Don’t Panic, but #Netflix Might Be Testing Weekend Surge Pricing (Cosmopolitan)

OK, fine, panic.

A report from The Australian claims Netflix is running a test on Australian customers to see if they’d pay up to 20 percent more for the service when they sign up on the weekends. The company wouldn’t call it surge-pricing but did acknowledge the price increases were part of a test.

During the test, prices for basic Netflix service increased from $8.99 to $9.99 a month. Standard service went from $11.99 to $13.99 and those who opted in for the premium… [Read more on Cosmopolitan]

McDonald’s Just Became the First Major Company to Partner With #Pokémon Go (Time)

Pokémon even for a snack break? McDonald’s wants to make sure some users of the wildly popular Pokémon Go game don’t have to.

The home of the golden arches will become the first major company to partner with Niantic, the developer behind Pokémon Go, the Associated Press reports.

Although the game still hasn’t launched in Japan, that’s where… [Read more on Time]

Google Play Books for Android now uses machine learning to help you read #comics (VentureBeat)

Google today updated its Google Play Books app for Android with a new way to read digital comics. Called Bubble Zoom, the feature uses machine learning to intelligently zoom into speech bubbles as you read on your phone or tablet. You can download the new version now from Google Play.

The goal is to make reading comics on a mobile device easier. The feature works because of… [Read more on VentureBeat]

LureDeals is a startup that wants to turn #PokémonGo players into your customers (VentureBeat)

Pokémon Go is an international phenomenon not just because it offers a nostalgia-fueled game anyone can access on a smartphone, but also because it gets people out into the real world interacting with one another and the cities around them. As I’m sitting here at my desk writing this story, I can tell you that a five-minute walk to the park and golf course across the street will yield me… [Read more on VentureBeat]

#Showbox launches video platform so brands can drive engagement (VentureBeat)

Showbox is launching a video creation platform for brands and other businesses today to help companies get in touch with a new generation of viewers.

Tel Aviv-based Showbox has made it easier for brands that don’t specialize in video to easily create and control video content. The mission is to… [Read more on VentureBeat]

#SoundCloud takes on Spotify with new Suggested Tracks feature (Mashable)

In a move to compete with Spotify‘s popular Discover Weekly feature, SoundCloud announced Suggested Tracks, which recommends music to users based on their past streams.

The feature began rolling out on Wednesday and can be found in… [Read more on Mashable]

#Facebook now lets users comment with a video (TechCrunch)

Facebook launched video comments today, a feature that acknowledges the meteoric rise and continued growth of online video creation and consumption.

By 2020, internet video traffic will represent… [Read more on TechCrunch]

#Facebook Said to Face Decline in People Posting Personal Content (Advertising Age)

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg during a keynote session at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February. Credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Personal Sharing Shifting to Smaller Audiences on Snapchat, Instagram, Messaging Apps

Facebook is working to combat a decline in people sharing original, personal content, the fuel that helps power the money machine at the heart of its social network, according to people familiar with the matter.

Overall sharing has remained “strong,” according to Facebook. However, people have been… [Read more on Advertising Age]

Now even your #streaming TV and music will come in bundles like cable TV (Mashable)

Image: Mashable Composite, Alex Williamson/Getty Images

“There’s only two ways I know of to make money: Bundling and unbundling.”

That quote was uttered by Jim Barksdale, then CEO of Netscape just before the company launched one of the most successful IPOs of all time and ushered in the first dot com boom… [Read more on Mashable]

3 Reasons Why Netflix is Killing #HBO Now (The Motley Fool)

Time Warner could have done better with its launch of HBO Now, and now Netflix is just widening the gap.

HBO parent Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) posted well-received quarterly results after Wednesday’s market close, but one nugget that left some observers concerned was that HBO Now — the premium video… [Read more on The Motley Fool]

Playlist A Day Sends You A Different #Spotify Playlist Each Day (TechCrunch)

I like single-use apps, with their inherently low cognitive load. I’m also a huge fan of having other people do work for me. A new app from Playlists.net, the Spotify community and playlist sharing site acquired by Watner Music Group, hits both notes.

Dubbed ‘Playlist a Day’, the iOS and Android app does one thing and one thing only: It… [Read more on TechCrunch]

Now even #Pandora is struggling with its future (Mashable)

Streaming services compete to attract — and fairly pay — artists like Taylor Swift. Image: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Music streaming service Pandora had a bizarre day Thursday just before announcing its latest earnings report.

Its stock moved up and down so wildly — suddenly jumping from… [Read more on Mashable]

#HBO re-launches linear channels/rebrands in CEE (Broadband TV News)

HBO will re-launch its linear channels and rebrand HBO Comedy in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) on March 21.

The new channel line-up will be… [Read more on BroadbandTVNews]

#Netflix Couldn’t Look More Like A Global HBO (Techcrunch)

It’s been years in the making, but Netflix has finally pivoted to a premium channel for the web. It started as a DVD subscription service and evolved into a Spotify for movies. But now that Netflix is available everywhere around the world, it is just like HBO without a cable channel.

If you’ve been… [Read more on TechCrunch]

#WhoSampled taps Spotify to show you who covered, remixed, or sampled your favorite songs (VentureBeat)

WhoSampled isn’t always on the mainstream startup radar, but the London-based company has been building a solid product over the past eight years, one that unearths the veritable spider web of connections between your favorite songs. And with the company’s latest update, users will now be able to… [Read more on VentureBeat]

It’s about time: #Instagram finally makes multiple account support official (Mashable)

Instagram is finally supporting one of its most requested features.

The photo-sharing app announced Monday that Instagram users will begin to see support for multiple accounts… [Read more on Mashable]

#Spotify, please don’t turn into iTunes (The Verge)

It’s time for Spotify to figure out what it really wants to be

A few months ago when Spotify announced its move into podcast streaming, I was an immediate opponent of the idea. Are people really going to start opening Spotify for the latest episode of… [Read more on The Verge]

#Hulu could lose its biggest advantage over Netflix if Time Warner has its way (BGR)

If there’s one reason to subscribe to Hulu over Netflix, it’s the ability to watch the latest episode of a TV show just hours after it airs. Streaming current seasons of shows has been one of Hulu’s biggest draws from the outset, but as talks are… [Read more on BGR]

Here’s How #Twitter’s New Algorithmic Timeline Is Going to Work (The Verge)

Twitter went into an uproar Friday after a BuzzFeed report that the social network was on the brink of tossing its traditional timeline for a Facebook-style feed. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tried to calm fears this morning in a series of tweets, but he did not deny the … [Read more on The Verge]

As The #Media Industry Evolves, The Business Model Becomes The Message (Forbes)

New companies like VHX are rising up to meet the demand by creators to establish new revenue streams to finance their work. (image credit: VHX)

The media business used to be fairly simple. It operated on linear model, consisting of content, distribution and audience, with a small priesthood of publishers, producers and programing executives making editorial… [Read more on Forbes]

Why #SoundCloud Will Be Worth More Than Spotify (TechCrunch)

SoundCloud recently announced it struck a long-awaited licensing deal with Universal Music, whose hit roster includes Kanye West, Adele and Taylor Swift. This latest deal provides SoundCloud with 50 percent coverage among the “Big Four” — Warner Brothers also has a deal with SoundCloud; Sony BMG and Sony/ATV are still holding out.

The Universal deal, in addition to… [Read more on TechCrunch]

#Facebook Celebrates Turning 12 With “Friends Day” Videos (TechCrunch)

Now Facebook has its own holiday it calls “Friends Day”. On February 4th, the social network turns 12 years old. But in typical self-less Zuckerberg fashion, Mark said “rather than having… [Read more on TechCrunch]

#Twitter Is Testing A Dedicated GIF Button On Mobile (TechCrunch)

Twitter wants you to share more GIFs, that’s why the company is testing a new GIF button inside its mobile app.

Some lucky users are seeing a button that appears between the camera and poll icons inside the Twitter for Android app. We haven’t managed to… [Read more on TechCrunch]

#Netflix and Amazon Offer Indie Filmmakers Hope (And Lots of Money) (Wired)

The Egyptian Theater marquee during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Bryan Steffy/Getty Images

The biggest players at the Sundance Film Festival are Hollywood outsiders. Amazon and Netflix, with their deep pockets and big ambitions, have picked up several films and… [Read more on Wired]

#HBO’s new animated comedy Animals will air a full day early on its streaming apps (Digital Trends)

The days when a cable subscription was your only option for getting your Game of Thrones fix are gone. HBO is embracing streaming these days, and with its upcoming series Animals, it’s actually encouraging users to… [Read more on Digital Trends]

#Facebook is changing which posts you’ll see first in the News Feed — again (Mashable)

Facebook is once again tweaking its News Feed algorithm to help weed out posts you may not want to see.

The company said Monday that it is updating the News Feed based on feedback from user surveys; the changes will affect… [Read more on Mashable]

4 intense #foreplay apps to get your juices flowing (Mashable)

Image: HEX/Corbis

Some people say sex and smartphones don’t mix. But hear me out.

No longer an intimacy killer, foreplays apps turn your smartphone into your new favorite sex toy. From controlling a vibrator, to helping you talk dirty, exploring… [Read more on Mashable]

#Amazon rumored to be building a ‘Spotify killer’ (Mashable)

Amazon has eaten away at the publishing industry, upended retail giants and begun to change the world of supply and fulfillment.

Now it may want to do the same to the young, highly competitive and potentially lucrative music streaming industry.

The e-commerce behemoth is said to… [Read more on Mashable]

Nigeria-based Online Entertainment Platform #iROKO Will Finance “Nollywood” Films After Raising $19M (TechCrunch)

Jason Njoku, the founder and chief executive officer of iROKO

iROKO, an online entertainment platform that targets audiences in Sub-Saharan African countries, plans to strike more deals in Nigeria’s booming movie industry after securing $19 million in funding from French premium cable company Canal+ and Kinnevik, a returning investor.

That amount is… [Read more on TechCrunch]

#Wikia Launches Fandom, a New Place to Get Your Nerd On (re/code)

One of the largest entertainment fan sites around is spawning its own sequel: Fandom.

Fandom is an outgrowth of Wikia, a site where the vast majority of the content is created by devotees who provide an encyclopedic accounting of the topic — be it video games like… [Read more on re/code]