient performance from their internet connection for high-quality video.”
Gamesindustry.biz reports: “The mobile marketing firm AppLovin has taken a $400 million investment from private equity investor KKR & Co. The money for the deal comes primarily from the its KKR Americas XII Fund, and KKR has stated that AppLovin’s presence in the ‘high-growth mobile gaming market’ was a key factor behind the investment.”
The Hollywood Reporter reports: “With its $289 million sale to Lantern Capital Partners having closed today, the Weinstein Co. saga comes to an end. Co-founded by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein in 2005 with plans to become a major multi-media company, TWC — despite back-to-back best picture Oscar wins for The King’s Speech and The Artist as well as several Emmy trophies for shows like Project Runway— never lived up to all its grand ambitions.”
Gamesindustry.biz reports: “Stanga Games has raised an additional $500,000 in a funding round lead by Taya Ventures. This is on top of $500,000 in funding raised last December. Near future plans include launching a website called UnderworldFootball.com and creating a Facebook version of the title.”
The Verge reports: “Roku has long been known for its set-top boxes and Roku TVs, but now, the entertainment company is introducing the Roku TV Wireless Speakers. They’re the Roku’s first pair of wireless speakers that will harness the Roku Connect platform that was announced at CES to link up with your Roku-powered smart TV over Wi-Fi.”
Variety reports: “FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said that he has “serious concerns” about Sinclair Broadcast Group’s plans to merge with Tribune Media, adding that the agency cannot approve the transaction as is. The $3.9 billion transaction that would create an unprecedented giant in local broadcasting, as Sinclair would be the largest owner of stations with a reach of almost 59% of the country.”
Venture Beat reports: “Klang Games, a Berlin-based game development studio, has raised $8.95 million in funding to support Seed, an artificial intelligence-driven massively multiplayer space colonization online simulation. The online game will use Improbable’s SpatialOS platform, which provides the infrastructure that allows small development teams to create massive simulations.”
The Verge reports: “Amazon may bring its Fire TV Edition smart TVs to the UK, according to a report from The Telegraph. The publication claims that a set is currently being tested by the DTG (Digital TV Group), which sets the technical standards for digital terrestrial broadcasts in the UK.”
