What’s a company to do when its financials keep playing the same humdrum tune? Pandora is picking up new instruments. Pandora, best known for its Internet radio service, also wants to be your concierge for local concerts. As it struggles to make money, the company is hoping to bring listeners closer to the artists they …
Read More »
Enlarge ImageThere’s no “Jaws 19,” but Hollywood is dominated by sequels and franchises. Universal Pictures When the 1985-era creators of the “Back to the Future” movies envisioned 2015, they pictured hero Marty McFly screaming as a holographic shark from fictional sequel “Jaws 19” closed in to devour him. They weren’t far off the mark. Last week, writer and director Robert …
Read More »
More than a billion people visit YouTube’s video site every month. Seth Rosenblatt/CNET NEW YORK — Online video giant YouTube unveiled a paid service that takes away commercials for $10 a month. The new YouTube Red is an alternative to the free, ad-based service, which remains an option. “The YouTube you know and love continues to thrive and will continue …
Read More »
Enlarge ImageFreddie Wong and his digital studio RocketJump created an original series and a VR short film for Hulu. Hulu Digital filmmaker Freddie Wong would be the first to tell you he doesn’t really know the best way to shoot virtual reality. Then again, nobody else does either. Virtual reality, an immersive form of entertainment that uses a high-tech headset …
Read More »
An update to the YouTube Gaming app means anyone can record and live-stream mobile gameplay from Android devices. YouTube YouTube is making it easier for people to record themselves playing every mobile game that has them hooked. People watch 144 billion minutes, or nearly 274,000 years, worth of footage depicting people playing video games on YouTube every month, according to …
Read More »
Netflix plans to expand globally to 200 countries by the end of next year. Joan E. Solsman/CNET Subscribers continue to stream into Netflix’s online-video service, just not as many in the US. Netflix is a hit with consumers around the world, thanks to its strategy of expanding to new countries with its growing menu of popular original content for a …
Read More »
Netflix may get into the TV news business. CNET Netflix’s next chapter may be to take a page out of the television news magazine. The head of content at the streaming-video company, Ted Sarandos, said the likelihood that Netflix would compete directly with Vice in the next two years was “probably high,” speaking during a live-streamed interview to discuss financial …
Read More »
Microsoft’s Groove app will add a radio element with iHeartRadio. Microsoft/iHeartRadio iHeartRadio and Groove, Microsoft’s audio app for Windows 10, believe they can make sweeter music together. The online arm of the biggest terrestrial radio company in the US, iHeartRadio is the first outside service to be integrated into Groove and adds both live radio and custom stations. Redmond, Washington-based …
Read More »
Hulu’s app is set for Samsung Gear VR, coming next month. Josh Miller/CNET The curtain is about to rise on the first act of Hulu in virtual reality. The streaming-video company’s VR app will be available next month when the $99 Gear VR headset from Samsung goes on sale, according to the Hulu’s head of distribution, Tim Connolly. “We’re ready …
Read More »
Researcher Park Associates estimates Roku to be the most popular streaming-media devices in the US. Sarah Tew/CNET Roku owners, rejoice: You can watch HBO Now at last. HBO’s online-only subscription service added support for Roku streaming-media devices Thursday, weeks after landing on competing gadgets from Amazon and Google and months after debuting on Apple devices. HBO Now made waves for …
Read More »
