Netflix earned CAD $780 million in Canada in 2019, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing released Monday. For the first time, Netflix has released historical streaming revenue, membership and the average revenue earned per paid membership by region, in light of a growing number of subscribers and revenue from outside the U.S. Revenue for the U.S. and Canada, combined, for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2019 reached USD $2.62 billion – a 57% increase over the past two years. Subscriptions reached 67.1 million – up 23% over the past two years. While North America remains a stronghold for the streaming giant, its growth is now being driven from outside North America amidst an increasingly crowded OTT landscape that recently expanded with the introduction of Disney+ and Apple TV+, among other new services. Read more here.
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), which manages the .CA domain, parted ways with three members of its IT staff but kept president Byron Holland in place after more than 1,000 explicit photos were found on his computer in 2016. The matter was brought to light by the Toronto Star this week after interviews with current and former employees amid concerns that the matter was mis-handled. CIRA, which was created by the federal government in the late 1990s and brings in annual revenue of $27 million, is declining interviews on the matter.
CBC/Radio-Canada, as part of its participation in the DG7 public service media organization (comprised of ABC Australia, CBC/Radio-Canada, France Médias Monde, DW, NHK World Japan, BBC World Service and U.S. Agency for Global Media), is committing to new joint action against disinformation. “Project Origin” will adopt tools for the validation and verification of digital content ranging from written articles to video, aimed at increasing the public’s confidence in material they read online. CBC/Radio-Canada has been playing a leading role in developing a common international approach to fighting AI-generated “deep fake” video news, including adapting tech to digitally verify the authenticity of news content when it appears on other online platforms. Project Origin also builds on the work, the public broadcaster is doing with the Trusted News Charter, a BBC-led initiative to strengthen measures to protect audiences from disinformation.
Robert Downey Jr. is the host behind Network Entertainment-produced YouTube Originals series “The Age of A.I.” – an eight-episode learning series that takes an immersive look at artificial intelligence and its potential to change the world. Launching Dec. 18 on YouTube.com/Learning, the premiere episode follows co-founder of Soul Machines, Mark Sagar, an Oscar-winning special effects artist as he builds an autonomously animated digital version of Grammy-award winner will.i.am. Future episodes will feature former NFL linebacker Tim Shaw, who is battling ALS, as he works with a team at Google to help restore his ability to communicate, testing the prototype of Project Euphonia for the first time.
Much Studios has released special holiday digital content from creators Candace Leca, Jaclyn Forbes, and YouTwoTV. Leca debuts new holiday single Christmas Lights, beauty expert Forbes shares her top gift-giving ideas, and YouTwoTV has released a comedic take on holiday spending, Rich Christmas vs. Broke Christmas.
LISTEN: It’s headquartered in Toronto and Los Angeles, but The QYou Media – a next-generation global media company that curates, packages, and distributes Millennial and Gen Z-focused digital-first, short-form content from influencers and creators, is finding huge success outside North America. On the latest episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast, Curt Marvis, CEO and co-founder of The QYou, on the company’s journey to growing its distribution reach to 500 million viewers in India alone, plans for growth in the U.S., and his predictions for what’s to come after a decade of disruption in the broadcast and video content space.
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