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How to get the best Apple TV+ launch deals
After months of leadup, Apple's video streaming service, TV+, is ready to launch. With this being Apple's first foray into original video content, we've detailed the ways you can get access to the platform without paying the full $5 per month right away.
Early Apple TV+ reviews show a lineup lacking hits
With Apple TV+ set to launch this Friday, initial reviews for the original shows that will premiere alongside the platform have come out. And it's probably safe to say Apple won't be happy with how things have turned out so far.
Amazon debuts ad-supported News video app for Fire TV
After launching IMDb Freedive earlier this year, Amazon is preparing to offer another ad-supported video streaming service. This time, the app is called News and it will allow you to watch news coverage from organizations like CBS, Reuters, Bloomberg and more. It'll offer both live and on-demand content.
Disney CEO Bob Iger resigns from Apple board ahead of TV+ launch
Bob Iger, the long-time Disney CEO, has resigned from Apple's board of directors. Apple made the announcement on Friday in an SEC filing, where it revealed that Iger stepped down on September 10th -- which happens to be the day the company shared launch details for Apple TV+, its upcoming video streaming service. Disney is, of course, getting ready to debut a streaming service of its own, Disney+, on November 12th for $6.99 a month in the US, Canada and the Netherlands. Apple TV+, meanwhile, will arrive on November 1st for $4.99 per month in over 100 countries.
Facebook Watch gets more NFL highlights, news and analysis
The National Football League isn't done teaming up with tech companies. Today, the NFL announced it is extending its partnership with Facebook, a deal that began back in 2017, which will continue to bring highlights of all 256 regular season games, playoffs and the Super Bowl to Facebook Watch. In addition to these recaps, this year the league is serving even more snackable programming on Watch, including news and analysis clips, video versions of podcasts, classic game archives from NFL Films and special videos dedicated to 100th NFL season. Facebook says that, in 2017 and 2018, over 22 million people watched at least a minute of an NFL recap, a sign that people on its site have an appetite for this type of video content.
Apple can make TV+ ubiquitous through brute force
Apple CEO Tim Cook didn't waste any time at the company's 2019 iPhone event. One of the first announcements he made was that Apple's highly anticipated video-streaming service, Apple TV+, will launch November 1st for $4.99 per month. Since introducing it in March, Apple has teased a number of the originals that will be exclusive to Apple TV+, including series such as For All Mankind, The Morning Show and Dickinson. And while Apple has managed to get plenty of A-list celebrities to join its push into original content (like Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell and Jason Momoa), that may not even be the company's best weapon as it takes on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Amazon and, soon, Disney.
Apple TV+ launches November 1st for $4.99 a month
Apple's upcoming video streaming service, which will be known as Apple TV+, is launching on November 1st for $4.99 per month. CEO Tim Cook made the announcement during the company's 2019 iPhone event, where he also revealed that people who buy an Apple TV, Mac, iPhone or iPad (starting today) will get a free one-year subscription to the service. Apple has spent the past few months teasing the original series that will be on Apple TV+, including For All Mankind, The Morning Show and Dickinson. And Cook revealed another one on stage today: See, a drama starring Jason Momoa that's set in a world 600 years into the future where humans have no sight.
BET+ starts streaming on September 19th
After it was first teased at the start of the summer without a release date, we now know BET+ will now launch on September 19th. We also have a price: the ad-free streaming service will set you back $9.99 per month.
Disney says 'quality over quantity' gives it a streaming advantage
The Disney+ Showcase at the D23 Expo started with a live performance from the cast of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. And that wasn't just about getting the crowd fired up. For Disney, it was an opportunity to give its biggest fans a taste of one of the original shows that will anchor its upcoming streaming service, Disney+. High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, along with other originals like The Mandalorian and blockbuster movies such as Captain Marvel, are a key part of how Disney hopes to lure people into signing up for Disney+, which launches November 12th for $6.99 per month. From Pixar to Marvel, to Star Wars and National Geographic, Disney is betting on the power of the brands it owns to make its streaming efforts a success -- and, at D23, the company made it clear that it's going to get as much as it can out of them to help it get there.
Watch the first trailer for Disney's 'The Mandalorian'
Disney has revealed the first trailer for its long-awaited Star Wars original series, The Mandalorian. At the D23 Expo, creator Jon Favreau took the stage to reveal footage of the upcoming show, which will debut exclusively on Disney+ November 12th, the day the streaming service is set to launch. In the trailer you can see The Mandalorian himself, a lone gunfighter, wandering around the outer reaches of the galaxy. Favreau says there's absolutely no authority from the New Republic wherever The Mandalorian goes, and this trailer makes it clear just how far he'll go to handle anyone who does him wrong. Heck, you can see him cutting someone in half with blast doors.
A first look at Disney+
Disney isn't holding anything back at its D23 Expo. The company kicked off the event on Thursday with a couple of major reveals, including that of its new Avenger Campus theme park and a Disney+ docu-series that will focus on the people behind its movies and parks. And that was only the beginning. Today, Disney shared additional details about its highly anticipated streaming service, Disney+, which is set to launch on November 12th for $6.99 per month. For starters, Disney has confirmed the service will have more than 500 feature films and over 7,500 show episodes at launch, including new original series like The Mandalorian, blockbuster hits such as Captain Marvel, classics like The Simpsons and the entire Pixar library.
Disney+ will have apps for iOS, Apple TV, Android and Xbox One
The debut of Disney's highly anticipated streaming service, Disney+, is almost here. But, leading up to the November 12th launch date, the company is starting to share more details about it. Today we're learning about how you'll be able to watch content on Disney+, which includes new original series like The Mandalorian, every season of The Simpsons and Disney's entire movie library. And while we knew Disney was planning to bring Disney+ to "your favorite" smart TVs, phones, laptops, tablets and gaming consoles, the only devices it had actually named were Roku and Sony's Playstation 4. Now, in addition to those, Disney's making it official that Disney+ will support iOS, Apple TV, Android, Android TV, Google Chromecast and Xbox One at launch.
Twitter and Adidas are bringing back their high school football series
Friday Night Stripes, the livestreaming series of high school football games on Twitter, is coming back for a second season later this month. The show, which was created by Adidas, Intersport and Twitter, debuted in 2018 and focused on broadcasting eight football games from high schools across the US. And it turned out to be quite a success. According to Twitter, Friday Night Stripes generated more than 32.6 million total views and had over 15.6 million live viewers tuning into the series, which are great figures for what was essentially a social media experiment.
Facebook might bring major streaming services to its Portal for TVs
Last year, reports emerged Facebook was working on a video chat camera you'd plug into your TV. It sounds a bit like its Portal smart display, albeit without the need for a dedicated screen. One reported aspect of the device is that it'd offer video streaming, including Facebook Watch. It seems Facebook has been trying to strike deals with other major streaming services too.
'Tom Clancy's The Division' movie is coming to Netflix
Netflix has acquired the rights to make a movie based on Tom Clancy's The Division. At E3 2019, Ubisoft revealed that the screen adaption of its RPG game, starring Jessica Chastain and Jake Gyllenhaal, will be coming to the streaming service in the future. Set in a world where a pandemic virus threatens to spread, the Tom Clancy's The Division film is going to be directed by David Leitch, who was behind Deadpool 2 in 2018. There's no release date for the movie yet, but we'll likely learn those details over the coming months. Until then, you'll just have to play or keep playing The Division 2.
Apple TV will support PlayStation and Xbox controllers
Apple has been gradually improving its tvOS over the past couple of years, thanks to features such as zero sign-on for cable-powered apps and added support for Dolby Atmos audio. Most recently, the company also launched an overhauled version of the TV app, which is designed to be a one-stop-shop for all the entertainment needs of Apple TV owners. And today, at WWDC 2019, Apple has revealed tvOS 13, featuring support for Xbox One and PlayStation DualShock 4 controllers. This announcement is meant to complement Apple's upcoming game subscription service, Apple Arcade, which is expected to arrive this fall.
Epix Now streaming service expands to Roku and Amazon Fire TV
Last month, the MGM network Epix launched a standalone video streaming service called Epix Now. Initially, it was available on Apple TV, Android and iOS. But as of today, it's also available on Roku and Amazon Fire TV, too. This will give more customers access to the network's four live channels, original shows and movies. The expansion will also help Epix Now secure a better foothold in the living room, where Roku and Amazon Fire TV have a stronghold.
How to watch Apple's streaming service launch event
With its hardware announcements out of the way, the stage is set for Apple's main event. Today is all about Apple's shift to services: video streaming, news and gaming subscriptions, and maybe even a credit card. And you'll be able to watch the keynote live as it happens at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino right here at 1PM Eastern/10AM Pacific. Or, if you spend all your time on Twitter, you can watch it there and get live updates from Apple's official account. We'll also be on the ground with live coverage direct from Apple's campus.
Shutting down piracy sites is like playing Whac-A-Mole, says EU
The European Commission (EC) has finally confirmed what we've all known for years: if you shut down one online piracy site, another will simply take its place. A report published by the EC's Joint Research Center found that the closure of Kino.to, a popular unlicensed streaming site in Germany, had little impact on national online piracy. The team analysed the web activity of 5,000 German citizens, and found that while there was a sharp decline in June 2011, when the site was pulled offline by officials, average piracy levels quickly returned to normal. In addition, researchers concluded that Kino.to's demise did little to encourage licensed alternatives. Instead, a group of new illegal streaming sites rose to prominence -- kinox.to, mega-stream.to, video2k.tv and streams.to, among others.
Charlie Brooker's 'Black Mirror' could become a Netflix exclusive
Only seven episodes of Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror have been made, but their dark and unsettling depictions of the future have garnered a sizeable cult following. Now, Radio Times is reporting that the show has attracted the attention of Netflix, and that the streaming service is keen to pull the show away from British broadcaster Channel 4. The show debuted in the UK in 2011, but it wasn't until last December that it landed on Netflix in the US. The last six months will have exposed the series to a massive audience -- at the same time, the streaming service is looking for popular shows to add to its growing "Originals" initiative. Charlie Brooker has previously confirmed that a third series is in the works, but so far we've only been treated to a Christmas special. If Netflix can persuade Brooker to switch allegiances, it would be another critically acclaimed show to slip in between seasons of Daredevil, Orange is the New Black and House of Cards.
