Online radio giant Pandora opened the gates Tuesday for anyone to join its long-planned Spotify-style music service, after inviting some listeners to test it last month. Pandora Premium, a full-fledged, on-demand music subscription, will compete with faster-growing rivals like Spotify and Apple Music. Premium costs $10 a month, though the company is offering several free …

We’re collectively streaming 1 billion hours every week on Netflix — and half that billion could be solely Adam Sandler original films, if we all formed some sort of suicide pact to binge all his Netflix comedies in just seven days. Netflix, which typically holds all its viewership cards close to the vest, tossed out a few nuggets about just …

Not even Netflix can break all the rules. After a months-long stretch light on buzzy shows, Netflix’s subscriber growth came up short in the first three months of the year, according to its first-quarter report (PDF) released Monday. Netflix has often said it doesn’t need all its programs to be home runs to rack up subscribers. Instead, it’s aiming for …

Microsoft plans to hold a splashy event in New York City on May 2. CEO Satya Nadella is slated to speak at the shindig, which is expected to feature both hardware and software. But don’t expect an appearance by a new Surface Pro. A reveal of a fresh version of the tablet is unlikely. The plans are in line with …

Samsung’s new flagship phone, the Galaxy S8, is supposed to hit store shelves April 21, but T-Mobile customers who preorder may have a shot at getting their hands on it a little early. The carrier is alerting Galaxy S8 preorder customers via text message that it plans to begin shipping devices on April 19, two days before the official release, …

Production snafus may be tripping up the launch of a Fitbit smartwatch designed to compete with the Apple Watch. The product is set to hit shelves in the second half of the year, after design problems — like misplaced antennae fouling up GPS and trouble with waterproofing — delayed them from a planned launch in the first half, according to …

BlackBerry won an $814.9 million award from chipmaker Qualcomm as a refund for royalty payments, the phone maker said Wednesday. The award, which resulted from an arbitration process, effectively ends the licensing dispute between the two companies. They were fighting over whether BlackBerry’s royalties to Qualcomm should be included in an agreement that caps some licensing payments. In other words, …

YouTube is getting a little pickier about who can make money there. Google’s massive video site said Thursday that channels must reach 10,000 total views before they qualify to run ads, the most direct way to make money there. The logic, essentially, is to remove one of the main incentives that spur bad actors to set up bogus accounts with …

Showtime now lets subscribers download anything in its streaming app to a phone, freeing you up to watch when you’re on a plane ride or suffering through zero connectivity. (Just plan in advance.) The network is following in the footsteps of Netflix and Amazon, which offer the perk for parts of their potpourri catalog. Amazon’s subscription video service has long …

With a new live TV service, YouTube is wagering young people are as hooked on their phones for a full TV meal as they are for video snacks. YouTube TV launches Wednesday, offering a “skinny bundle” of about 50 live TV networks online for $35 a month, starting in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and the San Francisco. The …