13-19 Apr: Your guide to what’s happened this week in the media, entertainment and technology industry.

Peacock soft launches on Comcast pay TV

NBCUniversal’s long-awaited SVoD service Peacock has launched an early version of its ad-supported premium tier to existing Comcast pay-TV subscribers at no extra cost.

Deadline also reported that Peacock announced  Capital One, L’Oreal, Molson Coors, Subaru and Verizon as launch sponsors for the new streaming service.

The service will become available three months later in July for everyone else, with a price range from free to $10 a month.

Quibi reaches 1.7m downloads in the first week

Mobile-first video platform Quibi has reached 1.7m downloads, BBC News reported.

The platform which launched last week arrived amidst the height of the coronavirus lockdown, arguably affecting the success of the launch to less fanfare.

Quibi has since announced it is considering plans to allow its content to be watched on TV.

beIN launches online rental platform for cinema titles

BeIN has struck a deal with film distributors that will see it provide the latest movies straight to subscribers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) before they are seen in the cinema.

The new cinema replacement service is costed at a similar price as a trip to the cinema (around $10 according to the company) with more than 20 new movies set to be made available on beIN On Demand under the ’Cinema’ category during April and May.

Initial launch titles include The Song of Names, Into the Labyrinth and Hope Gap, BeIN said.

Indian Premier League postponed indefinitely

One of cricket’s biggest events, the Indian Premier League, has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India took the decision to suspend the 2020 season amid global lockdowns caused by the pandemic in what is another blow for sports broadcasters worldwide following the postponent of the Olympics and other events.

“The health and safety of the nation and everyone involved in our great sport remains our top priority and as such, the BCCI along with the Franchise Owners, Broadcaster, Sponsors and all the Stakeholders acknowledge that the IPL 2020 season will only commence when it is safe and appropriate to do so,” the BCCI said in a statement, according to a report from The Times of India.

 

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