Kalakshar US

Crunchyroll, a subsidiary of Sony, reached an agreement with Amazon to launch on Prime Video Channels, giving anime-niacs a new way to stream their favorite content, as originally reported by Deadline. Amazon’s Prime Video Channels is a hub that offers access to Amazon’s stable of original content, but also lets users sign up for third-party streamers like Max, Starz, Paramount+ and others.

This agreement brings two tiers of Crunchyroll to Prime Video customers in the US, Canada, Sweden and the UK. The Fan subscription gives you full access to the entire catalog of anime, which includes over 1,000 titles and 30,000 episodes. You also get brand-new series at the same time they air in Japan and the streamer’s full collection of digital manga. The Mega Fan subscription includes all of the above, plus offline viewing and access to four concurrent streams, which is great for those who play fast and loose with their passwords.

Terry Li, EVP of emerging business at Crunchyroll, says this move will allow even the “anime-curious” to “get immersed in our library.” Crunchyroll already has plenty of subscribers, 11 million as of earlier this year, and this should push that count even higher. Sony purchased Crunchyroll from AT&T in 2021 for $1.2 billion, combining it with Funimation to create an absolute behemoth of cartoonery.

Of course, just like Max, Starz and the rest, Prime Video isn’t the only way to access Crunchyroll. You can still download the app and sign up as normal. No matter which way you choose to consume Crunchyroll content, you’ll pay $8 a month for the Fan tier and $10 a month for the Mega Fan tier.

Prime Video Channels is in direct competition with the other streaming hub, Apple TV Channels. As the two continue to gobble up content partners, it seems like consumers will end up with something that looks and feels a whole lot like cable.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/crunchyroll-is-now-an-amazon-prime-video-channel-160253759.html?src=rss 

Meta is facing a massive class-action lawsuit from 41 states as well as the District of Columbia over alleged harms to its young users. Attorneys general from dozens of states joined a lawsuit, filed in California federal court, claiming that Meta knew its “addictive” features were harmful and intentionally misled the public about the safety of its platform.

In addition to the California suit, attorneys general from eight other states filed their own claims against the company. In a statement, California Attorney General Rob Bonta described the filings as part of a “coordinated effort” to hold Meta accountable for alleged misconduct. “Our bipartisan investigation has arrived at a solemn conclusion: Meta has been harming our children and teens, cultivating addiction to boost corporate profits,” Bonta said.

The lawsuit is the latest reckoning over the company’s handling of youth safety and mental health. Lawmakers, regulators and other officials have become increasingly focused on the issue, and whether social media companies are doing enough to protect their youngest users.

Meta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement, to The Wall Street Journal, the company said it had “engaged in a meaningful dialogue with the attorneys general regarding the ways Meta already works to support young people on its platforms, and how Meta is continuously working to improve young peoples’ experiences.”

Developing…

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/forty-one-states-sue-meta-for-harming-the-mental-health-of-its-youngest-users-162521184.html?src=rss 

YouTube Music has two new features rolling out, and it should come as no surprise that one of them is all about AI. Instead of looking at a compilation of album covers or uploading your own image, you can now use AI to create custom playlist art right from the YouTube Music app. 

Whether or not you’ve ever thought about what’s at the top of your playlist, designing and adding an image is pretty simple. All you need to do is click the playlist’s edit button and then on the existing main image. YouTube Music will then bring you to a range of categories, such as nature, humor and animals. Each one will generate a random set of pictures upon selection, such as a dog in a specific art style, that you can change. Just toggle through the options, and when you find one you like, save it as your playlist’s new cover photo. 

YouTube Music’s other update set to roll out is a feature called speed dial that lets you jump right back into recent listens, like specific artists and playlists. The format is very reminiscent of the top of Spotify’s homepage, but YouTube appears to show more options than its competitor. 

These features follow other recent attempts by YouTube Music to compete with more established services, such as adding a comments section and timed lyrics to follow along with songs. AI-powered custom playlist art is available now to English language accounts in the United States, with plans to roll out globally in the future, while speed dial will be available in the coming months. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-music-now-lets-you-generate-your-own-ai-playlist-art-140053565.html?src=rss