Streaming | The Verge

AI music is flooding streaming services — but who wants it?

2026-05-03T12:17:30-04:00

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on how AI is changing music and the music industry, follow Terrence O'Brien. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here.

How it started

The use of generative AI in pop music started almost as a gimmick. There was a sense of experimentalism to 2018's I AM AI by Taryn Southern and 2019's Proto by Holly Herndon, albums that were created with significant assistance from AI. Others got in on the action too, exploring the outer limits of tools like Google's Magenta and even training their own mod …

Read the full story at The Verge.

The things we’re building

2026-05-01T16:34:41-04:00

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 126, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, I need 10 or 15 skirts from Calvin Klein, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)

Happy Ruthless Self-Promotion Week! We're dedicating almost all of this issue to the stuff we've been making recently. Personally, I've been reading about the Tesla diner and Dwarkesh Patel and The Rest Is History, starting a Ted Lasso rewatch to get ready for season 4, watching a robot injure Joanna Stern, continuing down the rabbit hole of gorgeous Japanese stationery, wondering if those cool shoes …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Your guide to sci-fi streaming season

2026-05-01T08:25:59-04:00

I haven't quite figured out the reason why, but for the last few years, summer has become the moment for new science fiction shows on streaming services. And 2026 isn't any different - aside from the fact that premiere dates seem to be moving up a little.

This year, the release schedule is nearly as full in the spring as it is in the summer, which should make it easier to check out everything you want to without having storylines overlap in your brain. In fact, a number of these shows are already streaming now: The alternate future of For All Mankind is currently in the midst of its penultimate season, as is the horror mystery box From. But …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Christian content creators are outsourcing AI slop to gig workers on Fiverr

2026-05-01T15:23:22-04:00

In the beginning, platforms like Fiverr were places where people could hire freelancers to do specialized creative labor using skills that took years to develop. In the age of generative AI, though, many of these gig workers have embraced the technology in order to meet clients' demands. These workers' profiles emphasize that they can quickly (and cheaply) whip up images and videos of just about anything. But often, what their clients are looking for are dramatic animations inspired by the Christian Bible.

On TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook it is very easy to stumble across AI-generated clips that retell stories from the Bible. Lik …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Here’s what Netflix’s new vertical video feed is like

2026-04-29T05:39:44-04:00

Netflix is starting to roll out a big revamp of its mobile app, and a central feature is a new vertical video feed called "Clips" where you can scroll through clips of shows, movies, and other Netflix content.

The idea of the Clips feed is that it can help you discover new things to watch in a mobile-friendly format. The company started testing a vertical video feed last year, saying at the time that "we know that swiping through a vertical feed on social media apps is an easy way to browse video content." The new mobile UI will start rolling out starting Thursday in Australia, Canada, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Afri …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Google TV is getting a dedicated row for YouTube Shorts

2026-04-29T12:11:46-04:00

Here’s what the new short videos row will look like after it rolls out this summer. | Image: Google

Google is making it easier to jump into watching YouTube Shorts on its TV devices without having to open the dedicated YouTube app. The Google TV homepage will soon introduce a new "Short videos for you" row that features a feed of personalized videos.

The update is expected to roll out to Google TV devices in the US sometime this summer, though Google didn't specify an exact date. The company did say, however, that the videos showcased via this feature will start with YouTube Shorts, which suggests that similar vertical video hosting services like TikTok and Instagram's Reels may also eventually be supported.

The short video homepage row …

Read the full story at The Verge.

It’s primetime for conspiracy theorist video creators

2026-04-28T19:31:53-04:00

In the days since this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner was cut short when shots were fired at the event, there has been a boom of conspiracy theory videos created by people who insist that the entire situation was a false flag operation. These kinds of theories are nothing new, but the way they're spreading now is a reflection of how reaction video culture is reshaping our social media landscape. And even though the initial chaos around the shooting has started to die down, content creators are still posting about what "really" happened.

There is still much we do not know about Cole Allen, the 31-year-old suspected shooter who a …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Now YouTube TV lets you multiview any channel you want

2026-04-28T15:46:19-04:00

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan announced Tuesday that YouTube TV is getting "fully customizable" multiview. Users have "full control to mix and match live streams" and can "build the personalized viewing experience you've been asking for," Mohan says. You can pin up to four streams in your multiview window.

YouTube initially introduced multiview in a more limited form in 2023 as a way to watch preselected streams of sports content like March Madness, and soon after expanded it to preselected streams on topics like news, business, and weather programming. Last year, YouTube rolled out an experiment letting users build their own multiviews with "sel …

Read the full story at The Verge.

The FCC is going after the broadcast licenses of Disney-owned ABC stations

2026-04-28T16:50:18-04:00

The Federal Communications Commission has ordered the ABC stations owned and operated by Disney to file for an early license renewal, as reported earlier by The New York Times. In a filing on Tuesday, the FCC claims it made the decision as part of an investigation into Disney's policies on diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI).

The move comes just one day after President Donald Trump demanded ABC fire late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, who called Melania Trump an "expectant widow" in a skit, ahead of the alleged assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Disney wasn't set to renew its broadcast licenses until …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Apple TV’s new horror series is scarier because it’s also hilarious

2026-05-01T11:40:06-04:00

Matthew Rhys and Stephen Root. | Image: Apple

Kate O'Flynn views comedy and horror as "kind of the same thing." Both are at their best when they surprise - a laugh or a scare that comes out of nowhere hits the hardest. That's why, for the star of the new horror-comedy hybrid Widow's Bay, mixing up the genres makes perfect sense - they heighten each other. "You're never on steady ground," she says. "Your guard is down, and you're vulnerable to a laugh or a cry or a scream. It's all up for grabs."

Widow's Bay, which starts streaming on Apple TV on April 29th, tells the story of the titular island, which sits off the coast of New England. It has a rustic small-town charm and also happens …

Read the full story at The Verge.