Tag Archives: Media

PBS programming is coming to Prime Video

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Amazon and PBS have entered a partnership that will bring content from the public media operation to Prime Video. More than 150 local PBS channels and the PBS Kids Channel will launch as a free ad-supported TV (or FAST) offering on Prime Video over the coming months. The press release from PBS noted that this is the first time this collection of programming will be available on a major streaming service for free.

PBS Distribution is also launching two new FAST channels that will be available exclusively on Prime Video for a limited time beginning November 26. These channels are PBS Drama and PBS Documentaries. It seems Amazon is looking to focus on a lineup of FAST channels within Prime Video for free viewing, since the company announced that it is closing Freevee.

Having yet another place to watch public media content is a happy development for PBS fans. The broadcaster recently launched a FAST channel with Roku called PBS Retro, specifically with shows from the 1980s and 1990s for those of us who want to dive into a little nostalgic escapism. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/pbs-programming-is-coming-to-prime-video-190443155.html?src=rss

EU fines Meta $842 million in a Facebook Marketplace antitrust case

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The executive arm of the European Union isn’t shying away from slapping major tech companies with hefty fines. The European Commission has fined Meta €797.12 million ($842 million) for violating antitrust regulations.

The EC says that by tying Facebook Marketplace to Facebook and “imposing unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers,” Meta “abused its dominant positions" in the social networking space. Regulators determined that all Facebook users are “regularly exposed” to Marketplace, even if they don’t want to be. To that end, the link between the two services gives Meta “a substantial distribution advantage which competitors cannot match.”

In addition, the EC found that third-party classified ads services that advertised on the likes of Facebook and Instagram were subject to unfair trading conditions. “This allows Meta to use ads-related data generated by other advertisers for the sole benefit of Facebook Marketplace,” regulators contended.

The fine was determined based on the duration and extent of the infringement, as well as Meta’s revenue. The Commission also told Meta to end the practice and avoid repeating such conduct or trying something similar.

Meta said it will appeal the ruling. “This decision ignores the realities of the thriving European market for online classified listing services and shields large incumbent companies from a new entrant, Facebook Marketplace, that meets consumer demand in innovative and convenient new ways,” it claimed.

The company is trying to appease European regulators on other fronts. The EC said in the preliminary findings of an ongoing investigation that Meta violated the Digital Markets Act with its approach to an ad-free subscription, as it required EU users to consent to highly targeted advertising or pay to avoid it. This week, Meta lowered the monthly subscription fee and said it would offer an advertising option that won't use as much of a user's data, though this will include some unskippable ads.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/eu-fines-meta-842-million-in-a-facebook-marketplace-antitrust-case-154111594.html?src=rss

GOG’s preservation label highlights classic games it’s maintaining for modern hardware

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GOG is launching an effort to help make older video games playable on modern hardware. The GOG Preservation Program will label the classic titles that the platform has taken steps to adapt in order to make them compatible with contemporary computer systems, controllers and screen resolutions, all while adhering to its DRM-free policy. The move could bring new life to games of decades past, just as GOG did two years ago with a refresh of the 1999 title Wheel of Time. So far, 92 games have received the preservation treatment.

"Our guarantee is that they work and they will keep working," the company says in the video announcing the initiative.

Preservation has been a hot topic as more games go digital only. Not only are some platforms eliminating disk drives by default, but ownership over your library is more ephemeral than it seems. After all, most game purchases are just a license, and licenses can be revoked (as The Crew players know all too well).

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/gogs-preservation-label-highlights-classic-games-its-maintaining-for-modern-hardware-231606454.html?src=rss

Spotify unveils a new payout model for creators with popular videos

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Spotify is aiming to give YouTube some competition with its new partner program for video creators and content that goes viral. The music and podcast app announced a new “Partner Program” that monetizes audio and video beyond income from advertising starting on January 2, 2025.

The new monetization program pays Spotify creators in two ways. Creators can earn a share of ad revenue from their content on all platforms through its Partner Program. They can also earn money through monthly podcast subscriptions that “allow listeners to support creators directly in return for exclusive bonus content and perks.”

Both tiers also come with eligibility requirements. The Spotify Partner Program requires participants to host and upload their content through its Spotify for Creators platform, have streamed 10,000 hours and at least 2,000 unique views in a 30-day period and published at least 12 episodes. Subscriptions will be open to content creators who have at least two published episodes and at least 100 unique Spotify listeners in a 60-day period. The new programs will be available for subscribers in the US, UK, Canada and Australia next January.

Spotify has taken other steps to make its video and music content more accessible and mainstream. The music and video streamer integrated with TikTok and Instagram so users can post tracks on the social media sites.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/spotify-unveils-a-new-payout-model-for-creators-with-popular-videos-221706698.html?src=rss

Turntable Labs just launched a new social music platform called Hangout

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Everything old is new again. Turntable Labs just launched Hangout, a social music platform that’s eerily similar to that champion of 2010s internet, Turntable.fm. The app is available as a web client or via an app for Android and iOS. It allows users to play virtual DJ, with over 100 million songs to choose from.

It not only functions like the old-school Turntable.fm. It even looks the same. There’s a stage, record players and cartoon avatars that sort of look like characters from South Park. I started my own room just to check things out and am pleasantly surprised at the sheer number of songs here that I actually like.

The app in action.
Turntable Labs

This is because those 100 million songs have been secured through partnerships with Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. The catalog also pulls from Merlin, which represents a vast array of indie labels and rights holders.

The company likens the experience to “gathering around a jukebox or listening to albums with friends.” It seems that way to me, as someone I don’t know just jumped in my room and started playing their own stuff. To that end, folks take turns playing DJ. There looks to be room for five people at the same time to play a game of round robin with their favorite songs.

The robust catalog is one major difference from Turntable.fm. The platform didn’t have agreements in place with labels, instead relying on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and a partnership with ASCAP. This forced a number of rules on users as to how many people could be in a room at once and how many songs could be played each hour. It looks like those rules are now dunzo.

Turntable.fm originally went dark all the way back in 2013, before showing signs of renewed life in 2021. This could be a fun retro throwback to an age when we actually got our music recommendations from people, and not algorithms.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/turntable-labs-just-launched-a-new-social-music-platform-called-hangout-172013909.html?src=rss

Animated video game anthology show Secret Level sure looks pretty

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Amazon has released a new trailer for Secret Level, the upcoming Prime Video show that tells stories set in the worlds of beloved, popular or even upcoming games (and also Concord). Given that it’s an anthology series, there’s unlikely to be an overarching plot, so there’s not much to grok here from a narrative perspective. And the sooner there's a mortarium on trailers being soundtracked to that overused M83 song, the better.

However, the visuals sure do look pretty. The quality of the animation is genuinely impressive. At least in some cases, the art style apes that of the game the episode is based on. That’s particularly true for what we see of the Sifu episode, but Secret Level is not, for instance, retaining Spelunky's aesthetic.

Other episodes are based on the likes of Armored Core, Crossfire, Dungeons & Dragons, Exodus, Honor of Kings, Mega Man, New World: Aeternum, Pac-Man, The Outer Worlds 2, Unreal Tournament and Warhammer 40,000, along with "various" PlayStation Studios games. One of those is Concord, which Sony unceremoniously killed for good after its disastrous debut.

Some major mainstream stars have lent their voices and even likenesses to the series, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kevin Hart, Keanu Reeves (who appears in the Armored Core episode), Ariana Greenblatt and Gabriel Luna. Video game stalwarts, including The Last of Us stars Merle Dandridge and Laura Bailey, are involved too.

Secret Level — which is from the creative team behind Netflix's Love, Death and Robots — will debut on December 10. More episodes will be released over the following week.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/animated-video-game-anthology-show-secret-level-sure-looks-pretty-163009316.html?src=rss

YouTube creators can now make AI song remixes for Shorts

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Select YouTube creators can now produce their own remixes of existing songs. YouTube has announced a new feature for its AI-powered Dream Track tool that allows individuals to "restyle" a song and create a 30-second tune to use in a Short. 

Creators in the experiment group for this feature can choose from eligible songs and then give an explanation to AI about how they want to remix it. These changes could focus on giving the song a different genre or mood — whatever twist they're imagining. From there a new song gets produced "that reimagines the music while maintaining the essence of the original song’s vocals and lyrics," YouTube's announcement states. "These restyled soundtracks will have clear attribution to the original song through the Short itself and the Shorts audio pivot page, and will also clearly indicate that the track was restyled with AI."

YouTube rolled out Dream Track in November 2023, powered by Google DeepMind's Lyria model. It allowed a select group of US creators to make songs using the AI-generated voices of participating artists. The feature included a deal with Universal Music Group and partnerships with a slew of musicians, including John Legend, Charli XCX and Troye Sivan. It has expanded its availability to all US creators in the year since. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/youtube-creators-can-now-make-ai-song-remixes-for-shorts-143015775.html?src=rss

Apple and A24 are developing a Sam Bankman-Fried movie written by Lena Dunham

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Apple and art house film company A24 are in early development on a film about convicted crypto scammer Sam Bankman-Fried with a script written by Lena Dunham, Variety reported. The project will be based on the Michael Lewis book Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon that many critics found overly deferential to Bankman-Fried. 

The book describes the dizzying rise and equally vertiginous fall of Bankman-Fried and his FTX crypto exchange and Alameda hedge fund. However, it paints the FTX founder as a benevolent prodigy and glosses over the fact that he embezzled billions of dollars from customers and spent it on things like celebrity endorsements, political donations and high-end real-estate purchases.  

FTX was worth billions at its peak, but the exchange eventually collapsed and Bankman-Fried was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Most FTX customers will get their original investments back, plus interest, but that's based on a bitcoin price of around $17,000 — and the current price is nearly five times that.

Basing the film on Lewis's fawning hagiography isn't a promising start. Hopefully, Dunham or other writers will also draw on far better books (like Numbers Go Up by Zeke Faux) that show the dark, scammy side of crypto promoters like Bankman-Fried and the entire industry in general.

Apple Original Films and A24 have announced other collaborations recently, including the Spike Lee and Denzel Washington film High and Low. Other scripted FTX projects are also in the works, including a limited Amazon Prime series from the Russo brothers based on the 2022 FTX collapse. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/apple-and-a24-are-developing-a-sam-bankman-fried-movie-written-by-lena-dunham-133022680.html?src=rss

Amazon sunsets Freevee platform for ad-supported streaming video

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Amazon is closing down Freevee, its free ad-supported video on demand service. This platform was home to original programming as well as more than 100 originals from the Prime Video roster. Freevee will be phased out over the coming weeks, and its content will become available as part of Prime Video. The ad-supported tier of Prime Video is included as part of Amazon's Prime membership for $15 a month.

"To deliver a simpler viewing experience for customers, we have decided to phase out Freevee branding," an Amazon spokesperson told Variety. "There will be no change to the content available for Prime members, and a vast offering of free streaming content will still be accessible for non-Prime members, including select originals from Amazon MGM Studios, a variety of licensed movies and series, and a broad library of FAST channels – all available on Prime Video."

The free viewing platform went through several rebrands since its original launch as IMDb Freedive in January 2019. It entered its final phase as Freevee in April 2022.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/amazon-sunsets-freevee-platform-for-ad-supported-streaming-video-000614080.html?src=rss

Channel 4 in the UK now has a dedicated app for Apple Vision Pro

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The initial buzz for Apple’s mixed-reality headset has died down, but new apps and experiences are still arriving for consumers who plunked down $3,500. The UK broadcaster Channel 4 just dropped a dedicated streaming app for the headset, which lets users watch stuff in “ground-breaking cinema-style.”

Channel 4 is the first UK broadcaster to take this step. The app leverages the tech inside the headset to overlay streaming content on the real world, which allows for a “full-screen viewing experience” of stuff like The Great British Bake Off and Taskmaster, in addition to multi-screen view.

Speaking of Taskmaster, the broadcaster also announced an environment based on the comedy game show. Environments on the AVP transform the world around the user, so people can watch Taskmaster while sitting in a room inspired by Taskmaster (cue that Xzibit Yo Dawg meme.) Other streaming apps have their own environments. Paramount+ offers one based on SpongeBob Squarepants and Disney+ now includes one set in Iceland.

This app doesn’t feature access to the recently-released Taskmaster VR experience. That one’s still tied to Steam VR and Meta Quest. By most accounts, it’s a pretty bad game, so the Vision Pro isn’t missing much.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/channel-4-in-the-uk-now-has-a-dedicated-app-for-apple-vision-pro-200027166.html?src=rss