Digital

Reed Hastings, the streaming giant’s founder, CEO, president and chairman of the board, tallied $38.6 million in 2019, according to an SEC filing — a $2.5 million increase from the previous year. Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos saw a $5.1 million bump to $34.7 million.

An internal document at Vice Media Group lays out a plan for substantial layoffs at the new-media company’s websites, as Vice considers a variety of options to deal with coronavirus pandemic. The planning document calls for layoffs of more than 300 people in digital operations, including major cuts at both Vice News and Refinery29, the women-focused digital publisher Vice acquired last year.

With people home-bound to slow the spread of the coronavirus, streaming has shown some pretty big increases in local markets, according to Nielsen. Comparing the week of March 23 to the week of March 2, connected device usage by 25 to 54 years old rose 95% in Portland, Ore.; 86% in Chicago; 78% in Denver, 74% in New York and 72% in St. Louis. In terms of connected device streaming ratings, the top markets include Orlando, Buffalo, Milwaukee and Norfolk.

The first quarter spanned the beginning of stay-at-home orders in the U.S. and around the world, a result of the coronavirus pandemic. People appeared to latch on to its vast video library as a source of entertainment and comfort at a time when most had nowhere to be but home.

The streaming service is set to debut amid the shutdown brought about by the novel coronavirus outbreak, bringing with it 10,000 hours of library programming from across the WarnerMedia catalog.

The debut is the newest expansion of major market local news streaming services from CBS and features local news content produced WBBM.

Vudu, the digital movie and TV rental unit of Walmart, is being acquired by NBCUniversal’s Fandango division. The news was confirmed in a blog post on Vudu’s website. Comcast and NBCU had been reported to be in talks earlier this year to acquire Vudu, a deal that gives the company another streaming outlet as it integrates Xumo and also rolls out Peacock, which just went live for Comcast subscribers.

The Fox News subscription service will offer marketers the chance to embed their products in some of its programs, which have in the recent past included a crime series led by Nancy Grace, a documentary series hosted by former CBS News correspondent Lara Logan, and a cooking show built around Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy.

Google wants to substantially limit the information a key auditor of YouTube can share about the risks of advertising on the video service, according to people familiar with the situation, highlighting tensions between the tech giant and Madison Avenue.

Vox Media, owner of sites including Vox, The Verge and New York magazine, is furloughing about 9% of its employees for three months. The decision is one of several measures the digital media company announced to cut costs after the coronavirus pandemic decimated its revenue sources.

Digital video advertising, which grew 35.5% last year, is projected to expand only marginally this year, due mainly to a second half crash in demand from U.S. advertisers. That’s the finding of revised estimates from eMarketer, which projects digital video ad spending will decline 5.2% during the second half of 2020.

The Criterion Channel, a year-old streaming service, is a hotbed of cinephilia in the best of times. Right now, it’s about as close as you can get to actually going to the movies. Whereas other streamers supply expansive oceans of “content,” the Criterion Channel pools its movies into collections, double-bills and night-by-night selections. Algorithms aren’t welcome.

The WarnerMedia streaming-video service will be made available to all of Charter’s existing HBO subscribers, the two companies said Wednesday. There will be no additional charge for the new package, but customers will have to sign in to the HBOMax app.

Lester Holt is discussing hard news with a softer touch. The NBC Nightly News anchor is leading an experimental version of NBC’s flagship newscast aimed specifically at children and teens. The first edition of Nightly News Kids Edition streamed Wednesday evening on YouTube and the show, viewed as a test within NBC News, is likely to appear at least twice per week and potentially with greater frequency.

After markets opened Wednesday, Netflix’s stock increased about 3.5% to $427.77 per share, topping its previous high of $423.21 per share, set during midday trading in June 2018. If the gains hold through the end of Wednesday, Netflix will also top its previous all-time high closing price of nearly $419 per share, set in July 2018.

Google  is offering financial support to local newsrooms hit by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, as part of its Google News Initiative. The company isn’t disclosing the size of what it’s calling its Journalism Emergency Relief Fund, but in a blog post, Google VP of News Richard Gingras said the goal is to fund “thousands of small, medium and local news publishers globally,” through awards ranging from “low thousands of dollars for small hyper-local newsrooms to low tens of thousands for larger newsrooms, with variations per region.”

Shares of Hollywood stay-at-home streaming stocks keep rising as Americans get their TV fixes online amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Locast, a free streaming app offering access to local broadcast television, is now offering a dozen local TV channels via the internet across Puerto Rico. The nonprofit said the timing of the launch should help the U.S. territory keep its citizens informed during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak and the incoming summer hurricane season.

NBCUniversal makes its streaming debut with the early preview of Peacock that will be exclusive to Comcast subscribers starting Wednesday, ahead of the July nationwide rollout. But with so many people forced to stay at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, Peacock executives suggested the service could come early.

A half-hour linear broadcast premiere of Check In rated No. 1 in all key demos in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Houston

That 1.7 million figure does not indicate how many people signed up for the app, which is offering an extended 90-day free trial. Once the trial ends, Quibi will cost $5 with advertising and $8 without advertising. CEO Meg Whitman said that the initial reaction “exceeded our plans and expectations.”