Apple TV’s Next Update Will Add FaceTime, Dialogue-Enhancement Feature, Remote Finder and More

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Amy Sedaris is a comedian, actor, writer — and now, a video game designer.Sedaris helped create a custom level in “What the Car?”, an absurdist racing game exclusively available on Apple Arcade created by developers who don’t own cars (see screenshots below from the level, “Amy Sedaris Can’t Drive”). Of course, Sedaris is a New Yorker who can’t drive and doesn’t play video games.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Twitch is introducing Partner Plus, a program boosting the cut that streamers earn to 70% of subscription revenue — with a few conditions, however. Twitch’s new Partner Program, set to go into effect starting in October 2023, pay streamers 70% share on net subscription revenue to who meet the qualification criteria (with Twitch keeping the other 30%). The standard revenue split Twitch offers streaming partners is 50%. To qualify, Twitch Partners must maintain a sub count of at least 350 recurring paid subscriptions for three consecutive months. Streamers in the Partner Plus program will receive the 70/30 revenue share on net subscription revenue (revenue from recurring monthly subscriptions and gift subscriptions), for 12 months up to $100,000. Once a streamer earns $100,000 through Partner Plus, the revenue share will return to standard rate of 50% for most partners. The threshold resets every calendar year.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Fred Ryan, publisher and CEO of the Washington Post, announced that he is stepping down after nine years at Jeff Bezos-owned newspaper. Ryan cited “the decline in civility” in political discourse — and “more broadly across our society” — for his decision to leave the Post to lead the newly created nonpartisan Center on Public Civility, launched by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute. In an earlier era, “Political leaders on opposite sides of the aisle could find common ground for the good of the country,” Ryan wrote in a memo to Washington Post staff announcing his departure. “Today, the decline in civility has become a toxic and corrosive force that threatens our social interactions and weakens the underpinnings of our democracy. I feel a strong sense of urgency about this issue.” (Read his memo below.)

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Twitch to creators: Oops, never mind. The Amazon-owned livestreaming platform on Wednesday revoked its new branded-content guidelines the day after putting them into place, following a backlash from creators. The changes, which were scheduled to be effective July 1, would have restricted the kinds of ads allowed on Twitch — completely banning “burned-in” (i.e., in-stream) video, audio and display ads on the platform and restricting on-screen logos to a maximum of 3% of the screen size. Twitch on Wednesday reversed course. “Yesterday, we released new Branded Content Guidelines that impacted your ability to work with sponsors to increase your income from streaming. These guidelines are bad for you and bad for Twitch, and we are removing them immediately,” Twitch said in a statement.

Coldplay have made it back home.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor N’Jeri Eaton, former head of audio at Netflix and head of content at Apple Podcasts, is joining Wondery as head of co-productions for limited series. Eaton reports to George Lavender, head of creative production for limited series at Wondery. Eaton will oversee the podcast studio and network’s external collaborations, managing multiple shows from their initial idea through production and launch. For its original limited series, Wondery — a division of Amazon — has collaborated with partners including the Boston Globe’s Spotlight Team (“Gladiator”), NBC News (“Do No Harm”) and Bloomberg (“The Shrink Next Door,” which was adapted as an Apple TV+ show).

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor On Dec. 9, 2020, YouTube enacted a ban on videos that falsely claimed then-President Trump won the U.S. presidential election. Since then, according to the platform, it has removed “tens of thousands” of videos that violated the policy. As of June 2, 2023, YouTube has reversed that decision: The video giant announced that it “will stop removing content that advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors or glitches occurred in the 2020 and other past U.S. Presidential elections.” Why is YouTube making this change? The Google-owned service, in an unsigned blog post Friday, tried to explain it this way: “In the current environment, we find that while removing this content does curb some misinformation, it could also have the unintended effect of curtailing political speech without meaningfully reducing the risk of violence or other real-world harm.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ella Irwin, after less than seven months as head of trust and safety at Elon Musk’s Twitter, has resigned from the company. Irwin confirmed to Reuters that she resigned but did not provide a reason for her exit. Earlier, Fortune reported that Irwin’s Slack account at Twitter appeared to have been deactivated. Neither Irwin nor Musk have publicly tweeted about her departure. An email to Twitter’s press account requesting comment returned an autoreply with a poop emoji. Attempts to contact Irwin were unsuccessful. As Twitter’s head of trust and safety, Irwin oversaw enforcement of its content moderation policies. Musk, a self-described “free-speech absolutist,” has eased some restrictions in Twitter’s content policies — and reinstated thousands of previously banned accounts. Third-party groups have criticized Twitter for apparent increases in instances of hate speech and lax policy enforcement since Musk assumed control; Musk has previously denied that an increase in hate speech on Twitter.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor In a symbolic rebuke of Netflix’s top executives, company shareholders voted against approving the compensation packages of leaders including co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters. At the streamer’s June 1 annual shareholders meeting, investors failed to approve the proposed exec pay packages for 2023. But the vote was a non-binding “say on pay” measure, meaning Netflix’s board can disregard the result. The vote came after the WGA had urged investors to vote against Netflix’s exec compensation measures in a letter Tuesday. “While investors have long taken issue with Netflix’s executive pay, the compensation structure is more egregious against the backdrop of the strike,” WGA West president Meredith Stiehm wrote in the letter to Netflix shareholders.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Maybe Elon Musk’s Twitter isn’t the free-for-all “free speech” zone that some right-wingers have been led to believe. Twitter nixed a deal with Daily Wire to premiere the conservative website’s “What Is a Woman?” documentary for free on the platform because of two instances of “misgendering” in the film, according to CEO Jeremy Boreing. Not only that, Boreing claimed in a Twitter thread Thursday, Twitter reps told the Daily Wire that the social network “would no longer provide us any support and would actually limit the reach of the film and label it as ‘hateful conduct’ because of ‘misgendering.’” Daily Wire still plans to upload the movie to Twitter on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, the CEO said. “Will Twitter make good on their threat to throttle it and label it ‘hateful conduct,’ or will Twitter live up to its great promise? We’ll all find out together,” Boreing wrote.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Meta — still trying to make the metaverse happen — unveiled its next-generation VR and mixed-reality headset, the Meta Quest 3, which will ship this fall for a price point starting at $500. Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg announced the Quest 3 in an Instagram post Thursday. The headset is “the first mainstream headset with high-res color mixed reality” capabilities, according to Zuckerberg. It’s 40% thinner than the Quest 2 and “more comfortable” than its predecessor, he added. Meta’s announcement comes ahead of Apple’s 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference next week, where Apple is expected to introduce its own mixed-reality headset.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor AMC Theatres is mothballing its on-demand movie service — and moving users and their content libraries over to Vudu, the video rental and sell-through streaming platform owned by NBCUniversal’s Fandango. Starting Thursday, June 1, AMC Theatres On Demand users can transfer their accounts to Vudu, which now serves as the theater chain’s streaming platform. With the transition, the companies said, many of the movies previously purchased through AMC Theatres On Demand will be “upgraded to the highest-quality format available” on Vudu, including 4K Ultra HD. Consumers with applicable titles in their libraries will automatically receive those upgrades for free. Additionally, AMC Theatres On Demand users who are new Vudu consumers are eligible for a 15% discount on each purchase made on the service in their first month.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Pluto TV is reprising its summer movie event with a rotating batch of more than 200 films coming to the streaming service — all for the low price of free. The titles include installments of fan-favorite franchises ahead of their upcoming new releases in theaters this summer, including the first four movies in the Indiana Jones and Mission: Impossible series, plus “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.” Pluto TV’s Popcorn Summer Movies 2023 slate, the third year of the programming event, also includes popular films such as “Titanic,” “Gladiator,” “Old School,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.” The additional movies are on top of Pluto TV’s existing catalog of several thousand free films.

The Missouri native reunited with Raquel during a filming break where she reacted to the footage she saw so far.

Tallulah Willis is telling her story. After battling years of commentary on her body, grappling with the highs and lows that come with having a famous family, and most recently, dealing with her dad, Bruce Willis' aphasia diagnosis, the 29-year-old actress is forging her own path forward.Days after sharing a series of social media messages that she said she's received from body shamers, Tallulah opened up to  about her battle with body dysmorphia and anorexia, garnering the support of her mom, Demi Moore, and stepmother, Emma Heming Willis.«I think it’s important to share this, that this happens, that this happens to a healing person in recovery, who has been honest about how very sick she was/is and is working daily to find safety and home within her skin,» Tallulah wrote, just days ahead of her candid conversation with the outlet.

Coldplay have made it back home.

Coldplay have made it back home.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor DirecTV announced a multiyear deal to sell the NFL’s Sunday Ticket out-of-market games package to commercial venues in the U.S., starting with the 2023 season. Under the pact with the NFL’s EverPass Media, DirecTV will continue to offer the Sunday football games to customers including casinos, restaurants, bars, hotel lounges and retail shops. The announcement comes after DirecTV lost its 28-year hold on Sunday Ticket for consumers, with Google securing a seven-year deal with the NFL to sell the package via YouTube. The satellite TV operator didn’t announce pricing for Sunday Ticket — which includes all Sunday day games broadcast by CBS and Fox — under the new commercial agreement. In past years, DirecTV’s pricing for the package has been tiered based on fire code occupancy (FCO) rates starting at $650/season for establishments with a certified FCO of 1-100, stepping up to $6,000/season for establishments with capacity of 101-200 and even higher for larger venues.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The four-season run of “Succession,” HBO’s highbrow family corporate drama, is coming to its conclusion — with the show giving viewers no clear tea leaves on what the future holds for Waystar Royco or the media conglomerate’s internecine clan. Will one of the Roy progeny ultimately take the throne as the new CEO, fulfilling the prophecy implicit in the show’s title? Or will Waystar Royco wind up in the clutches of GoJo? Ahead of the series finale’s airing on Sunday, May 28 (on HBO and the newly relaunched Max), wagering site DraftKings drew up hypothetical odds for the likeliest outcomes. SEE ALSO: Jeremy Strong’s ‘Succession’ Method Acting Was So Intense That He’d Practice Asking Strangers Where the Bathroom Was

Not over yet. The drama was front and center as the Vanderpump Rules cast reunited to discuss season 10 amid Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss‘ cheating scandal.