Back in 2021, Amazon announced that Sling TV would be coming to Echo Show devices. About a year ago, Sling TV arrived on the Echo Show 15 but the smaller Echo Show models didn’t receive support for the streaming service. That changes today because Sling TV has now arrived on Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 10 devices. Say “Alexa, open Sling TV” to strat streaming channels. You cn also jump directly to a channel by saying “Alexa, watch [Channel Name] on Sling.”
Amazon is said to be in talks to acquire MX Player, according to TechCrunch. MX Player was originally nothing more than a video player app, much like VLC, and is still widely used as such to this day on Fire TV devices and other platforms. It was acquired in 2018 for $140 million by the India-based company Times Internet, which then used the video player to launch the ad-supported streaming service, MX Player TV, initially in India before expanding to other countries. Now Amazon is said to be one of three companies that have expressed interest in acquiring the app. Read more ›
Peacock will no longer allow new customers to sign-up for a free account, as spotted by The Streamable. For first-time users to access the streaming service, they will now need to sign up for either the $4.99/month ad-supported plan or the $9.99/month ad-free plan. Existing accounts created prior to January 31st that use the free tier will continue to have access to the service, but don’t be surprised if that ends at some point as well. If you have an existing paid account, you too will be able to access the old free tier as well if you choose to end your paid subscription. Peacock launched in 2020 and despite reaching 20 million paid subscribers has yet to turn a profit.
Netflix stated plans to release an ad-support plan earlier this year and now the details of the new plan have been announced. Netflix with ads will cost $6.99 per month in the US and include one stream at a time at up to 720p video quality. The plan will be available starting November 3rd and it is also coming to Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, and the UK. In addition to the new ad-supported plan, Netflix will finally be upping its cheapest ad-free plan, which remains at $9.99/month, from 480p SD video to 720p HD video. Read more ›
EPIX has announced that it will be renamed to MGM+ in January 2023. When Amazon acquired MGM studios earlier this year, it also got the premium cable TV network EPIX with the deal. If you thought all of MGM’s movies and TV shows would be merged into Prime Video, the impending relaunch of EPIX and MGM+ is pretty compelling evidence that won’t be happening anytime soon. In addition to the new name, MGM+ also announced four new original series coming to the service next year. The newly greenlit shows include “Hotel Cocaine,” an eight-episode drama; the second season of “Belgravia;” a two-part docuseries tentatively called “San Francisco Sounds;” and an untitled four-part docuseries about the Amityville murders.
After rumors swirled a couple of months ago, the National Football League has now officially launched its new NFL+ streaming service in the US. Subscribers will be able to watch live local and primetime regular season and postseason games, as well as live out-of-market preseason games. For all other games, a live audio-only feed is provided. The service also includes ad-free on-demand content. One huge catch is that live regular season and postseason games can only be viewed on phones and tablets, so you won’t be able to watch those through streamers like Fire TVs or on a computer. There are also several blackout conditions. NFL+ costs $4.99 per month or $39.99 annually, but there is a discount on the annual plan right now that drops it to $29.99. There is also an NFL+ Premium subscription for $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year that adds ad-free full game replays and condensed game replays on any device, as well as coaches film.
The NFL is expected to launch NFL+, an in-house streaming service, as early as July according to a report by Sports Business Journal which cites an unnamed source. The new service is said to provide live streaming games, but only to mobile devices, so streaming on TVs will still rely on things like Sunday Night Ticket. Those mobile streams used to be provided by Yahoo and cell providers mostly for free but those deals have since expired which will now allow the NFL to handle those streams itself. The service is said to cost $5 a month, but the source says the pricing structure may change. Live games on NFL+ will be limited to what you could otherwise see in your local TV markets.
CNN has launched its new CNN+ streaming service today. Fire TV and Apple TV are the only TV streaming platforms that currently support the service, as CNN has not reached a deal with Roku or Android/Google TV yet. The service costs $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year, however, an introductory offer for the next four weeks knocks the monthly cost down to $2.99 per month. CNN says that subscribing during the discounted period will lock in the cheaper rate for life as long as you maintain an active subscription. The service does not use a new app and is, instead, accessed through the existing CNN app. If you think this is a way to watch CNN live without a cable subscription, think again. The service is launching with about a dozen new weekly shows and access to thousands of hours of on-demand CNN content, but it does not provide a live stream of the CNN channel. CNN CTO Robyn Peterson says “we view CNN Plus as being additive. It’s a totally new thing that’s a complimentary product to CNN on linear television.”
Sling TV has announced that the internet TV service is now available on the Echo Show 15. The streaming service’s arival on Echo Show devices was promised back in September of last year, when the Echo Show 15 was announced. Amazon said, at the time, that Sling TV would eventually be available on all Echo Show models, but only the Echo Show 15 is supported at this time. To use the service, simply say “Alexa, open Sling TV” to get started. Once set up, you’ll be able to say “Alexa, tune to [CHANNEL NAME] on Sling TV” to watch a specific channel. Sling TV joins a number of streaming services to add support for the Echo Show, including Netflix, Hulu, Tubi, and others. To see all the video streaming options on an Echo Show, say “Alexa, open Video Home” or swipe down from the top of the screen and select the Video shortcut icon
Disney has announced that it intends to launch an ad-supported plan for its Disney+ streaming service. The new plan will launch later this year in the U.S. and will expand to international markets in 2023. The plan will exist alongside the current ad-free plan, which costs $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year, and, presumably, cost less, but Disney has not said how much it will cost at this time. CNN has, however, just revealed for the first time the cost of its upcoming CNN+ streaming service. CNN+, which is said to provide new programming that is not available on the cable news network, will cost $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year. CNN has said that anyone who signs up within the first 4 weeks of the streaming service’s debut will get 50% off the monthly plan for life, as long as they remain subscribers. The news agency is expected to launch the new service later this month but has not provided a specific launch date yet.
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