07/24, 9:35pm
Deal said to be worth $1 billion, matching previously rumored purchase amounts
A new report has surfaced that Google has signed a deal that would see the search giant picking up the popular game streaming platform Twitch for $1 billion. The report adds builds on the previous report floating around that Twitch was being courted by Google's video arm for a possible purchase with a price tag in the same ballpark. By purchasing Twitch, Google could be positioning itself to be the number one destination for live streaming games, as well as watching associated videos.
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07/07, 8:24am
Blue warning notices appear under buffering YouTube videos, linking to a quality report
Google is taking a leaf out of Netflix's playbook, by hinting to YouTube users that their Internet service provider (ISP) is slow or poor. A new blue banner stating "Experiencing interruptions?" has started to appear underneath YouTube clips when users experience buffering or poor quality video, along with a link to the search company's YouTube Quality Report.
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06/27, 6:14am
Videographers provided with YouTube Creators mobile app, sound effect library, 60fps video support
Google has added more tools to YouTube, to help creators with their video productions. Presented at Vidcon, YouTube Director of Product Management for Creators Matthew Glotzbach and Vice President of Engineering for Creators Oliver Heckmann showcased upcoming features to the video service, including a new mobile app, and support for 48fps and 60fps video.
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06/26, 7:00pm
'The YouTube 15' debuts July 11 with pop, R&B, rock and hip-hop music
YouTube is looking outside the box with its latest music expansion, partnering with SiriusXM. The two will join forces to offer a weekly radio show on the satellite radio service starting July 11 at 6PM ET. The show will be hosted by YouTube personality Jenna Marbles on SiriusXM Hits 1 as it presents existing and emerging music stars.
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06/17, 5:45pm
Reveal comes on the heels of reported indie label blockade
Partnering with "hundreds of major and independent" labels, Google's YouTube video service is launching a paid streaming music service. Trumpeting the poorly-kept secret, YouTube says that the offering will "bring our music partners new revenue streams in addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars YouTube already generates for them each year."
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06/17, 12:41pm
Refusal to agree on YouTube licensing terms induces removal threat
Independent record labels may see their music videos removed from YouTube, if they do not agree to new licensing terms relating to the video site's rumored music service. The videos could be removed "in a matter of days" if an agreement is not reached for the service, which is believed to start testing soon and become available to the public later this year.
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06/04, 2:06am
Resolutions available up to 1080p for Yosemite, iOS 8 intro
Following the "instant replay" of Monday's Worldwide Developers' keynote on the Apple website, the company has now made the presentation available in high resolution through its Apple Keynotes podcasts, and has posted a copy at up to 720p resolution on YouTube. The 1080p and 720p versions of the keynote are available through iTunes, though with a runtime of two hours and 10 minutes the file at 1080p resolution takes up more than 6GB of space. Subscribers to the HD podcast receive the event automatically.
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06/03, 7:05pm
YouTube service restored under circumstances similar to Twitter reinstatement
According to information from the Hurriyet Daily News, YouTube is now open again to citizens of Turkey after enduring a two-month ban of the service. The Telecommunications Directorate (TIB) announced today that it had removed the popular video site from its list of "blocked sites" after receiving word from the country's highest court. The restoration of the service comes about after the Constitutional Court in the country issued a ruling that the ban on YouTube had violated free speech rights.
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05/29, 3:39pm
Report shows streaming performance of YouTube videos over 30-day period
Google is expanding the coverage of its Video Quality Report to all Internet service providers in the United States. Originally launched in Canada in January, the service monitors the quality of connections between YouTube servers and the end user, with ratings provided for each ISP in an attempt to pressure telecommunication companies to improve their services.
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05/27, 6:07pm
Decision backtracks on company's previous stance over copyright videos
Console maker Nintendo has changed its mind on the lock down of revenue on "Let's Play" videos on YouTube. Nintendo will be launching an "affiliate program" that will give a share of the ad revenue from videos to the person(s) creating the content. The move comes after content had been flagged and removed from YouTube when Nintendo filed copyright claims on videos that included footage of their games in 2013.
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05/25, 3:03pm
Creator preview video gives insight to future YouTube changes for creators
In a new video series from Google, the company outlines some of the changes it is making to YouTube in hopes of providing content creators with more tools and avenues for monetization without leaving the site. The changes the company plans to make are based on a desire to have more transparency and channels for feedback from its large network of video content creators, along with increased opportunities for advertising in the monetized content.
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05/19, 4:50am
Google, YouTube, Twitch in acquisition discussions, deal possibly struck already
Game video streaming service Twitch could be acquired by Google in the future, according to reports. The deal, according to Variety, is said to have been reached between Twitch and the Google-owned YouTube, with the all-cash offer claimed to be worth at least $1 billion, though the Wall Street Journal believes the two companies are in early-stage discussions, and are not imminently close to an acquisition.
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05/09, 2:08am
Yahoo's news app now available for Android
Yahoo has announced the expansion of their news app, now available for Android. Yahoo News Digest now features both International and Canadian news, the latter of which is primarily curated for US and United Kingdom interests. Yahoo News Digest (free) is now available for iOS on iTunes, and Android through Google Play.
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04/25, 8:34pm
Do-it-yourself site launches new service for connecting with local repair shops
Electronics do-it-yourself repair resource Fixya is launching a new service that offers users the ability to connect with local repair shops and service providers. Named Fixya Pro, small businesses can generate traffic in their area through the site by listing what services they provide to what regions, and including their contact information. Businesses can post a free listing by signing up for a Fixya Pro account.
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04/17, 1:41pm
MLB.TV viewable on Google Chromecast with subscription
The Google Chromecast is now supported by the MLB.com At Bat for iOS and Android. The update allows subscribers of MLB.TV's Premium Subscription to stream live, out-of-market games and on-demand events, with a choice of home or away broadcasts also available. The MLB.TV subscription is $25 per month or $130 for the entire year, with access to the MLB.com At Bat app's features included in the price.
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04/11, 4:38pm
Google opening up Google Glass sale April 15 for one day
Confirming earlier rumors, Google is opening up wearable computing device Google Glass for purchase for one day in the US. Any US adult can join the Explorer program with any shade or frame for $1,500, plus applicable local sales tax. Available devices are limited. Purchase begins April 15 at 6AM PDT.
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04/05, 10:56am
Design issues, need for compelling offering cited
YouTube's untitled on-demand music service launch has been postponed again. The move is allegedly a requirement for the company to "get it right" from day one, and for the service to be competitive with similar offerings from other vendors immediately upon release. The service, originally slated to go live at the beginning of 2014, is now not likely to see release until the end of the year, or later.
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04/04, 1:44pm
Ruling asks for restoration of YouTube access to all but 15 videos
The ban of YouTube in Turkey should be partially lifted, a court in the country's capital has ruled. Citing earlier rulings that affected a similar block of access on Twitter, the new ruling deems the ban to violate human rights in the region, and though it is ordering for access to be restored, some videos hosted on the service will continue to be blocked from view.
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03/27, 12:51pm
YouTube banned in Turkey one day after similar Twitter block lifts
Turkey is blocking access to YouTube, in order to prevent the spread of videos alleging there to be corruption in the country's government. The new ban on the video service comes just a day after courts ordered the block on Twitter to be lifted by the government, with the telecommunications regulator (TIB) claiming the latest block is to prevent a "national security issue."
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03/26, 12:23pm
'Innocence of Muslims' film keeps re-appearing on YouTube
According to the complaining actress, Google is not complying with an order by the Ninth Circuit Court in California to purge the anti-Islamic Innocence of Muslims film from its YouTube service. Saying that all Google has done is post "a snide message" on a few copies of the movie on it service, actress Cindy Lee Garcia has filed an emergency motion for sanctions against the search engine for noncompliance.
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03/23, 8:32pm
DNS ban thwarts Turkish citizen workaround of Twitter blockade
Turkey is actively blocking access to Google's DNS service, in order to keep Twitter and allegations of corruption blocked off from the country's citizens. Following its ban of the micro-blogging platform a few days ago, the move is an attempt to thwart efforts by Twitter users from accessing the service via a workaround, though this too may soon be temporarily thwarted.
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03/18, 9:41am
Endless morass of appeals and hearings ended by settlement
Google today announced that it has settled its long-running copyright litigation over videos hosted on YouTube. The nearly seven-year old lawsuit inspired changes on the service such as the ContentID system, and other initiatives designed to easily identify when videos are being uploaded without permission of the content owner. Viacom had asserted in an appeal of a verdict indemnifying Google from any wrongdoing that YouTube was intentionally violating copyright by not taking action against every copyright violation it later found.
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03/01, 4:10pm
Attempts to keep video up as larger appeal is sought fails
After a ruling on February 26 in which the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a previous decision and ordered a YouTube video removed, Google's appeal to appear before a larger panel review has been denied. On Friday, the Ninth Circuit Court rejected Google's request to put the video's removal on hold as the case continued.
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02/26, 1:47pm
Movie 'trailer' on Google's service seen as blasphemous to Muslims
Earlier today. a US appeals court upheld a ruling forcing Google to pull an anti-Islamic film from YouTube that caused international unrest on its release. The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Google's defense that pulling the video, which depicted the Prophet Mohammed as a sexual deviant, was impinging on freedom of speech, and thus the action would violate Constitutional protections.
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02/10, 6:58pm
Hulu signs with CBS for 2,600 new episodes of programming for Hulu Plus
Hulu has made a new deal with US broadcaster CBS, adding 2,600 new episodes to its subscription-based television and movie streaming service Hulu Plus. The library expansion includes classic television content such as The Brady Bunch, Melrose Place and Taxi, as well as more recent programming such as Everybody Loves Raymond. The added content brings Hulu Plus' CBS library to over 5,300 episodes.
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02/06, 12:28pm
Music videos given more prominence in related searches
Google has made two updates to search, for desktops as well as its Android search app. Web-based Google searches will now more prominently display YouTube videos for searches using musical terms, while the Android search app introduces a number of Google Now tweaks, with the option to set specific on-demand and TV providers in the search settings being the biggest change.
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02/05, 4:02pm
Ex-chief moving to head new un-named projects at Google
Google today promoted one of its early employees to be the new head of YouTube. Susan Wojcicki has been shuffled from vice president of advertising and commerce to helm the video serving service. Ex-head Salar Kamangar will be retained at Google, to work on projects at the search engine that are still in their infancy.
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01/22, 5:33am
Canadian ISPs tested on streaming performance
Google will be offering users information about their Internet connection's capabilities for YouTube streaming, under a new monitoring system. The search company's Video Quality Report will analyze the connection offered by Internet service providers (ISP) and identify those that offer the best YouTube experience, in a move to help its end users have a more satisfactory Internet experience.
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01/17, 5:20am
T-Mobile expands reach of Early Termination payment scheme to more carriers
T-Mobile is expanding the reach of its Early Termination Fee (ETF) payment offer to cover more carriers, after seeing high transfers and more than 80,000 "breakup letters" published to social media. The carrier told Re/code that the plan, launched last week and pays up to $350 per line transferred to it, will now be extended to customers of US Cellular and 12 other smaller carriers. T-Mobile will also be expanding the number of handsets that can be traded in, and will also accept damaged phones, though at a lower level of credit.
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01/14, 7:05am
Stars premiering Michael Bay-produced show one week before broadcast
A pirate drama by Starz will be taking the unusual step of premiering online one week before being broadcast. Black Sails, produced by Michael Bay, will be made available to view on January 18th through iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Xbox Video, the Maxim website and Xbox Live app, and the Machinima YouTube channel, according to Variety, with Comcast, DirecTV, Dish Network, Time Warner Cable, Cox, and Charter Communications also set to offer the show through alternative platforms.
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01/03, 10:15am
19 hardware partners lined up to support standard for YouTube
Google's YouTube will be showing of a 4K-capable video codec, VP9, at next week's CES in Las Vegas, according to GigaOm. The format is being presented as an alternative to H.265, and will be open and royalty-free. To avoid the lack of support that killed off Google's VP8, the company has signed up 19 hardware partners, including Samsung, Sharp, Toshiba, ARM, Intel, Broadcom, and Marvell. At CES, 4K YouTube steaming will be demonstrated at booths belonging to LG, Sony, and Panasonic.
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12/13, 12:42pm
YouTube abandons 100 subscriber limit for live streaming
YouTube has abandoned the 100-subscriber minimum for access to live streaming for all users. The policy change, revealed on Thursday in a post to the YouTube Creators Blog, lets all verified YouTube accounts create and stream live events to watchers, no matter how popular they are. The policy update also adds the option to launch a Google+ Hangout On Air directly from within the YouTube Live events manager.
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12/04, 6:18am
Rumor claims Google dissatisfied with current state of the service
YouTube's long-rumored music service has allegedly been delayed until sometime in early 2014. The subscription music offering is said to be preparing for a first-quarter launch, though an exact date has yet to be set, and it is thought that the delay itself has been caused by Google's dissatisfaction with the service as a whole.
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12/02, 10:40am
YouTube joins Netflix, Hulu Plus on handheld Nintendo game console
The Nintendo 3DS is now able to play videos from YouTube. A new app download available from the 3DS eShop for North America and Europe lets users view shows on the handheld Nintendo game console, though despite the capability of the 3DS to show glasses-free 3D imagery on one of its screens, the app will not support 3D videos from the service.
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11/27, 1:35pm
Google to leverage YouTube's popularity as listening platform
Google will in the near future likely add a music listening feature to its YouTube app, according to new information hidden inside the Android YouTube app. Android Police took a look inside version 5.3 of the YouTube app, finding a number of strings that hint at a forthcoming music subscription service. Reportedly, Google's YouTube music service may feature no advertising, marking a considerable difference between the YouTube music service and Google's existing Play Music app for Android, iOS, and the web.
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11/27, 7:58am
Incoming YouTube updates to fight against bad links, impersonation, ASCII art
Google will be making its first major changes to YouTube comments since the company connected the system to Google+. An apparent increase in spam comments on the video streaming service is pushing Google into altering its spam detection system, with the proposed changes likely to affect current protests on YouTube about the Google+ changes.
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11/13, 4:03pm
Supports soundtracks, splicing clips
Google has released a major update of YouTube Capture, its iOS app for recording and uploading video. Version 2.0 is the first to allow complex editing; multiple clips can be spliced together, as well as individually trimmed and rearranged. Soundtracks can be added from a personal music library, or else Capture's own sound collection. While still shooting users can pause and resume recording.
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11/11, 12:19pm
Video streaming sites huge, more than half of peak traffic
Video streaming services Netflix and YouTube together account for half of the downstream traffic on the Internet in North America during peak hours. A new study pointed out by Cnet. New numbers from the twice-yearly Global Internet Phenomena Report found that Netflix and YouTube took up 50.31 percent of downstream Internet traffic during peak usage hours. Of that, Netflix is by far the larger contributor, accounting for nearly a third of all peak North American traffic on its own.
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10/24, 6:58am
Second music streaming service from Google could still launch this year
Rumors of a YouTube music streaming service have resurfaced, with a new report providing a lot more detail about Google's potential plans. It is now thought by report sources that the tiered service, in a similar vein to Spotify, iTunes Radio, and its own Google Play Music All Access, will be launching before the end of the year.
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10/23, 11:48pm
Same spots seen at yesterday's iPad Air unveiling
The three promotional videos created by Apple to showcase its iPad line and the new iPad model have now been made available on YouTube and the company's own website, with the third video airing on television as the first commercial for the new iPad Air. The first video, "Life on iPad," depicts the many varied ways people use what Microsoft calls "an entertainment device" for work in all walks of life. A second video discusses the iPad Air and how it was designed.
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09/18, 6:53am
Viewing stored YouTube video offline in app coming this year
Google will be allowing YouTube users to view video clips offline in the future. An update for the app, destined for both iOS and Android versions, will permit the storing of videos on a smartphone or tablet for a "short period" when there is no Internet connection available to use, with the update said to be coming through sometime in November.
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09/04, 8:45pm
Next iPad to be as thin as current iPad mini; expected early next month
An unusually professional and well-spoken YouTube poster has issued a video comparing and analyzing what he claims are back casings for the second-generation iPad and iPad mini. While the alleged next-generation iPad mini shell appears to have identical dimensions to the existing one, the more interesting comparison came when comparing it to the alleged next-generation full-size iPad shell, as the two appear to be the same thickness. If authentic, the next full-size iPad will largely be a larger version of the iPad mini -- though whether the next iPad mini will sport a Retina-style display remains an open question.
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08/28, 7:28am
Wikipad reaches United Kingdom with controller dock, price increase
The Wikipad Android tablet is making its way to the United Kingdom next month, long after its expected launch alongside the US model. The tablet, with a Tegra 3 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 7-inch 1280x800 IPS display, and 16GB of storage, will be bundled with its dockable controller at launch. It will go on sale from September 27th for £250 ($390), an increase in price from the $250 US model.
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08/21, 1:39pm
Package currently licensed by DirecTV
Google has reportedly met with the National Football League to talk about a possible Sunday Ticket deal, among other topics, unnamed sources have told AllThingsD. The report has ignited speculation that the search giant may be considering an attempt to secure exclusive rights to the NFL subscription package as part of a push for its Google TV or YouTube services.
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08/20, 2:44pm
New 'Play All' button allows non-stop streaming
Following a related Android release, Google has also updated the iOS version of YouTube with several new features. Among these is a picture-in-picture function, which lets people search for other videos while one runs minimized. To restore or minimize the active video, users simply swipe up or down on it; swiping to the left or right dismisses the clip entirely.
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08/20, 6:12am
Videos can be minimized for searching while playing
Google has updated its YouTube app for Android with a number of new additions. The revised version 5.0 of the video app, gradually rolling out over Google Play, introduces the card user interface style found in other Google products along with other visual tweaks, as well as in-app multitasking and reworked navigation.
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08/15, 9:40pm
Today's app block second time Google shut down app in 2013
Microsoft has responded to Google's admission of blocking the newly re-released Windows Phone YouTube app over alleged violations of the YouTube terms of service. In a statement, the software giant claims that Google is attempting to stymie the entire Windows Phone app development process for YouTube, despite agreeing to work cooperatively on the matter earlier this year, and Google's complaints and reasons for blocking the app are "nothing other than excuses."
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08/15, 2:20pm
App violates terms of service
Google has blocked Microsoft's YouTube app on Windows Phone, continuing an ongoing advertising dispute between the two companies. In a statement issued to The Verge, the search giant has confirmed that it blocked the app from accessing YouTube content due to violations of the streaming video service's terms of use.
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08/14, 6:28am
App reinstates Google advertising for YouTube videos
The YouTube app for Windows Phone has made a reappearance on the platform, following an advertising spat in May. The revised app now displays advertisements from Google that accompany YouTube videos, and also allows Windows Phone 7.5 and Windows Phone 8 users to upload their own clips to the service.
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08/08, 6:41am
MixBit records 16 seconds of video, can create hour-long remixes
The founders of YouTube, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, have launched their new video app. Revealed previously by Hurley on April Fools' Day, MixBit [Free, App Store] allows users to record between one second and 16 seconds of video on a smartphone, edit the videos, add content from others, and share the results online through social networks.
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