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Warner Bros Discovery splits streaming from cable TV

Warner Bros Discovery said it would split into two publicly traded companies, separating its studios and streaming business from its fading cable television networks as the parent of HBO and CNN looks to compete better in the streaming era

Business • 10 Jun

Operating income rose 9% to $2.5 billion at Disney's theme parks during the first quarter of 2025

Disney beats quarterly earnings forecasts

Walt Disney's quarterly results topped Wall Street expectations today as visitors to its US theme parks increased spending in the first three months of the year and the company saw an unexpected rise in Disney+ streaming customers.

Business • 07 May

Netflix said its first quarter revenue grew thanks to higher subscription and ad earnings, along with the timing of some expenses

Netflix earnings top forecasts despite economic turmoil

Netflix has reported quarterly earnings slightly better than analysts expected, saying it is staying focused on what it can control as the overall economy is roiled by US President Donald Trump's trade war.

Business • 18 Apr

Netflix has won the streaming wars - but it still has lots of challenges

Stream of the Crop: The new challenges facing Netflix

Netflix has won the streaming wars – but it still faces plenty of challenges, many of them self-inflicted, writes Adam Maguire.

Business • 25 Oct 24

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp said it may sell Australian cable TV and streaming unit Foxtel after receiving an approach for the business

News Corp eyes sale of Australia pay TV & streaming unit

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp said it may sell Australian cable TV and streaming unit Foxtel after receiving an approach, a deal that would end its involvement in a high-overhead asset that has struggled to adapt to the Netflix era.

Business • 09 Aug 24

Netflix said it ended the April-to-June period with a total of 277.7 million subscribers

Netflix wins subscribers as ad strategy pays off

Netflix said it added eight million new subscribers in the second quarter, as the home of hit shows "The Crown" and "Bridgerton" posted its latest financial earnings that exceeded analyst expectations.

Business • 19 Jul 24

Netflix is to stop disclosing subscriber additions each quarter starting with the first quarter of 2025

Netflix to stop reporting subscriber numbers

Netflix has unexpectedly announced that it will stop reporting subscriber numbers each quarter, a decision seen as a sign that years of customer gains in the streaming wars are coming to an end.

Business • 22 Apr 24

Miley Cyrus' hit "Flowers" was the world's best-selling single in 2023, the IFPI said

Streaming subscriptions boost 2023 recorded music revenue

Global recorded music revenues grew for the ninth year in a row in 2023, increasing by 10.2% to $28.6 billion mainly thanks to a rise in paid streaming subscribers, a report said today.

Business • 21 Mar 24

The new 'BeStreamWise' campaign aims to raise awareness of the risks associated with piracy when accessing film, TV or sport through illegal platforms, links and devices

Warning over dangers of illegal streaming

A new campaign has been launched to warn the public of the dangers of illegal television and movie streaming.

Business • 15 Nov 23

Disney also posted quarterly revenue below expectations and fell slightly behind analyst projections for US subscribers of Disney+

Disney hikes streaming prices

Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger acknowledged that the entertainment company faces a "challenging environment" in the near term, but he emphasised progress in cutting costs and focusing on creativity, even as quarterly results showed Disney's soft spots.

Business • 10 Aug 23

Total subscribers to the flagship Disney+ service dropped by 4 million to 157.8 million

Disney shares slip as streaming losses narrow

Walt Disney reduced streaming losses by $400m from the prior quarter but also shed subscribers, the company said last night as its quarterly earnings landed in line with Wall Street expectations.

Business • 11 May 23

Shares of Warner Bros Discovery have gained about 30% so far this year

Warner Bros Discovery streaming business turns a profit

Warner Bros Discovery said today that its streaming business turned a profit in the first quarter, a milestone for a division that had been losing money in its bid to gain subscribers and a foothold in the industry's digital future.

Business • 05 May 23

ITV's shares slumped today as investors baulked at plans to increase investment in content

ITV aims to double digital revenue with new platform

Britain's ITV is combining its subscription and ad-funded streaming services in ITVX, a new digital platform that will have 15,000 hours of content at launch and a £160m dedicated budget for shows.

Business • 03 Mar 22

Netflix is projecting that it will add 2.5 million customers from January to March this year

Netflix plunges as US stocks open lower again

Netflix shares dove more than 20% Friday following a disappointing forecast for subscriber growth for the streaming service, as US stocks retreated again at the start of the final session of a bruising week.

Business • 21 Jan 22

Spotify's paying customers grew ahead of expectations, but its total active monthly userbase did not

Spotify's quarterly loss narrows but users fall short

Swedish music streaming service Spotify has posted a narrowed quarterly loss as the number of paying subscribers grew, while reporting a disappointing overall user growth.

Business • 28 Jul 21

43% of over 65s reported having access to at least one video on demand subscription based service in 2020

Rise in over 65s using video streaming services

There was a significant increase in the number of Irish consumers over 65 accessing online subscription services last year, according to a new report by Deloitte Ireland.

Business • 18 Mar 21

Meetings, classes, lectures and even social catch-ups went virtual for most of 2020

Business 2020: Life through a lens leads to tech boom

2020 will be remembered as the year of the screen as the pandemic pushed normally face-to-face interactions into the digital world - exposing the sometimes yawning gaps in the country's connectivity in the process.

Business • 31 Dec 20

Disney said it will raise the price of its Disney+ streaming service by €2 in Europe to €8.99

New shows underpin Disney's ambitious streaming targets

Walt Disney has announced a heavy slate of new shows for its streaming services, including Marvel and Star Wars series on its fast-growing Disney+ platform and programming from reality TV fan-favorites the Kardashians for Hulu.

Business • 11 Dec 20

The new Chromecast comes with a remote control

Review: Google Chromecast with Google TV

There are so many ways to watch your favourite TV shows, movies and sport these days. And now Google has invented another - Google Chromecast with Google TV.

Business • 14 Nov 20

Walt Disney has restructured its media and entertainment businesses to accelerate growth of its streaming services, including Disney+

Walt Disney restructures to boost streaming services

Walt Disney has restructured its media and entertainment businesses to accelerate growth of Disney+ and other streaming services as consumers increasingly gravitate to digital viewing.

Business • 13 Oct 20

Katie Taylor's fights will be among those that will be available on the service

Sports streaming service DAZN to launch in Ireland

Sports streaming service, DAZN, is to launch in Ireland.

Business • 02 Mar 20

Google Stadia promises the power of a games console - but streamed over the internet

Review: Google Stadia; a Netflix for Games?

Google Stadia is a cloud-gaming service recently launched by Google. In this review, Neil Leyden takes it for a test drive.

Technology • 21 Feb 20

Spotify is the world's leading provider of streaming music - with a market share far bigger than rivals like Apple and Amazon

Spotify's losses grow as it ramps up investments

Music streaming service Spotify has reported a bigger net loss in 2019, driven by aggressive investing, but said it had more active users and paying subscribers.

Business • 05 Feb 20

Apple's streaming service is the first of a new wave of challengers to Netflix - but while competition should be good news for consumers, it may end up costing them

Netflix's rivals bring an end to streaming's golden age

When Netflix launched in 2012, many anticipated a future of limitless TV and film for relatively little cost. Instead consumers are now facing an increasingly fragmented market - and potentially greater expense than ever before.

Business • 09 Nov 19

Ireland now has four paid-for video streaming services - with a fifth on the way

Stream on - Ireland's video on-demand platforms

Ireland is getting new streaming services from Apple and Disney - giving customers more options, and potentially more cost.

Business • 10 Nov 19