Month: July 2023

Cord Cutting killing more Cable TV Networks

CompuScoop Staff July 11, 2023 0

For years, home shopping networks have been a foundation of cable networks since they started in the mid 1980s. But, as more baby boomers switch from cable to streaming, the foundation seems to be cracking right under their feet. But, as Cord Cutters News reports, baby boomers maybe changing the landscape for shopping networks.

One such network is iMedia Brands, which owns the shopping channel ShopHQ, which recently filed for bankruptcy in Delaware. iMedia Brands had been counting on the baby boomer generation to build up revenue since 2019, though the strategy didn’t pan out as planned.

Europe is also reporting a decline in home shopping networks. Home Shopping Europe is the second-largest TV shopping network in Germany and has also seen a rapid decline in viewership, resulting in a 41 percent drop in value since April of 2021.

“It’s just not the way people consume media anymore,” said equity analyst Oliver Wintermantel of Evercore ISI as reported by Bloomberg.

With so many other shopping options – such as Amazon – competing with home shopping networks, the channels simply aren’t getting the viewing numbers they need to stay afloat and leaving them wondering what the future of home shopping networks will look like if it even continues to exist much longer.

QVC and HSN have already ventured into the streaming world, trying to meet audiences where they are instead of trying to stick to linear television broadcasts. QVC+ and HSN+ are available now on Mozi, Frndly TV, Hulu Live, DIRECTV STREAM, YouTube TV, Roku, Amazon Freevee, and more. The channels also include more programming focusing directly on topics of interest to people over 50 to further drive up interest in QVC and HSN’s channels. Another perk? The streaming services are free.

Meeting audiences where they’re at instead of trying to entice audiences to keep a costly cable package is a better long-term plan for shopping networks. The networks are smart to keep up with the trends instead of sticking to strictly cable, which is quickly becoming a digital ghost town.

Via: Cord Cutters News

 Apple News announces return of After the Whistle

Apple Inc July 10, 2023 0

Apple News announces return of After the Whistle with Brendan Hunt and Rebecca Lowe podcastSecond season of After the Whistle follows the Women’s World Cup tournament

Today Apple News announced the hit podcast After the Whistle with Brendan Hunt and Rebecca Lowe will return for a second season, presented by State Farm, bringing listeners around the world complete coverage of the 2023 Women’s World Cup tournament. Throughout the season, cohosts Brendan Hunt — actor and cocreator of the Emmy Award-winning Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso, in which he plays Coach Beard — and Rebecca Lowe — the iconic host of NBC Sports’ Premier League coverage for the past 10 seasons — will recap the most exciting moments of the tournament; break down key plays, wins, upsets, and off-field moments; and be joined by a slate of special guests.

Listen to the trailer for the new season of After the Whistle now in Apple News and Apple Podcasts, and follow the show to stay up to date on every episode during the World Cup tournament.

“We’re so proud that After the Whistle will be back for another season to bring listeners all the action from the World Cup this summer,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services. “Brendan and Rebecca’s passion and excitement for the game is unmatched, and we can’t wait for fans around the world to tune in.”

Produced by Apple News, the first episode of After the Whistle will premiere in Apple News and Apple Podcasts on July 19 to preview the tournament, which begins July 20. New episodes will be available multiple times per week in the hours following momentous games, all available for free in Apple News for users in the U.S. and in Apple Podcasts for users in 101 countries and regions.

After the Whistle launched last year, covering all the action of the men’s World Cup tournament and the excitement of its many historic moments. The show featured many special guests weighing in throughout the tournament, including Ted Lasso’s Jason Sudeikis and Brett Goldstein, Glennon Doyle and Abby Wambach, Steve Kerr, Seth Meyers, and Steve Nash.

Fans can find and follow their favorite teams in Apple News to keep up with all the happenings throughout the tournament, and automatically sync with the Apple TV app to watch games.

Fans in the U.S. and Canada can visit the Sports section of the Apple TV app from July 20 to August 20 to watch all the action from the Women’s World Cup. From the Apple TV app, fans can also click to watch matches in English on FOX Sports or in Spanish on Peacock.¹

About Apple News Apple News offers millions of people in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia access to quality journalism from a variety of top publications, curated by its team of editors, and is the most used news app in the countries where it is available. Apple News recently introduced a new Sports tab, for users to easily follow their favorite teams and leagues; receive stories from hundreds of top publishers; access scores, schedules, and standings for the top professional and college leagues; and watch highlights right in the News app.

CNN: Mark Zuckerberg concealed his kids’ faces on Instagram. Should you?

CompuScoop Staff July 10, 2023 0

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="592"] Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg with his family on July 4 2023.[/caption]

(CNN) — When Mark Zuckerberg shared a photo on Instagram of his family on July 4, two things stuck out: the billionaire CEO wore a striped souvenir cowboy hat, and the faces of his children were replaced with happy face emojis.

Zuckerberg’s post was promptly criticized by some who saw the decision to obscure the faces as a reflection of his privacy concerns for sharing pictures of his children online, despite his creating massive platforms that allow millions of other parents to do just that.

Meta, Instagram’s parent company, has long been scrutinized over how it handles user privacy and for the way its algorithms can be used to lead young users down potentially harmful rabbit holes.

But the choice also highlights a broader trend among some social media users, and particularly among high-profile individuals, to be more cautious in sharing identifiable pictures of their children online.

For years, celebrities from Kristen Bell and Gigi Hadid to Chris Pratt and Orlando Bloom have been blurring images or using emojis to help protect their kids’ privacy on social media. Zuckerberg, too, had previously posted pictures of the back of his daughters’ heads and their side profiles rather than showing their entire faces.

It’s more rare for everyday users to take a similar approach — but perhaps it shouldn’t be.

“By modeling for us that he was careful not to share his family’s location or childrens’ identities, he may be communicating that it is the end users’ responsibility to protect themselves online,” said Alexandra Hamlet, a New York City-based psychologist who closely follows the impact of social media on young users.

Meta did not respond to a request for comment.

Few things are as central to the parenting experience as showing numerous, possibly embarrassing, pictures of your children with anyone who will stop and look. But over the years, a growing number of parents and experts have raised concerns about the risks of sharing these pictures on social media, including the possibility of exposing kids to identify theft and facial recognition technology, as well as creating an internet history that could follow them into adulthood.

Some parents choose to either restrict how much they share about their kids or limit sharing to less public platforms. Others adopt more clever hacks like obscuring their children’s faces.

Leah Plunkett, author of “Sharenthood” and associate dean of learning experience and innovation (LXI) at Harvard Law School, said blocking a child’s face is a symbol that you’re giving them control over their own narrative.

“Every time you post about your kids, you are chipping away at allowing them to tell their own stories about who they are and who they want to become,” she said. “We grow up making mischief and more than a few mistakes and grow up better having made them. If we lose the privacy of teens and kids to play and explore, and to live and through trial and error, we will deprive them of the ability to develop and tell stories [on their own terms].”

Noticeably, Zuckerberg did not obscure the face of his infant daughter, which might suggest less concern with the risks for a baby’s face than a young child. However, Plunkett said artificial intelligence technology can be used to trace a face’s changes over time and may still be able to later connect any child, even a baby, to an image of them when older.

Plunkett believes social media companies can do more, such as offering a setting that automatically blurs kids’ faces or prevents any picture with a child from being used for marketing or advertising purposes.

For now, however, the onus remains on parents to limit or abstain sharing photos of their kids online.

“It’s not just parents – grandparents, coaches, teachers and other trusted adults should also keep kids out of photos and videos to protect their privacy, safety, future and current opportunities, and their ability to figure out their own story about themselves and for themselves,” she said.

Via: CNN.com

QVC & HSN launch shopping channel on Freevee

Dan Uff July 10, 2023 0

Online shoppers can now get QVC & HSN for free via the FreeVee Streaming Service app. The shopping networks will be streaming their content live 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The channels are available now.