Streaming

Spotify has announced that it is testing a new playlist creation option that build on the familiarity people have developed with the likes of ChatGPT. Called Prompted Playlist, the feature gives users a way to create personalized playlists while still benefitting from some AI input.

This is just the latest in a long time of playlist creation options offered by Spotify, and the company says that the idea is to not only push the boundaries of listening, but also to give users greater control.

Having started life as a music streaming platform, Spotify gradually branched out in podcasts and audio books. The latest development sees the online giant launching music videos for users in the US and Canada.

As is pretty standard for Spotify, the roll-out of music video support comes with various caveats. Not only is this limited to people living in the US and Canada, it is also a beta feature, so it is subject to change and possible starting wobbles. But there is another key consideration.

To little fanfare, Netflix has made changes that make it harder to cast content from a phone to another device, such as a TV.

The general rule of thumb that now applies is that if a device has its own remote control, it will not be possible to cast to it. With this covering pretty much every television in existence, this is something that will affect a lot of people.

In the age of digital subscriptions in which we find ourselves, price increases have become par for the course. Spotify is no different to other companies in this regard, and the arrival of a new year seems to be as good a reason as any to hoik up monthly fees.

At the moment there is no official word from Spotify itself, but a price increase is certainly due, and a report by the Financial Times suggests that it is just around the corner.

Plex has, over the years, earned itself a dedicated legion of fans looking for free or cheap ways to stream music, movies and more. The software has simplified the process of setting up and working with a remote media server, and there is now a significant change on the way.

For some time, it has been possible to remotely access a Plex media server for free – great for anyone travelling who wants to stream contents from their home server. But this will soon be a paid-for feature, meaning that anyone looking to remotely access media will need to take out a Plex subscription.

The Spotify recommendation algorithm is problematic, and easily sent askew by random tracks you listen to. The company has just announced that it is rolling out the option for users around the world to exclude individual tracks

This may sound like something we’ve heard before, but previous exclusion options have related to playlists. Now you can stop that one song your kid keeps listening to from causing your recommendations to be in a similar vein.

Subscribers to Disney+ are being asked to dig deeper into their pockets as the cost of the streaming service goes up again. In what is becoming an annual occurrence, subscription charges are increasing across the board.

If you were hoping that opting for an ad-supported tier would help with avoiding price increases, think again – even this subscription package is going up. With Disney having irritated many of its customers after the (since reversed) decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel, the company should expect an even frostier reception than normal to asking people for more money each month.

Timed to coincide with the release of the second half of season two of Wednesday, Netflix has announced an update to its Moments feature. Introduced last year, Moments gives Netflix a way to “bookmark” a point in a show so you can share it with friends, or just use it as a handy way to jump to a favorite scene.

With the update to Moments, Netflix is now making it possible to define a start and end point for such scenes so you can create shareable clips from thing you have been watching. While the launch is being tied to Wednesday, Netflix uses the announcement to promote KPop Demon Hunters as well.

It was inevitable that it would happen one day, and that day appears to have arrived. YouTube is getting stricter about how a Premium Family plan can be used.

The rules that apply to YouTube Family Premium are not changing, but YouTube is now seemingly enforcing restrictions that it was previously happy to turn a blind eye to.

Disney has announced major plans for Hulu – in short, it is getting rid of the Hulu app. This does not mean, however, that Hulu itself is going away.

During an earnings call, Disney revealed that rather than maintain the Hulu app and Disney+ app separately, Hulu content will instead be made available via Disney+. This is a significant change, but it is not going to be happening immediately.

Spotify has announced an increase in subscription prices for users around the world. For now, the US does not get a mention, but with fees being raised in pretty much every region, it is hard to imagine that the same will not happen stateside as well.

The new pricing is due to kick in for existing subscribers in September, but sooner for new subscribers.

Spotify and Android Auto is a perfect pairing, and with the latest update to the app things just got even better. There is something of a UX-enhancing face-lift to the app, but the update also sees the arrival of new collaborative playlist options.

Jams are not usually a good thing on car journeys, but in the case of Spotify Jam it’s a little different. The feature lets everyone in the vehicle add their own music to a queue and create a playlist that will include something for everyone’s taste.

Amazon has finally announced when the Freevee streaming video app will close for good. As of next month, the Freevee app will be inaccessible, with content now being available on Prime Video instead.

The shuttering is no surprise, as the closure was announced last year. At the time, however, Amazon did not specify a timeline for how things would pan out. Some eight months after the original announcement, the company has finally revealed that the Freevee app will be shut down in August 2025.

In another twist for streaming subscribers, Warner Bros. Discovery is scrapping the “Max” brand and reviving the “HBO Max” name this summer. The company made this move official at its Upfront event today in New York, touting it as a way to double down on what works best: the HBO brand and its reputation for quality programming.

Executives point to billions in profit improvements and millions of new subscribers, insisting that shifting the focus back to HBO will help the company hit a projected 150 million global subscribers by 2026. But as someone who follows streaming trends closely, I can’t ignore the constant rebranding.

It has been an incredibly long time coming, but Disney+ subscribers are, at long last, being given control over the oft maligned Continue Watching list.

While an ostensibly useful feature, making it possible to easily pick up a viewing sessions from where you left it, Continue Watching lists have also been the cause of complaints. They have become wastelands of abandoned shows, movies that have been bailed on, and accidental additions -- but no more!