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How to watch Tony Awards 2026 online — stream the ceremony from anywhere

The 2026 Tony Awards will take place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City and will combine a lively ceremony with plenty of

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How to watch Tony Awards 2026 online — stream the ceremony from anywhere

Man in a purple sweater stands on a stage among scattered cardboard boxes as the audience applauds in the darkened background.

The 2026 Tony Awards will take place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City and will combine a lively ceremony with plenty of awards to give away, and live performances by Queen Latifah, Whitney Leavitt, and Alex Newell, among others. Hosted by Pink, the 79th edition of the ceremony is set to be a glamorous night celebrating the best Broadway shows of the past year.You can watch Tony Awards 2026 online from anywhere with a VPN.Swipe to scroll horizontallyAs for the predictions, Best Musical is likely to go to Schmigadoon!, a meta musical about musicals based on an Apple TV+ series. Without giving away any spoilers, it’s the story of a couple who become trapped in an alternate-universe town, stuck inside a 1940s Golden Age Broadway musical.Latest Videos FromBut the Tony Awards are no strangers to upsets and surprises, so the gong could to The Lost Boys, a pop-rock musical based on the 1980s movie about a family trying to fight vampires. Both Schmigadoon! and The Lost Boys are leading the nominations chart, with 12 each.Liberation is highly likely to win Best Play. If it does, it would mark the first time since 2009 that a play by a woman has won the award, and the first time since 1989 that an American woman has taken home the prize. Other likely contenders in the category include Giant, The Balusters, and Little Bear Ridge Road.Daniel Radcliffe is among the leading lights to land the Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play award, for his role in Every Brilliant Thing.Read on to find out how you can watch the 2026 Tony Awards live online from anywhere in the world.Can I watch Tony Awards 2026 for free?Tony Awards 2026 isn’t directly available to stream for free, but those in the US can benefit from free trials to catch the action without paying a penny.In the US, you can benefit from the free trial periods of live TV services such as YouTube TV and Hulu+Live TV, both of which come with CBS so you can watch the ceremony coverage live.You can also watch Tony Awards 2026 on Paramount+, which is available with a 30-day trial of Walmart+ for $1 (practically FREE!) thanks to this handy trick we’ve found.Just note that this Walmart Plus deal includes the Paramount+ Essential package, where the awards ceremony will be available on-demand the following day, i.e., Monday.Outside your home country at the moment? Use NordVPN to unlock your free stream from anywhere in the world.How to watch Tony Awards 2026 online from anywhereIf you’re keen to watch Tony Awards 2026 but you’re away from home and access to the event is geo-blocked, then you could always use a VPN to access it (assuming you’re not breaching any broadcaster T&Cs, of course). You may be surprised by how simple it is to do.Use NordVPN to watch the 2026 Tony Awards online from anywhere.How to watch 2026 Tony Awards online in the US

The 2026 Tony Awards is being broadcast live on CBS in the US.Cord-cutters can catch all the action via live TV options such as YouTube TV (21-day free trial) and Hulu+Live TV.Alternatively, you can stream this year’s Tony Awards on Paramount+. The event is available live via the Premium subscription, which is $13.99 a month.If you’re subscribed to the Essential plan ($8.99 per month), however, you can watch the ceremony on-demand the following day, i.e., on Monday.As we’ve mentioned, another option is to get a 30-day Walmart+ trial (for just $1), which provides free access to Paramount+ Essential.Traveling abroad? If you’re currently traveling outside the US, you can use a VPN to watch the 2026 Tony Awards from anywhere in the world. We recommend NordVPN.How to watch Tony Awards 2026 online in the UK

(Image credit: Future)Unfortunately for UK Broadway fans, the 2026 Tony Awards hasn’t been picked up for broadcast in the region.Traveling to the UK from the US, Canada, or Australia? Use a VPN to watch Tony Awards 2026 from abroad. NordVPN is our recommended provider.How to watch Tony Awards 2026 in Australia

Like in the US and Canada, the 2026 Tony Awards is available to watch on Paramount+ in Australia as well. It will air live on 10am AEST on Monday, June 8.Outside Oz right now? Use NordVPN to stream your local content library and watch Tony Awards 2026.

2026 Tony Awards: Sizzle of the Season – YouTube

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Tony Awards 2026 nominationsThe Lost Boys (12 nominations)Schmigadoon! (12 nominations)Ragtime (11 nominations)Cats: The Jellicle Ball (9 nominations)Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show (9 nominations)Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (9 nominations)Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) (8 nominations)Oedipus (7 nominations)Chess (5 nominations)August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (5 nominations)The Balusters (5 nominations)Fallen Angels (5 nominations)Liberation (5 nominations)Titaníque (4 nominations)Giant (4 nominations)Bug (4 nominations)Dog Day Afternoon (3 nominations)Becky Shaw (2 nominations)Every Brilliant Thing (2 nominations)The Fear of 13 – Marjorie Prime (2 nominations)Little Bear Ridge Road (1 nomination)Punch (1 nomination)Waiting for Godot (1 nomination)Who is performing at the 2026 Tony Awards?Queen LatifahPinkJesse Tyler FergusonAlex NewellJulianne HoughWhitney LeavittDylan MulvaneyNikki M. JamesJosh GadAndrew RannellsRory O’MalleyCompare the best overall VPN services by price:

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We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

There’s a sneaky way to watch the 2026 French Open’s Men Final for free

Male tennis player in a navy Adidas shirt and headband, looking to the right on a court with a blurred crowd in the background.

Prior to the start of the tournament, hardly anyone could have predicted a Zverev vs Cobolli French Open final, but here we are. Zverev defeated No. 26 seed Jakub Mensik in the semifinals in four sets, while Cobolli reached the final after Matteo Arnaldi withdrew due to a viral illness.With the absence of Sinner and Alcaraz, and Djokovic’s early exit, this is undoubtedly Zverev’s greatest chance to win his first Grand Slam, especially as he holds a neat 3-1 record against the 24-year-old Cobolli.

And the best part? We’ve found a sneaky way to watch the final completely FREE, from wherever you are! The hack: 9Now in Australia and France TV in France – along with several other local streaming platforms in Europe – are showing the match at no cost!But what if you’re traveling outside these countries? Can you still watch the 2026 Roland-Garros men’s final for free – from the US, UK, or Canada? Yes, you can! Read on to find out how.
How to watch French Open 2026 Men’s Final for free
Roland-Garros 2026 Men’s Singles Final will be streamed live and for free in many countries around the world, with the best English-language coverage available in Australia on 9Now and home coverage on France TV.🇦🇺 Australia: 9Now 🇫🇷 France: France TV 🇨🇭 Switzerland: RSI / SRF 🇦🇹 Austria: ServusTV🇧🇪 Belgium: RTBFOutside the US? You can use a VPN to watch French Open 2026 Final for free as if you were right at home.
Use a VPN to watch French Open 2026 Men’s Final free from anywhere
A VPN is handy piece of software that can make your device appear as if it’s back in your home country, so you can unlock your usual service. The best VPN right now? We recommend NordVPN – it does everything and comes with a 75% discount, and three months for free.
Quick start: Using a VPN to watch French Open 2026 Men’s Final for free
Using a VPN is incredibly simple, just follow these steps.1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we’ve said, NordVPN is our favorite.2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you’re visiting the U.K. and want to view an Australian streaming service, you’d select a location from Down Under (like Perth) from the server list.3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to 9Now and watch the 2026 Roland-Garros Men’s Final just like you would at home.
Which devices can I watch French Open 2026 Men’s Final for free with?
You can use 9Now to watch the 2026 Roland-Garros Men’s Final on a range of devices:Amazon Fire TVAndroid phones and tablets (Android OS 5 and newer)Android TVApple iPhones and iPads (iOS 12 or later)Apple TV (including Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD)Chromecast (including Chromecast with Google TV)Chrome (latest two versions)Fetch TV (Gen 3 or newer)Firefox (latest two versions)Foxtel iQFreeviewHisense TVLG Smart TV (webOS 4 or higher)Mobile apps – download the 9Now app on your phone or tablet (iOS/Android)Mozilla (latest two versions)Roku (including Roku 2, Roku 3, Roku Express, Roku Express+, Roku Premiere, Roku Premiere+, Roku Streaming Stick, Roku Streaming Stick+ and Roku Streambar)Safari (latest two versions)
In addition to smartphones and tablets, France TV is available on the following smart TVs:Samsung Smart TVs (2018 model and above)LG Smart TVs (2021 model and above)Connected devices and televisions using Fire TV (Fire TV stick, Nokia, Xiaomi,…)Connected devices and televisions running Google TV / Android TV (Chromecast stick, Sony, TCL, Philips, etc.)Via cast/airplayVia Apple TV
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We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

How to watch Cobolli vs Zverev: FREE Live Streams & TV Channels for French Open 2026 Final

Male tennis player in a black outfit on a red clay court extends a forehand, racket reaching for a bright yellow ball just ahead of him on the court lines.

Cobolli vs Zverev: Sunday, June 7Start time: 9am ET / 2pm BST / 11pm AESTBest FREE stream: 9Now (AUS)Access your usual streaming services with NordVPN
Watch Flavio Cobolli vs Alexander Zverev live streams in a men’s French Open Final 2026 that feels like an opportunity neither player can afford to miss. With Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner absent from a grand slam final for the first time since the US Open 2023, there is surely no better time for either player to win a maiden major.Cobolli is enjoying a fine 2026 and won the BMW Open in Munich early on in the clay-court swing. The 24-year-old’s four-set quarterfinal defeat of fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime provided proof his consistency from the baseline and improving power. Matteo Arnaldi’s withdrawal from Friday’s semifinal means the Italian 10th seed will be well rested, too. He’s also trying to channel superstition — he uses same shower cubicle favored by Rafael Nadal throughout his 14 Roland-Garros triumphs.

Zverev has been the nearly man so often, this feels like his last chance. The 29-year-old would be the seventh oldest first-time grand slam champion in men’s history, and the first German since Boris Becker at the 1996 Australian Open. After three major final defeats, Zverev will have to conquer the demons within, knowing that with Alcaraz and Sinner absent, this is a shot at glory he cannot afford to miss. The second seed has dropped just two sets en route to the final, his 7-5 6-2 3-6 6-3 semifinal victory over Jakub Mensik intriguing for a major wobble at two sets up. His past six defeats have all come against Italian players, including Cobolli in Munich.Here’s how to watch the French Open Final 2026 tennis from anywhere, including worldwide TV channels, broadcasters and any free live streams below.
How to watch Cobolli vs Zverev for FREE
Cobolli vs Zverev at Roland-Garros 2026 will be streamed live and for free in many countries around the world, with the best English-language coverage available in Australia on 9Now.🇦🇺 Australia: 9Now 🇫🇷 France: France TV 🇨🇭 Switzerland: RSI / SRF 🇦🇹 Austria: ServusTV🇧🇪 Belgium: RTBFThe majority of the Cobolli vs Zverev French Open 2026 TV coverage in the US is on TNT and truTV, which can be accessed directly or via ‘over the top’ streaming providers that offer free trials, our favorites are:

Traveling outside your home country for the tournament? Use NordVPN to get past geo-blockers and tune in to your regular tennis live streams.
Use a VPN to watch any Cobolli vs Zverev stream
Away from home at the moment and blocked from watching Cobolli vs Zverev on your usual subscription?You can still watch Roland-Garros 2026 live thanks to the wonders of a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The software allows your devices to appear to be back in your home country, regardless of where in the world you are, making it ideal for viewers away on vacation or on business.Our favorite is NordVPN. It’s the best on the market:

It’s really straightforward to use a VPN to watch Cobolli vs Zverev.1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we’ve said, NordVPN is one of our favorites.2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For example, if you want to watch the 9Now stream, select ‘Australia’ from the listed countries.3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to 9Now’s website and tune into Roland-Garros 2026.
How to watch Cobolli vs Zverev live streams in the US

In the US, Cobolli vs Zverev in the French Open 2026 semifinals is being shown on TNT and truTV.These channels are available via many cable package but what if you’re looking for an an OTT cable alternative that carries hundreds of other channels?TNT and truTV are also available on YouTube TV, Sling TV (via its Blue package) and DirecTV. As we’ve mentioned above, both YouTube TV and DirecTV come with free-trial options.HBO Max, meanwhile, is the dedicated streaming home of the entire tournament in the US. Prices for a Basic with ads plan start from $10.99, while you can bundle with Disney+, and Hulu for $19.99.Outside the US for this tournament? Use NordVPN to unlock your stream of Roland-Garros 2026.
How to watch Cobolli vs Zverev live streams in the UK

Tennis fans in the UK can watch Cobolli vs Zverev on TNT Sports. To access this you’ll either need to add it to your TV package, or you can take out a standalone subscription via HBO Max that includes TNT Sports. The best value streaming package is £25.99 a month for a 12-month term.You will also have access to the Premier League, Champions League and Europa League football plus Tour de France cycling, rugby, wrestling, UFC, and MotoGP.If you’re traveling overseas, don’t worry, as you can use NordVPN to watch your usual Roland-Garros 2026 service from abroad.
How to watch Cobolli vs Zverev live streams in Australia

(Image credit: free)
In Australia, the Cobolli vs Zverev coverage is split between 9Now and Stan Sport.As we’ve mentioned above, 9Now is a free streaming option if you’re an Australian citizen.There’s also exhaustive coverage of every court via Stan Sport. You’ll need a Stan Sport add-on for AU$20 in addition to a Basic subscription that costs AU$12.Not in Australia right now? You can simply use a VPN like NordVPN to watch all the action as if you were back home.
How to watch Cobolli vs Zverev live streams in Canada

(Image credit: Other)
Tennis fans in Canada can live stream Cobolli vs Zverev at the French Open 2026 on the TSN network of channels.If you don’t have cable, the TSN Plus streaming service costs CA$8 a month or $80 each year.Outside Canada while Roland-Garros 2026 is on? Simply use a VPN to watch from abroad.
How to watch Cobolli vs Zverev live streams in New Zealand

Sky Sport NZ is the Cobolli vs Zverev French Open 2026 TV rights holder in New Zealand. You can access Sky Sport through satellite TV or get a live stream with the Sky Sport Now subscription service starting at $29.99 per day or $54.99 per month.Missing a game due to work commitments abroad? NordVPN will give you access to your home streaming service.
How to watch Cobolli vs Zverev live streams anywhere else
In the North Africa and the Middle East, beIN Sports has the tennis live streams. In Sub-Saharan Africa Canal+ and SuperSport are the places to go, depending on your country.In India and the subcontinent, it’s Sony Pictures Networks, while CMG and Tencent in China and WOWOW in Japan are the most prominent broadcasters in Asia.A handy list of broadcasters from all around the world is provided by tournament organizers here.Away from home at the moment? Don’t forget NordVPN will give you access to your regular streaming service.
Cobolli vs Zverev Q&A
What is the Cobolli vs Zverev head-to-head?Flavio Cobolli and Alexander Zverev have met four times before, with Zverev winning three to Cobolli’sZverev won the most recent encounter, earlier this year at the Madrid Open 6-1 6-4. Cobolli’s sole victory came at the BMW Open in Munich, also on clay, in April 6-3 6-3.They met in last year’s third round, with Zverev winning 6-2 7-6 6-1.
What is the Cobolli vs Zverev start time?The Cobolli vs Zverev start time is 3pm CEST, local time in Paris.That’s 9am ET / 6am PT / 2pm BST / 11pm AEST.

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We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

How to watch Tiger Island online from anywhere in the world — stream for free

Nobody does great nature documentaries like the BBC, and now the home of Planet Earth and Our Planet is bringing new two-part series Tiger Island to our screens.True to its name, Tiger Island follows two tiger mothers – Goma and Mala – and their young cubs as they hunt and survive on an island in Nepal’s Bardiya National Park. The series also tracks the sole male tiger in the area, Bandheil, said to be more elusive than his female counterparts.

The series also features sisters Sushila, Manju, and Ranju Mahatara, specialist tiger guides and expedition leaders at the park who joined the BBC filming crew to guide and advise on shooting.The first episode of the series will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 7:15pm on Sunday 7 June followed by the second episode at 7.15pm on Sunday 14 June.
How to watch Tiger Island in the UK for free

How to watch Tiger Island from anywhere
If you’re hoping to catch this stunning new nature doc, but won’t be in the UK when Tiger Island airs, your access to BBC iPlayer could be geo-blocked.You can use a VPN to access Tiger Island from abroad (but do check you’re not breaking any terms and conditions first!) You might be surprised at how easy it is to set up a VPN – plus, we have an exclusive discount on our pick for the best VPN right now:
How to watch BBC iPlayer with a VPN

How to watch BBC iPlayer from abroad – YouTube

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Can I watch Tiger Island in other countries?
We’ve not seen any word of Tiger Island coming to the US, Australia, or Canada yet, but we’ll update this page as new information becomes available.If you’re a UK resident travelling abroad, you can use a VPN to access Tiger Island from another country.
Tiger Island FAQs
Tiger Island episode guideEpisode 1: A team of filmmakers and tiger experts begin tracking a group of tigers in the forested national parks of western Nepal. Equipped with the latest drone technology, remote cameras, and zoom lenses, the team focus on two tiger mothers raising their cubs on an island full of dangers, observing new behaviour from the big cats along the way. Episode 2: During monsoon season, the team of experts and filmmakers observe the mothers and their cubs at night with thermal cameras. The arrival of a sole male tiger introduces new dynamics – and possible threats – to the group.
Who narrates Tiger Island?Tiger Island is narrated by British actor Amrita Acharia, best known for portraying Daenerys Targaryen’s Dothraki handmaiden Irri in the hit HBO series Game of Thrones. Acharia also portrayed Dr. Ruby Walker in the ITV series The Good Karma Hospital. Acharia traces her family to Nepal and Ukraine, giving her a familial link to the country Tiger Island is filmed in.
Where is Tiger Island filmed? Tiger Island is filmed in Nepal’s Bardiya National Park, in the Terai lowlands of the country’s western regions. Bardiya is the largest and least disturbed national park in Nepal, and covers an area of 968 square kilometers (374 square miles) – about three quarters the size of New York City. To keep contact to a minimum, the Tiger Island team used drones, zoom lenses, remote cameras, and thermal optics to observe and film the big cats in their natural habitat.
Tiger Island link: watch here
Here’s the link to watch Tiger Island when the first episode goes live at 7.15pm on Sunday 7 June.
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We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

‘The thought behind it was great, but the execution was proving difficult’: Starbucks abandons AI inventory tool after only nine months following multiple errors — coffee giant says it needs to ‘focus on consistency and execution at scale’

Starbucks pulls AI inventory tool after nine months due to real-world challengesThe AI failed to recognize or distinguish between stock items, forcing manual interventionOther AI and tech improvements continue to roll out under ‘Back to Starbucks’ transformationStarbucks has officially ended its highly publicized ‘Automated Counting’ AI inventory program across all of its North American stores just nine months after it was launched in September 2025.Developed alongside Seattle-based computer vision firm NomadGo, the app was designed to use on-device 3D spatial intelligence, computer vision, augmented reality and LiDAR sensors to give stores real-time visibility into stock shortages.CEO Brian Niccol had hoped that the tool would free up baristas from non-productive administrative work to deliver more to customers, however reports indicate the technology ultimately failed to revolutionize store admin.Latest Videos FromFailed Starbucks AI system gets pulled just months after launch“Our goal is simple – if it’s on the menu, customers should be able to order it,” Starbucks said (via Reuters), justifying the tech’s place in its stores.In early 2026, the global coffee chain announced its ‘Back to Starbucks’ transformation plan, targeting revenue growth, more comparable store sales and over 2,000 net new stores globally (including around 400 in the US).

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The problems came when the tech was deployed and tested at scale, because stores found that the computer vision model struggled with basic spatial awareness and object recognition, frequently overcounting items, overlooking stock or mislabeling products.Most notably, the tool was unable to differentiate between similar items, like whole, oat and almost milk cartons. Starbucks also inadvertently showed the app completely missing a syrup bottle in a promotional video.Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!In the end, workers complained about having to force the AI to read shelves by waving and angling tablets in specific ways to trigger sensors, making it slower than entering the details manually in the first place.Starbucks has since deleted the associated blog posts praising the tool for its efficacy, marking a full 180 compared with early, positive narratives.“Thanks for discontinuing Automatic Counting,” one worker wrote. “The thought behind it was great, but the execution was proving difficult.”

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The company has now returned to manual inventory checks, but remains committed to a renewed, high-frequency store replenishment model to prevent customers from being greeted with out-of-stock drinks.Though Starbucks is in the limelight for this particular example, the issues primarily revolve around computer vision and artificial intelligence outside the realms of text. In unpredictable, tightly-packed retail stockrooms with obscured labels, lighting variations and other variables, automated systems are still overcome with major challenges.Starbucks is still committed to changeEven though CEO Brian Niccol had previously introduced this efficiency scheme to fix chronic product shortages and long wait times, Starbucks announced a 9% increase in quarterly revenues in Q2 to $9.5 billion as well as a 7.1% rise in comparable store sales across North America.“We have more work to do, but we’re pleased to see the combination of our comp growth and cost discipline starting to show up in margins,” CFO Cathy Smith added.Another tech improvement that doesn’t appear to have gone away with the stock check automation is Starbucks’ new Smart Queue system, introduced in the company’s earlier ‘Back to Starbucks’ plan. It’s designed to balance and prioritize incoming tickets across in-store, mobile, drive-through and delivery orders to ensure that customers get seen to promptly.Looking ahead, though the inventory management tool failed, the company hasn’t removed mention of its AI plans, such as “leveraging artificial intelligence to support partners, including supply chain and scheduling tools.”

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Amazon is rolling out a redesigned Fire TV app

Amazon is starting to roll out its redesigned Fire TV mobile app to customers, the company announced on Thursday. While you could previously only use the app as a backup remote, the updated experience lets you browse and discover content directly from your phone, manage your watchlist on the go, and play titles on your TV from the mobile app.

“The updated app turns smartphones into a second screen for discovering what to watch next, making it easy to add a friend’s show recommendation to a watchlist even when away from home,” Amazon wrote in an email to TechCrunch. “This seamless integration between mobile and TV creates a more flexible and convenient viewing experience for Fire TV customers to find what they want to watch, fast.”

The app is rolling out now in the U.S., Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, and the U.K.

Image Credits:Amazon

Amazon says the refreshed look matches the new Fire TV user interface that it launched last month, which was designed to put more focus on content, while also simplifying navigation. The updated user interface introduced rounded corners, varied gradients, consistent typography, and increased spacing between content, while also providing more room for pinned apps.

The top navigation bar has been simplified into categories marked with clear icons for Movies, TV, Live TV, Sports, and News. The search button is more easily accessible to the left of the Home tab.

Within these tabs, Fire TV shows the content you’re already watching alongside recommendations from your subscribed services, organized in rows labeled “For You.” The tabs also feature free movies, top movies and shows, and other paid content you might like.

The changes to the app and the user interface come in response to the surge of streaming content, which has made it harder to keep track of what’s available on each service, requiring platforms like Fire TV to function more as discovery hubs rather than just places to launch streaming apps.

BYD rolls out EV batteries with 5-minute ‘flash charging.’ But there’s a catch.

Chinese automaker BYD unveiled a new battery pack Thursday that the company says is capable of charging from 10% to 70% in five minutes. Taking it to almost 100% takes about four minutes more.

Recharge times like those would nullify concerns about electric vehicles’ charging times — one of the few places where internal combustion engines retain an advantage. Even in bitter cold weather (–4˚ F or –20˚ C), the pack can charge from 20% to 97% in under 12 minutes, according to BYD. The battery pack, known as the Blade Battery 2.0 system, is slated to debut in the Yangwang U7, a full-size luxury sedan.

There is a critical caveat to this eye-popping figure. The Yangwang U7 sedan, or any other future BYD vehicle equipped with this next-generation battery pack, can only reach this ultra-fast charging time when paired with one of the company’s new Flash Charging EV chargers.

Still, BYD is likely counting on this flashy charging tech to boost sales and give it an edge in a price war with other Chinese automakers that are rolling out new and improved EVs at a rapid clip.

The Shenzhen-based company was a darling of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway holdings for years. The investor bought a 10% stake in the automaker in 2008 for $230 million — long before it became a Tesla rival and household name. Berkshire sold its last shares in 2025, returning more than 20x the original investment.

Today, BYD is the world’s largest manufacturer of EVs — a status that other Chinese automakers and Tesla are keen to change. While BYD still outpaces competitors like LiAuto, Xpeng, Xiaomi, and Zeekr, there has been a recent dip in sales. The company reported that its combined January and February sales volume in 2026 dipped by roughly 36% compared to the year before.

Its next-generation battery system could help it attract new customers and retain existing ones.

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The new Blade Battery 2.0 accomplishes the ultra-fast charging feat by using lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP), a chemistry that automakers are betting will help lower the cost of EVs because it avoids the use of pricy metals like cobalt or nickel. Currently, LFP packs cost $81 per kilowatt-hour compared with $128 per kilowatt-hour for NMC, according to BloombergNEF.

Because LFP isn’t as energy dense as other chemistries like nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC), it can’t carry as much energy, which limits range. As a result, Western automakers almost exclusively use LFP cells in their less expensive models. But BYD is betting that by speeding up the charging process, LFP can become acceptable in more than just low-end EVs.

To hit a five-minute charge time, BYD has also developed a new EV charger it calls Flash Charging, which is capable of delivering 1.5 megawatts of electricity. Previously, BYD had rolled out a 1 megawatt charging system for a previous sedan, the Han L, that used two 500 kW charging cables that needed to both be plugged in. In the U.S. and Europe, the fastest chargers tend to top out at 350 kW, though there are an increasing number of 500 kW chargers that are being rolled out.

BYD’s Flash charger stalls have cables draping from overhead towers, which allow the cables to serve either side of the vehicle. It should also make plugging in easier since the cables and charging plug are probably pretty heavy to cope with the amount of power they’re rated to handle. BYD said it has 4,200 Flash charging stations completed throughout China with a goal of adding about 16,000 more by the end of the year, though we should note that the automaker uses the “Flash” name to describe its 1-megawatt chargers, too. It also said it will add grid-scale batteries to the installations to relieve pressure on the grid.

In the U7 full-size sedan, the battery can power the car for just over 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) on the China Light Duty Vehicle Test Cycle (CLTC), which tends to be optimistic. CLTC overstates range by about 35% compared with the more realistic EPA test cycle. In real world driving, the car would likely be able to cover just over 400 miles on a single charge.

That’s less range than a Lucid Air Grand Touring, which can travel for 512 miles on a full 117 kWh pack, according to the EPA test cycle. But being able to add 240 miles in five minutes could make such comparisons moot.

Italian prosecutors confirm journalist was hacked with Paragon spyware

Italian authorities confirmed that a journalist who was alerted by WhatsApp last year of a suspected spyware attack on his phone was indeed hacked. 

In a press release sent to journalists on Thursday, the public prosecutors’ offices in Rome and Naples, which are investigating the spyware scandal in the country, said that a technical report concluded that the phones of journalist Francesco Cancellato, as well as Giuseppe Caccia and Luca Casarini, two immigration activists, all showed traces of having been infected with spyware on the “early hours” of December 14, 2024. 

“The execution of three consecutive attacks on the same night suggests that they may have been part of the same infection campaign,” the technical report said, according to the press release. 

The full report is not yet public.

This is the first independent confirmation that Cancellato, who is the director of the news website Fanpage, was hacked with spyware. In January 2025, Cancellato and around 90 other people, including journalists and members of civil society, were alerted by WhatsApp that they had been targeted with spyware made by Paragon Solutions, an Israeli-based company now owned by American private equity firm AE Industrial. 

According to the press release, Italian judicial authorities inspected the Paragon spyware server used by the intelligence agency, AISI, to target the phones of its targets. While the judicial authorities found evidence of operations against Caccia and Casarini, it found no evidence of an operation against Cancellato. 

It remains unclear who hacked Cancellato’s phone.

Contact Us
Do you have more information about Paragon, and this or other spyware campaigns? From a non-work device, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or email.

By June 2025, an investigation by the Italian Parliamentary Committee for the Security of the Republic, known as COPASIR, concluded that Italian intelligence agencies had lawfully targeted Caccia and Casarini, but the committee found no evidence of a hack against Cancellato. 

The prosecutors’ offices said they will continue to investigate to identify Cancellato’s hackers. 

The Italian government, led by far-right prime minister Giorgia Meloni, has denied being behind the hack on Cancellato. In response to a question by the journalist during a press conference in January, Meloni only said that her government “is offering all its assistance and all the answers it can provide to help clarify this issue.”

The Italian government did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.

“We are asking for clarity,” Cancellato said in an article on Thursday. “And we have not received it from the government, which has remained silent whenever possible for a year. And when it didn’t remain silent, it told lies.”

John Scott-Railton, one of the Citizen Lab researchers who investigated the Paragon cases in Italy, said that the new revelation about Cancellato’s hack “raises serious questions about why no confirmation was surfaced in prior official investigations by the Italian authorities.”

In response to the scandal, Paragon, whose spyware is called Graphite, cancelled its contracts with its Italian government customers.  

Spyware scandals spread across Europe

Apart from Caccia, Casarini, and Cancellato, there were several other people in Italy who were identified as spyware targets, including Ciro Pellegrino, who also works at Fanpage and was alerted of a suspected attack on his iPhone by Apple last year. Researchers at the Citizen Lab later concluded that Pellegrino was hacked with Paragon spyware.

The technical report mentioned by the prosecutor’s offices, however, said it only found evidence of spyware on the phones of Caccia, Casarini, and Cancellato, but not Pellegrino and another four people who are alleged victims. 

“I’m pretty disconcerted,” Pellegrino, who said he has not seen the full technical report yet, told TechCrunch. “How is it possible that Citizen Lab, an authority on spyware, found evidence that Paragon’s Graphite was on my phone, while the Italian prosecutors’ experts did not? And why would Apple send me the alerts? For fun?”

The prosecutor’s offices in Rome and Naples did not respond to a request for comment. 

A spokesperson for the Polizia Postale, which is investigating the case, referred TechCrunch to the prosecutor’s offices. 

Paragon, which as of last year had an active contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and REDLattice, a company that merged with the spyware maker after the acquisition by AE Industrial, did not respond to a request for comment. 

Italy is the most recent European country in recent years to have been embroiled in a spyware scandal, after similar cases in Greece, Hungary, Poland, and Spain. 

At the end of last month, a Greek court sentenced Tal Dilian and three other executives of the spyware maker Intellexa to eight years in prison for illegal wiretapping and privacy violations. 

The sentencing was part of the so-called “Greek Watergate” scandal, in which the Greek government was accused in 2022 of hacking the phones of politicians, journalists, businesspeople, and military officials with Intellexa’s spyware Predator. 

It’s official: The Pentagon has labeled Anthropic a supply-chain risk

The Department of Defense (DOD) has officially notified Anthropic leadership that the company and its products have been designated a supply-chain risk, Bloomberg reports, citing a senior department official. 

The designation comes after weeks of conflict between the AI lab and the DOD. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has refused to allow the military to use its AI systems for mass surveillance of Americans or to power fully autonomous weapons with no humans assisting in the targeting or firing decisions. The Department has argued that its use of AI should not be limited by a private contractor. 

Supply-chain-risk designations are typically reserved for foreign adversaries. The label requires any company or agency that does work with the Pentagon to certify that it doesn’t use Anthropic’s models. 

The Pentagon’s finding threatens to disrupt both the company and its own operations. Anthropic has been the only frontier AI lab with classified-ready systems. The U.S. military is currently relying on Claude in its Iran campaign, where American forces are using AI tools to quickly manage the data for their operations. Claude is one of the main tools installed in Palantir’s Maven Smart System, which military operators in the Middle East rely on, according to Bloomberg.

Labeling Anthropic a supply-chain risk over this disagreement is an unprecedented move from the Department, several critics say. Dean Ball, a former Trump White House AI adviser, has referred to the designation as a “death rattle” of the American republic, arguing government has abandoned strategic clarity and respect in favor of “thuggish” tribalism that treats domestic innovators worse than foreign adversaries. 

Hundreds of employees from OpenAI and Google have urged the DOD to withdraw its designation and called on Congress to push back on what could be perceived as an inappropriate use of authority against an American technology company. They have also urged their leaders to stand together to continue to refuse the DOD’s demands to use their AI models for domestic mass surveillance and “autonomously killing people without human oversight.”

TechCrunch has reached out to Anthropic for comment.

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In the midst of the dispute, OpenAI forged its own deal with the Department to allow the military to use its AI systems for “all lawful purposes.” Some of the company’s employees have expressed concern about the ambiguous phrasing of the deal, which could lead to exactly the type of uses Anthropic was trying to avoid.

Amodei has called the actions of the DOD “retaliatory and punitive,” and reportedly said his refusal to praise or donate to President Trump contributed to the dispute with the Pentagon. OpenAI president Greg Brockman has been a staunch backer of Trump, recently donating $25 million to the MAGA Inc. Super PAC. 

X revamps Creator Subscriptions with new features, like exclusive threads and shareable cards

Elon Musk-owned X announced on Thursday that it’s revamping the social network’s Creator Subscriptions offering with a number of new features, including exclusive threads, a refreshed subscriptions paywall, a new dashboard, and a shareable subscriptions card, among other changes.

The company believes these updates will allow creators to attract more fans and provide better experiences, as it pushes to become a bigger part of the creator economy alongside Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook.

X also highlighted the recent launch of its “Paid Partnership” label, which is applied to posts where the content is paid for or incentivized by a third party.

One key new feature arriving Thursday is the launch of “exclusive threads,” which allow creators to monetize their posts directly on X, instead of sending fans to an external website or newsletter. With these posts, creators can tease the value of the thread in a parent post, then allow audiences to subscribe directly to the individual conversation. Subscriber-only content will now live in the account’s main profile feed, instead of in a separate Subscriptions tab, according to X.

Other new tools are designed to help creators market themselves and track their analytics. This includes a new Subscriptions card that can be shared on X to promote the creator’s content. There’s also a new dashboard that lets creators more easily track their earnings alongside other subscriber insights, as well as access built-in growth tools.

Image Credits:TechCrunch (screenshot)

X is also tweaking the subscription process, which includes a refreshed paywall where creators can highlight the benefits of their subscriptions and a faster onboarding process for setting up subscriptions that now takes just two steps. X said it has also sped up application review times, so creators can more quickly get started with monetization.

“We are doubling down on creators, the platform’s most influential experts, thought leaders, and voices, by investing in tools that enable sustainable incomes and deeper connections with their audiences,” said Allegra Jacchia, Creators Product at X, in a statement about the launch. “We believe creators deserve to be compensated for the value, knowledge, and perspectives they bring to the platform, and a big part of that is enabling them to monetize their most loyal supporters directly.”

The company also formally announced the recent launch of the “Paid partnership” label, which offers creators a built-in tool to comply with X’s policy and industry regulations over labeling ads, without having to use hashtags. Instead, the new label appears directly below the post’s content, and it can be added after the fact if a creator forgets to include it when they first post.

Image Credits:TechCrunch (screenshot)

X’s Creator Revenue Sharing program, which launched globally in 2023, allows creators to generate income for their popular posts. While designed to boost engaging content, some have criticized the program’s design, saying it incentivizes creators to post sensationalized content, including clickbait or ragebait. However, X has noted that some of its top creators include stock traders offering analysis, like @Banana3Stocks and @Jake_Wujastyk.

The company has paid out more than $45 million to creators to date, according to a post from Grok, the AI assistant integrated into X. For 2026, the company has more than doubled the revenue pool available due to X’s Premium subscription growth, Grok said. A spokesperson for X confirmed the latter, pointing to an X Creators post that also referenced changes to how payouts were calculated.

In January, some creators posted screenshots of their earnings, suggesting that payouts had recently increased. X also recently pushed creators to try long-form articles with a recent $1 million campaign for the top article.

The changes to the subscriptions arrive amid a flurry of news from X this week, which also included the beta tests of X’s stand-alone app, XChat, and payments service X Money. In addition, the company announced it would suspend creators from its revenue-sharing program if they posted unlabeled AI videos depicting armed conflict.

X has long sought to attract creators to its platform, even before the company was acquired by Musk. However, the majority of X’s revenue today still comes from advertisers, not premium subscriptions or creator content.

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