Wurl Network Surges Past 400 Channels

Wurl, a provider of streaming video distribution and advertising services for connected TV (CTV), announced today that it now carries more than 400 streaming channels — more than any other independent […]

The Virus Changed The Way We Internet

With many stuck at home during the pandemic, Americans have been spending more of their lives online. This is how our habits have changed.

Tough First Day? Quibi Generates Only 300K App Downloads, Gets Battered By Critics

BRAND CONNECTIONS

CNN Buys Canopy To Build Aggregation Platform

CNN said Tuesday that it has acquired the assets and hired the development team of Canopy, a Brooklyn- and Boston-based private firm that will help speed the development of NewsCo, an upcoming news and information platform. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Consumers Adding Free Streaming Services

Consumers are watching more streaming video and are starting to gravitate toward free services, according to a new study. According to Integral Ad Science’s second Streaming Wars survey, while 85% of consumers have access to a paid streaming service — Netflix is No. 1 — that’s up only 2 percentage points from IAS’s first survey.

Hulu Live Suffers Technical Meltdown

For Newsy, Digital Nativity Aided Its Virus Pivot

As a digital-centric news organization, Newsy was better prepared than many to shift to remote working conditions. What’s changed is a tighter collaborative relationship with other E.W. Scripps-owned sister companies, including Court TV and TV stations.

NFL Sets ‘Fully Virtual Format’ For 2020 Draft

While the rest of the sporting world continues to be shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic, the NFL is going full steam ahead with its offseason activities, formally annoucing the 2020 NFL Draft will be completely virtual. ESPN and NFL Network are still expected to air the draft, which is scheduled for April 23-25.

TVN’S MEDIA JOBS

New TV Openings From All Over The U.S.

New jobs posted to TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center include openings for general managers, meteorologists, news producers, digital content creators, assistant news directors, multimedia journalists, assignment editors and chief engineers from Dallas to Dubuque, from Lansing to Lafayette.

Former Dallas Anchors Join KDAF To Host Digital Coronavirus Show

AT&T Stops Selling U-verse TV

The telco is prioritizing its new internet-net-based pay TV platform, AT&T TV and has stopped selling its 14-year-old IPTV pay TV platform, U-verse TV.

TVN EXECUTIVE SESSION WITH JED WILLIAMS

TVN Executive Session | LMA: COVID-19 Opens A Window For Membership Prospects

The Local Media Association’s Jed Williams was working with a trio of TV stations on a pilot membership model when the coronavirus struck. He says the moment made clear TV broadcasters’ importance to their communities. It may also be an ideal moment to deepen the relationship with viewers with an endgame of new revenue streams when normalcy returns.

Amazon Delaying Prime Day Until Aug.

Amazon.com is postponing its major summer shopping event, Prime Day, until at least August and expects a potential $100 million hit from excess devices it might now sell at a discount, according to internal meeting notes.

Biden Proposes Holding Online Dem Convention

The party “may have to do a virtual convention,” the former vice president said Sunday. “The idea of holding the convention is going to be necessary. We may not be able to put 10, 20, 30,000 people in one place,” he told ABC’s This Week, calling an online convention “very possible.”

Quibi Aims For Bite Of Digital Entertainment

Meg Whitman and Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Quibi — a snappy amalgam of “quick” and “bite” — is a mobile phone-only platform that will release its snack-sized installments of movies and TV shows each weekday. There will be seven-day-a-week dollops of news, sports and weather, gathered under the umbrella name Daily Essentials, all adding up to a mind-boggling 175-plus programs planned for this year. It launches Monday in the U.S. and Canada with a 90-day free trial and 50 programs.

STIRR Launches COVID-19 News Channel

As people turn to local news stations for critical updates amidst the crisis, the free streaming platform is experiencing a record number of users and sessions.

Viafoura Offers News Publishers Complimentary Live Blog Platform

Digital platform Viafoura is offering its live-blogging platform free of charge to news media companies throughout the pandemic. In an announcement today, Viafoura said: “At the moment, there is a massive amount […]

MARKET SHARE

WVUE New Orleans Airing Concert Series Across Louisiana

ABC News Live, O&Os Set New Streaming Apps

New apps from ABC News Live debut on Fire TV and Android TV platforms with an update coming to the Roku platform and Apple TV apps. The ABC Owned Television Stations are also introducing market-specific apps on Fire TV, Android TV, the Roku platform and Apple TV.

ATSC 3.0 Company Edge Networks Launching Virtual Pay TV Service For Rural Consumers

Beware Of ‘Free Netflix’ Offer; It’s A Scam

Google To Allow COVID-19 Political Ads

Reversing course, Google said on Thursday it will begin allowing political groups to run ads related to COVID-19. The company’s move comes shortly after liberal digital ad shop DSPolitical publicly complained that Google was giving President Donald Trump “an unprecedented advantage in our upcoming elections” by banning Democratic ads relating to the outbreak, while allowing the current administration to run ads referencing the virus.

T-Mobile Offers Free Quibi Subscriptions

Certain T-Mobile customers will get a free yearlong subscription to Quibi, the companies said Thursday, in a move that should boost early users of the ambitious streaming service debuting April 6 in a crowded streaming market. Under the deal, T-Mobile customers who have two or more voice lines with T-Mobile will get a free yearlong subscription to Quibi’s ad-supported tier, which normally will cost $4.99 each month (the ad-free version is $7.99). Interested T-Mobile customers can sign up between April 2 and July 7 to get the offering added to their plan for no additional cost for the first year.

After The Virus: A 5G Gold Rush?

The surge of Americans working, learning and socializing online is helping make the wireless industry’s case for building superfast internet connections.

TVN TECH

TVN Tech | COVID-19 Speeding Broadcasters’ Shift To Cloud

The coronavirus pandemic has amped up the transition to cloud-based workflows as broadcasters have employed as many remote operations as possible. The next frontier: an acceleration of live production applications in the cloud. Above, an Amazon Web Services Outpost cloud server.

Video Streaming Helping Tampa Strip Club Survive

Virus Boosts Streaming, But Not Advertising Yet

Video providers can’t fill all the ad inventory being created as people stuck at home watch more streaming content.

The Coronavirus Ended The Screen-Time Debate. The Screens Won.

We’ve tried all sorts of things to stop us from staring at our devices. Digital detoxes. Abstinence. Now? Bring on the Zoom cocktail hour.

Xumo, Verizon See Big Increases In Video Usage

The Medical News Site That Saw The Coronavirus Coming Months Ago