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Scener adds more services for watch parties

Ina Fried, author of Login

A rendering of the Scener experience for San Diego Comic Con as seen on a laptop. Image: Scener

Scener, a small spinoff from RealNetworks, is expanding its service, which lets people in separate locations watch video simultaneously while also chatting, offering a digital, socially distant option for watching a movie or TV show with friends.

The big picture: The company's product is one of many for which the pandemic has been, in its way, fortuitous, making what might have been a niche experience into a social lifeline.

Driving the news:

  • Scener, which had worked with Netflix and HBO Max, is announcing today new support for Amazon's Prime Video, Disney+, the premium version of Hulu, Vimeo and Funimation.
  • Scener, which works via a Chrome browser plug-in, aims to protect copyrighted content by requiring each device to log into the video service being used.
  • Scener is also working with San Diego Comic Con to offer online tracks in movies and anime that attendees can watch from home by logging into their existing streaming services.

Go deeper

Axios
Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Health: Coronavirus deaths reach 4,000 per day as hospitals remain in crisis mode — CDC warns highly transmissible coronavirus variant could become dominant in U.S. in March.
  2. Politics: Biden says, "We will manage the hell out of" vaccine distribution — Biden taps ex-FDA chief to lead Operation Warp Speed amid rollout of COVID plan — Widow of GOP congressman-elect who died of COVID-19 will run to fill his seat.
  3. Vaccine: Battling Black mistrust of the vaccines — "Pharmacy deserts" could become vaccine deserts — Instacart to give $25 to shoppers who get vaccine.
  4. Economy: Unemployment filings explode again — Fed chair: No interest rate hike coming any time soon —  Inflation rose more than expected in December.
  5. World: WHO team arrives in China to investigate pandemic origins.
Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

NRA declares bankruptcy, says it will reincorporate in Texas

Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association (NRA) speaks during CPAC in 2016. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

The National Rifle Association said Friday it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will seek to reincorporate in Texas, calling New York, where it is currently registered, a "toxic political environment."

The big picture: The move comes just months after New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit to dissolve the NRA, alleging the group committed fraud by diverting roughly $64 million in charitable donations over three years to support reckless spending by its executives.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Hans Nichols, author of Sneak Peek
4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Biden: "We will manage the hell out of" vaccine distribution

Joe Biden. Photo: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

President-elect Joe Biden promised to invoke the Defense Production Act to increase vaccine manufacturing, as he outlined a five-point plan to administer 100 million COVID-19 vaccinations in the first months of his presidency.

Why it matters: With the Center for Disease Control and Prevention warning of a more contagious variant of the coronavirus, Biden is trying to establish how he’ll approach the pandemic differently than President Trump.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow