Digital

PBS has announced that viewers are now able to live-stream their local PBS stations for free over internet connected devices. As of now, 85 stations can be live streamed, with more expected to become available in the future. Streaming will be available on major web browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge) as well as through the PBS Video Channel on Roku devices.

Leaders of television’s news and technology community will talk about how technology can facilitate coverage of the 2020 election season during a TVNewsCheck Working Lunch Webinar set for Thursday, Sept. 17 at 1 p.m. ET. Speakers are (top, l-r): Alan Komissaroff, SVP news and politics, Fox News Channel; Tony Plosz, SVP and CTO, Graham Media Group; Bogdan Frusina, founder, Dejero and (below, right: Stephane Guez, founder and CTO, Dalet Digital Media Systems; and, left, Glen Dickson, contributing editor of TVNewsCheck, who is moderating the event. Register here.

The co-CEO of the streaming giant discusses his company’s culture of candor and how working from home is harder.

WarnerMedia still has the challenge of transitioning the bulk of the 36 million-plus HBO customers it already has onto the new service.

The Justice Department plans to bring an antitrust case against Google as soon as this month, after Attorney General William Barr overruled career lawyers who said they needed more time to build a strong case against one of the world’s wealthiest, most formidable technology companies, according to five people briefed on internal department conversations.

The social network said it would block new political ads in late October, among other measures, to reduce misinformation and interference.

The Umbrella Academy was the runaway top title on Netflix in its first full week of release, according to figures from Nielsen. The ratings data provider is launching a weekly streaming top 10 list, with the first set of data covering the week of Aug. 3-9. For now, Nielsen measures only programs on Netflix and Amazon, with other streaming providers to be added in the future.

Advertising spending on linear television is expected to be down 24% this year, while connected TV ads jump 19%, according to a survey conducted for the IAB. In the new study, digital media tends to show increases despite the COVID-19 pandemic, while advertisers back away from traditional media. Overall, buyers expect 2020 ad spending to fall 8%, with digital up 6% and traditional down 30%.

In comments to the House, the association’s CEO Gordon Smith says the digital giants’ dominance of advertising marketplace, control of online content put radio and TV broadcasters at competitive disadvantage.

The free service is offering 66 TV channels in the nine counties comprising the 14^th DMA.

AT&T is exploring the potential sale of its digital advertising operations, a sign the telecommunications company is curbing its ambitions to become a force on Madison Avenue, according to people familiar with the matter. AT&T acquired the biggest component of those operations, AppNexus, for about $1.6 billion in 2018 under a plan to challenge heavyweights such as Google owner Alphabet Inc. for a piece of the multibillion-dollar digital ad marketplace.

The shares rose 40.8% to $458.08, pushing Zoom’s market value to more than $129 billion, after it reported explosive growth during the second quarter as more people paid for subscriptions, giving them more control over virtual meetings. Zoom’s revenue more than quadrupled from the same time last year to $663.5 million and profits blew past Wall Street forecasts.

Aiming to be “The Netflix of Live, Local and Free,” VUit is doubling down on the power and potential appeal of hyperlocal live content both regionally and nationally. VUit’s initial launch partners include more than 200 television stations. Syncbak also announced that Gray Television has made a “significant additional investment” in the company.

Subscription streaming video’s alter-ego, advertising-supported VOD, continues to gain traction among consumers — and advertisers. New data from eMarketer suggests AVOD revenue will grow more than 25% this year compared to 2019.

A recent survey from Hub Research revealed that over 50% of Americans make streaming their first stop when deciding what to watch, choosing the streaming stick over the set-top box. This has far-reaching implications for the TV industry as it signals a real sea change in the way people view TV and what the industry might look like in the years to come.

Telecom giant AT&T plans to push for changes to a federal law that protects companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter from liability for users’ posts. “There is no longer any reason that the nation’s most powerful online platforms should enjoy legal immunities unavailable to similarly-situated traditional companies,” AT&T EVP Joan Marsh said Monday in a blog post.