Following an update to Roku’s publishing platform, content owners can launch streaming channels without having to enter a line of code, said a Wednesday Roku announcement. Roku Direct Publisher allows content owners to publish and automatically participate in search and discovery experiences on Roku devices in available regions, it said. Channels built with Roku Direct Publisher include Mashable, Rolling Stone and Us Weekly. Roku Direct Publisher is also supported by third parties, including Brightcove, JW Player, Kaltura and Ooyala. “Building streaming applications typically involves significant time, development resources and costs in order for publishers to reach and engage TV viewers effectively,” said Bill Shapiro, director-product management, Roku OS. Direct Publisher allows content owners to "get on the Roku platform quickly, develop an audience and drive monetization," he said. Roku’s search, covering more than 100 channels in the U.S., is open to all content publishers on the Roku Platform, it said, and content owners who use Roku Direct Publisher will have their content automatically included in Roku Search and My Feed. Roku’s publishing platform has added performance dashboards for each channel, giving content owners the streaming minutes for each channel, and the number of installs and uninstalls, it said. Roku Direct Publisher is available at developer.roku.com/publish along with the Roku software developer kit and XML programming framework for developing customized channels.

AT&T's DirecTV Now streaming service programming lineup will include Viacom networks Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, Spike, BET, CMT, TV Land, Nick at Nite, Nick Jr. and Logo, Viacom said in a news release Tuesday. DirecTV Now is expected to launch in Q4 (see 1603020031).

Scripps' streaming video humor brand Cracked launched a video channel of daily videos and ongoing series on Roku, including Roku-exclusive content, the company said in a news release Thursday. Scripps said Cracked already is available on Pluto TV and Xumo.

UBS downgraded AT&T from buy to neutral based on wireless competition concerns and “expectations for lower earnings growth than we had originally expected,” UBS said in a Wednesday note to investors. UBS said it's reducing its earnings per share estimates by 3 percent to $2.84 in 2016 to reflect “increased competitive intensity in wireless and incremental costs” tied to the DirecTV Now roll out (see 1609210048). UBS said earnings are likely to take a hit due to “1) diminishing benefits from the shift to installment plans, 2) limited upside to savings from lower volumes, and 3) ramping competitive intensity.” On DirecTV Now, an over-the-top service, UBS said: “We expect the cost of deployment of this new bundle and Sunday Ticket accounting to pressure Entertainment profitability in the near-term.”

The Alexa world expanded again with Amazon’s announcement Wednesday it's taking preorders for a new Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote. Shipping is set for Oct. 20. The $39 streaming media stick is up to a third faster than the original Fire TV Stick and will include up to $65 in content for new subscribers who buy and activate their device by Oct. 31, Amazon said. Content offers include one month of Sling TV, two months of Hulu’s limited-commercial offering and a $10 credit for Amazon Video rentals or purchases. Consumers can use voice control to request a specific channel or a genre, Amazon said. Extra functionality is available for Amazon Video content: Users can ask Alexa to control playback by going back or jumping ahead, it said. Among the additional Alexa features: check local movie times, create shopping lists, play music, get the news and weather, order a pizza and request an Uber ride. A software update later this year will feature a new on-screen experience said to simplify the process of finding content to watch by showing video trailers and content screenshots without the need to open and close multiple apps. The upgrade also will allow customers to use Fire TV and compatible apps with Amazon’s VoiceView, which reads on-screen text out loud as users navigate menu options, Amazon said. The free, over-the-air update will start with the Alexa-enabled Fire TV Stick and latest-generation Fire TV later this year, it said.

The Fox Sports Go streaming service is now available via Chromecast and Xbox One, Fox Sports said in a news release Tuesday. It said Chromecast and Xbox One customers who get Fox or one of its sports networks as part of their pay-TV subscriptions can access Fox Sports’ programming through the streaming service, including extensive live programming and Fox Sports 1 shows.

Nielsen's Digital Content Ratings (DCR) service -- giving a daily measurement of viewing audiences across digital content types, with metrics comparable to TV -- will be available for clients starting Friday, the company said in a news release Tuesday. Nielsen said DCR "marks progress toward industry adoption of consistent and comprehensive measurement in digital." The company said DCR is based on complementary methodology to its Digital Ad Ratings. Mike Wann, head-business development and strategy at Nielsen client TasteMade, said it has "been a challenge to get a full view of your audience across every screen and distributor. We have been enthusiastic working with Nielsen Digital Content Ratings to begin truly unlocking the value of our community wherever they are."

Roku bowed a new lineup of streaming media players in a Monday announcement, dropping the entry price point of video streaming to $29. Amazon's Fire TV stick was selling Monday for $39. The barebones Roku Express offers 1080p streaming in what Roku called its tiniest streaming player to date and comes with an HDMI cable. The similarly configured $39 Roku Express+, designed for use with older TVs and shipped with a composite AV cable, will be sold exclusively through Walmart, said Roku. The upscaling Roku Premiere ($79) and Premiere+ ($99) stream 4K Ultra HD at up to 60 frames per second, come with dual-band wireless and have a night listening mode, said the company, while the $99 model adds high-dynamic-range support. The top model in the line is the Roku Ultra ($129), which includes all the features of the Premiere+ and adds Dolby Digital decoding, voice search, a lost remote finder, optical digital audio out connection for an AVR or soundbar and a USB port for local media playback, said the company.

A+E Networks channels will be included in AT&T's DirecTV Now streaming service when it debuts in Q4, A+E said in a news release Monday. The network said the DirecTV Now lineup will include A&E, Lifetime, History, LMN, FYI and Viceland channels.

The Digital Entertainment Group will lend its name to comScore's Digital Download Essentials Industry (DDEi) service in North America in a co-branding partnership agreement, DEG and comScore said in a Thursday announcement. The newly renamed DEG-DDEi service gives movie studios, TV networks, distributors and other subscribers “title-level consumer transactional information” on digital sales of electronic sell-through and internet VOD content, they said. The DEG-DDEi service “also includes competitive set top box-based VOD activity from comScore's OnDemand Essentials service, allowing subscribers to access the full scope of paid digital market share and title performance in a single, powerful application,” they said.