Mattel Inks Netflix Deal, Sets Barbie Interactive Special

October 21, 2022

IMDb reports: “Netflix and toymaker Mattel have signed a long-term deal to bring more Barbie programming to the streamer. The first project under the multi-year content partnership is an interactive special called Barbie: Epic Road Trip, which debuts Oct. 25. The deal will have Mattel Television produce series and specials based on the iconic doll line exclusively for Netflix, in addition to non-exclusive titles that will run on a variety of outlets worldwide. Epic Road Trip will follow Barbie “Malibu” Roberts, Barbie “Brooklyn” Roberts, Ken and Skipper as they take a cross-country road trip to find homes for shelter animals — but a potentially life-altering opportunity also awaits them in New York.”

‘E! News’ Nightly Broadcast To Return After Two-Year Hiatus

Staff Report

October 21, 2022

Variety reports: “E! announced the return of its nightly entertainment news program “E! News,” with TV personality Adrienne Bailon-Houghton and E! News’ Justin Sylvester tapped to serve as the show’s co-hosts. The nightly broadcast is set to return on Monday, November 14 at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT. Veteran television producers John Redmann, who has produced CBS’ “The Talk” for a decade, and John Pascarella, who co-executive produced “Maury,” are set to executive produce the broadcast.”

SoundCloud Launches Discord Bot To Help Users Find What’s Next In Music

Staff Report

October 21, 2022

Digital Music News reports: “SoundCloud has launched its official music bot on Discord to enable users to discover new artists, play select tracks from their library, and share their favorite playlists. Adding to Discord’s robust arsenal of features around which online communities thrive, the SoundCloud bot creates opportunities for music lovers to listen to and share SoundCloud tracks with their friends and fans. Users can invite SoundCloud to their Discord server to access the world’s largest music discovery platform.”

Disney Launches Web3 Experience To Celebrate 100 Years Of Disney Music

Staff Report

October 21, 2022

jayme-mccolgan-IP1rSwr8R6o-unsplash — Photo by Jayme Mccolgan under the Creative Commons License

Tech Crunch reports: “Disney collaborated with its Accelerator participant Obsess, an e-commerce platform known for creating interactive virtual storefronts, to release a new web3 experience for its Disney Music Emporium online store. The 3D 360 virtual experience lets fans discover soundtracks and songs from popular Disney films and TV shows by clicking on various vinyl records and CDs throughout the virtual space.”

Kevin Hart’s Venture Firm Gets Investment From J.P. Morgan

Staff Report

October 21, 2022

precious-madubuike-t65T28d7x_8-unsplash — Photo by Precious Madubuike on Unsplash under the Creative Commons License

The Hollywood Reporter reports: “Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat Ventures has taken its first outside investment from J.P. Morgan. The venture capital firm is focused on consumer packaged goods, fintech, Web3 and health investments. Part of its new fund will support minority and underrepresented founders, TechCrunch reported as Hart unveiled the investment at the publication’s Disrupt event. J.P. Morgan is the anchor investor in Hartbeat Ventures. The bank did not disclose the size of the investment, but said it provided “the max allocation” through Project Spark, a J.P. Morgan initiative that focuses on firms led by women and people of color.”

YouTube Premium’s Family Plan Just Got More Expensive

Staff Report

October 21, 2022

alexander-shatov-niUkImZcSP8-unsplash — Photo by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash under the Creative Commons License

The Verge reports: “A YouTube Premium family plan now costs $22.99 per month following a price hike, as reported by 9to5Google. The family tier offers benefits like ad-free viewing and background playback for you and up to five other people, and it now costs $5 more per month. The price change is already in effect for new subscribers, meaning you can’t sign up at the previous $17.99 price any longer. For current subscribers, “this change will take place on your next billing cycle starting on or after November 21, 2022,” YouTube said in an email shared by 9to5Google.”

YouTube Taps Google Play Executive For Vacant Head Of Gaming Role

Staff Report

October 20, 2022

javier-miranda-xW7d0pvzdDk-unsplash — Photo by Javier Miranda on Unsplash under the Creative Commons License

The Hollywood Reporter reports: “YouTube has hired Leo Olebe, a games partnerships executive at parent company Google, to lead the video giant’s gaming division, a Google spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter. Olebe will fill the top gaming executive role at YouTube roughly nine months after Ryan Wyatt, YouTube’s former head of gaming, exited in February to become the CEO of the Web3 company Polygon Studios. At Google, Olebe currently leads the games partnerships team for Google Play, where he works closely with developers and publishers.”

Despite Football’s Big September Debut, Broadcast And Cable TV Viewing Still Didn’t Equal Streaming During The Month, Nielsen Says

Staff Report

October 20, 2022

bastian-riccardi-JKfDuqD90pI-unsplash — Photo by Bastian Riccardi on Unsplash under the Creative Commons License

Deadline reports: “Despite strong tune-in for the start of the NFL and college football seasons, broadcast and cable TV viewership still didn’t measure up to streaming in the month of September, Nielsen said. The firm’s monthly edition of The Gauge, released this morning, has streaming as a category at 36.9% of overall viewing, compared with cable at 33.8% and broadcast at 24.2%. The broadcast category surged more than 12% in September, driven by a massive 222% uptick in sports viewing as NFL and college games continued to set records.”

Instagram Testing Profile Song Feature Internally

Staff Report

October 20, 2022

CNET reports: “Is it a throwback or the future of social media? Instagram is testing out a new internal feature that would enable users to add a song to their profiles. Tech leaker and developer Alessandro Paluzzi first shared the news on Twitter on Monday, igniting nostalgic comparisons to MySpace. However, the feature “is an internal prototype, and not testing externally,” said Meta spokesperson Christine Pai in an email statement. Paluzzi, who’s known for uncovering app updates through reverse engineering, tweeted screenshots about the potential feature and how it would work.”

DirecTV Can Now Quickly Switch From Satellite To Broadband To Avoid TV Disruptions

Staff Report

October 20, 2022

serge-van-neck-YUqbBezzkWQ-unsplash — Photo by Serge van Neck on Unsplash under the Creative Commons License

The Verge reports: “DirecTV is introducing a new feature today it calls SignalSaver, which is designed to preserve TV reception even during times of satellite interference. Available at no extra cost to residential DirecTV subscribers with an internet-connected set-top box, SignalSaver automatically prompts you to switch from a satellite signal to internet-based TV when an interruption is detected. “After a few seconds of signal calibration, and with the proper high-speed Internet connection, customers can enable SignalSaver to still enjoy up to an HD (720p) quality viewing experience,” the company explains in its press release.”