Hollywood Reporter reports: “German media giant Bertelsmann on Thursday reported its highest first-half revenue in 12 years, driven by its digital operations and what the company has designated as growth businesses, including music arm BMG.”
Variety reports: “CBS Studios International has struck a new licensing agreement with French broadcaster TF1 Group for multiple series from CBS Television Studios, it was announced Thursday.”
The Verge reports: “Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is wildly outspoken, and he’s never been shy to criticize the company he helped build. This week, he told Bloomberg that Apple should have been split up a long time ago.”
VentureBeat reports: “The virtual reality app subscription service Viveport Infinity is now available for Valve’s Index VR headset, HTC announced, bringing all-you-can-watch and -play content to the most deluxe consumer VR platform yet available.”
Hypebot reports: “Subscription-based production music startup Soundstripe has raised an additional $2 million in financing from Craft Ventures, just months after raising a $4 million Series A round.”
Variety reports: “Get ready for yet another ad-supported video service: Media center app maker Plex is gearing up to add free movies and TV shows to its app, starting with content from Warner Bros. Plex announced a deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution Thursday, which will allow it to add a still-unspecified amount of the studio’s movie catalog to its app when it launches ad-supported video streaming later this year.”
Hollywood Reporter reports: “A federal grand jury on Tuesday returned an indictment that charged eight people with conspiring to violate federal criminal copyright law by allegedly running two of the largest unauthorized streaming services in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.”
Hypebot reports: “DistroKid has become the first DIY music distributor to add TikTok to its offering. The short video app has more than 500 million active worldwide and served as the launchpad for the longest-running #1 in chart history, “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X.”
VentureBeat reports: “Ubisoft was one of the first major publishers to jump aboard both the Epic Games Store and Google Stadia streaming platform. And the company is embracing those alternatives to the Steam market in part because Valve’s game-distribution portal takes too much money, according to Ubisoft digital publishing boss Chris Early.”
Variety reports: “Major label-owned Vevo has struck a partnership with smart TV operating system provider Vewd to bring music videos to TiVo DVRs as well as smart TVs from manufacturers like Sony, Hisense and Philips.”
