Hollywood disruptors: Entertainment and technology converge

Google stunned the tech world earlier this week when it announced the launch of Alphabet, a parent corporation designed to allow the continuation of what CEO Larry Page calls “smaller bets� for better innovation.

Fullscreen, one of YouTube’s biggest video networks, will finally unveil its subscription-based service next month.

Thousands of teens journeyed to this year’s VidCon conference in Anaheim to catch a glimpse of their favorite YouTube stars, and maybe even get a selfie with one of their idols.

Ron Roza used to travel the world to follow his idol, Bruce Springsteen.

YouTube Chief Executive Susan Wojcicki unveiled a series of product announcements, including a mobile redesign for the platform, during her keynote speech at VidCon on Thursday.

YouTube personalities at VidCon 2015 offer tips on building audiences.

If Katie Couric dyes her hair blue, blame VidCon.

Mamrie Hart, YouTube personality and book author, discusses how YouTube promotes interaction with audiences.

Comedian and actor Toby Turner discusses his approach to gaining a YouTube audience.

Comedic YouTube duo Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, known as Smosh, weren’t the first and certainly won’t be the last digital stars to take their talent to the big screen.

Famebit, an online service that connects YouTube creators with brands, announced that it is creating and distributing its own original content beginning later this month.

Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox will star in their first feature film that debuts this week at the renowned Westwood Village Theater, one of Hollywood’s go-to venues that’s premiered movies as varied as “A Star Is Born� and “Harry Potter.�

Apple’s iTunes made its mark as the place to buy music downloads, but it left the fast-growing streaming business to rivals such as Spotify, Pandora, Rhapsody and others.

Spotify, the world’s biggest subscription streaming music service, has levied its first attack in the online video wars.

Google came under fire Tuesday after a string of children’s advocacy groups filed an update to their Federal Trade Commission complaint alleging the YouTube Kids App contains content that “would be extremely disturbing� and “potentially harmful� for young children.

Internet radio company Pandora Media Inc. has agreed to acquire music analytics startup Next Big Sound, in another move by the growing streaming industry to harness data on songs and artists.

Internet radio giant Pandora Media Inc. lost a key legal battle in the decades-long, wide-ranging fight over how musicians and music copyright owners are paid for their work A federal district court in New York on Thursday ruled in favor of BMI — Broadcast Music Inc. — which has a huge roster of popular songwriters including Lady Gaga, Miranda Lambert and Sam Smith.

Online concert ticket-reseller StubHub is getting into the band merchandise business.

A hipster Silver Lake home may not be the typical setting for a network talk show, but Grace Helbig is far from a traditional host.

For Hulu, a show about nothing just upped its clout in the digital TV game.

Chris Hansen is going back into the predator-catching business, but this time he’s asking his fans to help him.

YouTube announced on Tuesday that it is collaborating with the DreamWorks Animation-owned YouTube network AwesomenessTV to release several feature-length films over the next two years.

Maker Studios is finding that belonging to the Walt Disney Co. has its privileges -- such as access to the Marvel universe.

Imax Corp. offered a glimpse into cinematic future, showcasing a new laser projection system at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood that executives contend will transform the moviegoing experience.

Earlier this year, Fusion debuted its first miniseries on the the social media app Snapchat’s new content channel Snapchat Discover.

Sony Playstation is checking out the Vue.

YouTube’s big push into kids’ programming is under scrutiny for blurring the lines between entertainment and advertising.

Executives from Twitter, GoPro and Vessel are among the keynote speakers and panelists for the sixth annual VidCon.

The big TV premiere this fall could be the unbundling of TV.

In an effort to lure in teens and millennials, Verizon Communications Inc. announced Wednesday that it was adding original programming, produced by teen YouTube network AwesomenessTV, to new over-the-top channels.

TV news has a problem with younger viewers: It doesn’t have enough of them.

The NCAA and Turner Sports are bringing March Madness to YouTube.

Monthly views of YouTube network Maker Studios’ videos have increased to 11.5 billion, according to Maker President Ynon Kreiz.

Back in the 1990s, Jason Kassin was just another aspiring L.A. actor, surviving on a second job.

A long-term strategy in today’s television landscape would appear futile given the accelerated pace of change.

During an informal event thrown by the virtual-reality company Oculus last week at the Sundance Film Festival, one of the company’s new hires was explaining his team’s process for creating an animated short.

Get ready for the Super Bowl, YouTube style.

Viacom’s Nickelodeon plans to launch a video subscription service this spring, joining the chase for younger viewers who increasingly are watching programming on digital devices.

Think you’ve reached your limit for new scripted content outlets or superhero stories?

Two days after his State of the Union address, President Obama had to win over a new audience: YouTubers.

Woody Allen will write and direct his first television series for Amazon, the company announced on Tuesday in a statement.

Increased interest in digital movies and Netflix weren’t enough to make up for broader declines in the home entertainment market in 2014.

Fandango said on Tuesday that it will launch its first subscription video-on-demand service on Hulu.

It’s a season of giving -- or getting SVOD rights -- over at Hulu.

MSNBC has launched a new streaming video service aimed at attracting young viewers who are not growing up with the habit of turning on cable news.

If Sony Pictures employees return to work Monday after the Thanksgiving weekend without computer or email access, it will mark the beginning of the second week of blackout for the Culver City movie studio after a widespread hack.

Life is slowly returning to normal for Sony Pictures Entertainment after a computer attack that crippled the studio early last week.

Google Inc. is making a bold move to expand in Southern California, the nation’s nexus of technology and entertainment.

Music piracy online continues to run rampant, and on Wednesday two music publishers filed a lawsuit against a cable company they claim is aiding and abetting the pirates.

Twitter wants to know which apps are on its users’ mobile devices, so this week, its own app began to collect that information automatically.

Sony’s PlayStation Vita may not have been so game-changing after all.

It started out as a titanic clash between old and new media — and sort of petered out.

Sony Pictures Entertainment suffered a widespread hack that rendered the film studio’s computer systems useless, in a twist right out of a cybersecurity thriller movie.

T-Mobile’s popular music streaming program just doubled in size.

Japanese technology entrepreneur Ken Fukazawa was in San Francisco in March when his geeky friends told him about something awesome coming up in Los Angeles.

Fans at Blizzard Entertainment Inc.’

Walt Disney Co. on Friday revealed a slate of digital initiatives, announcing a new partnership with Wal-Mart around movies, teasing the unveiling of a redesigned ESPN.com and showing how a growing number of YouTube stars would have their own apps.

As the passengers lined up to walk through an X-ray machine in the airport terminal, a surly security officer bellowed commands to the travelers.

The nation’s theater owners have agreed to make their cinemas more accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons.

After taking this year off, YouTube announced it will bring back its music awards next year.

Paramount Pictures and Google have started taking submissions for a “time capsule� short film documentary inspired by Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar.�

What’s being described as the most significant change in more than two decades to the way Billboard magazine calculates its album chart positions is set to kick in next week: For the first time, digital streams are to be factored in with the retail sales on which the chart has always been based.

Ratings giant Nielsen has devised a way to get a grip, albeit a restricted one, on measuring viewership for streaming shows online — providing a glimpse into the performance of shows on Netflix and Amazon.

Netflix, continuing its push to expand, announced Tuesday that it would make its streaming video service available in Australia and New Zealand starting in March.

No need to brave the sweltering heat, long lines for Porta-Potties and overpriced food during next summer’s concert season.

Time Warner Cable this week wrapped up a nearly yearlong upgrade to its Los Angeles network, completing a switch to all-digital from analog systems.

The music industry’s move toward paid subscription services, and away from discs and downloads, has been underway for several years.

Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix, took another poke at the movie theater industry on Wednesday.

Demand for drones on film and TV sets is soaring.

American TV shows such as “The Big Bang Theory� and “Breaking Bad� have found huge fan bases in China, thanks to deals with online video portals that license the programs and make them available just hours after their U.S. debuts.

Taylor Swift’s latest hit, “Shake It Off,� was written as a message encouraging listeners to ignore trend-conscious bullies, but it’s now also the message she has effectively sent to Spotify.

The Walt Disney Co.’

Taking an unusually early step, cable network AMC used commercial breaks on its most popular show, “The Walking Dead,� to let viewers know that they may miss episodes next year if they have DirecTV satellite pay-TV service.

He’s the richest man in China, and he’s coming to Hollywood.

Digital Domain is bringing more dead celebrities back to life.

Lionsgate and Google announced they will bring the “Hunger Games� fictional world of Panem to fans with new original content.

The list of upcoming Internet subscription video sites keeps getting longer.

The Internet video streaming business suddenly is a lot more crowded — and messy.

CBS is going a la carte.

In a blow to cable and satellite TV providers, HBO will offer its programs directly to consumers over the Internet — potentially giving millions more Americans another reason to cancel their pay TV service.

Streaming video company Netflix added fewer subscribers than expected in the third quarter as U.S. member growth slowed.

HBO announced plans to offer a stand-alone streaming service directly to Internet customers beginning next year, taking a giant step toward breaking the pay-TV bundle that has been a cornerstone of the television industry for more than a quarter-century.

Box-office trackers can stop panicking.

On Monday evening, Netflix announced plans to move into the narrative feature business.

The nation’s top theater chains are not bowing down to a new Weinstein Co. deal with Netflix and IMAX.

‘Lego Movie’ and ‘Despicable Me’ successes helped changed industry perception of risk in cost and content.

Netflix, already a player in original TV shows, is taking a stab at new theatrical movies.

Here we go again. Or not.

Hollywood will soon have a new angle on capturing aerial footage.

Like a scene in a science fiction movie, actor Robbie Amell stands inside a giant aluminum globe, staring into hundreds of bright lights and a half-dozen cameras pointed at him.

Latino digital network MiTú announced on Tuesday it will partner with Maker Studios to develop Latino branded entertainment content.

Hulu, at long last, is ready to play with the big boys.

Barco, the giant cinema technology company, is hoping Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett will lend some star power to its new panoramic theater system.

After recent speculation, AT&T Inc. and the Chernin Group announced on Monday that their joint venture, Otter Media, will acquire a majority stake in the popular YouTube video network Fullscreen Inc.

Nearly 10 years after Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox started their YouTube channel SMOSH, the comedic duo will head to the big screen.

Credit cards companies are helping to fuel online piracy, according to a new study.

Det.

Noted film directors have been pushing to television and other platforms for years, but the trend seems to be widening and even mutating lately.

U2’s invasion of iTunes libraries with the group’s new album “Songs of Innocence� may not have put the Irish band back on top of the sales chart, but that doesn’t mean the impact of last week’s stunt can’t be seen.

U.S. advertising revenue for YouTube, the biggest Internet video website, could reach $1.13 billion in 2014, according to a report from research firm EMarketer.

It’s a sweltering 90-degree day, and 17-year-old Dash Dobrofsky, who normally spends his summer days hanging near Tower 26 on the beach in Santa Monica, is inside a Melrose Avenue cake shop, a crisp, white apron over his bro tank and a camera crew over his shoulder.

Is the Apple-partnered launch of U2’s “Songs of Innocence� really the biggest album release of all time?

While the rest of the world was imagining the prospect of buying an even bigger iPhone that can pay for things, U2 released a new album.

The winners of the 4th Streamy Awards, which celebrate the best in online video, will be announced live from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills at 7:30 p.m.

Garth Brooks, long a holdout from allowing his music to be sold on iTunes, lifted the lid Thursday on his alternative, GhostTunes, a new download and streaming service that the newly unretired country superstar said “allows artists to sell music any way they want to.�

Piracy on the rise for “Breaking Bad�? Better call Saul.

SoundCloud, a popular destination for music on the Web, is going commercial.

Twelve weeks ago, six start-ups from around the world came to Warner Bros.

Pandora Media Inc., the biggest Internet radio company, has forged a partnership with the independent music rights group Merlin, marking the first direct deal between the popular music streaming firm and record labels.

Universal Pictures’ new biopic “Get on Up� about the influential performer James Brown has a clear target audience: fans of the Godfather of Soul.

A little over a year after leaving Maker Studios, former CEO Danny Zappin announced the launch of Zealot, his new digital media company.

Sarah Palin wants the Internet to “go rogue� with her.

At a time when teens’ top five favorites are not TV or movie stars but YouTube celebrities, it’s perhaps smart that the Fox show expanded its recognition of digital stars to 13 categories.

Chelsea Handler is taking her bottle of vodka to Netflix. The host of E!’

Two years ago, the online Chinese comedy program “Da Peng Debacle� famously ripped off the animated opening sequence of Conan O’Brien’s TBS talk show -- even down to the host’s orange hair.

Rhapsody International, a streaming music company that competes with Spotify, has reached 2 million paying subscribers, it said late Monday.

Microsoft is shutting down the bulk of its Hollywood unit as part of a broader restructuring at the software giant that will result in 14,000 jobs being cut.

YouTube stars are borrowing an idea from Hollywood’s Golden Age: product placement.

AT&T Inc. and the Chernin Group are nearing a deal to acquire a majority stake in Fullscreen Inc., a popular YouTube video network, a source close to the transaction said.

At first glance, the set of “Hollywood Today Live� looks like just another entertainment talk show.

Like a little sister sneaking up on her older brothers, 20-year-old Kelly Svirakova inched closer to her housemates Valentin Rahmel and Erik Range, hoping to go unnoticed.

The Laugh Factory has found an edgy new comic force to give it a leg up in the digital age -- Larry King.

Yahoo Inc. has struck a deal with Weinstein Co. to release the film company’s “One Chance� ahead of its theatrical debut this fall.

Netflix Inc. has hit the 50-million member milestone.

Universal Music Group is looking to the world’s most popular online video site for its new stars.

A London trade group that advocates for independent record labels says it is launching a campaign to make sure artists are treated fairly when it comes to money earned from digital music -- and the indies are signing on.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and Lionsgate announced on Monday that they will launch a subscription streaming service for mainland China.

Sony/ATV Music Publishing has said it may completely withdraw from two U.S. groups that distribute songwriter royalties if changes are not made to the regulations that govern those organizations.

July is shaping up to be a good month for bestselling author James Patterson.

Backed by Oscar winners including director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer, New Form Digital studio announced Monday a new partnership with some of YouTube’s most famous personalities.

GloZell Green politely listened as one of the two security guards escorting her just 200 or so feet from her hotel to the Anaheim Convention Center rambled on about A-list stars — ahem, Tom Cruise — whom he has safeguarded at one point or another.

YouTube stars currently need the deep pockets of the television industry to create costly long-form content.

The thinning, tenuous line forming between branded YouTube content and traditional television commercials was once again the subject of debate at a VidCon panel Saturday at the Anaheim Convention Center.

In 2011, Rebecca Black, then 13, became a viral sensation after her song “Friday� hit YouTube.

The experience of VidCon, the annual online video powwow in Southern California, is something worth subscribing to, if you ask Olga Kay.

YouTube personalities Sam Pepper and Harrison Webb are big endorsers of the self.

31-year-old Tay Zonday is a singer on YouTube.

TV ratings for Thursday’s USA versus Germany World Cup match weren’t as big as the American team’s tie with Portugal on Sunday.

For YouTubers hoping to make it big, several VidCon panelists said signing with a multi-channel network (MCN) is a gamble.

You don’t have to be a YouTube star to be part of the YouTube world.

A successful partnership between brands and YouTube stars depends on striking a balance, according to industry insiders at a VidCon panel Friday.

Fans flock to VidCon as the popularity of Internet video content soars.

VidCon, a three-day conference for people who love online videos, kicked off Thursday.

Want to be a YouTube star? There’s a convention for that.

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki came to her first VidCon bearing gifts.

In its ruling against the TV streaming company Aereo Inc., the Supreme Court has removed one of the most visible threats to the pay-TV industry’s notoriously expensive bundle.

In its battle against online piracy, Hollywood hopes it has found an important ally: the ad industry.

NBC has new plans to seek out and broadcast online video stars, a network executive said during a VidCon panel Thursday.

DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg is seeing vertical in the digital space.

Shares of broadcasting companies jumped Wednesday morning after the U.S.

ABC News is launching an online video programming service via Apple TV.

German media giant ProSiebenSat.1 Group’s Studio71, a multichannel network for online video users, is saying hallo to the U.S. market with its new YouTube channel “The Mansion.�

With iHeartRadio, Clear Channel is looking to the Web to dial up growth.

If you think flying on a dragon can only happen in a fantasy world, think again.

If you think flying on a dragon can only happen in a fantasy world, think again.

At the same time Time Warner is jettisoning its old media assets by spinning off Time Inc., the media giant may be looking to buy a stake in Vice Media Group, the renegade digital news operation that does both serious and satirical journalism.

Verizon wants Netflix to stop blaming the Internet Service Provider for any streaming issues customers may be having when watching TV shows and movies.

Following a long battle between music rights-holders and Internet radio giant Pandora Media Inc. over songwriter royalties, the U.S.

Maker Studios, the online video network recently bought by Walt Disney Co., is reducing its head count.

In agreeing to pay $3 billion to acquire Beats, Apple Inc. is betting that two music industry insiders can help restore some of its fading cool among young consumers while also helping it reinvent a troubled digital music business.

Apple Inc. has confirmed that it has reached a deal to buy headphone maker Beats Electronics and digital music service Beats Music.

Spotify, the on-demand streaming music service, says it has 10 million paying users.

Nielsen is getting more detailed in the way it measures social media musings about television shows.

Swagbucks -- a company that rewards people for online activities such as watching videos -- is getting some more real bucks of its own to play with.

“I don’t know anyone who could get through the day without two or three juicy rationalizations.

More than a decade after it revolutionized the music industry with the launch of iTunes, Apple Inc. remains the world’s largest music retailer and one of the most recognized brands.

Apple Inc., in what would be the largest acquisition ever for the tech giant, is close to buying high-end headphone maker Beats Electronics for $3.2 billion.

Meet the new music taste-makers of the Internet: Kleenex, Taco Bell and Sketchers.

TuneIn, a service that lets people listen to terrestrial radio stations on the Web, wants to become more like a social network for audio.

Palmer Luckey, the baby-faced founder of virtual-reality start-up Oculus VR, looked slightly perplexed when asked if he thought his ballyhooed headset, known as the Rift, could change cinema.

AOL’s Moviefone, the film-listings brand probably best known for the booming voice greeting on its now-defunct call-in service, has expanded into TV.

Here’s one group that’s happy about Netflix’s planned price hikes: Wall Street.

Higher prices are the new black for Netflix.

Zynga Inc. is betting the farm on mobile games.

Left-leaning political talk show host Cenk Uygur has raised $4 million to expand his digital video company the Young Turks Network, and the money comes from a seemingly unlikely source: Republican Buddy Roemer, the former governor of Louisiana.

Maker Studios said on Monday that its deal to be acquired by the Walt Disney Co. has already been approved, throwing cold water on a last-minute offer from Relativity Media worth up to $1.1 billion.

Lionsgate has Katniss, Tris and Bella, and now it has another young-adult hero -- YouTube star Freddie Wong.

Relativity Media is hoping to outbid the Walt Disney Co. for the popular YouTube network Maker Studios.

Walt Disney Co. is buying Maker Studios, the digital media company behind YouTube successes such as “Epic Rap Battles of History� and PewDiePie.

With kids in mind, companies such as Fuhu make tablets that come standard with protective casings and parental controls. The entertainment industry is jumping into the sector too.

Tribune Digital Ventures, the technology and innovation arm of Tribune Co., has agreed to acquire TV by the Numbers, a source of television ratings analysis and programming news, the company said Thursday.

The device will compete with the likes of Apple TV, Roku and Google Chromecast and is part of the retailer’s broader strategy to become an entertainment juggernaut.

Amazon.com Inc. has officially entered the Internet video streaming set-top box market.

AOL’s online video network is going long on a new documentary series.

For U.S. college students, a month of Spotify streaming now costs a little more than a large frappuccino.

Cenk Uygur, who lost his cable news and opinion show last year, is now on Hulu.

Beats Music has raised additional financial backing to help it take on Spotify and other rivals in the growing streaming music industry.

Even though many have written off the recording industry as a casualty of the digital age, Universal Music Group’s Lucian Grainge is determined to reinvent it.