4 Entertainment Stocks to Buy Ahead of Christmas

December 3, 2019 | 188 views

Investors who wish to make the most of the upcoming Christmas holiday season should consider investing in companies that offer entertainment services. After all, as the festive season picks up pace, more Americans will opt to take a break and engage in leisure activities. In addition, a low-interest rate environment and rise in personal income make it ideal for consumers to splurge this month. The music industry has been booming in recent years. After all, the streaming service offerings of Apple Inc. AAPL and Spotify Technology S.A. SPOT have given a new direction to music companies by limiting setbacks such as the piracy of music and declining sales of physical products.

Spotlight

InVivo Media Group

New privately-held 360 brand & business amplification company including live music promotion, talent commercial partnership development and strategic media consulting with primary focus on the U.S. Latino & Latin American marketplaces. INVIVO Media Group has three vision pillars: scale music talent and sports content to new fans across the world, create premium live music experiences and content platforms, as well as drive media industry prioritization of and investment in U.S. Latino and Latin American talent and consumers.

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Technologies

Microsoft’s xCloud game streaming arrives on iOS with some Apple restrictions

Article | February 14, 2022

Microsoft is expanding its Project xCloud service to the iPhone today. The software giant is launching a beta of xCloud through Apple’s TestFlight service, allowing xCloud testers to try the service on an iPhone or iPad. It’s the first time we’ve seen a cloud game streaming service appear on iOS since the days of OnLive — and OnLive’s iOS app wound up in limbo when Apple didn’t approve it. Google’s Stadia and Nvidia’s GeForce Now are still not available on Apple’s devices, either, and neither company has been able to tell us when that might change.

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Solutions, Business

Apple's AR & VR headset may not need external input for orientation & motion detection

Article | July 7, 2022

Apple is continuing to investigate headsets like its "AR Glasses," as part of its exploration of Augmented and Virtual Reality systems. One such headset in future may utilize sensors that can detect angular rotation, such as that experienced when the device is placed on a user's head or removed. "[It] may be beneficial for the VR headset to be able to detect when a head-worn device (e.g., headset, eyeglasses, headphones, etc.) is being removed from the user's head, is being placed on the user's head, or both," says Apple in US Patent No. 10,557,724, "Angle detection of a rotating system using a single magnet and multiple hall sensors."

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Technologies, Business

Game On: These Entertainment Stocks Hit New Levels

Article | July 20, 2022

Some Chinese entertainment stocks listed in the U.S. got a boost last week after the People Bank of China (PBOC) said it would pump $173 billion into the economy. Since news of the report from Beijing hit the street, one of the biggest gainers was Chinese gaming giant NetEase Inc. (Nasdaq: NTES) NetEase, a partner of California-based Blizzard Entertainment in China, traded as low as $317.48 per American depositary share within the last couple of weeks, and soared as high as $347.95 apiece last week. NetEase rolled out its international presence in recent years in Japan and North America, lowering its China dependency.

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The Future of Tech: Gaming Consoles, the Xbox and PlayStation of Tomorrow

Article | February 10, 2020

Consoles have come a very long way since the arrival of first-generation machines from Atari and Coleco in the seventies. Even the original PlayStation (1994) and Xbox (2001) look dated compared to the 4K/HDR-capable machines of today, and that divide will grow even larger once the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X arrive at the end of 2020. But what about the future? More than once console makers have tried to break new ground, by focusing on functionality beyond gaming, but for the most part those attempts have failed. Nintendo has found the most success with specialized hardware that still focuses on games first, while Sony and Microsoft have seemingly understood that building powerful general purpose machines that are akin to PCs is their best and safest bet.

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Spotlight

InVivo Media Group

New privately-held 360 brand & business amplification company including live music promotion, talent commercial partnership development and strategic media consulting with primary focus on the U.S. Latino & Latin American marketplaces. INVIVO Media Group has three vision pillars: scale music talent and sports content to new fans across the world, create premium live music experiences and content platforms, as well as drive media industry prioritization of and investment in U.S. Latino and Latin American talent and consumers.

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Solutions

IMAX and Prime Focus Technologies (PFT) expand strategic relationship into the streaming ecosystem

Media and Entertainment | September 14, 2023

Entertainment technology industry leader IMAX Corporation® (NYSE: IMAX) and PFT, the creator of AI-powered technology solutions for the Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry, today announced plans to expand their strategic relationship beyond theatrical and into the streaming ecosystem. Under the arrangement, IMAX will expand access to its Stream Smart™ technology to PFT customers across Europe, Asia, and Australia. The expanded partnership will dramatically increase the global availability of Stream Smart™, which helps streaming platforms deliver maximum picture quality while significantly reducing distribution and storage costs. "We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with IMAX, an industry trailblazer with a remarkable legacy of revolutionizing the global entertainment industry," said Ramki Sankaranarayanan, Global CEO of PFT. "For over a decade, CLEAR®, our flagship product, has spearheaded digital packaging and delivery services for prominent streaming platforms worldwide. CLEAR® & Stream Smart will help optimize our customers' encoding pipeline, so they deliver better streaming quality while optimizing CDN & storage costs." "Many of Hollywood's biggest streaming platforms use Stream Smart™ to ensure quality and reduce costs, and we're excited to work with our partners at PFT to extend the reach of our technologies throughout key markets in Europe, Asia, and Australia," said Vikram Arumilli, General Manager of Streaming and Consumer Technology at IMAX. "Our suite of streaming technology products, including Stream Smart™, provides a best-in-class service for direct-to-consumer broadcast and streaming companies, and PFT's' ability to leverage this for their customers is a win-win for both organizations." PFT and its parent company, DNEG, are industry leaders providing a full suite of technology and creative solutions, including IMAX post-production and 3D mastering. IMAX and DNEG joined forces in 2022 for post-production, which included Indian films like Jawan, Pathaan, and RRR. This extended partnership will build upon the established theatrical relationship between IMAX and DNEG to develop a comprehensive video optimization solution. Stream Smart™ is an enterprise software product designed to deliver the best image quality and optimize delivery to unlock cost savings. This product was built from cutting-edge scientific advancements, state-of-the-art engineering, trusted studio relationships, and rooted in a real-world at-scale Emmy®-winning collaboration with Disney Streaming Services and SSIMWAVE. Stream Smart™ will be the centerpiece of the IMAX showcase at IBC 2023. Sign up to meet with PFT and IMAX Streaming & Consumer Technology group at IBC: About IMAX Corporation IMAX, an innovator in entertainment technology, combines proprietary software, architecture, and equipment to create experiences that take you beyond the edge of your seat to a world you've never imagined. Top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX systems to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, making IMAX's network among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe. IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto, and Los Angeles, with additional offices in London, Dublin, Tokyo, and Shanghai. As of June 30, 2023, there were 1,718 IMAX systems (1,638 commercial multiplexes, 12 commercial destinations, 68 institutional) operating in 87 countries and territories. Shares of IMAX China Holding, Inc., a subsidiary of IMAX Corporation, trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code "1970." About Prime Focus Technologies Prime Focus Technologies (PFT) is the creator of CLEAR® and CLEAR® AI. It offers streaming platforms, studios, and broadcasters transformational AI-led technology and media services powered by the cloud that help them lower their Total Cost of Operations (TCOP) by automating their content supply chain. PFT works with major companies like Walt Disney-owned Star TV, Channel 4, ITV, Sinclair Broadcast Group, A&E Networks, Warner Media, PBS, CBS Television Studios, 20th Century Fox Television Studios, Lionsgate, Showtime, HBO, NBCU, TERN International, Disney+ Hotstar, BCCI, Indian Premier League and more. About DNEG DNEG (www.dneg.com) is a world-leading visual entertainment services company for the creation of feature film, television, and multiplatform content, with worldwide offices and studios across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. DNEG's critically acclaimed work has earned the company seven Academy Awards® for Best Visual Effects and numerous BAFTA and Primetime EMMY® Awards for its high-quality VFX work. Current and upcoming DNEG projects on behalf of its Hollywood and global studio and production company partners include Spy Kids Armageddon (September 2023), No One Will Save You (September 2023), The Gilded Age S2 (October 2023), Nyad (November 2023), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 2023), Lift (January 2024), Dune: Part Two (March 2024), Mickey 17 (March 2024), Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (April 2024), Garfield (May 2024), Borderlands (August 2024), Furiosa (2024), That Christmas, Coyote vs. Acme, The Gorge, and Animal Friends.

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Media and Broadcasting

Bouygues Telecom Unveils its Selection of Kaltura to Power Next-Generation TV Service

Kaltura | September 12, 2023

Kaltura, the Video Experience Cloud, announced today that leading French multiservice provider Bouygues Telecom, with over 4.8 million subscribers, has unveiled its selection of Kaltura’s technology to power its next-generation IPTV and OTT digital TV service. Bouygues Telecom chose Kaltura’s proven Cloud TV technology as the foundation for its TV service. The next-generation TV service will be powered by Kaltura’s cloud-based TV Platform providing content, service, subscriber, household, and offer management. Bouygues Telecom is set to migrate its existing TV service from an on-prem deployment to a cloud-based operation. This move will enable the next-generation TV service to leverage the agility and interactivity of the cloud alongside broadcast-grade scalability and resilience, while also reducing service complexity and costs. “We are thrilled to have been selected as the vendor of choice by Bouygues Telecom, a truly premium service provider,” said Shuki Eytan, General Manager Media & Telecom at Kaltura. “By embracing today’s Cloud TV, which combines the best of IPTV and OTT, telcos can embark on the digital transformation that enables them to provide leading-edge offerings. We very much look forward to finish implementing and launching an advanced, next-generation TV platform to Bouygues Telecom that enables the operator to successfully pursue its TV content strategy, and to deliver a next-level entertainment offering to France’s consumers and partners.” Bouygues Telecom relies on CommScope’s telecommunications expertise to integrate and roll out the project to Bouygues Telecom. "We're delighted to be working together with Kaltura to deliver a leading-edge technology platform that will help Bouygues Telecom provide an advanced next-gen video entertainment service to subscribers," said Ray Bontempi, VP, Product Management ANS at CommScope. Kaltura's TV platform will support Bouygues Telecom in its TV content and services strategy. The operator will be able to offer its subscribers an advanced service that brings together popular multimedia content from its partners, seamlessly combining the operator's own content with multiple third-party services to create a customer-centric offering that is both compelling and personalised. Jean Paul ARZEL, Chief Technical Officer at Bouygues Telecom said: “We are developing our next-generation TV service to offer an attractive and best-in-class experience, providing agility and efficiency to integrate new services, with systems and functionalities that are always up-to-date.” Moving traditional on-premise functions and infrastructure to the cloud enables the operator to be more flexible, to adapt, and to embrace media evolution, while optimizing network and other resource management. Bouygues Telecom joins operators around the globe that have turned to Kaltura, with its extensive Cloud TV know-how and array of state-of-the-art solutions, to help with their super-aggregation journey. About Kaltura Kaltura’s mission is to power any video experience for any organization. Our Video Experience Cloud offers live, real-time, and on-demand video products for enterprises of all industries, as well as specialized industry solutions, currently for educational institutions and for media and telecom companies. Underlying our products and solutions is a broad set of Media Services that are also used by other cloud platforms and companies to power video experiences and workflows for their own products. Kaltura’s Video Experience Cloud is used by leading brands reaching millions of users, at home, at school and at work, for events, communication, collaboration, training, marketing, sales, customer care, teaching, learning, and entertainment experiences.

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Technologies

The CW Network and Gray Television Expand and Extend Affiliation Partnership

businesswire | September 01, 2023

The CW Network (The CW) today announced that it has expanded and extended its network affiliation agreement with Gray Television, Inc. (Gray). Gray will continue carrying The CW’s entertainment and sports programming on television stations in a total of 55 markets across the country, 42 of which are covered under the terms of the new agreement and 13 of which are covered by previous agreements with the network. In addition, beginning September 2, Gray will launch The CW on PeachtreeTV (WPCH-TV) in Atlanta, Georgia. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. “Gray Television has been a great partner of The CW from the beginning,” said Dennis Miller, President of The CW Network. “We look forward to sharing more success together as we transform and grow the network and add WPCH-TV to The CW’s expanding portfolio of affiliate partners. Atlanta is an important market for the CW, especially with ACC football and basketball debuting this Fall and NASCAR’s Xfinity Series racing coming in 2025.” About The CW Network The CW Network, LLC is one of America’s major broadcast networks and reaches 100% of US television households. The CW delivers 14 hours of primetime entertainment programming per week in addition to over 300 hours of sports per year as the broadcast home to LIV Golf, ACC football and basketball games, and the NASCAR Xfinity Series beginning in 2025. The fully ad-supported CW App, with more than 96 million downloads to date, is available for free to consumers on all major platforms and is home to the latest episodes and seasons of The CW’s primetime programming, live streaming of LIV Golf tournaments and a library of entertaining film and television content for on-demand viewing. The CW is 75%-owned by Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST), a leading diversified media company and largest CW affiliate group with 37 CW affiliates, covering 32% of the population.

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Solutions

IMAX and Prime Focus Technologies (PFT) expand strategic relationship into the streaming ecosystem

Media and Entertainment | September 14, 2023

Entertainment technology industry leader IMAX Corporation® (NYSE: IMAX) and PFT, the creator of AI-powered technology solutions for the Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry, today announced plans to expand their strategic relationship beyond theatrical and into the streaming ecosystem. Under the arrangement, IMAX will expand access to its Stream Smart™ technology to PFT customers across Europe, Asia, and Australia. The expanded partnership will dramatically increase the global availability of Stream Smart™, which helps streaming platforms deliver maximum picture quality while significantly reducing distribution and storage costs. "We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with IMAX, an industry trailblazer with a remarkable legacy of revolutionizing the global entertainment industry," said Ramki Sankaranarayanan, Global CEO of PFT. "For over a decade, CLEAR®, our flagship product, has spearheaded digital packaging and delivery services for prominent streaming platforms worldwide. CLEAR® & Stream Smart will help optimize our customers' encoding pipeline, so they deliver better streaming quality while optimizing CDN & storage costs." "Many of Hollywood's biggest streaming platforms use Stream Smart™ to ensure quality and reduce costs, and we're excited to work with our partners at PFT to extend the reach of our technologies throughout key markets in Europe, Asia, and Australia," said Vikram Arumilli, General Manager of Streaming and Consumer Technology at IMAX. "Our suite of streaming technology products, including Stream Smart™, provides a best-in-class service for direct-to-consumer broadcast and streaming companies, and PFT's' ability to leverage this for their customers is a win-win for both organizations." PFT and its parent company, DNEG, are industry leaders providing a full suite of technology and creative solutions, including IMAX post-production and 3D mastering. IMAX and DNEG joined forces in 2022 for post-production, which included Indian films like Jawan, Pathaan, and RRR. This extended partnership will build upon the established theatrical relationship between IMAX and DNEG to develop a comprehensive video optimization solution. Stream Smart™ is an enterprise software product designed to deliver the best image quality and optimize delivery to unlock cost savings. This product was built from cutting-edge scientific advancements, state-of-the-art engineering, trusted studio relationships, and rooted in a real-world at-scale Emmy®-winning collaboration with Disney Streaming Services and SSIMWAVE. Stream Smart™ will be the centerpiece of the IMAX showcase at IBC 2023. Sign up to meet with PFT and IMAX Streaming & Consumer Technology group at IBC: About IMAX Corporation IMAX, an innovator in entertainment technology, combines proprietary software, architecture, and equipment to create experiences that take you beyond the edge of your seat to a world you've never imagined. Top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX systems to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, making IMAX's network among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe. IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto, and Los Angeles, with additional offices in London, Dublin, Tokyo, and Shanghai. As of June 30, 2023, there were 1,718 IMAX systems (1,638 commercial multiplexes, 12 commercial destinations, 68 institutional) operating in 87 countries and territories. Shares of IMAX China Holding, Inc., a subsidiary of IMAX Corporation, trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code "1970." About Prime Focus Technologies Prime Focus Technologies (PFT) is the creator of CLEAR® and CLEAR® AI. It offers streaming platforms, studios, and broadcasters transformational AI-led technology and media services powered by the cloud that help them lower their Total Cost of Operations (TCOP) by automating their content supply chain. PFT works with major companies like Walt Disney-owned Star TV, Channel 4, ITV, Sinclair Broadcast Group, A&E Networks, Warner Media, PBS, CBS Television Studios, 20th Century Fox Television Studios, Lionsgate, Showtime, HBO, NBCU, TERN International, Disney+ Hotstar, BCCI, Indian Premier League and more. About DNEG DNEG (www.dneg.com) is a world-leading visual entertainment services company for the creation of feature film, television, and multiplatform content, with worldwide offices and studios across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. DNEG's critically acclaimed work has earned the company seven Academy Awards® for Best Visual Effects and numerous BAFTA and Primetime EMMY® Awards for its high-quality VFX work. Current and upcoming DNEG projects on behalf of its Hollywood and global studio and production company partners include Spy Kids Armageddon (September 2023), No One Will Save You (September 2023), The Gilded Age S2 (October 2023), Nyad (November 2023), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 2023), Lift (January 2024), Dune: Part Two (March 2024), Mickey 17 (March 2024), Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (April 2024), Garfield (May 2024), Borderlands (August 2024), Furiosa (2024), That Christmas, Coyote vs. Acme, The Gorge, and Animal Friends.

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Media and Broadcasting

Bouygues Telecom Unveils its Selection of Kaltura to Power Next-Generation TV Service

Kaltura | September 12, 2023

Kaltura, the Video Experience Cloud, announced today that leading French multiservice provider Bouygues Telecom, with over 4.8 million subscribers, has unveiled its selection of Kaltura’s technology to power its next-generation IPTV and OTT digital TV service. Bouygues Telecom chose Kaltura’s proven Cloud TV technology as the foundation for its TV service. The next-generation TV service will be powered by Kaltura’s cloud-based TV Platform providing content, service, subscriber, household, and offer management. Bouygues Telecom is set to migrate its existing TV service from an on-prem deployment to a cloud-based operation. This move will enable the next-generation TV service to leverage the agility and interactivity of the cloud alongside broadcast-grade scalability and resilience, while also reducing service complexity and costs. “We are thrilled to have been selected as the vendor of choice by Bouygues Telecom, a truly premium service provider,” said Shuki Eytan, General Manager Media & Telecom at Kaltura. “By embracing today’s Cloud TV, which combines the best of IPTV and OTT, telcos can embark on the digital transformation that enables them to provide leading-edge offerings. We very much look forward to finish implementing and launching an advanced, next-generation TV platform to Bouygues Telecom that enables the operator to successfully pursue its TV content strategy, and to deliver a next-level entertainment offering to France’s consumers and partners.” Bouygues Telecom relies on CommScope’s telecommunications expertise to integrate and roll out the project to Bouygues Telecom. "We're delighted to be working together with Kaltura to deliver a leading-edge technology platform that will help Bouygues Telecom provide an advanced next-gen video entertainment service to subscribers," said Ray Bontempi, VP, Product Management ANS at CommScope. Kaltura's TV platform will support Bouygues Telecom in its TV content and services strategy. The operator will be able to offer its subscribers an advanced service that brings together popular multimedia content from its partners, seamlessly combining the operator's own content with multiple third-party services to create a customer-centric offering that is both compelling and personalised. Jean Paul ARZEL, Chief Technical Officer at Bouygues Telecom said: “We are developing our next-generation TV service to offer an attractive and best-in-class experience, providing agility and efficiency to integrate new services, with systems and functionalities that are always up-to-date.” Moving traditional on-premise functions and infrastructure to the cloud enables the operator to be more flexible, to adapt, and to embrace media evolution, while optimizing network and other resource management. Bouygues Telecom joins operators around the globe that have turned to Kaltura, with its extensive Cloud TV know-how and array of state-of-the-art solutions, to help with their super-aggregation journey. About Kaltura Kaltura’s mission is to power any video experience for any organization. Our Video Experience Cloud offers live, real-time, and on-demand video products for enterprises of all industries, as well as specialized industry solutions, currently for educational institutions and for media and telecom companies. Underlying our products and solutions is a broad set of Media Services that are also used by other cloud platforms and companies to power video experiences and workflows for their own products. Kaltura’s Video Experience Cloud is used by leading brands reaching millions of users, at home, at school and at work, for events, communication, collaboration, training, marketing, sales, customer care, teaching, learning, and entertainment experiences.

Read More

Technologies

The CW Network and Gray Television Expand and Extend Affiliation Partnership

businesswire | September 01, 2023

The CW Network (The CW) today announced that it has expanded and extended its network affiliation agreement with Gray Television, Inc. (Gray). Gray will continue carrying The CW’s entertainment and sports programming on television stations in a total of 55 markets across the country, 42 of which are covered under the terms of the new agreement and 13 of which are covered by previous agreements with the network. In addition, beginning September 2, Gray will launch The CW on PeachtreeTV (WPCH-TV) in Atlanta, Georgia. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. “Gray Television has been a great partner of The CW from the beginning,” said Dennis Miller, President of The CW Network. “We look forward to sharing more success together as we transform and grow the network and add WPCH-TV to The CW’s expanding portfolio of affiliate partners. Atlanta is an important market for the CW, especially with ACC football and basketball debuting this Fall and NASCAR’s Xfinity Series racing coming in 2025.” About The CW Network The CW Network, LLC is one of America’s major broadcast networks and reaches 100% of US television households. The CW delivers 14 hours of primetime entertainment programming per week in addition to over 300 hours of sports per year as the broadcast home to LIV Golf, ACC football and basketball games, and the NASCAR Xfinity Series beginning in 2025. The fully ad-supported CW App, with more than 96 million downloads to date, is available for free to consumers on all major platforms and is home to the latest episodes and seasons of The CW’s primetime programming, live streaming of LIV Golf tournaments and a library of entertaining film and television content for on-demand viewing. The CW is 75%-owned by Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST), a leading diversified media company and largest CW affiliate group with 37 CW affiliates, covering 32% of the population.

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