It seems Twitch’s controversial “pay-to-win” Boost feature is a bust. There was no positive impact for streamers who took part in a test of the Boost feature, according to a data analyst who crunched the numbers. Read more…
MrBeast’s ‘Real Life Squid Game’ and the price of viral stunts
First, everyone was talking about “Squid Game,” the Korean psychological thriller that became Netflix’s biggest series launch ever, with 142 million viewers. Now, everyone’s talking about YouTuber MrBeast’s recreation of the show’s titular fight-to-the-death, which racked up 142 million views in eight days. (Don’t worry, no one was killed). Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast), the 23-year-old who […]
SiriusXM partners with Audio Up to develop new original podcasts
SiriusXM is partnering with audio entertainment production studio Audio Up to develop new original scripted podcasts. The two companies have entered into a creative programming and strategic agreement, under which Audio Up is expected to create new podcasts for SiriusXM and its platforms, including the SXM app, Pandora and Stitcher. Audio Up, which was established […]
Twitch streamers respond after huge leak of creator payout data
Twitch confirmed yesterday that a massive cache of internal data, including creator payouts, was published online after a breach. The streaming platform said in a blog post that the leak was caused by an error in a Twitch server configuration change, which was then accessed by a malicious third party. For many streamers, this leak […]
Co-streaming rolls out to all creators on Facebook Gaming
Co-streaming is rolling out to all users on Facebook’s game-streaming platform Facebook Gaming. The feature will allow users to team up and stream with one another, while enabling viewers to navigate between co-streams and choose which perspective they’d like to see the action from. The feature had previously only been available to streamers in the […]
Inkitt books $59M investment, wants to turn its data-driven, self-publishing platform into a multi-media powerhouse
Book sales during the pandemic went up, and it seems the amount we are reading did, too. Now Inkitt, the startup that operates a free, popular platform of the same name for anyone to write and publish stories — stories that Inkitt then analyses using data science to determine which of them to take to […]
Amazon introduces Amazon Glow, an interactive, video calling device for kids and families
Amazon today introduced Amazon Glow, a new, interactive device aimed at families that allows kids to interact with family members and other remote loved ones over video calls. While something of a competitor to Facebook’s line of Portal devices, which are also largely aimed at connecting families over video, Amazon Glow differentiates itself by providing […]
ViacomCBS unveils a Paramount+ and Showtime streaming bundle, starting at $9.99 per month
ViacomCBS announced a new streaming bundle today for U.S. subscribers, offering access to both Paramount+ and Showtime. If you subscribe to the ad-supported Paramount+ Essential plan, the bundle will cost $9.99 per month. But if you don’t want to watch ads when you’re laser-focused on the “iCarly” reboot (yes, that exists), you can pay $12.99 […]
Roku’s first original film continues NBC’s canceled series ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’
Roku’s expansion into original content continues with news that the streaming platform and device maker will debut its first original feature-length film during the 2021 holiday season. In partnership with Lionsgate, Roku announced it will introduce a movie based on the Emmy-winning TV series “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” which will air on its free streaming hub, […]
Hulu is raising the price on its on-demand plans by $1 starting Oct. 8
Following last year’s price hike on its Live TV service, Hulu is now preparing to raise prices again. Starting on October 8, 2021, Hulu will raise the price for both its on-demand plans, Hulu and Hulu with No Ads. However, unlike the earlier price hike which had clocked in at $10 more per month for […]