Happy Friday!
It's been a week of Q2 earnings calls - during which Roku reported 30.5 million active monthly users, and Disney shares fell, after missed earnings. That's not a great place for Disney to be, ahead of its much-lauded direct-to-consumer OTT service in November. But still, all is to play for in the TV content war, with NBCU, Warner Media, Netflix, Pluto, Xumo, Apple and HBO in the mix. Even Facebook is getting into the SVOD game.
Meanwhile, Quibi and the BBC are signalling ways that interactive will be the key to giving their content the edge.
Whatever unfolds in the industry over the coming months, the number of streaming viewing hours are still on the rise. Conviva's Q2 report showed that these have grown a whopping 130% over the last year - and still has steady growth forecast ahead.
All these stories from our favourite media publications, below.
Interesting times!
Google Maps AR walking directions arrive on iOS and Android
Google Maps AR will allow the user to see virtual signposts and google pins overlayed onto the world they are trying to navigate.
This innovation will help users verify they're on the right path to their destination but it has the same issue as most mobile-based AR has.
Moving around the real world while looking through a small window to another isn't ideal.