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Crossing Guard Turns Reports Into $14K Monthly Mail Club

Mail clubs thrive as 'response to digital chaos'

(Newser) - A Vermont crossing guard has turned her 50-minute shifts on on a street corner into a five-figure monthly business. Designer and illustrator Christine Tyler Hill took the Burlington job to feel more rooted in her city, and ended up launching " Cloud Report ," an $8-a-month, eight-page zine built from...

Bipartisan Bill Targets Tricky Subscription Cancellations

Legislation in House targets confusing, costly subscription practices

(Newser) - Americans who sign up for a "free trial" and then forget about it, incurring unwanted charges after that trial ends, may soon get some backup from Congress. Rep. Mark Takano, a California Democrat, and Rep. Mark Amodei, a Nevada Republican, are reviving the Unsubscribe Act on Tuesday, a bill...

FTC: Amazon Prime Uses 'Dark Patterns' to Lure Customers In

Agency also says in suit in Seattle that company makes it difficult to cancel Prime memberships

(Newser) - Amazon Prime is facing a high-profile legal test in Seattle, where a jury began hearing a case this week that could reshape how the $139-a-year service operates. The Federal Trade Commission claims Amazon lured tens of millions into Prime memberships without their full awareness, then threw up so many...

NASA-Netflix Partnership Is a 'Sci-Fi Dream'

Netflix will livestream launches, spacewalks, and more via NASA+ feeds

(Newser) - Netflix is teaming up with NASA to livestream rocket launches and other space events directly to its subscribers, the companies announced on Monday, "in a move that's equal parts sci-fi dream and Saturday afternoon plan," according to Netflix . Starting later this summer, Netflix viewers will be...

Maybe Hold Off Before Clicking That 'Unsubscribe' Button

Wall Street Journal reports that you may be inviting even more spam into your inbox by doing so

(Newser) - As you sift through all of those unwanted spam emails in your inbox, you may be tempted to click on the "Unsubscribe" button that appears on many of them. It turns out that may be the worst thing you can do, with cybersecurity experts now warning that responding to...

YouTube TV Has Bad News for Cord-Cutters
YouTube TV Has
Bad News for Cord-Cutters
in case you missed it

YouTube TV Has Bad News for Cord-Cutters

Streaming television service is raising its monthly price $10 to $82.99—about as much as cable

(Newser) - The first part of YouTube TV's tweet on Thursday seemed innocuous enough. "We have always worked to offer the content you love, with features to enjoy the best of live TV," the streaming service noted. But of course there's a "but" coming: "To keep...

Watch Out, Netflix—Here Come the Niche Streamers

Crunchyroll, BritBox, and other specialty content providers are enjoying a subscription boom

(Newser) - There's a new streaming sheriff in town. Although most people are more familiar with mainstream content providers like Netflix, Max, and Disney+, Quartz reports that specialty platforms such as BritBox are now the hot ticket, with subscriptions to those services spiking nearly 20% this year, according to data from...

LAT Loses Subscribers, More Staff After Endorsement Uproar

2 more members of editorial board step down after paper's owner refuses to let it endorse Kamala Harris

(Newser) - Fallout from the news that the owner of the Los Angeles Times blocked the paper's endorsement of Kamala Harris continues, with further resignations and a slew of canceled subscriptions. The Guardian reports that on Thursday, a day after editorials editor Mariel Garza stepped down over the commotion, two other...

Netflix Lays Off Another 150, Including Directors

Company is dealing with subscriber loss for the first time

(Newser) - The hits keep coming at Netflix. After announcing last month that it had lost subscribers, the streaming service laid off employees in animation and at its Tudum website. Content has been cut, with projects in the works being canceled. On Monday, 150 more employees were laid off, per Vulture . "...

Netflix's Fall Triggers Shockwaves in Streaming
Netflix's Chill Is Now 'Disastrous'
THE RUNDOWN

Netflix's Chill Is Now 'Disastrous'

'There's more to entertainment than volume and distraction'

(Newser) - The streaming industry is feeling shockwaves after Netflix stunned analysts Tuesday in reporting its first loss of subscribers in more than a decade. Shares fell 35% Wednesday, wiping out $50 billion in market capitalization, following a 40% year-to-date drop. "Simply put, Netflix's terrible 2022 has now become disastrous,...

Dear Remaining MoviePass Subscribers: Bad News

Service is shut down as of Saturday, with company 'unable to predict if or when' it will return

(Newser) - It looks like MoviePass has officially moved from "the brink of death" to the movie morgue. Variety reports the beleaguered subscription service will shutter, effective as of 8am ET on Saturday, according to an announcement to straggler subscribers from parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics. Why? The firm's...

On Brink of Death, MoviePass Thinks It's Figured It Out

Its new model lets subscribers see 3 movies a month for $9.95

(Newser) - What would you rather do: Pay $9.95 a month to see one movie in a theater per day, or pay $9.95 to see three movies a month? It's sort of a trick question, in that option one will soon no longer exist. MoviePass on Monday announced that...

Netflix's Growth Comes at a Cost
Netflix's Growth
Comes at a Cost

Netflix's Growth Comes at a Cost

Company has gained $5.1B in debt in one year

(Newser) - Netflix is sinking deeper into debt in its relentless pursuit of more viewers, leaving the company little margin for error as it tries to build the world's biggest video subscription service, reports the AP . Netflix's long-term debt and other obligations totaled $21.9 billion as of Sept. 30,...

New Facebook Feature Makes Stalking Even Easier!

Surely Mark Zuckerberg saw this backlash coming

(Newser) - Another day, another Facebook privacy flap: Now the social networking giant is testing a feature that Mashable calls a "stalker button." It's actually a subscription feature, allowing you to subscribe to all the actions of any of your friends—meaning you will receive notifications any time that person...

To Save the News, Look to iTunes

 To Save the News,
 Look to iTunes 
OPINION

To Save the News, Look to iTunes

Model proves people will pay for what could be free

(Newser) - People expect their news for free these days, but online advertising revenue isn’t enough to support major operations, David Carr writes in the New York Times. But there may be hope for the newspaper industry. A decade ago, people began getting their music illegally. Now, the convenience of iTunes...

New Service Is Like Netflix for Magazines

Maghound will give subscribers more choice, flexibility

(Newser) - Subscribing to a magazine was once a 1-year commitment, but Time Inc.’s Maghound is changing that, reports Folio. The Netflix-like service launching this fall offers “flexibility, choice, control and personalization,” says Maghound's president. The service allows customers to swap subscriptions at any time, liberating readers from...

Netflix Finds Itself in House of Business Horrors

Despite profit growth, flurry of grim news troubles Wall Street

(Newser) - Netflix faced a second wave of bad news today as its stock price plummeted and its website remained inaccessible to visitors. The company announced price cuts Sunday and yesterday absorbed a triple blow: lowered sales expectations, a subscriber decline, and a Wall Street downgrade. The website crash then left the...

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