TiVo launched CubiTV for Android TV, calling it a modular, cost-effective, pre-integrated system enabling MVPDs to integrate easily with Android TV. Benefits for customers are an upgraded user experience with an operator-branded interface powered by Google Assistant search and browse functionality; access to the Android TV ecosystem; a set-top box-agnostic architecture; and the ability to add features as they grow, including upgrading to TiVo’s Personalized Content Discovery Platform. CubiTV enables service providers in emerging markets “to differentiate their service and achieve their goals for subscriber retention and satisfaction" while building a foundation for future Android TV services, said Jakub Gorski, vice president-Cubiware product, TiVo Poland.

After raising more than $500,000 on Kickstarter campaigns 2016-17, Como Audio is returning to crowdfunding, this time through equity platform Wefunder. In a Tuesday email, CEO Tom DeVesto and Vice President-Product Development Peter Skiera appealed to Kickstarter supporters to “be more than a backer and actually own a piece of Como Audio!” DeVesto emailed us Tuesday that the Wefunder campaign, made possible by a 2017 amendment to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, is a “great opportunity” for small investors to "own a piece of a company and determine its future.” Equity crowdfunding allows small companies, not traditionally attractive to venture capital firms, to raise “important amounts of money,” he said. On Como’s plans for the capital it raises through Wefunder, DeVesto said the goal is to raise $3 million, with a minimum target of $1 million, and to use the money to finish certifying its new turntables, bring Google Assistant products to market and convert all existing products to “Works with Alexa” skills. Como’s Wefunder page Tuesday showed $24,900 raised from 17 investors toward an initial goal of $100,000. Shares are $2.50 each with a $300 minimum investment, said the website. After the Alexa software update, Como radio owners will be able to ask Alexa to play “Neil Young on the Como radio in the bedroom” or to raise the volume, DeVesto said. “Many” of Como’s Wi-Fi-enabled speakers support Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer and Napster directly without requiring a mobile device app, he said.

Fox Corp., on its first day as a stand-alone company (see 1903190049), took control Tuesday of the roughly 6 million Roku shares that 21st Century Fox (21CF) used to own, said a Roku SEC filing. Fox owns 7.2 percent of Roku stock, it said. Disney took over 21CF's nonbroadcast assets Wednesday, it said in an SEC filing. Ravi Ahuja, chief financial officer of 21CF’s Fox Networks Group until his recent appointment as Disney Television CFO (see the March 5 people section of this publication), remains a member of the Roku board at least until the 2019 annual meeting, when his term expires, emailed Roku spokesperson Eric Savitz Tuesday. He declined comment about whether Ahuja will seek re-election, adding nothing prevents him from doing so. Ahuja’s intentions will be known “in the coming months” when Roku releases its proxy statement for the annual meeting, said Savitz. Efforts to reach Ahuja for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful.

WarnerMedia Chairman-CEO Kevin Tsujihara is stepping down, with the company saying Monday it continues working with a third-party law firm to complete its investigation. The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month reported on allegations Tsujihara pushed for auditions for a woman with whom he was in a sexual relationship. “Kevin has contributed greatly to the studio’s success over the past 25 years and for that we thank him. Kevin acknowledges that his mistakes are inconsistent with the Company’s leadership expectations and could impact the Company’s ability to execute going forward,” said WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey in a statement Monday.

Lyft expects to price shares between $62 and $68 when they begin trading on the Nasdaq, it said in an amended SEC registration statement Monday. It plans to raise up to $2.2 billion in net proceeds from the 3.77-million-share initial public offering, $404.8 million of which it will use to pay off restricted-stock-unit “obligations,” said the filing. Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani is Lyft’s largest individual shareholder with 13.5 percent, it said. General Motors, which invested $500 million in Lyft three years ago (see 1602030048), owns 7.76 percent, it said.

LG announced pricing and availability Friday for a seven-set 2019 OLED TV lineup, led by the $2,499 OLED55C9PUA, due next month. More models and screen sizes are on deck for May, June and later in the year, said the company. The OLED TVs support Apple AirPlay2 and HomeKit, and built-in support for Alexa and Google Assistant gives consumers voice assistant control without the need for compatible smart speakers, LG said. In the box is LG’s Magic Remote, which allows users to access both voice assistant platforms and control smart home devices by voice, said the company, and the TVs incorporate Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos immersive audio. In 2018, LG OLED TVs started $200 lower, at $2,299, for the B8, which was selling during a Newegg sale Friday for $1,079 in a seven-day promotion. LG spokesperson John Taylor said the higher buy-in price reflects the 2019 TVs’ features, performance and competitive positioning. The other six LG OLED TVs are the 65- ($3,499, April) and 77-inch ($6,999, May) C9 series models; the 55-inch ($3,299, June) and 65-inch ($4,299, April) E9 sets and the 65-inch ($6,999, June) and 77-inch ($12,999, June) W9 TVs, the company said. LG previewed the lineup at CES (see 1901030022), crediting the new Alpha 9 Gen 2 processor, with artificial intelligence and deep learning technology, for the TVs’ ability to recognize source quality and implement the best algorithm for display. The processor also analyzes ambient room lighting conditions to achieve the optimal level of screen brightness, it said.

Facebook and its Instagram were returning to service for some users, including in Washington, D.C., after what appeared to be a daylong outage Wednesday. "Anddddd ... we're back," Instagram tweeted at around midnight EDT Wednesday. Many responded they still couldn't access the photo-sharing platform, and we couldn't fully use it then, either. Due to "a server configuration change, many people had trouble accessing our apps and services," Facebook tweeted early Thursday afternoon. "We've now resolved the issues and our systems are recovering. We’re very sorry for the inconvenience and appreciate everyone’s patience." Until this, the company hadn't updated its tweets after saying almost 24 hours earlier that there wasn't a distributed denial of service attack (see 1903130053). The server change "triggered a cascading series of issues," a spokesperson emailed Thursday afternoon. "Our systems have been recovering over the last few hours." The company didn't comment further Thursday.

Facebook and its Instagram weren't working for some users, including in Washington, D.C. The company's "aware that some people are currently having trouble accessing the Facebook family of apps. We’re working to resolve the issue as soon as possible," it tweeted Wednesday at around 2 p.m. EDT. It later said it's not a distributed denial of service attack. The company didn't comment further.

Roku hired Citigroup as its sales agent to raise up to $100 million in public stock offerings “from time to time,” said an 8-K filed Tuesday at the SEC. Roku will use the proceeds from any sale for working capital and general corporate purposes, including “to acquire or invest in businesses, products and technologies that are complementary to our own,” it said. It has “no current commitments or agreements” to do so, it said. Roku isn't obligated to sell any shares, but if it does, it will set the terms, including pricing and limitations “on the number of shares that may be sold in any one trading day,” the company said. Roku went public in October 2017 (see 1710030035).

Corning will canvass “key industry experts and influencers” in the coming weeks to “better understand our reputation” in the markets it operates in, emailed Director-Corporate Communications Elizabeth Dann to would-be survey participants Monday. The results “will help inform the way Corning positions itself to better serve and build stronger relationships with influencer groups across various industries,” she said: It’s “partnering” on the project with the Reputation Institute, which bills itself as a “pioneer in the science of reputation measurement.” Questionnaires will ask respondents about their “overall perceptions of the company, as well as the issues you feel are most important to you, the industry, and the public,” Dann said. Corning will donate $50 on each respondent’s behalf to For Inspiration of Science and Technology, she said. It's a nonprofit that runs programs to encourage children to pursue training and careers in math, engineering and other high-skilled fields.