Emma Roth
Prime Video’s pricier “Ultra” plan goes live today.
Going ad-free on Prime Video now costs $4.99 per month, instead of $2.99. It also comes with “exclusive” access to 4K streams.
Streaming
Established streaming industry leaders like Netflix and Amazon are facing more competition than ever. Now legacy entertainment giants are in the game with their own subscription services, like Peacock, HBO Max, Paramount Plus, and the Disney Plus / Hulu / ESPN Plus bundle, while Apple TV Plus attacks around the edges. Meanwhile, the rise of ad-supported free platforms like Roku Channel and Pluto TV has attracted enough attention that Plex, YouTube, and Amazon’s Freevee are trying to get a chunk of the action too.
Stevie Bonifield
Dominic Preston
Andrew Webster
“It’s an amazing art form that is way too limited in people’s minds.”
That’s Brad Bird talking about animation, just as Netflix released the first batch of images for his upcoming retrofuturistic detective movie Ray Gunn. It doesn’t have a premiere date yet, but we do know the main cast, which includes Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, and Tom Waits as a one-eyed alien.
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1/3Image: Netflix
Stevie Bonifield
Tubi is the first streaming service with a ChatGPT app.
Tubi just announced that it has launched its own app inside ChatGPT:
Users can add Tubi’s app from ChatGPT app store and type “@Tubi” anytime to describe what they’re in the mood for, whether that’s “a movie that feels like a fever dream but isn’t horror” or “a thriller for tonight.” They’ll then receive curated, interactive results that they can watch on Tubi.
VFX supervisor Ashley Bernes had to think big to make the show’s heroine feel small.
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Andrew Webster
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Netflix is doubling down on One Piece.
Before Netflix’s live-action One Piece adaptation returns for a third season in 2027, the streamer will also debut a new One Piece Lego animated special this September, which will make a good companion for WIT Studio’s upcoming The One Piece anime remake series.
1/2The title card for One Piece: The Battle of Alabasta Image: Netflix
Andrew Webster
Charles Pulliam-Moore
David Ellison’s friends have deep pockets.
While Tencent and Jared Kushner’s private equity firm are no longer contributing to Paramount’s $110 billion bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, The Wall Street Journal reports that $24 billion of the proposed deal is still being provided by sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.
Gulf Funds Agree to Back Paramount’s $81 Billion Takeover of Warner
[The Wall Street Journal]
Emma Roth
YouTube removes Nvidia’s own DLSS 5 trailer after a takedown request from an Italian TV channel.
The channel, La7, reportedly used the DLSS 5 footage in a segment about the upscaling tech. It seemingly issued takedown requests for videos using the same clips, including the original trailer from Nvidia and videos from creators covering DLSS 5’s launch.
Screenshot: The Verge
Andrew J. Hawkins
Today’s Artemis II lunar flyby will be livestreamed on Netflix.
The streaming giant missed out on the April 1st launch of Artemis II, but will broadcast today’s historic flight around the Moon.
At 1PM ET, the capsule will fly past the Moon’s far side, which always faces away from the Earth, and it will also stream on NASA’s official YouTube channel. NASA also made a deal with Netflix last year to feature some of its content.
Netflix Missed the Artemis II Launch, But Will Livestream the Lunar Flyby
[What's on Netflix]
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Here Piggy, Piggy.
If you thought writer Jack Thorne’s Adolescence was a stressful watch, the new trailer for his take on Lord of the Flies might be a bit much to take in before the series hits Netflix on May 4th.
Charles Pulliam-Moore
What do you think Ryan Coogler’s favorite animal is?
It was already exciting enough to know that Ryan Coogler was working on an X-Files revival, but The Wrap reports that he is also set to produce a new Animorphs reboot for Disney Plus.
Andrew Webster
“Bad things happen here.”
Apple TV’s next big series kicks off at the end of the month, and Widow’s Bay follows a small island town with a, let’s say, checkered past. The show mixes up horror and comedy, and it’s part of a big line-up coming to the streamer this year.
Why nuclear options like age limits and repealing Section 230 won’t make social media safer.
Nilay Patel
Emma Roth
Amazon Prime Video adds sign language interpretation to more original movies.
18 more films now support American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL), including Red One, Heads of State, Road House, The Idea of You, and more. You can view the full library of titles with ASL and BSL on Prime Video.
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Charles Pulliam-Moore
Ben Affleck’s AI startup says it’s a cost-saver.
Though Netflix insisted that it bought Ben Affleck’s AI company InterPositive to help filmmakers, Deadline reports that one of the startups big selling points listed in its 2024 patent application is its ability to bring production costs down by millions of dollars.
Emma Roth
Roku’s $3 streaming service now has a mobile app.
The ultracheap ad-free streamer, called Howdy, launched last year across Roku devices and on the Howdy.tv website. But now, subscribers can access the “thousands” of titles on the platform from a new app on iOS and Android.
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Image: Roku
Jess Weatherbed
Disney’s new Olaf robot had a meltdown.
It didn’t take long for the latest Disney Imagineering innovation to freeze up (hah) and fall backwards in front of a small crowd of children at Disneyland Paris. Even his magnetically attached carrot nose decided to “Let It Go.”
J.K. Rowling has made it abundantly clear that she will continue using her fortune to harm transgender people.
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Terrence O'Brien
Are the streaming music services doomed?
Something Jimmy Iovine said in a recent interview caught Artist manager Joel Gouveia’s ear: “The streaming services, to me, are minutes away from being obsolete.” It sounds wild on its surface, but it got Gouveia thinking. He makes a compelling case that Spotify’s days are numbered, and what comes next could be interesting:
We are witnessing the death of the “Mass Audience” and the birth of the “Micro-Community.”
The music industry has spent a decade obsessing over how to get a million people to listen to a song once. The next decade will be defined by artists figuring out how to get 1,000 people to care forever.
Terrence O'Brien
YouTube CEO refuses to talk about content moderation.
In an interview with the New York Times, Neal Mohan was asked about the platform’s responsibility for policing lies, conspiracy theories, and hate speech, but avoided addressing the questions in any substantive way. He wouldn’t even say whether it was wrong to suspend Trump following the January 6th attack on the Capitol.
Each one of the channels on our platform, the New York Times channel, the Interview channel, you have the editorial standards that you live by and they are certainly different across the various channels. And our job is to have a set of rules and guidelines. Every channel will draw a different line in terms of what they think is appropriate.
What Is YouTube’s Dominance Doing to Us? We Asked Its C.E.O.
[New York Times]
David Pierce
Emma Roth
Andrew Webster
Even more stranger things.
The main series feels like it just ended, but Netflix is headed back to Hawkins pretty soon. Here’s the latest trailer for Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85, which starts streaming on April 23rd.
Terrence O'Brien
What is, a terrible idea?
Jeopardy! is a beloved institution. Which is why Sony Pictures TV is trying to drag it into the streaming era with a YouTube Edition. The first episode will debut on March 31st at 9PM ET with contestants Monét X Change, Rebecca Black, and Brennan Lee Mulligan playing for charity. According to Variety:
“…they will compete across a dynamic range of clues that blend the classic format and style of Jeopardy! with the energy of internet culture with categories spanning YouTube-inspired topics—from viral trends to the rich 20+ year history of the platform—along with custom video clues featuring notable YouTube talent.”
Terrence O'Brien
HBO Max is finally available in the UK and Ireland.
Last month Warner Bros. Discovery announced that the streaming service would be coming on March 26th, which happens to be today. Subscriptions start at £4.99 per month in the UK for Basic with Ads. Until now, HBO content had been available in the UK through Sky or Now TV.
HBO Max is finally launching in the UK next month
Dominic Preston
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore
HBO’s Harry Potter series premieres this Christmas.
HBO has released the first trailer for its upcoming Harry Potter series, which will help fund executive producer J.K. Rowling’s ongoing crusade against transgender people. In addition to dropping the trailer, HBO has also bumped the series’ premiere date up to December 25th 2026.
Terrence O'Brien
Spotify starts rolling out SongDNA to lead you down musical rabbit holes.
It’s like liner notes meets Wikipedia. Premium users can tap a SongDNA card at the bottom of the Now Playing screen to show the writers, producers, and other contributors, as well as any samples or interpolations. Spotify says you can then tap on those to expose connections to other artists and songs:
It’s an interactive way to follow the connections between tracks and see how artists, eras, and genres intersect, giving you a deeper understanding of how what you’re listening to came together.