Items tagged with YouTube
YouTube Premium is the paid version of the ever-popular YouTube streaming service that offers ad-free and background playback of videos and music along with offline downloads. A new offer page has been seen by some YouTube Premium subscribers that offers paying viewers one free channel membership per month. Channel memberships are a way for fans to support the creators they like. The channel member subscriptions start at $4.99 per month, while some of the creators offer different levels that cost additional money. A paid subscriptions give access to things like member-only videos, streams, community posts, or live chats along with custom channel badges and emoji. The first signs of the new channel...
Read more...
Activision Blizzard and Google have announced a multi-year strategic relationship that will see Google Cloud services as the preferred provider for Activision Blizzard's game hosting infrastructure. YouTube will act as the exclusive streaming partner globally, excluding China, for live broadcasts of Activision Blizzard's popular eSports leagues and events. Activision Blizzard says that it sought a partner to help enhance its gaming infrastructure while delivering superior, low-latency player experiences. It says it turned to Google Cloud because of its highly reliable global footprint, advanced data analytics, and AI capabilities. Benefits for players under the new arrangement include low...
Read more...
YouTube has included long-standing restrictions for video that has violent gaming footage. YouTube has now announced that it will change its guidelines to allow it to be more permissive in allowing depictions of violence in video games. The caveat is that the violence can't be the sole focus of the video. The rule change started on December 2 with YouTube stating that on that date, scripted or simulated violent content found in video games will be treated the same as scripted content in TV or movies. YouTube announced the change in its policies on Twitter, noting that it had heard gamers "loud and clear" that its policies needed to change. Gaming Creators: We’ve heard loud and clear that...
Read more...
Amazon and Google have settled their spat that has been going on for over a year now. YouTube was pulled from Amazon Fire TV devices back in late 2017. Google pulled YouTube from Fire TV devices in part because of Amazon's business practices that involved not selling Google products like Chromecast and not offering Prime Video for Chromecast users. Things have turned around, and the spat is now over with Google announcing the availability of Prime Video on Chromecast and Android TV. Google says that YouTube is also back on Fire TV devices; the apps are on both platforms starting today. Google brags that Chromecast and Chromecast built-in users now have access to over 2,000 apps for...
Read more...
Summer is here, which means that many children around the country are out of school and waiting for September to roll around to get back into the daily grind. With this in mind, there are lots of students, teachers, and folks on vacation who want something to watch on those long, hot, lazy summer days. If you are a cord cutter finding something to watch can be a challenge, but YouTube TV subscribers have something to binge on. YouTube TV has announced that it is giving away months of free Showtime to subscribers. That will give you plenty of time to binge on Ray Donovan, Billions, and other shows and movies the premium cable network offers. It's not clear right now if all YouTube TV subscribers...
Read more...
There was plenty of applause and copious cheers at Apple's WWDC event earlier this week, where it unveiled several OS updates, a burly refresh of its Mac Pro, and a fancy 6K monitor. Apple also announced a $999 Pro Stand, but to a different reaction—boos and groans swept over previously excited developers in attendance. In the aftermath of the event, it seems Apple is seeking to silence YouTubers who focus on that particular part of the keynote. Some videos on YouTube that highlighted the boos and groans have been taken offline. It appears as though Apple has been sending takedown requests to YouTube, on the basis of copyright infringement. We can't recall Apple ever doing this before,...
Read more...
If you've ever questioned your financial worth or how much you're making at your current job, you might want to stop reading at this point. A new report is detailing just how much the world's top streamers can earn for a few hours of streaming, and it is a staggering amount. The report from the Wall Street Journal claims that some of the top game publishers like Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard and Take-Two are paying streamers upwards of $50,000 to stream. And no, we're not talking about $50,000 for a week's or even day's worth or work. Instead, these companies are paying $50,000 per hour. Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins These publishers are counting on the huge followings...
Read more...
Google and Amazon have long feuded when it comes to their streaming offerings, which means that users beholden to each respective platform have needlessly suffered. As a result of the tech giant squabbling, Fire TV users have been without the YouTube app since late 2017, while the Prime Video app has been missing from the Google Chromecast. However, the two companies today officially announced a truce. Google's YouTube app will now be available on Fire TV streaming devices and Fire TV Edition Smart TVs. Likewise, Amazon's Prime Video app will be accessible on Android TV, Chromecast and devices that have integrated Chromecast capabilities. But it doesn't end there. It has also been revealed...
Read more...
When YouTube TV launched at a price of $35/month, it was seen as a breath of fresh air in the streaming TV market. The service offers live programming (including local network channels) that can be streamed from just about any device, and includes Cloud DVR functionality. However, the $35 monthly price rose to $40 in March 2018, and now Google is instituting another price increase for YouTube TV. Effective immediately for new customers, YouTube TV subscriptions will cost $50 per month. A $15/month increase in two years sounds like something that we’re used to from Big Cable, and not more lithe competitors in the streaming world, but here we are. And we’ve...
Read more...
Could YouTube partly be responsible for the increase in “flat earthers”? Researchers have discovered that many flat earthers were persuaded by YouTube videos. Many of these videos had been recommended or promoted by YouTube’s algorithm. A “flat earther” is a person who believes that the earth is a flat plane or disc instead of a sphere. Many ancient civilizations including the Greeks, Egyptians, and Mesopotamians held this belief and incorporated the theory into their cosmology. Although modern scientists have concluded that the earth is a sphere, the flat earth theory never truly disappeared. The theory has recently gained popularity thanks to social media. Dr....
Read more...
Following its initial launch in select markers back in 2017, Google has announced that its YouTube TV streaming service is now launching nationwide today. YouTube TV is up against a number of big players in the market including DirecTV Now, Sling TV, and Hulu + Live TV. This market expansion should make the service appealing to even more Americans at a $40/month price point. Google says that YouTube TV is now available in the top 95 markets, as of today, and that 98% of households in the U.S. are covered. The remainder of the people not covered today will get coverage "shortly thereafter" today's nationwide launch. The benefit of YouTube TV is that it allows users to watch feeds...
Read more...
When the average American likely thinks of a hardcore gamer, they likely picture some nerdy kid with a beard and a ponytail living in his mom's basement. However, the world of professional Ninja, aka Tyler Blevins, is a 27-year-old Fortnite beast that has not only helped to popularize the incredibly prolific game, but has amassed a huge following on his two social media platforms of choice: YouTube and Twitch. On YouTube, has nearly 21 million subscribers. On Twitch, he has 12.8 million followers. Ninja’s “street cred” skyrocketed back in March 2018 when he teamed up with rapper Drake for a Twitch live stream. That stream broke records at the time with over 660,000...
Read more...
Yesterday, a story critical of Google was making the rounds purported to be from a former intern that worked on the Microsoft Edge team. Joshua Bakita detailed one particular instance in which Google allegedly altered site code to make Google apps/website either not render properly or perform poorly on competing browsers. "For example, they recently added a hidden empty div over YouTube videos that causes our hardware acceleration fast-path to bail," wrote Bakita. "Prior to that, our fairly state-of-the-art video acceleration put us well ahead of Chrome on video playback time on battery, but almost the instant they broke things on YouTube, they started advertising Chrome's dominance...
Read more...
YouTube has been pushing its upscale YouTube Music and YouTube Premium services since it hacked YouTube Red into two parts last May. The streaming video giant is now reaching out to students by offering lower-cost subscription plans to YouTube Music Premium and YouTube Premium; both are ad-free streaming services. Under the new payment plans, Students can get YouTube Music Premium for $4.99 per month, a discount of $5 monthly. YouTube Premium will cost students $6.99 per month rather than the $11.99 monthly rate it charged before. Students that sign up before January 31, 2019, can get YouTube Premium for $5.99 per month pricing locked in for four years. For those unfamiliar with YouTube...
Read more...
