Streaming

Creators can now upload video thumbnails up to 50MB instead of just 2MB, according to YouTube CEO Neal Mohan. Bring on the hi-res YouTube Face.

This spring, Peacock is bringing a new Jeopardy! game to its mobile app. It will feature daily trivia rounds straight from the Jeopardy! team, along with shareable scores and streak challenges.

It’s called Channel Surfer, and it presents YouTube as an old-school grid of TV channels, which you can flip though to see what’s on. All the simplicity of watching cable in a hotel room; all the videos you actually want to watch. It’s fun on its own, but it feels like magic as soon as you import your own subscriptions to create personalized channels.

One of my favorite things to do on social media is to just imagine the people setting up the camera right before the video starts — because as soon as you remember they set up a camera, the whole viewing experience changes. This fun Ringer story about the rise of YouTube Face (trust me, you know the face) pulls back a lot of that artifice and dives into some of the strange workings of the internet’s biggest video platform.

The stressful-yet-delightful party game is now available as one of Netflix’s streaming TV games that you control with your phone. This version lets you play as 10 “Netflix celebrity chefs,” including the famous Stranger Things monster.

Hulu has dropped a trailer for its upcoming Handmaid’s Tale spinoff, The Testaments, and when the series premieres on April 8th, it looks like it will be a harrowing reminder of much violence the girls of Gilead were forced to endure.

The entire point of HBO’s upcoming Lanterns series is to introduce new incarnations John Stewart and Hal Jordan — two superpowered space cops — to DC Studios’ cinematic universe. But Lanterns first teaser trailer makes it seem like the show might feel much more like True Detective when it premieres in August.

While Trump’s federal regulators are seemingly in the bag for Larry Ellison’s big dumb gift to his large adult son, The New York Times notes that state attorneys general can sue to block mergers in the US, and EU regulators will have a say since properties like HBO Max and CNN are offered globally.

In an interview with Bloomberg, he explained why he backed out of the deal and said Netflix pursued Warner because it was a unique opportunity. “We definitely wanted this asset. We didn’t need it,” he said, praising its “incredible IP” and long history. But he was clear the plan was to just move on:

A four-day clock for Netflix to respond just started, but here are the details of the offer that include a starting price of $31 per share and other assurances, like:

Deezer started labeling AI content last year. Now Qobuz is doing the same. It’s also enacting an AI charter promising “The heart of Qobuz is and will remain human,” saying curation and editorial won’t be AI-driven. It stopped short of banning AI content, which some customers have been asking for.

With season 5 of For All Mankind streaming next month, Apple’s showing off a first look at its upcoming spinoff. Star City is shown from the Soviet Union’s perspective as it becomes the first country on the moon, offering an alternate view of this alternate history. It starts streaming on May 29th.

After watching popular children’s channels like CoComelon, Bluey, or Ms. Rachel, The New York Times found that more than 40 percent of Shorts recommended by the platform “appeared to contain AI-generated visuals.” YouTube doesn’t require animated AI videos for children to be labeled, placing all moderation burdens on parents instead.

The entertainment giant remains tight-lipped on its negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery, but said its streaming business earned $2.2 billion in revenue over the past few months, marking a 10 percent year-over-year increase.

The South Carolina Republican said he’s bringing along Ellison, son of Trump ally and billionaire Larry Ellison, as his guest to the address. Paramount is in the midst of its persistent attempt to buy Warner Bros. Discovery over Netflix — a deal Trump said he’d be involved in before backtracking.

Warner Bros. Discovery is telling shareholders it’s “continuing to engage” with Paramount after receiving its latest offer yesterday.