WarnerMedia just bought a $500 million weapon to fight Netflix: J.J. Abrams

By Chris Gates Published June 17, 2019

It’s already difficult to choose which streaming services to subscribe to — and it’s about to get even worse. WarnerMedia is on the verge of closing a $500 million deal with Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams’ production company, Bad Robot, in the hope of giving you a very good reason to subscribe to its upcoming streaming service — and not its rivals’.

The deal will keep Abrams, the man behind hit shows like Alias, Lost, and Fringe and the Cloverfield movies, at WarnerMedia for the foreseeable future. The Hollywood Reporter doesn’t say how long the exclusive WarnerMedia and Bad Robot partnership will last, but notes that WarnerMedia’s streaming plans helped the company seal the deal.

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Currently, Abrams produces Westworld for WarnerMedia’s HBO, and is developing Lovecraft Country and an original sci-fi drama, Demimonde, for the premium network.

For streamers, Abrams’ presence makes WarnerMedia’s upcoming service an attractive proposition. Previous reports indicated that the service will include a full HBO subscription, access to the Warner Bros. feature film lineup, which includes films like The Lord of the Rings and a whole slate of DC superhero flicks, and a collection of original programming for around $17 a month. The service is expected to enter beta later this year, and launch in earnest in 2020.

Abrams’ involvement makes it clear that WarnerMedia is serious about wooing customers away from Netflix, the upcoming Disney Plus, and Hulu. Abrams is one of the hottest names in entertainment, and WarnerMedia had to outbid the likes of Apple, Sony, Amazon, and Netflix itself to keep Bad Robot in the fold.

WarnerMedia isn’t the only company hoping to get your streaming dollars by signing one of your favorite content creators. Netflix has already signed Glee and American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy to a $300 million deal, and nabbed Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes‘ services for $150 million. Other services, like Disney Plus, are relying on top-tier franchises like Marvel and Star Wars in order to attract subscribers.

If this trend continues, your favorite stuff to watch will soon be locked behind a bunch of competing streaming plans, and you’ll need to make some hard choices. You can either use our guides to decide which services to keep and which ones to skip, or you can pony up and subscribe to all of them. If you really want to watch everything, it’s the only way.

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This smart 4K projector is nearly half-price in Walmart’s sale

The Wimius smart 4K projector on a desk.

If you've been thinking about installing a projector in your living room to create a cinematic experience, you won't want to miss this offer from Walmart. The Wimius smart 4K projector, which is originally priced at $360, is down by nearly half to only $190, for huge savings of $170. We're not sure how much time is remaining before this bargain ends though, so if you're interested, we highly recommend completing your purchase as soon as possible.

Why you should buy the Wimius smart 4K projector
Setting up a home theater projector is an excellent way to create a movie theater vibe at home, and you won't have to spend hundreds of dollars if you go for the Wimius smart 4K projector. Its projection size ranges from 50 inches to as large as 300 inches, so if you've got a big enough wall or projection screen, it will really be like you're watching movies at the cinema. The projector is capable of 4K Ultra HD resolution, and it has an extremely long lamp life of 200,000 hours so it will be a long time before you need to replace its bulb. It also offers auto focus and keystone correction technology for even better visuals.

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These Sony OTC hearing aids offer optimized audio and all-day comfort

Man wearing Sony CRE-C10 OTC hearing aids.

There's a lot to be said about OTC or over-the-counter hearing aids. They're more accessible, usually because they're more affordable, and you don't need a prescription to get some. That's precisely why they're called "over-the-counter." Of course, they're really meant for mild to medium hearing loss, however. If you experience severe hearing loss you'll need to go to your local physician, as you might expect. But also one of the great things about this relatively new, untapped category of sound devices is that there are a lot of great options from brands you wouldn't expect. Take Sony, for instance, which has several OTC hearing aid options, and they're available at Best Buy of all places.

You can walk in, off the street, and walk out with them same-day, or buy them online and have them shipped to your house. How's that for excellent service and accessibility? But if you need a quick introduction to some of Sony's best OTC hearing aid options, we've got you covered.

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Now is the time to get the best noise-canceling headphones

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones in Diamond color resting against a headphones stand.

Noise-canceling headphones' performance has been pushed with each passing product release, and the crown regularly passes between between Bose, Sony, and Apple as they attempt to one-up each other. Currently, Bose stands above the rest with the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones -- and right now they're $100 off until December 2.

What is it the Bose do so well? To start off, they offer the best noise-canceling performance available from a pair of headphones. In his review, Simon Cohen found that "The QC Ultra provide impressive levels of hush in a variety of scenarios." You can still get slightly better isolation with the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds or Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds, but for most of us, having something in your ear for a long flight gets uncomfortable pretty fast. Plus, there's the worry an earbud will fall out (I find the fit on the Sony earbuds in particular doesn't always feel very secure).