NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.—Horowitz Research has released a new study on the viewing and media habits of U.S. Hispanic/Latine audiences that shows a dramatic decline in pay TV penetration and rising usage levels of SVOD and other streaming services. The report found that the growing availability of Spanish-language content on streaming platforms was a key driver of reduced pay TV penetration. The new FOCUS Latinx Volume I: Subscriptions 2024, an annual report tracking the evolution of the pay and free TV, streaming, internet, and mobile environment among U.S. Hispanic/Latine audiences, found that just four in 10 (39%) Latine households subscribe (compared to 48%...

The Broadband Forum has announced major enhancements to key 5G convergence standards that the group said will help advance next-generation applications, improve network resilience, and provide support of converged services for residential customers. Broadband Forum’s Phase 18.1 specifications build on 3GPP’s Release 18. They extend the set of common value-adding capabilities, enabling operators to deliver customized Quality of Service and more freedom to smoothly migrate to using a single converged 5G Core with a multi-vendor broadband network, the group said. That will drive greater value and better Quality of Experience to the customer and will allow operators to consolidate their IT systems...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced a tentative agenda for the May Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 23, 2024 that include a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) designed to strengthen national security by cracking down on tech labs certifying RF equipment with ties to countries like China and Russia.  Other than this NPR, The FCC will take up a number of unspecified enforcement actions and a restricted adjudicatory matter from the Media Bureau. The new NPR is part of an ongoing crackdown on the use of telecommunications equipment from China that has already seen a ban...

PHILADELPHIA—As National Military Appreciation Month gets underway, Comcast has announced several new initiatives to help veterans, service members, and their families that include a $1 million commitment to fund nonprofits that serve the military community and a new Xfinity Military discount program. “For more than 60 years, Comcast has had a special relationship with the military community. We’re proud to reaffirm that commitment again today,” said Mona Dexter, vice president, Comcast Military & Veterans Affairs. “From celebrating connectivity and service, to investing in the community, we’re proud to support our nation’s veterans, service members, and their families.”The company also announce the...

NEW YORK—As the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month kicks off in May, Nielsen has released an extensive new report diving into their media habits with data showing they are “super streamers” and that mobile devices are a very important part of their media habits."As the media landscape continues to evolve, so will Asian media viewership—especially when you consider the diversity of the AANHPI diaspora community," says Patricia Ratulangi, vice president of global communications for diversity, equity & inclusion at Nielsen. "In a time of splintering media attention, divided voices and an ever-growing number of platforms to choose from, reaching the...

 NEW YORK—FuboTV reported that it lost 110,000 subs in Q1 2024 but it exceeded its guidance for the quarter with double digit year-over-year increases across key performance metrics in North America, including 21% ad revenue growth. Despite the Q1 sub losses, it ended the quarter with 1.511 million subs in North America, up 18% from a year earlier in Q1 2023. North American sub totals also exceeded its guidance for the quarter.  “Fubo’s first quarter 2024 performance builds upon the strong momentum achieved in the prior year, with double digit paid subscribers, total revenue and ad revenue growth in North America,”...

As the popularity of ad-supported streaming video rises, so do the expectations of audiences for a perfect viewing experience

$50 box would be an upgrade to retailer's current Onn Google TV box

EMG / Gravity Media has appointed Charlie Cubbon chief operating officer (COO) and Jamie Hindhaugh regional CEO for the U.K., U.S., Australia and the Middle East.Cubbon’s appointment is immediate. Hindhaugh will join EMG / Gravity Media in July. The appointments follow the January merger of EMG and Gravity Media and are intended to solidify the company's commitment to growth, innovation and excellence, it said.Joining EMG / Gravity Media from Warner Bros. Discovery, Cubbon has more than 20 years of experience in building and revitalizing businesses in entertainment (film, TV, games), sports, networks, e-commerce, consumer and supply chain sectors, it said.During...

Sony and Apollo Global Management have sent an offer letter to Paramount Global’s board of directors making an $26 billion all cash offer for Paramount Global, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the letter. Skydance has been exclusively negotiating a merger with Paramount but that exclusive negotiating window ends on Friday, May 3. The company's largest shareholder, Shari Redstone, has supported the merger but the board has not approved the deal and other shareholders have opposed it. Reports had previously indicated that Sony would be involved in a bid for Paramount. Apollo had also previously considered acquiring Paramount for $26 billion, including debt. Other suitors have included Allen Media Group in a $30 billion deal including debt, as well as Warner Bros. Discovery."Under the terms of the new offer, Sony would be the significant majority shareholder with Apollo taking a minority stake and ceding operational control," the Wall Street Journal reported.The Sony/Apollo offer comes after weeks of reports about the imminent sale of Paramount that led to the departure of longtime CEO Bob Bakish on Monday April 29 and the departure of four board members. Bakish was said to have been unenthusiastic about the merger with Skydance.

A new survey indicates that U.S. businesses and consumers had an overall positive attitude towards their technology spending plans in the first quarter of 2024, the second consecutive quarter of positive intent after more than a year of negative results. The new data is from 451 Research's U.S. Technology Demand Indicator, a survey-backed composite of U.S. intent to spend on technology. 451 Research is part of S&P Global Market Intelligence.The report also found that the positivity will continue, although a flattening of the recent upward trajectory is likely, according to Liam Eagle, research director at S&P Global Market Intelligence. An increase in...

NEW YORK—CBS has declared that it will finish the 2023-24 season as "America's Most-Watched Network" in primetime for the 16th consecutive season. CBS reported that it is currently averaging 5.59 million viewers, +580,000 ahead of second place NBC (5.01m), +1.30 million viewers ahead of third place ABC (4.29m) and +2.24 million viewers ahead of fourth place FOX (3.35m). All numbers are according to Nielsen live plus 7-day ratings through April 21.The primetime win for the 2023-24 season, also breaks broadcast television's longest winning streak on record, also previously held by CBS, from 1955-1970, and marks CBS' 21st win in the last...

BOSTON—Brightcove has announced that it has implemented Amazon Q Business, a new generative AI assistant on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Using its own public documentation, product, and release notes, Brightcove is using the new assistant internally to further bolster its award-winning customer service.As an early adopter of Amazon Q, Brightcove has launched the “Brightcove Expert Bot,” an AI-powered chatbot embedded into the internal tools, as a new resource for the customer and product support teams. Streamlining its customer support processes enables employees to quickly and effectively find relevant information, solve technical cases, analyze support requests, summarize support tickets, and use those...

Eight co-signers representing streaming services, pay TV operators and public interest groups have sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging their Committees hold hearings on the future of competition in pay TV and the new streaming joint venture backed by Warner Bros Discovery, Disney and Fox Corp. In the letter, the signees wrote that "Recent developments in the pay TV market – including the programming giants’ new joint venture (“JV”), a streaming TV service that would control 80% of national live sports broadcasts – raise serious competition concerns that call for Congress’s immediate oversight."The letter was signed by Fubo, Dish Networks,...

LOS ANGELES—Cineverse has debuted cineSearch, its previously announced new content search and discovery service in public Beta. Cineverse said that cineSearch, which can be accessed at cineSearch.com, is designed to redefine how audiences interact with movies and TV shows. It features an AI video adviser called Ava with the personality of a favorite film and TV aficionado who gives personalized recommendations to make deciding what to watch fast, simple and entertaining. "In our eyes, cineSearch is a win-win-win – using AI to solve actual problems that our industry has to contend with in order to keep serving fans, creators, and all of...

NEW YORK—SAG-AFTRA has inked a deal with Nielsen to become its third-party provider of streaming content measurement and has announced that it will use the Nielsen data to enforce the streaming bonus provisions in the 2023 TV/Theatrical Contract the union negotiated last year. “New business models require new tools, and that’s why we’ve enlisted Nielsen,” said SAG-AFTRA national executive director & chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. “The information they provide will give us the means to cross-check the data streamers give us and ensure employers are fulfilling their contractual obligations to our members.” More specifically, SAG-AFTRA, which represents more than 160,000 professionals in...

LOS ANGELES—The Television Academy Foundation has announced the appointment of Anne Vasquez as its executive director effective May 13. In her new role, Vasquez will oversee daily operations and provide strategic leadership of its programs and fundraising to fulfill the charitable organization’s mission to identify, advance and empower future television leaders while honoring television’s legacy, the Foundation said. Vasquez will report to Television Academy Foundation chair Tina Perry and Television Academy president and CEO Maury McIntyre. “We are delighted to announce Anne’s appointment to lead the Foundation’s team,” said McIntyre. “Anne’s background championing education will be critical as we look to expand the...

NEW YORK—Samba TV is debuting new capabilities for Samba AI, the company’s suite of generative AI technologies. Samba AI’s new capabilities provide a real-time, second-by-second understanding of everything seen on-screen. It provides facial recognition of actors and athletes in scripted, reality and sports programming; logo, object and product recognition for both brands and their competitors; sentiment and behavioral analysis, including understanding the emotions of people on-screen and the context of their interactions; and brand safety detection, including language and violence, the company said. "We’re entering the fifth generation of TV data, which will be powered by AI and led by Samba...

NEW YORK—Kantar has released a new study showing the U.S. streaming market has hit a saturation point, with the household penetration rate stagnating and at near universal levels. Streaming services were available in 95% of, or 123 million U.S. households, only growing 0.1% quarter-on-quarter, according to Kantar’s latest Entertainment on Demand (EoD) data on the US streaming market from January to March 2024.The study found, however, that the average number of paid services accessed per household continues to rise, with U.S. households now subscribing to 3.9 paid services on average.Other key highlights included:  Apple TV+ and Peacock saw the greatest absolute growth...