It’s been another busy week in streaming and here we are taking a closer look at some of the more interesting developments that happened during the last week of April, including a change to Netflix’s with ads plan, a change at the top of Tubi, and a change in the availability of Walmart’s new streaming player.
Netflix’s Standard ads
One of the developments that may have slipped under your radar was a change to Netflix’s ad-supported plan.
Basically, Netflix upgraded the ad-supported plan by moving it up from the Basic level to the Standard level. This change resulted in a boost to the number of devices you can watch on at the same time and also the resolution.
Best of all, this happened without a price increase. If you are an existing Netflix subscriber then it might be worth taking a look at the rebranded Standard with ads plan to see if it is a better fit for you.
Tubi to get a new CEO
If you’re not already using Tubi, you should be. While there are plenty of free streaming services to choose from now, Tubi is one of our favorites, and we’re not alone. It is a very popular free service and the CEO who started it all off is now leaving.
Farhad Massoudi is stepping down at the end of June. While it currently remains to be seen who will be the new CEO, existing subscribers shouldn’t worry too much about this change.
Even though a new CEO could mean a number of things, including a change in direction, Fox Corporation seems very happy with the direction Tubi has been going in. So much so that the new CEO confirmation came at the same time as announcing the formation of the wider Tubi Media Group, which will oversee Tubi and Fox’s other digital businesses.
Walmart’s $20 player is here
Walmart’s new streaming player surfaced a few weeks back and attracted attention due to the price – it only costs $20. While you were able to pick up the Onn Google TV 4K Streaming Box from a Walmart store last week, you can also now order it online and have it shipped to you.
This streaming player is so cheap that it won’t reach free delivery on its own, unless you happy to be a Walmart Plus subscriber.
Speaking of which, Walmart has also now added ad-free Pluto TV as an additional perk of being a Walmart Plus subscriber. The new benefit only removes the ads from some of the videos, but it is still an additional benefit to be aware of.
If you’re in the market for a new streaming player but not interested in Walmart’s, our Best Streaming Players Under $50 guide was updated earlier this week so that might be worth checking out during your search for a new device.
Other streaming bits and pieces
There were quite a few other interesting news pieces this week. For example, the Phoenix Suns and Mercury have done a deal that will provide locals with an OTA and streaming alternative to Bally Sports. Sticking with sports for a moment and GolfPass also launched a free, ad-supported tier this week, unlocking access to hours of golf-related content in the process.
Elsewhere, Comcast added more Than 20 FAST channels to Xfinity Stream, and the ViX+ subscription service has now been rebranded as Vix Premium and folded into the standard ViX streaming service.
The last week also saw a few companies release their latest financial results, with Peacock confirming that it closed the first quarter of this year with 22 million paid subscribers. Likewise, Roku confirmed its Q1 ended with 71.6 million active accounts, and more than 25.1 billion streaming hours.
