Pandora said its 99-cent One Day Pass service will be available in the U.S. beginning Thursday for Android and iOS devices. The a la carte offering gives listeners 24 hours of Pandora One benefits: the ability to build channels around their favorite artists, songs and stations without ads and to skip more songs than the six allowed with the free version of the service. Once a listener buys a Pandora One Day Pass, the listening experience will begin immediately and will continue in a user’s car and connected devices, said the company.

Video content distribution company net mobile (net-m) teamed with Dolby and Geniatech to deliver a 4G-TV demonstration at IBC in Dusseldorf Tuesday. Net-m’s Anyscreen service can be delivered through conventional Internet connections or mobile 3G or 4G networks, said the company. Anyscreen offers a customizable mix of linear TV, VOD and catch-up content optimized for screen size, it said. The improvement in sound quality “is the next logical step for a user’s perfect overall experience." said Carsten Müller, senior vice president, net mobile.

Spotify took note of positive feedback after the company’s commitment (see 1508210044) to write its privacy policy in plain language and decided to incorporate a plain-language introduction to the privacy policy itself, wrote Spotify CEO Daniel Ek in a blog post Thursday. “The Introduction is intended to be a clear statement of our approach and principles about privacy,” Ek said. Spotify provides more detail in the body of the policy, but its fundamental privacy principles are outlined in the Introduction, he said.

Over-the-top companies gathered Tuesday for the latest quarterly meeting of the Streaming Video Alliance, an invitation-only event hosted by Charter Communications at its Charter Technology and Engineering Center in Denver. Formed in 2014, SVA said its aims include definition of a streaming open architecture and establishment of best practices. Beamr, CableLabs, Cedexis, Conviva, Irdeto, NeuLion, Nominum, Sky and Time Warner Cable are all new members to the alliance, SVA said.

Amazon added to Prime membership benefits the ability for members in Austria, Germany, the U.K. and U.S. to download select movies and TV episodes to iPhones, iPads and Android phones and tablets for offline viewing at no additional charge. Amazon took aim at competitor Netflix in its announcement of the new Prime perk Tuesday, saying it's the “first and only” online subscription streaming video service that enables downloads of titles, “meaning unlike other subscription streaming services such as Netflix, Prime members can enjoy movies and TV shows as part of their membership even when they don’t have an internet connection available.” The way people watch entertainment is changing, said Michael Paull, Amazon vice president-digital video. “Anytime, anywhere viewing is important and we are excited to provide our Prime members with offline viewing capabilities on iOS and Android platforms.” Netflix didn’t comment.

Hulu and Epix signed a multiyear subscriber VOD agreement that will bring new-release motion pictures from Lionsgate, MGM and Paramount to Hulu starting Oct. 1, the over-the-top service said Sunday in a post on a company blog. Epix is a joint venture of Lionsgate, MGM and Viacom and its Paramount Pictures unit. The Hulu deal was a blow to rival Netflix. In a blog post Sunday, Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said the company "decided not to renew our agreement in the U.S. with Epix ... which means that some high profile movies including Hunger Games: Catching Fire, World War Z and Transformers: Age of Extinction, will expire at the end of September in the US. If you want to see them on Netflix US, now is the time."

Standard & Poor’s stands ready to upgrade its rating outlook on Netflix if the over-the-top streaming video provider “can continue its good operating momentum," despite expanding its “global footprint,” the credit-rating service said in a Thursday report. “Despite quick successes” with its rollouts in Canada and the Nordic countries, Netflix “has faced challenges with its expansion into other countries and regions,” S&P said. “We generally expect that Netflix will find future market entries more challenging than previous ones because, in addition to facing any regulatory nuances, the company won't be the industry pioneer in those new markets. We also believe that the company will be able to sign more broad-market agreements and, eventually, truly global ones.” Netflix plans to partner with SoftBank for its launch into Japan Sept. 2, it said this week (see 1508240004). Japan for Netflix “will probably be our slowest market to get to a certain penetration threshold, but it may be one of our best markets in the long term because when the Japanese society embraces a brand, it's a very deep connection, very long-term,” CEO Reed Hastings said in July (see 1507160028).

Hulu said its partnerships with LiveRail and Oracle will allow advertisers to deliver data-informed advertising this fall, allowing Hulu to “create new opportunities for advertisers with an automated, seamless, data-driven process ... Hulu will be able to deliver marketers real-time adjustments and give them more control over their campaigns.” Hulu plans to deploy the Oracle Data Management Platform (DMP) and LiveRail’s Video Private Exchange (VPX). Oracle’s DMP will allow advertisers “to personalize their advertising campaigns on Hulu with more rich information about their target audiences to deliver even stronger campaign results,” Hulu said Tuesday. LiveRail’s VPX will allow Hulu “to use LiveRail’s granular level controls to target campaigns with the ability to make real-time decisions on the value of individual impressions, driving campaign effectiveness and results for advertisers and increasing the relevance of ads for their viewers,” Hulu said. “The marketplace has shown that data is overwhelmingly the new currency,” said Hulu Senior Vice President-Advertising Peter Naylor in a blog post.

Netflix plans to partner with SoftBank for its launch into Japan Sept. 2, it said in a Monday news release. Under the agreement, SoftBank customers will be able to sign up for Netflix at SoftBank stores and at major electronics retailers, and through the SoftBank website or its call centers, and the monthly Netflix subscription fee will be added to their SoftBank bills. The mobile company also said it will begin pre-installing the Netflix app on its smartphones, starting later this fall.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek issued an apology to users Friday for the confusion its new terms and conditions and privacy policy (see 1508180012) have caused, particularly on what kinds of information the streaming music service accesses and what the company does with the data. In its new privacy policy, Spotify asks permission to access photos, mobile device location, voice controls and contacts, Ek wrote in a blog post. “If you don’t want to share this kind of information, you don’t have to.” The information will be used to allow users to customize their experience, he said. The new privacy policy will be updated to reflect the additional explanations Ek provided, he said.