Joan E. Solsman

Peacock, Roku reach deal to add streaming service app to TV devices

Peacock, the free streaming service from Comcast‘s NBCUniversal that launched on July 15, is finally coming to Roku. After news broke that NBCUniversal’s other apps on Roku were going to be removed from the streaming platform on Friday, the two sides were able to finally reach a deal. As part of the deal, those apps — which include …

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Apple One subscription bundle prices Apple Music, iCloud, other services at a discount

Apple One, the gadget giant’s new bundle of services, will launch this fall, ranging from $14.95 to $29.95 a month for different combinations of subscriptions including Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, Apple Arcade, Apple News Plus, storage service iCloud and the newly revealed workout service Apple Fitness Plus. The news — long expected since Apple made services a big part of its …

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Apple Music members may get free upgrade to Apple One bundle, report says

Apple One — a reported bundle of Apple subscription services that the gadget maker may be readying ahead of its Tuesday event — may become available for Apple Music subscribers automatically at no additional cost, according to a report by 9to5 Google.  Hints inside the code for an Android update to Apple Music suggest that Apple One, apparently codenamed Aristotle, may become part of standard Apple …

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Disney’s Mulan to be free with regular Disney Plus subscription Dec. 4

Disney will widen the availability of its live-action film Mulan to anyone with a standard Disney Plus membership on Dec. 4, three months after the remake will premiere on the streaming service for an extra $30 on Friday.  There was already speculation that Mulan might become more widely available through Disney Plus on Dec. 4. Temporarily, over the weekend, Mulan’s Disney Plus preview page included language indicating …

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Netflix will stream Broadway musical Diana before it opens on stage

Netflix is bringing a version of Broadway to streaming screens next year: The service will premiere a filmed version of new Broadway musical Diana: A True Musical Story sometime in the first five months of 2021 before the show officially opens on stage.  New York City’s Broadway theaters have been shuttered since March, when the coronavirus epidemic was out of control in …

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Disney to release Mulan online Sept. 4 on Disney Plus, for $30 in US

Disney will release its live-action film Mulan online through its Disney Plus service on Sept. 4, but it won’t be included as part of a standard subscription. Mulan will cost $30 in the US in addition to Disney Plus’ regular subscription fee, and it will be priced at roughly the same amount in international markets where it’ll be available online too, including Canada, …

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Disney Plus hits 60.5 million subscribers, helped by Hamilton bump

Disney Plus has grown to 60.5 million subscribers as of Monday, Disney said as it announced fiscal third-quarter results. It’s lightning-fast growth that even Disney never predicted. Initially, the company projected its streaming service would reach between 60 million and 90 million subscribers about five years after launch. Instead, within eight months, it’s already crossed the low end of that range. The latest figures, …

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Apple may be interested buying TikTok too, report says

Apple may have expressed interest in possibly buying TikTok, according to a report, the latest in a swirl of speculation about takeover interest in the virally popular social media app.  Apple is one of several parties that has expressed interest in TikTok, according to a report Tuesday from Axios, citing multiple unnamed sources; the report disclosed that none of those sources …

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HBO Max kills HBO Go, a shot at Roku and Fire TV with you in the crossfire

HBO, the jewel of AT&T’s $85 billion takeover of WarnerMedia, overhauled its various apps Saturday. What was once three — HBO Go, HBO Now and the newer, big-budget HBO Max — is now winnowed down to just two: Max remains, and Now became a renamed app simply called HBO. For a change that AT&T claims would simplify matters, streaming HBO is more …

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Facebook adds official music videos, taking on YouTube

Facebook said Friday it’s adding official music videos to its social network in the US, starting this week. The feature will allow people to find, watch and share music videos on Facebook, taking on the world’s No. 1 place to watch music videos online (and the No. 1 place to watch, well, all videos online): Google‘s YouTube.  Facebook said it would …

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