Author: Valentina Palladino

Another online TV bundle could be hitting the market as soon as next year, and this one may have big TV networks behind it. According to The Wall Street Journal, Disney and 20th Century Fox are close to making a deal with Hulu to license channels and content for a new digital TV service that could be available in early 2017.

Disney and Fox are co-owners of Hulu, so it makes sense that they would partner up with the online streaming platform over the likes of Amazon or Netflix. The unnamed service would stream live TV from popular channels including ABC, ESPN, Fox, and the Disney Channel, as well as archived content from the networks involved. While the Comcast-owned NBCUniversal is also a co-owner of Hulu, it has not agreed to license any network content to the new service.

Reports also suggest that the service may include a "cloud-based digital video recorder" for watching previously aired shows on-demand. While no price information has been given, the service is expected to run about $40 per month to compete with similar TV bundles from companies like Dish's Sling TV ($20 per month) and Sony's Playstation Vue (starting at $30 per month).

Entertainment company Rovi announced that it has officially acquired DVR maker TiVo in a deal worth $1.1 billion. Rovi will pay for the deal mostly in stock at $10.70 per share, with approximately $277 million to be paid in cash at $2.75 per share. Rovi's CEO Tom Carson will continue to run the company, although it will now assume the "iconic TiVo brand" as its name.

The deal seems to be centered on patents. According to The New York Times, Rovi's interactive TV program guides account for less than half of its $526 million revenue last year, while the rest is made up of its licensed intellectual property. TiVo made a name for itself with its DVR technology, but the patents that make its DVR hardware and software work are proving to be more valuable. Together, Rovi and TiVo have over 6,000 patents issued and pending in the digital entertainment space.

"Rovi’s acquisition of TiVo, with its innovative products, talented team, and substantial intellectual property portfolio, strengthens Rovi’s position as a global leader in media discovery, metadata, analytics, and IP licensing,” Carson said in a statement. “It’s an exciting time as the media and entertainment landscape undergoes a significant evolution.... By working together, Rovi and TiVo will revolutionize how consumers experience media and entertainment and at the same time build value for our stockholders."

A petite young woman with pale skin and short hair braces herself for her next bite of food. A plate hovers directly in front of her mouth, holding five sauce-covered, finger-sized rice cakes (they look like tteokbokki, a popular Korean street food). She lines them up side-by-side with her chopsticks and slowly guides them all into her mouth. You can literally hear every bite, every chew that breaks down the rice cakes, every sniffle she makes as she tries to stop the sinus-relieving effects of the insanely spicy foods she's eating. She's talking into a small mic to her right, with one earbud in her right ear, as people watch her consume more food than her stomach should be able to handle—but she does so with a cheery attitude and the occasional smile. These kinds of videos are called mukbang videos, and believe it or not, they attract millions of viewers.

Mukbang combines the Korean word for "eat" (muok-da) with the word for “broadcast” (bang song) and describes exactly that: online shows where people eat a ton of food on camera. There are no gimmicks involved; no crazy costumes, no nudity (as far as I've seen), and no shock value of people eating unmentionable things. Mukbang videos simply follow one person as he or she consumes an entire (and often big) meal. If your eyebrows are raised up high in disbelief and judgement right now, you're likely not alone—but eating shows are just one genre of online videos that allow audiences to live out relatively harmless fantasies about everyday activities like eating a huge meal or going on a shopping spree.

Eating for an audience, getting paid in balloons

Some mukbang eaters have become stars. The craze began in South Korea, largely on the video website AfreecaTV. Mukbang stars, often referred to as Broadcast Jockeys or BJs (not kidding), make thousands of dollars a month just by having dinner on camera. This money isn't ad- or sponsorship-based; it's donated by mukbang viewers in the form of "star balloons," a type of virtual currency that can be exchanged for Korean won.

It has been a while since we've seen a new Gear Fit wearable from Samsung, but new leaks suggest that another model is right around the corner. Tweeted by EvLeaks and reported by Venturebeat, the supposed Samsung Gear Fit 2 is slightly curvier than the original, and it may make its debut with a new pair of wireless earbuds dubbed the Gear IconX.

The Gear Fit 2 doesn't look too different from the original. Samsung appears to have redesigned it a bit so it fits easier around your wrist, similarly to how Microsoft rounded-out its Band fitness tracker for comfort. The device also seems to have two release notches on its underside, meaning you may be able to use multiple bands with the Gear Fit 2.

Reports suggest that the new model will have a GPS chipset as well, which would allow it to better track and monitor outdoor activities. However, that addition will likely increase the price (the original started at $199) while also decreasing the tracker's battery life. Otherwise, the device appears to have the same super-AMOLED display and optical heart rate monitor as the first tracker.

YouTube Red isn't the only digital video service to put YouTube stars at the forefront of its content. The media company Fullscreen launched its online video subscription service featuring shows that star YouTube personalities, including Grace Helbig and Shane Dawson. The ad-free subscription service will be free for the first month and then users can pay $4.99 per month to continue watching.

Fullscreen started out as a type of talent agency that worked with social media stars to secure ad-sponsored deals on free sites like Instagram. Fullscreen's founder George Strompolos told the BCC, "Social media is a great place to make quick, inexpensive content to engage a fanbase. But when it comes to longer form or premium productions, the economics of producing it on the free web just don't work out." Now, with the company's roster of more than 75,000 partners (many of which are from YouTube), it will create a "premium destination" with original content featuring a lot of online personalities that young people already know, as well as licensed shows and movies.

Fullscreen didn't waste time in going for the big stars on YouTube. Comedian and personality Shane Dawson of ShaneDawsonTV has a huge following of more than 7.3 million subscribers, one movie under his belt with another on the way, and a podcast he's been recording for the past three years. Fullscreen will take his Shane and Friends podcast and produce it in video format, so fans who want to watch Dawson and his cohost Jessie Buttafuoco interact with guests can do so, while others can still listen to the podcast for free on iTunes or Soundcloud.

Facebook doesn't like the fact that most users don't dwell in the social network; they just passively visit on a daily basis. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company may be looking to change this "bad" habit by developing a standalone camera app that would encourage creating and sharing photos and videos all within Facebook.

"People familiar with the matter" claim that Facebook's "friend-sharing" team has developed a prototype for an app that would open to a camera and allow users not only to take and share photos but also to record video and start livestreams as well. If the app opens to a camera, it would make it much like Snapchat. Facebook has tried in the past to make a Snapchat-like competitor app called Slingshot that lets users share photos and videos that disappeared after 24 hours. Facebook also dabbled in photo editing and sharing apps—the company developed the aptly named Camera app only to abandon it and Slingshot when neither caught on with users.

Facebook-owned Instagram certainly doesn't have a problem with users just passively visiting the app. That social network has become a place for the most manicured photos, but Facebook is focusing on spontaneous image and video capturing with this latest effort. While Instagram makes users go through multiple steps before posting an image (upload, crop, add filter, edit, write caption, etc), it's likely that Facebook's standalone camera app would encourage users to post without thinking twice.

NEW YORK—Acer has been busy, and the company showed off some of its latest work at an event in New York City today. Acer announced a slew of new laptops and PCs, many of which build upon some of its other recently released products.

The Switch Alpha 12 laptop is the juiced-up version of its Aspire Switch 12 S that was announced back at CES. Instead of the Switch 12 S's Core M processor, the Alpha 12 supports sixth-generation Core i3U, i5, and i7 processors.

But Acer is pushing this device as an efficient and cool laptop above anything else. Engineers built the Switch Alpha 12 with a liquid cooling system and a fanless design. The heat created from the device powers the cooling system, keeping temperatures down. And since it lacks a fan altogether, operating sounds are kept quiet.

Video shot/edited by Jennifer Hahn. (video link)

Misfit often gets overlooked. Maybe it's because the company doesn't have the legacy of Garmin or the scale and reputation of Fitbit, but either way, it's not a company that should be written off. Fossil Group recently acquired Misfit, and the acquisition makes sense. Misfit's products have always been minimalist without sacrificing the basic features that all activity trackers are expected to have.

The company's $99 Ray is no different—in fact, it's Misfit's most stylish tracker. It doesn't have the necklace chains or wrapped bracelet attachments that the Shine 2 has; instead, it's a simple band paired with a module that masks all of its connectivity. With the Ray, Misfit is still sticking to what it knows best: small, subtle trackers that do all the basics. But as more companies try to strike a compelling balance between fitness and fashion, Misfit has strong competition to live up to.

To keep up with competitors like Paramount and Lionsgate, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (UPHE) will start releasing movies in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray this summer. According to Variety, Jason Bourne, Lucy, The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Warcraft, Everest, and Lone Survivor will be among the first titles to hit shelves.

UPHE will progressively roll out titles as the summer goes on, but the start date and pricing details have yet to be unveiled. The company plans to make titles available in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disks and digital formats, and it will include some IMAX films as well.

"4K Ultra HD represents a giant leap forward in movie-watching,” UPHE President Eddie Cunningham told Variety. "The format’s stunning resolution and peak luminance, combined with its deep bench of industry support, enables us to deliver to the consumer a truly differentiated viewing experience, one that has the capability to power the future of home entertainment."

Amazon wants to appeal to new customers and is doing so by unbundling its Prime services. The company will now offer Prime Video, its TV and movie streaming services, for $8.99 per month. Amazon Prime as a bundle, which includes Prime Video and Music, free two-day shipping, and more, currently costs $99 per year.

The standalone Prime Video subscription is the first Prime service to be separated from the bundle. Amazon has never offered any Prime services outside the $99 annual subscription, so not only does this give potential new customers a way to try out Prime, but it also positions Prime Video as a direct competitor to services like Netflix and Hulu. Currently, Netflix costs $9.99 per month (and early users who still pay $7.99 per month will feel the price hike in May) and Hulu's subscription services starts at $7.99 per month.

According to CNN Money, Amazon will also offer the complete set of Prime services for $10.99 per month, which comes out to $131.88 per year. The annual membership price of $99 is the better deal in both cases (Prime Video monthly charges will amount to $107.88 per year), but a monthly option gives new customers a chance to try out the service first. It also softens the blow for anyone not willing to shell out $99 for the annual membership, or anyone who doesn't want to commit to the full year.