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Mexican court halts sales of Roku devices due to hackability
Roku's legal battle in Mexico has taken a hit. Last week, a judge ordered importation and sales of Roku devices to cease in the country, but Roku later won a suspension of that ruling. This week, however, a Mexico City tribunal overturned that suspension, reinstating the stop to Roku sales and distribution.
Sling TV extends cloud DVR to iOS devices
Sling TV's cloud DVR service is now available for iPhone and iPad. The streaming service's DVR "First Look" option costs an additional $5 per month and gives you 50 hours of DVR storage. The iOS devices now join the growing list of DVR-supported systems, which includes AirTV players, Amazon Fire TVs and tablets, Android TVs and mobile devices, Apple TVs, Roku™ streaming players and TVs, Xbox consoles and Windows 10 devices.
DC is launching its own streaming service with a show TNT killed
DC Entertainment is getting into the streaming space with help from Warner Bros., according to The Hollywood Reporter. What's more, the company's own service is said to be launching with a Titans live-action show, as well as the third season of Young Justice. If you recall, a pilot for Titans, which centers around characters like Dick Grayson (aka Robin), Arrow, Flash and Supergirl, had been in the works at TNT before the network decided to kill that project unexpectedly. But now it looks like you'll have a chance to watch it come 2018, when DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. are rumored to be introducing the product.
Why is Sprint throwing money at Tidal?
Following reports last week that Tidal hasn't been honest about its subscriber numbers, Sprint kicked off the week by announcing that it's buying a third of the streaming service. It's no secret that Tidal has struggled to gain any ground on Apple Music and Spotify, even with a portfolio of artist exclusives. The company reportedly has financial issues to contend with as well, so a big influx of cash likely made the decision easy for Jay Z. However, there are no obvious benefits for Sprint.
'House of Cards' returns for its fifth season on May 30th
Netflix couldn't have found a more ideal moment to tease season five of House of Cards. In the midst of Donald Trump's inauguration as the 45th president of the US, the streaming service announced that its hit show is returning on May 30th. The slogan for the new episodes appears to be "We make the terror," which could signal that the Underwood family is still up to no good. No surprise there.
Is Tidal being honest about its subscriber numbers?
It's no secret that Tidal is well behind the likes of Spotify and Apple Music when it comes to subscriber numbers. A report today from Dagens Næringsliv indicates that the Jay Z-led streaming service is even further behind than it's admitting. The Norwegian newspaper says it reviewed internal documents, including reports on payments to record labels, that show a big discrepancy between what the company was publicizing and the actual subscriber totals.
Neil Young's Pono will launch an adaptive bitrate streaming service
Neil Young could be about to launch the most interesting streaming service to come along in a long while. No, really. Young recently spoke at length with Rolling Stone's Music Now podcast. While mostly discussing music, he also divulged his future plans for Pono. Launched in 2014 on Kickstarter as a high-resolution music player and download service, Pono captured the imagination of select audiophiles and not many others. Its total sales were in the tens of thousands as of last year, and its download service is in hiatus after the company running it was acquired. Now, Young's company is planning a streaming service. What's interesting about it is not the fact that it's promising to stream 192kHz, 24-bit resolution audio. Although it totally is. No, what's interesting is that it's promising high-quality adaptive bitrate streaming, which would be a first for a streaming service. See, when you load up your music app of choice, you typically pick a bitrate for downloads, and a bitrate for streaming. In Spotify, for example, you can choose from anywhere between 96kbps and 320kbps bitrates for streaming and downloads. What Pono is proposing is to do away with those designations.
Hulu may lose most of its anime catalog come June (update)
Hulu might be best known for its catalog of network TV shows, but for fans of Japanese animation it's been a great resource for anime titles both new and old. That looks like it's changing on June 1st, with a significant bulk of Hulu's anime catalog disappearing as the service streamlines to include only the most popular titles.
SoundCloud's music streaming service launches in the US
Just over a week ago, Soundcloud announced a licensing deal with Sony Music, agreeing to terms with the third of the three major record labels. It looks like the deal with Sony was the only thing keeping the company from debuting its long-discussed streaming service. As of today, listeners in the US can stream music via SoundCloud Go: a $10 unlimited ad-free monthly subscription. SoundCloud doesn't only want to be a go-to spot for emerging artists, remixes and podcasts, but now it wants the be the app where you do all of your music listening.
HBO is bringing a cord-cutter streaming service to Spain
HBO's planning to introduce a standalone streaming service in Spain, Bloomberg Business reports. The TV network is said to be eager to take on Netflix across that European region, as it looks to increase its offerings for cord-cutters worldwide. Right now, it's unclear whether this would be a version of Now, the pay-TV-free service HBO announced last April during an Apple event. But, according to the news publication, HBO is expected to launch the service in Spain by the end of the year.
Yahoo shuts down its Screen video streaming hub
Yahoo's woes continue as the company shut down Screen, its video service/hub. If you'll recall Screen played a part in reviving Community after NBC cancelled the show and hosted the first NFL livestream of a regular season game. The site's library also included Saturday Night Live clips and a smattering of original content. Those videos aren't going anywhere, though, as Variety reports that the company plans to put them alongside other content with the same topic in its "digital magazines." For example, the Live Nation music channel is headed to the Yahoo Music portion of the site.
Amazon and Netflix land 14 Golden Globe nominations
Streaming services collecting awards for original content is nothing new, and this year's Golden Globes nominations show the potential for more of the same. Netflix and Amazon both picked up nominations for shows (and a movie), with the former nabbing nine total. Three of Amazon's five nominations came for Transparent, a show which is already critically acclaimed. As you might expect, Netflix's list of nominations includes two each for House of Cards and Orange is the New Black.
Chill optional: 51 percent of US internet users watch Netflix
Netflix's robust content library has helped it top nearly 70 million subscribers worldwide. Not surprisingly, the majority of those come from the US, where the streaming service has over 43 million customers alone. And, for the most part, people here seem to be fond of it. According to a survey conducted by research firm RBC Capital Markets, and first reported by Quartz, more than half of US internet users say they've used Netflix to watch a movie or TV show in the past 12 months. The study also asked people about what other video offerings they use regularly: YouTube came in a close second, right behind Netflix, followed by Amazon Instant Video, Hulu and HBO Go, respectively.
I'm not paying CBS to watch 'Star Trek' online
Yesterday I got the best birthday present a lifelong Trekkie could hope for: Star Trek is coming back to television -- kinda, sorta. It's been over a decade since Star Trek ended TV production and, while fans have had two successful films to enjoy (or despise), corporate infighting between CBS and Viacom has kept the franchise from its rightful home on the small screen. However, it looks like the two companies have hugged it out with the news that a new Star Trek series will return to "television" in early 2017. And while this would normally be cause for celebration among Trekkies, the announcement doesn't come without a few caveats in terms of who's making it and how it's being distributed: The show will be produced by the team in charge of the recent films, and it will only be available via CBS' subscription streaming service, CBS All Access. It's a bit of a no-win situation (a Kobayashi Maru scenario, if you will) for die-hard fans who wanted to see Star Trek back on television. Star Trek may be back, but it comes at a cost: both figurative and literal.
HBO Go launching as a standalone streaming service in Latin America
HBO's Go on-demand streaming service is set to launch in Latin America and the Caribbean as a standalone subscription product, the network revealed today. While HBO Go has been available in these areas for pay-TV subscribers, cord-cutters will soon be able to enjoy too -- but with some added benefits. The service is expected to be similar to HBO Now, which is only available in the US, offering access to both live TV as well VOD content. HBO says it plans to rollout the service in Spanish-speaking markets across Latin America and the Caribbean, plus Brazil (Portuguese), by the end of this year. First up: Colombia, with more to follow thereafter.
BBC will launch a streaming service in the US next year
Fans of the BBC who live in the States are about to get another way to watch the network's shows. The BBC plans to launch an online subscription service in the US next year, providing eager viewers across the pond access to stream on demand. While the network didn't get specific on the shows that'll be included with the OTT service, director general Tony Hall did say that the slate would include content US viewers "wouldn't otherwise get." There's already a BBC America channel that's part of pay TV packages in the US, and some shows stream on Netflix and Hulu. BBC's iPlayer was available in 16 countries outside of the UK, but it never made it to the US before it was shuttered in May. At this point, it's unclear if the service will provide access only to BBC America or if it'll include the larger library of BBC shows and movies. As is the case with new streaming services, the monthly cost and content library are sure to figure into effort's success. [Image credit: Matthew Horwood/GC Images]
Square Enix is killing its game-streaming service in Japan
Square Enix is shutting down Dive In, the game-streaming service it introduced last year. In a blog post earlier today, the renowned developer/publisher said the platform will cease to exist on September 13th -- less than a year after being launched. The soon-to-be-defunct Dive In, which had only been available in Japan, was designed to let people rent titles such as Season of Mystery or Final Fantasy XIII on their iOS and Android device. How much you'd pay for each game depended on play time, but you could also test them out for 30 minutes at no cost. If you're curious about what the service was like, Kotaku spent some time with it a few months ago -- you can read those impressions here.
Facebook says it has 'no plans to go into music streaming'
Yesterday, it seemed like Music Ally blew the lid off of Facebook's next big project: a streaming music subscription service the likes of which could rival Spotify or Apple Music. It all seemed to make so much sense, but the company says it's not happening. "We have no plans to go into music streaming," a Facebook spokesperson told The Verge. Instead, it's reportedly working on something unique and new.
Facebook reportedly has a music streaming service in the works, too (update: not so fast!)
If you think the playing field for music streaming services is already quite crowded, we may need to make room for one more. Music Ally reports that Facebook is working on a subscription service of its own, after recent reports tied the social network to record labels through ad-supported music videos. While that video-driven project may resemble something more akin to Vevo, the report says that Facebook is in fact eying audio streaming, joining the likes of Apple, Rdio, Spotify and others. The folks in Menlo Park are said to be focused on getting the video platform off the ground first -- in the coming months, apparently -- but an all-audio version is in the plans for the future. Facebook could go the route it did with Instagram or WhatsApp, opting to purchase an established service rather than build its own. A smaller subscription-based company could potentially be nabbed for less than Zuckerberg & Co. spent on the photo or chat software. Apple certainly thought that was a solid approach. [Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Apple Music is now available on iOS and the desktop
Apple's entry into the music streaming fray has arrived. Apple Music is now available for download via the iOS 8.4 update for mobile devices, and you'll be able use it on the desktop on both Mac and Windows machines, too. In addition to iTunes' library of over 30 million tracks, you'll also be able to stream Beats 1: Apple's 24-hour internet radio station that'll be driven by Zane Lowe, St. Vincent, Drake and others. Like Beats Music, the app will serve up suggestions based on your preferences alongside curated playlists from the likes of Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and more.
