Verizon is targeting young viewers with its new go90 video app, which is expected to be available for iOS and Android within the week. Ryan Knutson, a millennial journalist for The Wall Street Journal, offers a largely positive review after testing the beta version, but notes that good content — the challenge for most online services — will be the key factor for younger audiences. Knutson is encouraged by the design, intuitive functionality, ease-of-use and navigation, load time, and social components. “Whether it succeeds, however, depends entirely on whether it has good content,” he writes.

Yesterday we reported that YouTube was readying its ad-free, subscription-based video and music service. In response, SMPTE Fellow Mark Schubin forwarded a link to his related blog post, titled “Copywrong” that addresses the challenges he faces when posting non-commercial lecture videos on YouTube. While Schubin offers his videos ad-free, after carefully seeking permission or relying on fair use when incorporating “others’ words, pictures, sounds, or videos,” people still claim to own related copyrights (even when the content is more than 100 years old). This allows YouTube “to put ads on my lectures to monetize ‘their’ material,” writes Schubin. “The ads go on before I’m even informed, and then I have to dispute the claims.”

Google-owned YouTube is reportedly readying the launch of its much anticipated online subscription service. Sources indicate a launch is likely by the end of October. Two offerings are expected: an updated version of its Music Key service (previously launched in beta) and a new service that offers access to all YouTube content without ads. Earlier reports suggest the bundled offering would be available for $10 per month. While YouTube has hinted in the past about an upcoming subscription service, it has yet to unveil firm plans or a timeline. Continue reading YouTube Readies New Ad-Free Service for Monthly Subscription

During the recent Oculus Connect developer’s conference in Hollywood, 20th Century Fox announced it is teaming with Facebook-owned Oculus VR to make 100 movies from the Fox library — including “Alien,” “Birdman,” “Taken,” “The Maze Runner,” “Die Hard” and “X-Men: Days of Future Past” — available for new virtual reality headsets. “Fox and Lionsgate were the first major Hollywood studios to partner with Oculus, which plans to release its Rift headset in the first quarter of 2016,” reports The Wrap. “The films will also be viewable on Samsung’s Gear VR headset, which is due in stores in November at a list price of $99.”

New data from market research firm Counterpoint indicates that 21 percent of smartphones shipped worldwide came from Samsung during the second quarter of this year. Following Samsung was Apple at 14 percent, Huawei at 9 percent and Xiamoi with 5 percent, reports Digital Trends. However, Apple took the lead in North America, claiming 34 percent of shipments. Samsung followed with 26 percent, while LG claimed 14 percent. Three out of four mobile handsets shipped worldwide were smartphones, and half were LTE capable. “Excluding Samsung, Apple now generates more smartphone revenues than all the other players combined,” notes Counterpoint.

During Oculus Connect in Hollywood yesterday, Facebook’s virtual reality developer conference, Samsung SVP Peter Koo announced that the new Gear VR headset co-developed by Oculus and Samsung will ship in November, in time for Black Friday, for $99. Consumers can expect a lighter, more comfortable Samsung Gear VR that is compatible with smartphones including the Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 Edge+, Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. The previous $200 version for developers was only compatible with the Note 4 and Galaxy S6. Continue reading Consumer Edition of Samsung Gear VR to Arrive Black Friday

A number of video services have announced plans to launch new virtual reality apps. “Hulu said it will produce original content and curate films for VR platforms,” reports Variety. Its VR app “will feature immersive 3D environments that will allow subscribers to stream the service’s 2D library as well as original VR content.” Netflix created an app for Samsung Gear VR that features the Netflix Living Room, “which provides a user interface designed for the virtual-reality headset.” The Verge adds that during Oculus Connect this week, Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe announced TiVo, Twitch and Vimeo would soon be compatible with the Samsung Gear VR.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, VR startup Voxelus “is making its presence known at the Oculus Connect 2 developers conference in Hollywood, where it’s on hand with a new platform aimed at allowing anyone to create and sell VR content.” Voxelus chairman Halsey Minor told THR that the company envisions consumer generated content kickstarting VR before the tech becomes widely adopted by professionals. The platform “includes Voxelus Creator, a free 3D design app for PCs and Macs; Voxelus Viewer, which works on desktop PCs, Oculus Rift and Samsung VR Gear headsets; and the Voxelus Marketplace, which allows creators to sell and users to buy VR content.”

Facebook introduced a new 360-degree spherical video feature this week for the social platform’s newsfeed. At launch, users can roam an immersive trailer for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” by dragging their mouse over the video in order to access different vantage points. Mobile users can change their angle within clips featuring NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” and workouts by NBA star LeBron James by simply tilting their smartphone or swiping their finger across the screen. Continue reading Facebook Betting On VR with New 360-Degree Video Feature

NBCUniversal has launched a free Roku app that offers television viewers access to day-after-air full high definition episodes and highlights of their favorite NBC shows, including new fall series such as “Blindspot,” “Heroes Reborn” and “The Player.” While no provider login is required for select new series, authentication will be needed for access to returning NBC shows and older content. The network also plans to make late night programming — including “Saturday Night Live” and “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” — available as full episodes and as clips. Continue reading Instant Access to NBC Shows and Highlights with Roku App

New research by Twitter suggests that 87 percent of tweets about TV originate on mobile devices, 85 percent of Twitter users active during prime time tweet about television, and last year there were one billion tweets about TV. Adweek has posted a compelling infographic that offers additional findings, including: “4 in 5 users active during prime time hours have mentioned brands in their tweets. Users who tweet about TV have twice the influence as those users who only tweet about brands. When a TV show has a hashtag integration, there is a 20 percent increase in tweets per minute.”

A new report from the NPD Group indicates that mobile devices have supplanted computers as the platform of choice for children who play video games. Smartphones and tablets are now most popular with 63 percent of gamers in the age range of 2 to 17, according to NPD’s “Kids and Gaming 2015.” “On the flip side, 45 percent of kids use a home PC for gaming, a drop of 22 points since 2013,” reports CNET. “The decline is most prominent among children ages 2 to 5. Video game consoles are also losing ground — used by 60 percent of kids surveyed compared with 67 percent in 2013.” While mobile’s popularity grows, PC sales have declined. Game console sales are still strong, but kids spend more time on their mobile devices.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America, streaming music has officially surpassed physical music sales for the first time in the U.S. In addition, streaming is poised to take the lead from digital downloads as the top source of revenue for the music industry and could do so as early as next year. “Streaming currently accounts for about one-third of overall spending on music, totaling a little more than $1 billion for the first six months of the year,” reports Bloomberg. “The shift toward streaming is likely to accelerate.” “The data continues to reflect the story of a business undergoing an enormous transformation,” said Cary Sherman, chairman of the RIAA.

Facebook announced yesterday that its popular photo-sharing app Instagram now has 400 million monthly active users. More than 75 percent of Instagram users are outside the U.S. (with more than half of the most recent 100 million users living in Europe and Asia). “Facebook’s strategy of creating separate apps appears to be paying off,” suggests The Wall Street Journal. “The texting app WhatsApp, which Facebook acquired for $19 billion in 2014, recently reached 900 million monthly active users.” CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that Facebook’s standalone Messenger app had more than 700 million users.

Digital scrapbooking startup Pinterest has influenced numerous companies to reimagine the importance of photos over text. The San Francisco-based startup, which has been under the gun to justify its $11 billion valuation, announced last week that it has surpassed 100 million monthly active users. However, the number is “dwarfed by the user bases of some digital contemporaries it competes with for ad dollars,” notes The New York Times, citing Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp and Facebook. “To live up to its $11 billion valuation, Pinterest must continue to expand its user base beyond 100 million, while proving that it can grow into a robust and viable business.”