Netflix Launches Paid Sharing in U.S., Will Start Blocking Users With Unauthorized Passwords

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor At least initially, Netflix’s broad password crackdown appears to be producing the streamer’s desired results in converting freeloaders into paying customers in the U.S., according to early data from research company Antenna. On May 23, Netflix began notifying U.S. customers that users on their accounts who live outside their households would need to be added as an “extra member” (or get their own subscriptions). Since then, Netflix has had the four single largest days of U.S. user sign-ups since January 2019, when Antenna first began tracking the metric. Based on the most current Antenna data available, Netflix saw average daily sign-ups reached 73,000 from May 25-28, a 102% increase from the prior 60-day average. That was more than the spikes in subscriber sign-ups Antenna recorded during the initial U.S. COVID-19 lockdowns in March and April 2020.

Amy Dowden opened up to HELLO! last month about her breast cancer diagnosis and on Wednesday, she shared with fans that she'd started her treatment.  The professional dancer took to Instagram to post an image of herself in hospital, and it showed the optimistic star sitting up in bed while wearing a hospital gown, beaming and holding her thumbs up.

The countdown is on to Saturday’s Champions League final, and we’ve partnered with William Hill to bring you a £2 free bet to stake on the game, or any other sport, only with the voucher inside your local paper this Saturday, 10 June, 2023.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor A software update for Apple TV devices coming this fall can turn customers’ big-screen TVs into videconferencing hubs with the addition of Apple’s FaceTime, and later Zoom and Webex. The tvOS 17 update, the next version of Apple’s operating system for Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD, also includes a feature called Enhance Dialogue, which promises to let users more clearly hear what is being said over the effects, action and music in a movie or TV show. The catch: It will work only on Apple TV 4K devices that are paired with Apple’s HomePod (second generation) smart speakers. In one handy new feature, tvOS 17 will let iPhone users locate the Apple TV’s Siri Remote if, say, it gets stuck between couch cushions or has fallen behind a cabinet. With the Apple TV remote inside the iPhone’s Control Center, an onscreen circle grows in size as users get closer to the misplaced remote.

Emma Heming shared a video of the happier times with her husband, Bruce Willis! On Thursday, the model posted a video from a family trip to Disneyland, in honor of Splash Mountain’s final ride before it is reimagined in the “Princess and The Frog” theme.

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).

Bruce Willis! On Thursday, the model posted a video from a family trip to Disneyland, in honor of Splash Mountain's final ride before it is reimagined in the theme. «You bet this family will be back for more fun and laughs when you reopen as Tiana Bayou! Thanks for all the memories Splash Mountain ⛰️

Pete Davidson and Colin Jost, decide to buy a giant boat.Davidson walked the red carpet at the premiere of at Kings Theatre in New York City on Monday, and he shared an update about the Staten Island Ferry investment he and his former so-star made in January 2022.Davidson spoke with ET's Will Marfuggi, who asked the comic if he was planning on throwing an after-party on his recently purchased boat.«Yeah, if it's not sunk!» Davidson said with a laugh.«I have no idea what's going on with that thing,» he added, shaking his head. «Me and Colin were very stoned a year ago and bought a ferry.

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 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 If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Disney+ is now streaming the first four Indiana Jones movies, starring Harrison Ford as the legendary snake-hating archeologist action hero. The media company is looking to whip up interest in the theatrical release of the franchise’s fifth and final installment, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” Starting May 31, Disney+ subscribers can stream “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” as well as the TV series “The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones.” The upcoming “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this month, opens exclusively in theaters June 30; Disney hasn’t announced a premiere date for the film on Disney+.

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

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor It’s back! MoviePass, after emerging from bankruptcy under new ownership, is launching its movie-theater subscription service nationwide ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. The service lets MoviePass members choose from more than 4,000 theater locations across the U.S., including those operated by AMC Theatres, Regal Cinemas and Cinemark. However, the reincarnated MoviePass is a far cry from the too-good-to-be-true $9.95-per-month subscription for one movie per day that the company had offered in its previous life. Plans start at $10/month for 1-3 movies per month, ranging up to $40/month for up to 30. The new MoviePass uses a credit-based system to offer different options for the total amount of films a subscriber can see each month (see plan details below).

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has officially launched his battle with Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. On Wednesday, the conservative politician filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission declaring his candidacy. That came ahead of DeDantis’ scheduled interview with Twitter owner Elon Musk on the social media platform’s Spaces live-audio feature, set for 6 p.m. ET. DeSantis, 44, has gained national prominence for pursuing an “anti-woke” agenda as governor of the Sunshine State. That has included his very public fight with Disney, ignited by the media conglomerate’s opposition to Florida’s so-called Don’t Say Gay law.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Semafor, the digital new startup launched last fall, announced that it has raised $19 million in a new financing round, bringing its total raised to $34 million. The New York-based company was co-founded by Ben Smith, previously media columnist for the New York Times and editor in chief of BuzzFeed News, and Justin B. Smith, former CEO of Bloomberg Media Group. (The two are not related.) Semafor said the additional investments are an extension on the same terms of the company’s previous financing round. The new total also takes into account the repurchase of the approximately $10 million in funds from Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of cryptocurrency company FTX whom federal prosecutors have charged with fraud, money laundering and campaign finance offenses. The funding from Bankman-Fried will be returned to FTX creditors as directed by officials, according to Semafor.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor With cord-cutting at an all-time high, Comcast is introducing a new streaming subscription option to keep broadband customers in the video fold. On Tuesday, Comcast announced Now TV, a new streaming offering that includes more than 40 live cable entertainment channels from A+E Networks, AMC, Hallmark and Warner Bros. Discovery — but no local broadcast TV or sports channels — plus 20-plus integrated free, ad-supported television (FAST) channels from NBC, Sky and Xumo Play. In addition. Now TV includes a bundled subscription to Peacock Premium with ads. Now TV will be available to Comcast’s Xfinity Internet customers within the next few weeks, priced at $20 per month. Now TV does not require an additional set-top box and lets customers sign up or cancel at any time.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor It’s the big launch day for Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max — and the newly revamped streaming service appears to encountering some technical problems right off the bat. On Wednesday morning, subscribers took to social media to complain that they were having logging in to Max, which is replacing the three-year-old HBO Max service. As reported by users, the issues spanned the Max.com website as well as mobile apps including iOS and connected-TV apps on Roku and Samsung TV. Of course, there are bound to be some problems in migrating millions of customers over to a new streaming platform. A Warner Bros. Discovery rep declined to specify how widespread the issues that users are encountering may be. The May 23 conversion from HBO Max to Max covers only the U.S.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Max, Warner Bros. Discovery’s bulked-up and revamped streaming service that takes the place of HBO Max, makes it U.S. debut on Wednesday (May 23). Max makes several subtle enhancements aimed at making the service easier to use and more engaging — while execs say it should also be more stable than HBO Max. According to the company, a “large portion” of HBO Max subscribers will have their apps automatically updated to Max — while in some cases, users will be prompted to download an updated Max app. If all goes as planned, HBO Max subscribers will have their previous plan (including their username, password and billing information), profiles, avatars, and settings including “Continue Watching” and “My List” items migrated over to the new Max.