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Sirius XM Holdings announced a 1-for-10 reverse stock split for its shareholders when it merges with Liberty Media’s SiriusXM Group tracking stock later this year, sending the streaming and satellite radio company’s stock up 4.5% on Tuesday (June 18). The stock split, which was announced in a filing on Sunday (June 16), is meant to […]
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Adult Swim is Cartoon Network’s home to some of the most popular adult comedies on television right now, including Rick & Morty, The Eric Andre Show, Aqua Teen Hunger Force and even My Adventure With Superman. The easiest way to watch the channel is through a cable package, but don’t worry, cord-cutters, there are some affordable streaming options online that include Cartoon Network so you can watch Adult Swim without cable.
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Viewers can also look forward to Anthony Bourdain’s graphic novel Get Jiro! being turned into a TV show for Adult Swim, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series takes place in a not-so-distant future where Los Angeles master chefs run the city like crime lords and people have to kill in order to get a seat at the restaurant.
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You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on another cable package in order to watch the series and more from Adult Swim. Instead, live TV streamers are offering promos and free trials that’ll let you watch Adult Swim for free through Cartoon Network.
Keep reading to learn more.
How to Watch Adult Swim Without Cable for Free
To help you find the best discounts and free trials available, ShopBillboard put together a list of live TV streamers that’ll get you access to Adult Swim for free.
Max
Max is the official streaming platform for Adult Swim, which means you can watch all of the its programs and more in one spot. If you already have a Max subscription, you can instantly watch shows such as Smiling Friends, Robot Chicken and more when you log in to your account.
Don’t have a Max subscription? New users can take advantage of a rare seve-day free trial that the platform is offering for a limited time only. Once the free trial is over, you’ll be charged based on the plan you choose at checkout.
There are three plans to choose from: the ad-supported, which is the cheapest option at $9.99 a month, or $99.99 a year. Or you can go ad-free for $15.99 a month ($149.99 a year). The Ultimate ad-free package for $19.99 a month and includes 4K Ultra HD quality, 100 downloads to watch on the go, as well as the ability to stream on up to four devices at once.
Sling TV
Sling TV is another affordable option that comes with Cartoon Network, so you can stream its late-night programming block. The live TV streamer is offering a limited-time promo that’ll get you $25 off the first month when you sign up. There are three packages to choose from: Orange Package, Blue Package or you can combine both.
Every single package come with Cartoon Network, which means you’ll be able to watch Adult Swim shows and more. The Orange Package is the cheapest option to choose from at $15 (regularly $40) and comes with 34 channels. You can upgrade to the Blue package for $20 (reg. $45) and get local channels as well as 44 channels to flip through. The Orange + Blue package will give you all 46 channels if you can’t choose giving you local, sports and reality TV options.
Hulu
Hulu is another affordable option to stream Adult Swim content without cable, as it offers a library full of the Cartoon Network’s most popular programs. If you already have a Hulu subscription, you can watch Adult Swim content for no additional cost — just log in to your account to get access.
If you don’t have a Hulu subscription, new users can score a free 30-day trial to watch Adult Swim and more. When your free trial is over, you’ll be charged the regular subscription fee based on the plan you pick out.
There are a few options you can choose from: the ad-supported package, which is also the cheapest package at $7.99 a month or $79 a year. If you’d prefer no ads, the premium plan is $17.99 a month. Both packages give you access to the entire Hulu library, the ability to watch content on up to two devices at once, and the option to make up to six profiles. If you go ad-free, you’ll also be able to download content to watch offline.
In addition to watching Adult Swim shows, you can stream Hulu originals such as Clipped, Only Murders in the Building, The Handmaid’s Tale, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans and Claim to Fame.
To watch Adult Swim live on TV without cable, you can subscribe to Hulu + Live TV, which is offering a rare deal that gets you a three-day free trial for new users who sign up. Along with getting more than 95 live channels — including Adult Swim — you’ll also get access to the entire Hulu library plus a free subscription to Disney+ and ESPN+.
The WNBA is taking on Father’s Day. With a season that has already seen a record number of ratings, the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever will meet on the court for the second time this season.
Angle Reese, Caitlin Clark and Kamilla Cardoso, three of the most talked-about rookies of the WNBA season, are expected to take the court for the Father’s Day game airing on CBS on Sunday (June 16).
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The last Sun vs. Fever game became the most watched WNBA game in ESPN history, averaging 1.56 million viewers. In just over a month, the WNBA 2024-25 season has become the most-watched and highest-attended season in WNBA history.
Keep reading for ways to stream the Fevers vs. Sky game live.
When & Where to Watch
The Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever game will air live on CBS at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT.
If you don’t have access to local channels, you can stream CBS live on DirecTV, Fubo and other platforms (ExpressVPN for international streaming). CBS is also available with a digital antenna and on Paramount+ with Showtime.
To watch CBS and other live channels for free, subscribe to DirecTV Stream or Fubo and enjoy up to a week of free streaming, plus over 90 live channels and DVR for less than $80/month.
How to Watch CBS on DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream is a convenient way to stream live channels. You’ll get a free trial for five days and access to 90+ channels including CBS, ABS, NBC, Fox, ESPN, TLC, TNT, Lifetime, MTV, HGTV, WEtv, VH1, USA, TCM, FX and A&E.
How to Watch CBS on Paramount+
Get live access to your local CBS station and limited ads when you subscribe to Paramount+ with Showtime. You can join for free for the first week and pay just $11.99/month after the trial period.
Paramount+ with Showtime lets you stream on two platforms: Paramount+ and Showtime. Enjoy Paramount+ Originals and Showtime exclusives such as Mayor of Kingstown, Criminal Minds Evolution, Knuckles, Halo, 1883, Evil and Special Opps: Lioness, along with Showtime hits like Yellowjackets, Fellow Travelers, Your Honor, The Chi and Billions.
And if you’re a sports fans, you can watch soccer, football, basketball and more on Paramount+.
In February 2021, Spotify announced its high-quality audio offering, called HiFi, and released a promotional video featuring Billie Eilish and her brother/producer, Finneas, waxing about the benefits of listening to recordings in their natural state rather than the compressed files that became standard in the digital era. “The streaming war is going Hi-Fi,” Billboard proclaimed a few months later.
But it was a false start. Spotify’s HiFi didn’t materialize, and the company officially announced its delay in January 2022. There were rumblings about HiFi in June 2023, but the rumors amounted to nothing. Instead, Spotify pushed ahead with building an all-in-one audio platform by building its podcast business and launching an audiobook offering.
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Now, HiFi appears to be back on track. This month, news broke that Spotify will finally launch a high-definition audio tier later this year. Still called HiFi, Spotify will offer the tier for an extra $5 per month for individual plans ($16.99 compared to $11.99, which bakes in an expected $1 increase from the current $10.99), according to a Bloomberg report. The HiFi tier for family plans is reported to be $19.99, $3 more than the current $16.99.
Waiting three years could come with some advantages. First, there’s a large addressable market that wants high-quality audio. A 2023 MusicWatch survey found that 85 million Americans aged 13 and over agreed that obtaining the highest sound quality is important and that they would be willing to pay more to get it, according to MusicWatch’s Russ Crupnick. That’s a big uptick from 2020 when a previous MusicWatch survey found that it found that 69.2 million people aged 13 to 65 were open to paying more for studio-quality sound. Most of that change represents greater interest in high-quality audio, as population growth has been “only about 1% per year,” says Crupnick.
“Once people realize that audio quality is available and they hear it, it is hard to go back,” says Qobuz managing director Dan Mackta. “The challenge is just getting people to actually hear it.”
There are two types of premium audio streaming: 16-bit, known as “lossless” or “CD-quality,” and 24-bit, which is commonly referred to as “high-resolution.” Both Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited offer CD-quality and higher definition tiers that go up to 24-bit/192 kHz. Qobuz streams 24-bit audio up to 192 kHz. Spotify streams up to 256 kbps for subscribers — far below CD quality of 1,411 kbps— and 128 kbps for ad-supported users.
Early high-definition entrants like Qobuz, Tidal, Amazon Music Unlimited and Apple Music have done much of the dirty work educating consumers about audio quality. Amazon Music, which debuted high-definition audio in 2019, saw strong demand and engagement, Amazon Music vp Steve Boom told Billboard in 2021. Apple Music rolled out lossless audio and Spatial Audio in June 2021. More than 90% of Apple Music listeners have engaged with Spatial Audio, the company said in January, adding that plays of music available in the format have more than tripled in the previous two years.
The streaming market has matured over the last three years. Spotify currently has 59 million more subscribers than it did at the end of 2021, giving it a larger base from which to upsell a premium audio tier. Consumers have also warmed to the notion of paying more for a music subscription. Spotify’s first large-scale price increase in July 2023 was followed by an additional increase in May in the United Kingdom and Australia, and the United States will follow later this year — all without a material amount of subscriber churn, company executives have said.
Spotify will have to convince its subscribers that high-quality audio is worth a premium, however. Amazon Music Unlimited originally charged a premium for high-definition audio but later made it a standard feature for the lower-priced, standard subscriber plan. Likewise, Apple Music offers lossless audio and Spatial Audio at no extra cost. To counter its competitors’ pricing strategies, Spotify could make HiFi a bundle of premium features. In 2022, Spotify reportedly surveyed consumers about their willingness to pay for a premium tier that offers high-definition audio, additional playlist and library features, limited-ad Spotify playlists, and other add-ons.
But Spotify HiFi could also encourage its competitors to follow suit by further raising prices. Mackta says Qobuz intends to raise prices at some point in the future. In fact, Qobuz lowered prices in 2019 — a standard plan is currently $12.99 per month — in response to larger services like Apple Music and Amazon Music making high-definition audio a standard feature. “In general,” he says, “music is too cheap.”
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Max’s firey series House of the Dragon is back for its second season, which officially premieres on Sunday (June 16). Before […]
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Even with a price increase, Philo remains one of the most affordable ways to stream channels live and on-demand. On Wednesday (June 12), Philo raised its prices to $28/month for new and returning subscribers.
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If you’re already subscribed to Philo, the $3 price hike doesn’t apply; current Philo subscribers can stay at the previous $25 monthly rate.
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Keep reading for additional details on Philo packages, bundles, channels and how to join.
Philo Channel Lineup & More
How many channels can you stream on Philo? Right now, Philo offers 80+ channels that you can stream free of charge. No credit card required — simply sign up to test it out.
Philo Free Channels includes DVR recording that you can store for up to 30 days at a time. Upgrade to Philo Core to stream an additional 70+ channels such as A&E, MTV, Lifetime, OWN, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., HGTV, TLC, BET, FYI, WE tv, Logo and Discovery Channel for $28/month and DVR recordings can be stored for up to a year. With Philo Core, you can add Premium content from Starz, MGM+, AMC+ and more.
Philo Bundles & Deals
If you’re a fan of The Walking Dead or Interview With the Vampire, AMC+ is now available on Philo. Subscribers can stream the channel as an add-on, or upgrade to the ad-free plan for an additional $4 per month.
The AMC+ add-on includes access to Shudder, IFC Films Unlimited and Sundance Now.
“We are thrilled to welcome Philo subscribers to AMC+, the streaming home of so many great shows, including The Walking Dead universe, Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe, Dark Winds, Mad Men, Gangs of London, and so many more,” Courtney Thomasma, AMC Network’s EVP of Streaming said via the Philo blog. “This summer we will bring viewers a new series from the world of Orphan Black, the highly anticipated final season of Snowpiercer, the exciting new supernatural drama Domino Day: Lone Witch from Sundance Now, top-rated horror films from Shudder, including Arcadian starring Nicolas Cage and the viral box-office hit In A Violent Nature, and the acclaimed independent film library from IFC Films Unlimited, all bundled into the core AMC+ offering.”
How to Watch & Join Philo
You can stream Philo on the app or online at Philo.com. The app is compatible with Android TV, Chromecast, Apple TV, Samsung TV, Fire TV, Roku and iOS and Android devices such as iPhone, iPad and other smart phones and tablets.
Click below to launch your free trial to Philo.
Merlin, the digital licensing partner for the independent music sector, announced that it renewed its licenses with Meta on Wednesday (June 12). That means the music of Merlin members — releases from labels like Domino, Secretly, Ninja Tune, Warp Records and many more — can continue to be discovered on Facebook and Instagram.
“This renewal is about more than simply licensing music – it’s about the strength of building long term relationships, seeking innovative ways to deliver music to fans and those discovering our artists for the first time, and the value of the dynamic nature of independent music,” Jeremy Sirota, CEO of Merlin, said in a statement. “Merlin, on behalf of its members and their artists, is leading the way to build an ethical, sustainable, and indie-centric world.”
“Meta is thrilled to renew our partnership with Merlin, one of the leading champions of independent music,” added Tamara Hrivnak, vice president of music & content business development at Meta. “Our continued collaboration will foster further innovation in music discovery and creative expression. We’re excited for what the future holds.”
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Merlin’s global membership accounts for around 15% of the recorded music market, and Merlin negotiates deals not only with Meta but with Apple, Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, and more than 40 other platforms.
“In an industry that has always been in flux, Merlin is the steady hand,” Sirota explained earlier this year. “Merlin doesn’t have investors looking for an exit. There is no parent company with different motives. We are a mission-driven organization that operates like a not-for-profit and is funded entirely by our members.”
As short-form video platforms have become increasingly important for driving music discovery, artists are eager to make their songs available through platforms like Reels. And Reels took on even more importance earlier this year when Universal Music Group’s licensing negotiations with TikTok fell apart.
Historically, no short-form video platform has been able to match TikTok when it comes to causing a previously unknown song to erupt into the public consciousness overnight. When the wider music industry realized it might have to live without TikTok as a marketing tool at some point, many marketers redoubled their efforts to reach an audience through Reels and YouTube Shorts.
As the author of the Music Modernization Act (MMA), I am thrilled with the benefits it has provided music creators and music streaming services. Rarely does Congress come together in a bipartisan, bicameral way to respond to a market problem with a comprehensive, collaborative and business-driven solution.
The bill updated copyright law for the digital generation, and the cornerstone of the legislation — the creation of the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) — has been a shining example of an industry working together to solve major market challenges. However, recent attempts by streaming services to redefine the original intent of the statute, to benefit themselves, are concerning and must be corrected.
The MLC was created to solve a massive music industry problem. Streaming services often failed to find the correct copyright owners and therefore held on to large sums of money owed to songwriters and music publishers. This both kept earnings from rightful owners and also opened streaming services up to large amounts of liability — from which lawsuits were piling up, costing them hundreds of millions of dollars. Both sides had a major incentive to find a better way forward.
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Along with my colleague, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), I authored a bill to establish a company that would be funded by the digital streaming companies, and governed by copyright owners, which would receive all of the streaming mechanical money owed and then distribute that money based on copyright ownership. The company would also operate a first-of-its-kind public database so that song ownership information would be more transparent than ever.
To create the MLC, the U.S. Copyright Office held an impartial designation period where anyone could campaign to run the company. A coalition representing the vast majority of the music publishing and songwriting industry came together and was selected.
In five short years, the MLC was activated and is now a towering example of success. It has distributed over $2 billion in royalties to publishers and songwriters. It has a match rate of over 90%. It operates the most accurate, open database of music rights information in the world.
Crucially, as the MLC is responsible for ensuring accurate payments to its songwriter and publisher members, the MMA made clear that it not only has the authority but is mandated to enforce the rights of its members if it determines any streaming service is not reporting or paying properly. Most recently, the MLC was forced to litigate against Pandora for underpaying royalties.
Unfortunately, this has led DiMA, which represents the major streaming companies and has a seat on the MLC’s board, to attempt to reinterpret the original intent of the MMA. They are pushing the misguided idea that the MLC was meant to be “neutral” when it comes to enforcing the rights of copyright owners. Nothing could be further from our objective.
This definition of neutral is simply another way to take the voice away from those who have struggled to be heard when it comes to receiving what they are owed for their labors. This was never the intent.
Should the MLC not enforce and litigate when necessary to uphold the rights of its members, those members would have absolutely no recourse to defend their property rights. This notion of neutrality would make the MLC toothless and completely undermine the important role of the Collective. Allowing the MLC to dole out royalties is inextricable from its primary purpose of ensuring those royalties are correct.
It is a perversion of the legislation to attempt to convince current lawmakers that the MLC was meant to give equal weight to the opinions of the digital companies as the rights of songwriters. Of course, there is a massive incentive for DiMA and its membership to want the MLC to relinquish its role as enforcer of music creators’ copyrights. Billions of dollars in royalties are on the line.
The streaming services’ vision of a neutral MLC is not in line with the original intent of the MMA, and they know it because they were intimately involved in the lengthy negotiation of the language of the bill. The resulting legislation was fair and allowed for the collective and the courts to do their jobs when it comes to disputes.
The five-year milestone since the MMA was signed into law is an important time for reflection and refining. However, it is not a time to redefine the most important music legislation of our time.
Doug Collins is a lawyer and former Member of Congress representing Georgia’s Ninth Congressional District. He served as Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee as well as Vice Chairman of the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet. He introduced the Music Modernization Act along with the bill’s lead cosponsor, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).
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Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have reunited for the latest installment in their popular action-comedy franchise Bad Boys. The new movie, Bad Boys: Ride or Die premiered in theaters on Friday (June 7) and you can still find tickets to see the movie on the big screen. Already, the new Bad Boys movie has smashed box office expectations, with a weekend opening of $104.6 million worldwide.
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Before you head to the movie theater to watch Bad Boys: Ride or Die, viewers new to the series or longtime fans can watch all the previous Bad Boys movies online for free to make sure you’re up to speed.
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Keep reading to learn the streaming options available.
How to Watch the Bad Boys Movies Online Free
Bad Boys: Ride or Die is the fourth movie in the action-thriller franchise and if you want to watch the previous three movies, you can watch every Bad Boys movie (not currently in theaters) on Hulu. If you already have a Hulu subscription, you can stream Bad Boys, Bad Boys II and Bad Boys for Life for free when you log into your account.
Don’t have a Hulu subscription? New users can score a 30-day free trial when you sign up for the streaming platform, which means you can watch every Bad Boys movie for free on TV, on your phone, tablet or computer.
Once your free trial is over, you’ll be charged based on the plan you choose at checkout. Hulu has two packages to choose from: the ad-supported package that’s also the cheapest option at $7.99 a month or $79 a year. If you’d prefer no ads, you can subscribe to the premium plan for $17.99 a month. Both packages give you access to the entire Hulu library, the ability to watch content on up to two devices at once and the option to make up to six profiles. If you go ad-free you’ll also be able to download content to watch offline.
In addition to streaming the Bad Boys movies online, you can stream Hulu originals like Clipped, Only Murders in the Building, The Bear, The Handmaid’s Tale, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans and Claim to Fame.
For live TV options, you can subscribe to Hulu + Live TV, which is offering a rare deal that gets you a 3-day free trial for new users who sign up. Along with getting more than 95 live channels, you’ll also get access to the entire Hulu library, including the Bad Boys franchise.
Want even more savings? You can bundle Hulu with Disney+ and ESPN+ to receive access to even more exclusive and original content starting at just $14.99 a month.
How to Watch Bad Boys Movies at Home
Fans can also pick up Blu-ray versions of the Bad Boys movies including the three-movie collection for only $23. You’ll receive all three Bad Boys movies to watch the film series in order from home. If you’re willing to wait a bit, Walmart is also letting you preorder the Blu-ray four-movie collection, which includes every Bad Boys movie including Bad Boys: Ride or Die.
“Bad Boys” / “Bad Boys for Life” / “Bad Boys II” Set [Blu-ray]
$23.39
$30.99
25% off
This Blu-ray/DVD set includes the first, second and third movies in the Bad Boys saga all in one convenient case. You’ll also receive digital codes for every movie to download and take with you as well as access to special features and bonus content that’ll give you a more in-depth look at the making of the movies.
Prime Video also has the option to buy the digital versions of Bad Boys, Bad Boys II and Bad Boys for Life at just $8 or you can rent the films for $4. A Prime membership isn’t required to rent or buy the movies on-demand — just make the purchase and it’ll automatically be downloaded to your video library. Rentals will be available for 30 days after purchase and 48 hours once you start streaming each film.
“Bad Boys” Ultimate Collection
Walmart is letting fans preorder the Bad Boys Ultimate Collection Blu-ray set, which includes all four movies as well as the digital version of each film. Preordering the collection will ensure you can get your hands on it the moment the movie set comes out.
How to Watch Bad Boys: Ride or Die Online
If you’re antsy to stream Bad Boys: Ride or Die at home, Prime Video has opened preorders for the video-on-demand version for just $25. You don’t need a Prime membership in order to order the fourth Bad Boys movie, just make the purchase and once the movie is available, it’ll automatically be downloaded to your Prime Video library to watch and stream at your leisure.
Both Smith and Lawrence return as smart aleck Miami cops Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) in the new film, as they work to clear their late captain’s name when it comes out that he was connected with a drug cartel. Unfortunately, that means the two are on the run now and must work together to bring the truth to light.
Vanessa Hudgens and DJ Khaled both make appearances in the new installment of the movie series in addition to Tiffany Haddish, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Núñez, Eric Dane, Ioan Gruffudd, Jacob Scipio, Melanie Liburd, Tasha Smith and Rhea Seehorn.
Check below to watch the official trailer for Bad Boys: Ride or Die below.
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Spotify will introduce a new tier later this year for users who want high-fidelity audio and access to additional playlisting tools, Bloomberg reports. Those extra features will come at a cost: At least $5 extra per month, according to Bloomberg. This follows the streamer’s June announcement that the cost of Spotify’s premium individual and duo […]