What streaming stories did you miss this week?
What streaming stories did you miss this week?
NBC’s MLB package comes into sharper focus, YouTube adds a new feature, and more stories you might have missed this week.
When the seasons change, streaming news kicks into overtime. The stories were coming at readers fast and furious this week, including the return of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on ABC, as well as the news that Netflix may also be interested in acquiring at least some of Warner Bros. Discovery’s assets.
If you fear that some of the other stories in TV and streaming from the week might have passed you by while your attention was on the biggest headlines, don’t worry. We’ve got our weekly list of streaming news stories you might have missed to help you catch up with the rest of the industry!
Which streaming stories did you miss this week?
YouTube gives viewers a frequently requested feature
One of the most annoying things about watching videos on YouTube is the screen-filling pop-ups that automatically appear when you’re ending a video. But As reported by The Verge on Wednesday, YouTube has listened to the multitude of customer complaints about this issue, and will let customers get rid of those pop-ups going forward.
A new Hide button in the top-right corner of a video will allow you to watch the end of it without seeing the screen-sized ad. This will only apply to the video you’re watching, however, and will not save your preference to hide these videos for later viewing. In addition, YouTube is removing the Subscribe button that pops up when you hover your cursor over a channel’s watermark on the streamer’s desktop website.
NBC will get Sunday morning baseball back
There are lots of details filtering out regarding MLB’s disposition of the broadcast rights package surrendered by ESPN in February. Last Friday, Sports Business Journal reported NBC was getting a piece of the MLB pie that wasn’t part of the ESPN package: Sunday morning games. “MLB Sunday Leadoff” shifted to The Roku Channel in 2024, but it appears that NBC is getting that inventory back at the start of 2026.
Having Sunday morning games on NBC and Peacock makes a bit more sense for the channel now that it also has Sunday night games. NBC will also reportedly host “Sunday Night Baseball” starting next season, and once pen is put to paper on all these deals NBC and Peacock will have a strong lineup of baseball games on Sundays throughout the season.
Peacock
Peacock is a subscription video streaming service from NBCUniversal that includes original shows, blockbuster movies, and classic television series. Peacock is home to “Yellowstone,” “The Office,” and original hits like “Poker Face” and “Bel-Air.” You can also watch live sports and NBC programming, including the NFL, MLB, WWE, the Olympics, the Premier League, NASCAR, the French Open, college football and basketball, and the PGA Tour. Premium Plus subscribers can stream their local NBC feed in all 210 markets.
Roku Channel to host ‘Laguna Beach’ reunion, ‘GABS’ Halloween special
Speaking of The Roku Channel, the free streaming service has some great original content coming to fans, starting with “Roku Presents: The Laguna Beach Reunion,” which will arrive on the streaming service in 2026. For the first time since 2006, Lauren Conrad, Stephen Colletti, Kristin Cavallari, Lo Bosworth, Talan Torriero, Trey Phillips, Christina Shuller, Dieter Schmitz, Jessica Smith, and Alex Hooser will reunite to share their memories and reflections on “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County,” a reality series that captured a huge fanbase that persists two decades later. No specific premiere date has been revealed for the two-hour reunion special yet.
Coming to the service on Oct. 1 will be a “Great American Baking Show” special that everyone who loves baking, Halloween, or laughter will want to watch. “The Great American Baking Show: Celebrity Halloween” special will see Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood judging the spooky bakes of a batch of celebrities competing for the title of star baker. Contestants include Rachel Dratch, Leslie Jones, Patton Oswalt, and Adam Pally.
Watch a preview for ‘The Great American Baking Show: Celebrity Halloween’
Roku Channel
The Roku Channel is a free, ad-supported streaming service that offers a broad mix of movies, TV shows, live linear channels, and original programming. Available to all viewers — not just Roku device owners — the service features licensed content from major studios alongside Roku Originals, which include exclusive series, movies, and specials previously produced for Quibi, as well as new original projects developed specifically for the platform.
Crunchyroll unveils manga library
Crunchyroll is one of the most prodigious anime streaming services on the market, and it’s expanding to a new area of content that will go hand-in-hand with its huge anime catalog. On Thursday, Crunchyroll announced that it was releasing a new manga add-on called Crunchyroll Manga, which will be available starting Oct. 9 on iOS and Android devices, and Oct. 15 on the web.
Crunchyroll Manga will be available ad-free, and will feature hundreds of titles from leading manga publishers such as AlphaPolis, COMPASS, Square Enix, VIZ Media, and Yen Press, with more available at launch and others being added in the future. Many top manga series like “One Piece,” “Jujutsu Kaisen,” “Daemons of the Shadow Realm,” and a huge list of others will be available to read.
Crunchyroll Ultimate Fan-level customers can access Crunchyroll Manga at no extra cost; this plan costs $16 per month. Viewers can also bundle Crunchyroll Manga with all other subscription tiers; Crunchyroll Fan subscriptions plus Manga will cost $12 per month total (including $4 per month for the Manga add-on); and Crunchyroll Mega Fan subscribers get Manga for an extra $3.50, bringing the monthly total to $15.49.
Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is a subscription video streaming service catering to fans of anime with over 30,000 episodes. Viewers can see new episodes of shows one hour after they air in Japan, and read hundreds of chapters across dozens of manga titles. Some of their more popular titles are Dragon Ball Super, Attack on Titan, and Fire Force.
Hulu releases new trailer for ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’
The 1992 thriller “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” is getting a remake on Hulu. The new version of the movie will star Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Maika Monroe, and will premiere on Hulu on Oct. 22. The film tells the story of a vengeful nanny who becomes obsessed with her employer’s family, and is determined to destroy the matriarch and supplant her at any cost.