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Libby will filter out AI content, kind of

2026-06-30T08:41:41-04:00

This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week.

"AI is the new frontier for us," says Marc DeBevoise, who took over as the new CEO of OverDrive last week. OverDrive is best known for the ebook lending app Libby that is available through tens of thousands of public libraries. Like the rest of the digital publishing industry, it's poised to face massive disruption from a huge wave of AI-generated books.

To prepare for the AI onslaught, Libby is now getting ready to introduce AI content controls, allowing readers to select in t …

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How the World Cup became a US streaming success story

2026-06-25T11:24:55-04:00

Guillermo Ochoa #13 of Mexico is tossed into the air by his teammates after the team's 3-0 victory in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group A match between Czechia and Mexico at Mexico City Stadium on June 24, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico. | Getty Images

This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week.

The 2026 World Cup is breaking streaming records around the world: Brazil's CazéTV YouTube livestream of that country's opening game against Morocco surpassed 12 million concurrent viewers, a new milestone for YouTube. The South Korea versus Czech Republic game was streamed by 3.86 million viewers in South Korea at its peak, doubling a previous record set by BTS. And the BBC clocked more than 600,000 concurrent streams during the France-Senegal match-up, making it the biggest-ev …

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No more lightbulbs, much more sports: Five predictions for Roku’s future

2026-06-17T16:10:26-04:00

This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week.

When Fox announced its acquisition of Roku earlier this week, executives of both companies were quick to promise that not much would change in the near future. Sure, getting its hands on Roku will help Fox become a major force in streaming, and surpass the viewership of Netflix in the United States when you include Fox's TV networks. But Roku will remain open to all streaming services, and Fox will keep selling its programming to anyone, they pledged.

Of course, that doesn't me …

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Is Apple TV the new HBO?

2026-06-11T08:19:25-04:00

This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week.

Severance. Pachinko. Silo. Ted Lasso. Over the past couple of years, a number of Apple TV shows have become hits with audiences and critics alike. And yet, compared to the size of other subscription services, Apple TV still barely makes a dent.

In Nielsen's most recent The Gauge report, Apple's service failed once again to make the top 10 list of most-used streaming services, suggesting that its audience is smaller than not just that of Netflix and Disney Plus, but also Tubi, H …

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The secret to Roku’s success: not being cool

2026-05-28T09:56:41-04:00

This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week.

Roughly 10 years ago, someone told me that Roku was making "cheap hardware to sell to Walmart customers in flyover states." The remark was meant to be an insult, belittling a company that seemed to care more about hardware profit margins than design and innovation.

Still, I've been thinking about it a lot over the years. And as Roku became a major force in streaming hardware, surpassing 100 million households last month, I've come to the conclusion that Roku's secret superpowe …

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AI video is moving beyond clip slop

2026-05-21T12:19:36-04:00

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A still from Innovative Dreams, a new production company by Luma and Wonder Project | Image: Luma/X

This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week.

Hollywood is cooked - or so a growing number of people on social media would like you to believe. Their purported proof: AI-generated clips of Daniel Craig riding a Vespa through an Italian city, Godzilla fighting King Kong, or The Avengers zooming through Manhattan.

In reality, cheap slop like this won't replace Hollywood blockbusters any time soon. However, a new generation of AI video solutions could upend how studios work. That's because, until recently, AI companies basica …

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Netflix is building an AI animation studio

2026-05-21T10:39:55-04:00

Netflix’s job listings indicate an generative AI-heavy animation studio is coming. | Image: The Verge

This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week.

Netflix has been building a new internal studio called INKubator that aims to use AI to produce short-form animated content: The streamer is hiring for a wide variety of roles, including producers, software engineers, and CG artists to staff INKubator, according to a number of recently published job listings.

Netflix has yet to publicly announce its plans for INKubator, which job listings also sometimes refer to as INK. The company did not immediately respond to a request for c …

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Netflix has its own, impressive AI-powered voice search

2026-05-07T12:05:31-04:00

This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week.

A small subset of Netflix viewers just got a new way to find movies and TV shows. The streamer recently started to test an AI-powered native voice search feature with some subscribers, prompting them to press the Netflix button on their remote control to ask for viewing recommendations.

Once viewers press the button, they're presented with a few search suggestions, including phrases like "I need a good cry," "watch in the background," and "help me stay awake." Each of these sug …

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After working on the Vision Pro, this AR veteran is going back to phones

2026-04-30T12:58:39-04:00

This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week.

When Mark Drummond was working on the Vision Pro at Apple, he had a bit of an epiphany that didn't really fit Cupertino's preferred narrative.

Drummond was managing the Character Intelligence Team, which among other things built the Encounter Dinosaurs demo. Preinstalled on the Vision Pro, the demo puts viewers eye to eye with interactive prehistoric creatures.

"We built that with Jon Favreau," Drummond says, referring to Apple's long-standing partnership with the Mandalorian …

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25 years later, is it time for a new iPod?

2026-04-23T09:09:02-04:00

This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the original iPod. With its monochrome display, mechanical scroll wheel, and 5 GB hard drive, Apple's pioneering music player now looks like the relic of a bygone era.

And yet, in a surprising twist, there's growing interest in a redo.

After being essentially flat for five years, Google searches for "MP3 Player" tripled since last fall. A Reddit group for fans of digital audio players is now attracting 90,000 visitors per week on average …

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