Streaming Services Have New Ways to Get Your Money
Happy Friday my friends,
I take the latest Disney+ news on password crackdown and pair it up with a couple of other different monetization strategies coming to streaming. But hey, at least they’re not all just price rises.
Wired also has a piece out that’s a little skeptical about one of the sources of allegations against TikTok.
Thanks all for supporting this newsletter. Mind telling a friend?
Cheers,
Tom
Big Story
"Disney CEO Bob Iger on streaming: We have to turn it into a growth business"
"The Disney Plus password-sharing crackdown starts in June - The Verge"
"Roku looks into serving you ads on whatever you plug into its TVs"
"Streaming services really want you to buy stuff while you watch TV - The Verge"
Disney CEO Bob Iger told CNBC that the company will begin its password-sharing crackdown in June. The crackdown will start in “just a few countries in a few markets” before expanding to all subscribers in September. Disney implemented specific rules about sharing passwords outside of the household. New subscribers were subject to them starting January 25th, and the terms changed for all subscribers on March 14th.
When Disney Plus detects password sharing it will prompt the user to get their own subscription. Account holders will also have the option of adding members from outside the house for an additional fee that Disney has not yet announced.
Netflix began its password-sharing crackdown last year, and despite a few anecdotal stories, there has not been widespread disruption to its use. Netflix also claims its recent subscriber and revenue increases are in part due to the crackdown. Netflix charges $7.99 a month extra to add a person outside your household to an account.
Not coincidentally, Iger believes Disney's streaming business will be profitable by the end of the year.
Cracking down on password sharing isn't the only method streamers are considering to increase revenues as they move from the customer acquisition phase of the business development into consolidation and monetization.
Roku filed a patent on a method where a TV running the Roku OS could tell if anything plugged into it was paused, so it could put an ad on screen. In other words if you have Roku TV and you use an Apple TV, Firestick, Chromatic or something else, Roku can server ads when the screen is paused. Apparently it can work for paused games too. It could even analyze the paused screen to serve a relevant ad to what you're watching or playing.
Paramount announced it will launch a mobile shopping experience during the CMT Music Awards, letting customers buy stuff based on what's on the show. So what the folks are wearing but also home decor items. CBS sports and talk show viewers will soon get similar integrations. Peacock does this with ads, including a QR code on screen to take you straight to the item.
Some of these efforts will fade away, while some of them may catch on. But get ready for lots of experiments in how to get you to spend more money related to what you’re watching.
Other Stories
"Apple lays off over 600 employees after shuttering car project"
A California WARN notice, required of large companies laying off large numbers of people, indicates Apple notified 614 employees on March 28th that they would be laid off as of May 27th. The notice did not specify what departments the employees worked in, but their locations were in smaller satellite offices where secret research projects are more often carried out. That backs up the guess that these are folks who worked on Apple's car tech project that has reportedly been shut down. That project reportedly had about 2,000 people working on it.
"Samsung Q1 2024 earnings guidance: Memory chip prices rebound"
Samsung projects its operating profit for Q1 will rise 931% over last year thanks to memory chip prices. Samsung is the world's largest maker of DRAM for computers and phones. Memory prices dropped last year with excess inventories as demand for consumer electronics fell, but demand for data center building related to AI services is helping turn the trend around.
"Samsung Doubles Down on Texas as U.S. Chip Center - WSJ"
The US is trying to bring chip manufacturing back inside its borders to varying levels of success. Samsung is helping now as CNBC's sources said it plans to double its investment in plants in Taylor, Texas, and elsewhere near Austin, to $44 billion. Samsung will also receive subsides from the US government through its CHIPS act. Mass production at the first foo the facilities is expected to begin sometime this year.
"A TikTok Whistleblower Got DC’s Attention. Do His Claims Add Up? | WIRED"
Wired has an article about a former TikTok employee named Zen Goziker who says he met with members of the US Congress to share concerns about TikTok's data practices. Goziker also claims to be the source behind articles critical of the data practices at Project Texas, rby USDS, which handles TikTok data in the US separately from TikTok and its parent company Bytedance. Wired's Louise Marsalis considers many of the claims improbably but they may have shaped current US Government views of the company.
I'm just as wary of claims that all he info came from one unreliable person as I am that TikTok data is personally reviewed by the Communist Party in China. But this interesting, and a point of data to keep in mind and add to any others that come out as we get a slow trickle of what actually was presented to Congress that made the House so quick to pass a ban that the Senate seems cool about after the same briefing.
"German state moving 30,000 PCs to LibreOffice - The Document Foundation Blog"
The northern German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein has completed a pilot project and decided to convert its government offices from using Windows and Office, to using Linux and Libre Office. The state operates about 30,000 computers. The state hopes to prevent the flow of public data from possibly being sent to third countries.
I feel like I've seen these stories every few years since I started covering tech. Usually it's Germany and China. They don't always stick though. Maybe this one will.
"YouTube CEO warns OpenAI that training models on its videos is against the rules"
In March OpenAI CTO Mira Murati could not confirm whether or not the company's Sora model that creates video from text prompts, was trained on any data from YouTube, Instagram or Facebook. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan told Bloomberg that if it did use YouTube, it didn't have permission, and that would be a clear violation of YouTube's terms of use. Those terms do not allow for transcripts or video to be downloaded without the creators permission. Mohan said Google's Gemini abides by those rules, only training on YouTube data where the creators licensing contract gives permission.
"Meta plans to more broadly label AI-generated content"
Meta says it will expand the content it labels as Made by AI. Starting in May, it will use the label when it sees industry-standard AI image indicators or when users identify their content as AI-generated. Meta's vice president of content policy Monika Bickert wrote that it will only remove AI-genrated material if it "violates our policies against voter interference, bullying and harassment, violence and incitement, or any other policy in our Community Standards.
"Tesla reportedly abandons plans to make a less expensive $25,000 electric vehicle - The Verge"
Reuters sources say Tesla no longer plans to make the Model 2, a more affordable sedan EV expected to be in the $25,000 range. The sources also said that Tesla will focus more on bringing a fully autonomous car to market that could be used as a robotaxi.
Interesting Reads
"OpenAI ChatGPT Enterprise Sees Surging Demand Despite Competition, COO Says - Bloomberg"
"US and EU commit to links aimed at boosting AI safety and risk research | TechCrunch"
"This fish farm is using AI to keep tabs on things under the sea"
"Japan Official Opposes Plan to Allow Ridesharing Despite Driver Shortage - Bloomberg"