Variety: HBO Boss Casey Bloys Apologizes for Using Fake Twitter Accounts to Troll TV Critics: ‘Dumb Idea’. “HBO and Max CEO and chairman Casey Bloys apologized to TV critics Thursday for using fake Twitter accounts to respond to negative reviews of HBO series, following a Wednesday report that revealed Bloys’ past behavior.”
TechCrunch: Google TV adds 25 more free channels, NFL Sunday Ticket integration. “Google TV is once again expanding its free live TV lineup. In April, the company announced the Google TV service was growing to include over 800 live TV channels, including those from Tubi, Plex, Haystack and others. Today, the company says it’s adding 25 more free channels to the lineup, which can be watched without having to install any additional apps or needing to sign in.”
New York Times: The Twitter Watch Party Is Over. “‘Sharknado’ may not be long remembered as cinema, but it is a historical emblem of the way millions of people shared the experience of live TV at a certain time. A decade later, that time is ending, because of the ways Twitter and TV have changed.”
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San Francisco State University: SF State Bay Area Television Archive is a treasure trove of history on film — and streaming online . “Based in the J. Paul Leonard Library on campus, the Bay Area Television Archive features more than 135,000 videos from Bay Area television stations. A visit to the new Bay Area Television Archive website is a YouTube-like rabbit hole of a time machine dedicated to the issues and events that gripped the region decades ago.”
9to5Google: Google TV ads now include physical products instead of just movies and shows. “Advertising on your TV has become something expected of virtually every platform, and it’s something that has hit Android TV OS over the past few years. Now, though, Google TV is taking things a step further by introducing ads for physical products and stores.”
PressGazette: Why Tiktok is one of the ‘main priorities’ at BBC News for 2023. “In January 2022, two BBC News social and digital bosses told Press Gazette the broadcaster had stayed off Tiktok because they did not have the resources to create bespoke content properly – and it would not be true to the BBC brand to do ‘light news’. However, by March after Russia invaded Ukraine, the broadcaster realised there was an opportunity to combat disinformation about the war.”
Hongkiat: How to Take Screenshots on Your Smart TV . “There can be any reason to take screenshots of your TV screen, but most of us don’t know how. In this post, I will show you some ways to take screenshots on your smart TV, where find out where screenshots are saved, and how you can transfer these screenshots to your PC.”
The Guardian: ‘The cultural memory of the UK’: unearthing the hidden treasures of the BBC archive. “For years the corporation has been digitising its vast reserve of content, turning up lost footage of everyone from General Eisenhower to Victoria Wood. Meet the team bringing a century of footage back to life.”
MakeUseOf: Top 100% Legal Streaming Services That Don’t Cost a Dime. “With the cost of virtually everything rising for the foreseeable future, it’s understandable that some folks will be looking to cut back. Luckily, there are a bunch of streaming video platforms that offer quality content for free. All of the services listed below are 100% legal and free of charge.”
Ars Technica: How a French satellite operator helps keep Russia’s TV propaganda online. “More than a decade on, Russia once again finds itself trying to consolidate its information hegemony in the region. And, once again, Eutelsat is making it possible. But two experts on the satellite industry say it’s time that Ukraine’s allies step up and force Eutelsat to prioritize real reportage on the situation in Ukraine over Russia’s state-backed disinformation.”
Deadline: Channel 4 Strikes YouTube Deal; Sky Arts Series; Post-Production Launch; WBD Spain Series; Indielab — Global Briefs. “British broadcaster Channel 4 has signed a deal with YouTube to put 1,000 hours of programming on the Google-owned streaming platform…. Shows will begin rolling out this month and include 8 Out Of 10 Cats; Location, Location, Location; Nikki Grahame: Who Is She?, SAS: Who Dares Wins and The Dog House.”
Vulture: Netflix Ratings Just Got a Little Less Secretive. “Netflix is making good on its promise to start disclosing viewership stats on a regular basis. Reversing years of secrecy, the streaming giant today will start releasing a weekly report revealing not only the most popular programming on the service but exactly how many viewing hours those titles accumulated around the world over the preceding seven days.”
Page Six: ‘SNL’ producers ‘scrambling’ to replace Ed Sheeran amid COVID-19 diagnosis. “The singer – who was scheduled to appear on the Nov. 6 show – announced via Instagram on Sunday that he tested positive for the coronavirus. Now, “SNL” producers are ‘scrambling’ to find a replacement, Page Six has learned.”
New York Times: Locast, a nonprofit streaming service for local TV, is shutting down. “Locast, a nonprofit streaming service that piped local broadcast signals over the internet, is shutting down after a federal judge ruled against the organization in a rare case tackling the legality of network content delivered online. The organization said it was ‘suspending operations, effective immediately,’ and it added that Locast was meant to “operate in accordance with the strict letter of the law,” but had to comply with the ruling, with which it disagreed.”
