The week in over-the-top provides a recap of recent news related to streaming initiatives in the U.S. from various networks and platforms.
* Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. has agreed to create exclusive content for Walmart Inc.'s video-on-demand service VUDU Inc., Reuters reported Oct. 8, citing an official statement. In a statement to Reuters, Walmart spokesman Justin Rushing said the new programming will be based on MGM's library of intellectual property, and will premiere exclusively on the VUDU platform.
* Subscribers of Hulu LLC's Hulu with Live TV service and Google LLC's YouTube TV can now access news networks provider Cheddar Inc.'s live and on-demand programming at no additional charge via the Cheddar website, mobile and TV apps. Cheddar will use Synacor Inc.'s Cloud ID cloud-based identity management platform to speed authentication integrations with virtual multichannel video programming distributors and MVPDs, according to an Oct. 4 news release.
* Netflix Inc. has struck a multiyear series overall deal with showrunner and writer Eric Newman. The deal is in addition to Newman's previously announced Netflix feature film overall deal via Screen Arcade, the company said Oct. 4.
* Netflix has acquired rights to Blake Crouch's book "Recursion" for a feature film and a television universe, the company said Oct. 4. To be published on June 11, 2019, "Recursion" is a sci-fi thriller, romance, and police procedural that explores what happens when a brilliant female scientist invents a technology that allows people not just to reactivate their most visceral memories but to reinvent them entirely.
* Netflix launched original docuseries, "Medal of Honor," to celebrate eight men who received the U.S. military's highest award for valor. The episodes of the docuseries will cover World War II, Afghanistan, The Korean War, Vietnam, Sylvester Antolak and Clint Romesha, among others, the company said Oct. 4.
* Sports-centric live TV streaming service fuboTV Inc. is now offering the out-of-market subscription service NBA League Pass to users, Multichannel News reported Oct. 4. The service, which shows nearly 1,000 pro hoops games a year outside of the user's market, is available as a $28.99 add-on.
* Netflix picked up a new adult animation series, called "Hoops." The series, featuring 10 episodes, is about a hot-headed, foul-mouthed high school basketball coach who thinks turning around his God-awful team will take him to the "big leagues," the company said Oct. 3.
* In more Netflix news, the streaming giant will develop new series and film projects based on C.S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia" series. Under a multiyear deal with The C.S. Lewis Co., all series and films produced through the deal will be Netflix productions, with Mark Gordon of Entertainment One alongside Douglas Gresham and Vincent Sieber serving as executive producers for series and as producers for the feature projects, the company said Oct. 3.
* Netflix will stream "1983," its first Polish original series, on Nov. 30. The series features Robert Więckiewicz and Maciej Musiał as a disgraced police investigator and an idealistic law student who stumble upon a conspiracy that changed the course of the nation and kept the Iron Curtain standing, the company said in an Oct. 2 news release.
* Amazon.com Inc.'s Amazon Studios has struck an overall deal with Neil Gaiman, Variety reported Oct. 2. Under the deal, Gaiman will exclusively work on new series for Amazon Prime Video.
* Amazon has ordered a series based on Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" series of fantasy books, Deadline.com reported Oct. 2. Amazon Prime Video will launch the one-hour series in more than 200 countries and territories.
* Alphabet Inc. unit Google teamed up with video game publisher Ubisoft Entertainment SA to test its game-streaming service Project Stream, according to an Oct. 1 official blog post. From Oct. 5, a limited number of users started playing soon-to-be-released "Assassin's Creed Odyssey" for free as part of the Project Stream test.
* Hulu unveiled a Halloween-themed hub that offers access to a selection of popular Halloween TV episodes and movies. Also, viewers will be able to watch new content throughout the month, including eight short films from up-and-coming filmmakers, and two Hulu originals "Into the Dark" and "Light as a Feather," the company said Oct. 1.
* In more Netflix news, the company is working to introduce a number of specials that will let viewers control the storyline in a television episode or movie, Bloomberg News reported Oct. 1, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The slate includes the upcoming season of science-fiction anthology series "Black Mirror," in which viewers will be able to select their own storyline in one of the episodes.
* Netflix will stream live-action drama series "Titans" globally to its members outside of the U.S. and China. The 11-episode series follows a group of young soon-to-be Super Heroes recruited from the DC Universe, the company said Oct. 1.
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