It's called FilmStruck, and it's a new SVOD hatched by the Turner Classic Movies wing, so in a way what will be new about it is that it's movie offerings will mainly be old, or indies or foreign. 

Despite Google’s best efforts, YouTube is still only grabbing a small fraction of TV ad dollars. “YouTube faces several nagging challenges that are holding it back from capturing more TV revenue, including pricing concerns, the way agencies are structured and lingering doubts over the quality of its content,” The Wall Street Journal reports, citing ad buyers.

There are now more Internet-connected TVs and streaming devices in U.S. households than pay TV set-top boxes, according to Leichtman Research Group, which says 65% of all U.S. TV households have at least one streaming device connected to their TV or a smart TV set connected to the Internet. Only 44% did in 2013.

This week Blondie lead singer Deborah Harry will urge President Obama to issue an executive order to close the so-called “safe harbor” loophole, which critics say allows YouTube to operate a giant music streaming service and profit from unlicensed content. YouTube pays artists just one cent per 100 streams according to one industry publication. 

Lowe's will use Facebook mobile video and Snapchat to give millennial home owners home improvement tricks. The retailer is working with BBDO to reach younger consumers on social mediq platforms. 

VideoInk's Todd Longwell muses over the lame debut party for Facebook Live and the fact that by sheer size it will do very well, thank you. 

In the online video world, the prestigious Peabodys went to Aziz Ansari's "Masters of None," "Beasts of No Nation" and "Marvel's Jessica Jones." Amazon won one for "Transparent," the transgender comedy (of sorts) starring Jeffrey Tambor.

Google looks at advertising from 56 brands and concludes that in 77% of the cases, it delivered a better ROI than TV adverising

Verizon is planning on releasing a new set-top box model later this year that could substantially change how it delivers cable and Internet services to FiOS customers, according to a report. The new device, codenamed “Mallard,” is said to incorporate technology from OnCue, an Intel Internet TV service sold off to Verizon in 2014.

The second season of the Tiny Fey-Robert Carlock comedy, "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" is available on Netflix starting today, with its endless cascade of shaded observations, rapid-fire quips and a disjointed feel