Disney, which is in the process of completing its purchase of NBCUniversal’s 33 percent stake in Hulu, will begin beta testing a combined Disney+ and Hulu bundle next month for subscribers of both services, according to CEO Bob Iger. Last week, Disney announced it would pay Comcast at least $8.61 billion for the Hulu stake, indicating the final cost could be higher, based on market value estimates by each party’s investment bankers. “We remain on track to roll out a more unified one-app experience domestically via Disney+,” Iger said in discussing the September quarter on an earnings call. Continue reading Merged Disney+ and Hulu App to Launch as Beta Next Month

Disney announced it plans to purchase the remaining one-third stake in Hulu from Comcast’s NBCUniversal in a move that has been widely expected. The announcement follows Disney’s acquisition of Fox’s entertainment assets in 2019, which gave the entertainment giant two-thirds of streaming service Hulu. Disney, which is expected to pay at least $8.61 billion for the remaining stake, currently offers the Hulu service as part of a streaming bundle with its Disney+ and ESPN+ platforms. “The acquisition of Comcast’s stake in Hulu at fair market value will further Disney’s streaming objectives,” explained the company in a press release. Continue reading Disney to Purchase Remaining Stake in Hulu from Comcast

X is developing a video-calling feature to add as part of its rebranding as an “everything app.” X CEO Linda Yaccarino shared the news in her first television interview since leaving NBCUniversal to become head of Elon Musk’s social media platform in June, when the platform was still known as Twitter. Yaccarino said X users will soon be able to make video calls based on their social ID alone, without sharing phone numbers. Long-form videos, creator subscriptions and the ability to make payments on the platform are additional features that Yaccarino explained will be coming to X. Continue reading Yaccarino: X Getting Video Calls with Its ‘Everything’ Rebrand

As expected, Spotify unveiled its first premium subscription rate hike in 12 years after mounting pressure from the music industry and musicians — and as competing services hiked their rates. A premium Spotify streaming subscription in the U.S. will now cost $10.99 per month, a $1 increase. Now the largest paid music service in the world, with about 210 million subscribers, Spotify is also raising rates in some 50 additional markets, including Canada, parts of Europe and Asia, South America and Australasia. Existing customers are getting one month’s notice before the new rates kick in. Continue reading Spotify Announces Anticipated Price Hikes for Subscriptions

NBCUniversal has plumbed its vaults to fuel nearly 50 new FAST channels launching in July on Amazon Freevee and the new Xumo Play joint venture from NBCU parent Comcast and Charter Communications. The lineup, taken from NBCU’s Television and Streaming and Global Distribution libraries, includes verticals for “Saturday Night Live,” “Top Chef,” “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” and “The Real Housewives,” as well as Spanish-language programs from Telemundo. There are also nostalgia channels featuring “The Lone Ranger,” “Little House on the Prairie” and “Murder, She Wrote,” and genre-based streams of comedy, criminality and monsters. Continue reading NBCUniversal to Introduce Dozens of FAST Channels in July

Elon Musk and new Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino shared a platform vision heavy on creator-commerce partnerships as well as video, which has grown vertical engagement to “more than 10 percent” of user time on the social service. The duo said on a video call with investors last week that the company is pursuing collaborations with entertainment figures, politicians, media publishers and payment services, and that Twitter is securing “money transmitter licenses” in each of the 50 U.S. states as part of Musk’s vision to turn the service into a super app. Continue reading Twitter’s New Business Plan Marks Shift to Video, Commerce

Vizio has added a new discovery feature, Content Connections as part of its WatchFree+ service and smart TV interface. NBCUniversal’s Peacock has climbed aboard as the platform’s first Content Connections partner. With Content Connections, users can move seamlessly from Vizio’s FAST environment, WatchFree+, to services available through paid subscription. The Peacock Preview channel will let consumers with Vizio smart TVs have free access for a three-week period to select episodes from more than 16 Peacock series. Content Connections will serve viewers with “intuitive messages” directing them to participating platforms’ streaming apps. Continue reading Peacock Signs Up for Vizio’s WatchFree+ Discovery Feature

AMC Theatres is closing its on-demand movie streaming service and transferring users and their content libraries to Vudu, a digital rental and sales streaming platform owned by NBCUniversal’s Fandango. Beginning last week, customers were invited to transfer their AMC Theatres On Demand accounts to Vudu, where they will be “upgraded to the highest-quality format” the platform offers, including 4K Ultra HD. Migrating customers will also receive 15 percent off any titles purchased within their first month of Vudu service. Since 2019 the theater chain has been offering AMC Stubs loyalty members on-demand movie delivery. Continue reading AMC Theatres Ends Streaming and Ports Customers to Vudu

Twitter 2.0 is ready for takeoff, now that former NBCUniversal advertising chief Linda Yaccarino has been appointed the social media giant’s new CEO. Yaccarino has extensive experience in advertising and has long been one of Madison Avenue’s major power brokers. Twitter, which relies primarily on ad revenue, is still trying to recover from stumbling after Elon Musk alienated sponsors in a series of erratic moves immediately after acquiring the company for $44 billion in October. Musk says he will now focus on product design and technology while Yaccarino concentrates on business development. Continue reading Advertising Exec Linda Yaccarino Named New CEO of Twitter

Disney will soon be incorporating Hulu content on Disney+ in the U.S. said CEO Bob Iger, describing the move toward “a one-app experience” for investors on the company’s quarterly earnings call this week. Iger also confirmed discussions about Hulu’s future with Comcast, which holds a 33 percent stake in the Disney-owned streamer. “Where we are headed is for one experience that would have general entertainment and Disney+ content together,” Iger told investors. “How that ultimately unfolds is to some extent in the hands of Comcast.” Continue reading Hulu Content Is Coming to Disney+ for ‘One-App Experience’

TikTok’s new Pulse Premiere will allow publishers to sell ads alongside their posts and keep half the revenue, a move to engage institutional creators in addition to the influencers and app-savvy individuals that have been the video-sharing platform’s mainstay. An offshoot of TikTok’s Pulse program revenue-sharing plan, available for the top 4 percent of creators’ posts, Pulse Premiere permits ads against all posts from publishers including Condé Nast, NBCUniversal and Vox Media. Advertisers have embraced TikTok to reach Gen Z. Sensor Tower predicts the ByteDance-owned company will secure 2.5 percent of the domestic digital ad market in 2023. Continue reading TikTok Pulse Premiere Gives Publishers a 50 Percent Ad Cut

NBCUniversal unveiled four new ad formats that brands can use to reach Peacock Premium subscribers, including in-show shopping opportunities that leverage artificial intelligence. At its IAB NewFronts presentation, the company demonstrated Must ShopTV, which lets viewers buy products featured in Peacock content, such as the cookware and utensils featured in “Top Chef.” Peacock is working with KERV Interactive, which uses an algorithm trained to tag shoppable products with an onscreen QR code that viewers can snap on a mobile device to buy items using payment information saved to the Peacock app. Continue reading Peacock Introduces New Ad Formats Including ‘Must ShopTV’

Measurement is emerging as a major issue to be addressed at this year’s advertising sales presentations known as the TV Upfronts, taking place this month in New York City. Companies slated to present range from established players like NBCUniversal, hosting May 15 at Radio City Music Hall, to Netflix, which joins the heavyweights with a May 17 event at the Paris Theater. An increased emphasis on streaming platforms, which allow specific measurements rather than the panel extrapolations that have been the norm in the broadcast era, has shifted the focus to the analytics firms that quantify consumer viewing and identify patterns. Continue reading TV Upfronts to Contend with Analytics Upended by Streaming

Hollywood talent discovery platform HUSSLUP debuted its desktop app this week, staking its claim as the LinkedIn of the entertainment community. With backing from Comcast NBCUniversal’s LIFT Labs accelerator and various venture funds, the job search and networking hub aims to help young professionals who want to break into the world of production for film, television and games. The company launched as a mobile app in December, when it announced a $2.5 million seed round and 4,000 job-seeking members. HUSSLUP has separate logins for creative professionals and entertainment companies, offering functionality catering to each. Continue reading HUSSLUP Aims to Become Entertainment Industry’s LinkedIn

Peacock is adding a new “Watch With” feature that lets fans watch special episodes with their favorite personalities, including live commentary, real-time reactions and live Q&A it says will be unfiltered. Watch With debuts with “Bel-Air” stars Jabari Banks and Olly Sholotan on February 24 at 9:00 p.m. ET, immediately following the show’s Season 2 premiere. Peacock will also add the feature to the live song contest “Eurovision” with host Johnny Weir and “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip” with stars Candiace Dillard Bassett and Marysol Patton, with more to come. Continue reading Peacock ‘Watch With’ Feature Adds Split-Screen Interactivity