On its official Xfinity Mobile website, Comcast is now allowing its Xfinity Internet customers to sign up for the service at a discounted rate of $45 per month. The regular price will be $65 per month for unlimited mobile service. Xfinity Mobile was unveiled in April and will roll out to stores over the coming months throughout Comcast’s current markets. The service runs on top of Verizon’s network, but access to Comcast’s 16 million Wi-Fi hotspots means users will automatically be switched over to Wi-Fi when available. Continue reading Comcast Rolls Out Xfinity Mobile, With Streaming TV Service

Amazon is taking pre-orders for Element’s Fire TV Edition sets, to ship in June at the same time other retailers get them. Amazon, Element and Westinghouse announced Fire TV-based television sets at CES 2017, and the companies are now revealing prices and other details. Element will offer its 43-inch Fire TV for $449 retail, a 50-inch for $549, a 55-inch for $649, and a 65-inch for $899. The TVs support 4K video and offer a quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage for apps, specs that are meant to future-proof it. Continue reading Amazon Takes Aim at Cord Cutters, Roku With Its Fire TV Set

Again copying a Snapchat feature, Instagram introduced a face icon with eight filters, allowing users to transform themselves. Among the filters are koala bears and bunnies (perfect for kids), and flower crowns, which might be a hit with teens. Nine months ago, Instagram debuted its disappearing Stories, aping the format made popular by Snapchat. Since then, Instagram Stories has built up 200 million daily active users, compared to Snap’s 166 million. Instagram hasn’t said if it will rotate or expand the filters over time. Continue reading Instagram Rolls Out AR Selfie Lenses, Adds Location Hashtag

In addition to its more than 100 TV-like linear channels, Pluto TV is now offering thousands of free movies and TV shows on demand via its streaming platform. Pluto TV is expanding its “ad-supported service with VOD as it positions itself as a kind of Spotify for premium video,” reports Variety. “It’s worth noting that Ken Parks, Pluto’s executive chairman, was Spotify’s first U.S. employee and led the music streamer’s negotiations with record labels.” The startup, which launched in 2014 and currently touts more than six million monthly viewers, may introduce a hybrid free/subscription model in the future. Continue reading Pluto TV Now Offers Free On-Demand Movies and TV Shows

The latest eMarketer forecast suggests that adults in the U.S. will interact with media over 12 hours per day this year, due to increases in digital usage and media multitasking. However, while 56 percent of Americans now have the ability to view online video via their TV sets, most are still watching traditional TV the majority of the time. According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), there has been a 20 percent jump since 2015 in the number of consumers who can access Internet video directly through their TV or a device like Chromecast, but 39 percent of the time people are watching broadcast TV compared to 24 percent of the time when they are streaming content. Continue reading Majority of Consumers Have Access to Internet Video via TV

In 2014, TCL’s first Roku-driven smart TVs were aimed at consumers on a budget. Now, TCL is debuting two lines of higher-ticket TVs. The P and C series are the first 4K Roku TVs with Dolby Vision HDR. They also have Roku’s latest operating system, which allows the user to pause live TV for up to 90 minutes if he adds a USB flash drive to the TV. Another option enables recommendations of content based on viewing patterns. The P Series offers Dolby Vision HDR with local dimming; the C Series features a more contemporary design. Continue reading TCL Announces 4K Roku Smart TVs With Dolby Vision HDR

Microsoft’s Build 2017 conference in Seattle showcased Azure cloud services for the Internet of Things, using multiple sensors and small computing devices to track data analyzed by Microsoft’s combo of cloud and AI tools. The new Azure IoT Edge speeds up the process because computing can now take place on-site. The first use cases will be industrial applications. Among its 29 AI services, Microsoft also now has automatic language translation for PowerPoint and video indexing by sight or tag when a word or phrase is spoken. Continue reading Microsoft’s New Cloud Service With AI Tools Targets IoT Use

After losing the Thursday Night Football deal to Amazon this time around, Twitter announced it now has plans to stream year-round football programming. Through a new multi-year agreement, Twitter will stream official NFL video and related content all year, in addition to a live half-hour digital show to air five nights a week during the season. The new show, hosted by talent from the NFL Network, will feature news, highlights, projections, rankings and more. Live pre-game content will offer fans behind-the-scenes access including warm-ups and interviews via Periscope. Continue reading Twitter Signs Deal for Streaming NFL-Related Video Content

CBS has launched the anticipated bundle of its CBS All Access and Showtime streaming services. Available initially to current subscribers, sign-up for the skinny bundle is accessible via cbs.com or showtime.com. “CBS All Access today goes for $5.99 per month, or $9.99 per month if you want to ditch the ads,” reports TechCrunch. “Showtime’s over-the-top option is $10.99 per month. The new, combined pricing is $14.99 per month for both services, or $18.99 per month if you want the CBS All Access commercial-free plan.” CBS and Showtime are available for subscribers across Web, mobile apps, and TV platforms. Continue reading CBS Debuts its Combined Showtime and All Access Package

Facebook just disclosed the meaning of the rocket ship icon next to the News Feed tab. According to the company’s News Feed head Adam Mosseri, the rocket ship is an experiment that connects a small number of users with people and pages they do not like or follow. At Variety’s Entertainment and Technology Summit, Mosseri said that the point is to expose people to stories they are interested in from sources they are not following. Facebook curates the information based on an algorithm that figures out a user’s interests. Continue reading Facebook’s Rocket Icon Revealed as News Feed Experiment

Facebook plans to debut two-dozen TV-like programs in mid-June. A few shows will be big-budget longer shows that cleave most closely to TV content; the rest will be lower-budget shows of five to 10 minutes that will refresh every 24 hours. According to sources, the social media company has already greenlit several shows. With scripted, high-quality programs, Facebook hopes to garner younger viewers. The move also puts it in competition with Amazon, YouTube and Snap among other platforms hoping to attract advertising dollars. Continue reading Facebook Likely to Launch Its TV-Like Programs in Mid-June

Investors believe Tubi TV may be on the right track with its ad-supported streaming service that now offers more than 50,000 premium movies and TV shows for consumers willing to sit through four to five minutes of commercials for every half hour of content. The San Francisco-based service, which launched in 2014, has more than doubled its funding to $34 million with a new $20 million infusion from four VCs led by Jump Capital. According to Tubi TV founder and chief executive Farhad Massoudi, the service now has “many millions” of users. Continue reading Ad-Supported Streamer Tubi TV More Than Doubles Funding

Twitch, the live streaming video and gaming site purchased by Amazon for $1 billion almost three years ago, is thinking about streaming original programming, says its chief operating officer Kevin Lin. But unlike all other new platforms streaming original content, Twitch is looking for its users to have input on the programs as they are written and produced. Twitch already lets its users comment on the videos in real time and Lin believes these comments can help guide a scripted show as it evolves from episode one onward. Continue reading Amazon’s Twitch Weighs Original Programs With Interactivity

YouTube plans to produce new original series to be available for free on its site. Actor and comedian Kevin Hart, talk-show host and producer Ellen DeGeneres and Internet comedy duo Rhett & Link are producing unscripted series to roll out in 2017. The Google-owned company will also invest more in its paid video and music streaming service YouTube Red, which launched in October 2015. YouTube will fund more than 40 original shows and movies in the next year. By devoting hundreds of millions of dollars to programming with high-profile stars, YouTube hopes to attract more advertisers. Continue reading YouTube Expands its Original Programming With 40+ Shows

Warner Music Group has renewed its music and publishing deals with YouTube following “months of tough negotiations,” according to WMG CEO Stephen Cooper. The renewal includes Warner Music record labels and the Warner/Chappell Music publishing division. Music labels have been limited by safe harbor provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that “allow digital services leeway in hosting and taking down unlicensed content,” reports Billboard. “Neither of Warner’s major competitors, Universal Music Group or Sony Music Entertainment, have reached new deals with YouTube and are still operating on a month-to-month basis, sources say.” Continue reading Warner Renews its Music and Publishing Deals With YouTube