DC Universe Streaming Service Will Become Universe Infinite Comics Platform

DC Universe, which started out as a streaming service for original DC superhero content, will in January become DC Universe Infinite, a supersized subscription service for DC Comics. CNET reports: The service launches on Jan. 21 for $7.99 per month, or $74.99 for a year-long subscription. DC says that subscribers will be able to read 24,000 comic book titles at launch,…

NBC Threatens To Black Out Apps on Roku in Dispute Over Peacock

NBCUniversal plans to black out more than 11 channels on Roku’s streaming platform Saturday morning, escalating a standoff with the company over its refusal to carry a new video app, Peacock. From a report: NBC’s Peacock and AT&T’s HBO Max have been unable to secure spots on Roku and Amazon.com’s Fire TV since launching their streaming services earlier this year. Roku…

Zuckerberg Warns of Post-Election Violence

Mark Zuckerberg tells “Axios on HBO” that Facebook is imposing new election rules to deter use of the platform to spread of misinformation and even violence, and to help voters see the results as “legitimate and fair.” From a report: The new measures, announced Thursday, include throwing a flag on posts by candidates who claim premature victory, and forbidding new ads…

AT&T, Ready For Your $30 Billion DirecTV Haircut?

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: AT&T is once again looking to sell its DirecTV unit, a business that has lost billions of dollars in value since the wireless carrier acquired it in 2015. The sooner it waves goodbye, the better. The question is, who wants it? DirecTV has faded into the background at AT&T, a company now entirely…

Why HBO Max and Peacock Aren’t On Roku

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: It’s been months since HBO Max and Peacock officially launched, and still, neither streaming service currently appears on the Roku platform (or Amazon, for that matter). The companies have said discussions about support were ongoing, but now we know why they’re still absent: Roku’s support fees are expensive as hell. In a deep-dive…

Netflix Breaks Record With 160 Emmy Nominations

Netflix led the Emmy Awards race with a record-breaking 160 primetime nominations, beating the likes of linear television giant HBO and digital newcomers Disney+ and Apple TV+. Deutsche Welle reports: HBO came in second with 107 Emmy nominations, with its hit series “Watchmen” sweeping up 26 nominations, including a nod for the best limited series category. Earlier this year, Netflix hit…

Some Believe the US Has Been Hit By Large-Scale DDoS Attack — Others Are Skeptical

Forbes reports major internet outages across many companies including T-Mobile, Fortnite, Instagram, Comcast, and Chase Bank. Some experts believe it is the result of a coordinated attack, others not so much. Slashdot reader bobthesungeek76036 shares the report: On June 15, a flurry of reports on a number of different services in the U.S. have indicated that the country may be experiencing…

HBO Max Takes on Netflix With Human Curation Instead of Solely Relying on Algorithms

Just like nearly everything else on the internet, streaming services are ruled by recommendation algorithms that are designed to predetermine what people want before they ask for it. WarnerMedia is trying to accomplish the opposite with HBO Max. From a report: The company’s new streaming service, which will allow for three concurrent streams, is positing itself as a human-first platform –…

ScreenHits TV To Launch Streaming Aggregator To Combat ‘Subscription Fatigue’

Technology company ScreenHits is launching ScreenHits TV, a streaming video aggregator app that lets consumers bundle different services together in a single interface. From a report: The service creates a one-stop electronic programming guide where users can search the libraries of both free and subscription streaming platforms, as well as live online TV without jumping from platform to platform and without…

Podcaster Luminary Seeks Fresh Cash To Buoy Struggling Business

Luminary Media, the money-losing podcasting startup, has raised more than $30 million in a new round and is seeking more funding as it tries to ride out the global pandemic, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. From the report: The funds were raised at a level below last year’s $200 million valuation, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the process…