IHeartMedia is expanding into Web3 and the metaverse, with plans to create events and experiences for mainstream listeners on the Roblox platform, the company said Wednesday. The radio broadcaster plans to bring immersive musical events to the 47 million daily active users on Roblox and launch its first tokenized community. It will build a token designed to “incentivize and reward” iHeart creators in new ways and give iHeart users access to offerings across its multiple platforms, including collectible nonfungible tokens. Calling iHeartMedia “big believers in the incredible potential of web3,” Conal Byrne, president-iHeartMedia digital audio group, said the company is working with partners to develop an “easy-to-use ramp to the metaverse and web3 for the mass market.”

FuboTV raised guidance for Q4 revenue and subscriber metrics, said the company Monday. Q4 revenue is now expected to be $215 million-$220 million vs. guidance of $205 million-$210 million; full-year revenue was upped to $622 million-$627 million from $612 million-$617 million. Q4 advertising revenue is seen topping $25 million, rising 90% year on year, it said. Fubo projects paid subscribers at the end of 2021 of 1.1 million vs. prior guidance of 1.06 million-1.07 million. Metrics exclude contributions from French livestreaming platform company Molotov, acquired in December (see 2112080030). The sports-based virtual MVPD is expected to report Q4 earnings in early March. The stock hit a 52-week low at $12.79 before closing down $2.93 at $13.56.

Comcast and AT&T's WarnerMedia's carriage renewal includes the first distribution agreement for the CNN+ streaming subscription service. The two said Monday CNN+ will launch in Q1 and Comcast will make it available to its Xfinity customers via its Xfinity X1, Xfinity Flex and XClass TV platforms later in 2022.

Allen Media Group launched a free sports-based streaming platform available on Apple and Android apps, Fire TV and Android TV, with Roku and Apple TV platforms "coming soon," it said Wednesday. Among Sports.TV's 60-plus channels are Pac-12 Insider, HBCUGo.TV, World Poker Tour, PursuitUp TV, Impact Wrestling, Black Belt TV, MMA TV, CampusLore, Horse & Country, NHRA.tv and Racing America. Allen Media CEO Byron Allen said the platform has already received “enormous ad support.” Virtual live channels showing Thursday morning included Fox stations from Boston; Great Falls, Montana; Memphis; Seattle; and Tulsa. Also showing were virtual channels WFTV Orlando; WPXI Pittsburgh; KULR-TV Billings, Montana; and WHIO-TV Dayton.

Qobuz launched two-person subscription plans starting at $14.99 per month for two people living under the same roof using separate accounts, it emailed Thursday. Qobuz Studio Duo is for unlimited streaming; Sublime Duo ($22.49 per month) offers streaming and downloading. The high-res music streaming service also has Solo ($10.83 monthly, based on an annual subscription) and Family (starting at $17.99) subscriptions.

The ongoing cord cutting by MVPD subscribers, while significant, remains orderly, though there's a risk it could ramp up to disorderly, MoffettNathanson's Craig Moffett wrote investors Tuesday. That ramp-up only needs a major programmer to aggressively push its best programming to a direct-to-consumer offering "and the Jenga tower [of the programming bundle] would collapse," he said. ESPN is an obvious candidate to go that route, he said. Disney's ESPN didn't comment.

Some 60% of subscribers with multiple streaming services reported frustration with their viewing experience, said a Tuesday Accenture report. Forty-four percent of survey respondents said they spend more than six minutes searching for something to watch. “The video streaming experience has become somewhat unwieldy, unfriendly, and expensive” for many subscribers, said Accenture spokesperson Andrew Walker. Consumers think more than 60% of the content they are paying for is not relevant to them, and 56% said they want their profile from one service to be easily be shared with another service that may offer them better, more personalized content, the report said. Consumers care more about the content delivered by streaming services, but they find the navigation experience with the growing number of services to be increasingly frustrating, it said. Content aggregators can address that concern by unifying access to streaming services through application software, services and data-sharing agreements, it said, suggesting aggregators act as a single platform with curated content that enables subscribers to select “exactly what they want to watch.” The survey of over 6,000 consumers was fielded in 11 countries October-November.

Households subscribing to virtual MVPD services are “super users” of over-the-top video content, blogged Comscore Tuesday. About 26% of vMVPD households consuming linear TV content via a vMVPD over the past year stream video at levels “much higher than typical OTT households,” said Eric Bratten, director-brand generation, saying vMVPD households stream seven OTT services in a typical month vs. five for the average OTT household. They watched over 52 more hours of streaming video services, at 152, vs. the average OTT home, Bratten said. But as consolidation of brands and content packages evolve, virtual MVPDs “need to be careful their channel packages do not become the bloated bundles that cord-cutters decided to walk away from to begin with,” he said. Distributors that remain “nimble” and attuned to consumer behaviors, needs and trends “will play a significant role in shaping the future of television.”

FuboTV secured gaming rights in Arizona, the second state to give regulatory approval to the virtual MVPD’s Fubo Sportsbook via its Fubo Gaming subsidiary, the virtual MVPD said Monday. It received regulatory approval earlier this year to operate as the management service provider to the Ak-Chin Indian Community to go live with mobile betting operations within Arizona, said Fubo, which also has market access agreements in Pennsylvania via Cordish Cos., Indiana and New Jersey via Caesars Entertainment, and Iowa via Casino Queen. The Sportsbook app integrates with fuboTV. Fubo Sportsbook is operational in Iowa and expects to launch in additional markets, subject to regulatory approvals.

Disney channels returned to YouTube TV's lineup, the streamer said Sunday, after Friday's expiration of their licensing agreement. YouTube TV said monthly pricing remains $64.99. During the blackout, YouTube TV cut prices $15.