Formula 1 testing in Bahrain is complete, giving a first look at team performance and driver shakeups. While every team has introduced new tech, it’s unclear who holds the edge. More to come when the season kicks off in a few weeks.

A peek into today’s edition:

• Streaming platforms at the Oscars
• Tech Byte: Amazon unveils Alexa+
• AWS launches real-time NFL Combine stats dashboard

How Streaming Platforms are Dominating the Oscars

Today, as the Oscars spotlight the best in cinema, it’s clear that streaming platforms like Prime Video and Netflix are playing an increasingly central role in the film industry. Over the past few years, these platforms have not only transformed how we consume films but have also changed how movies are released and marketed. The impact that streaming services have on movie releases is undeniable, and their growing influence on award shows is becoming just as evident.

Streaming’s Impact on Movie Releases

Gone are the days when a movie’s success depended solely on its theatrical release. Platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, and Hulu have made it possible for films to find success outside of movie theater screens. These platforms have redefined the traditional release model.

Still, theatrical releases remain a key part of Oscars eligibility. To qualify, a film must have at least a seven-day run in a commercial theater in an eligible market – like New York City or Los Angeles – between January 1 and December 31 of the year before the ceremony. The eligibility requirements change slightly each year, but the theatrical requirement remains consistent.

Consider the case of Netflix’s Roma (2018), which was released on the platform just weeks after its limited theatrical run. Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, Roma went on to win multiple Oscars, including Best Director, making history as the first film primarily distributed by a streaming service to win in that category. Roma also marked Netflix’s first Best Picture nomination and was nominated for a total of 10 Academy Awards. While Netflix’s The Irishman (2019) didn’t win any Oscars in 2020, the film also nabbed 10 nominations, signaling streaming’s growing impact on the renowned award show.

Prime Video has followed suit with films like Sound of Metal (2020) and One Night in Miami (2020), both of which garnered major recognition at the Oscars and other awards. Sound of Metal received six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Riz Ahmed, marking Prime Video’s status as a key player in the movie-making world.

Apple TV+ made history with CODA (2021) taking home Best Picture in 2022—the first time a streaming-first film snagged the Academy’s top prize. It was another defining moment that proved streamers aren’t just disrupting Hollywood; they’re winning at its highest level.

Year after year, streaming services continue to rack up nominations and wins, proving that their films aren’t just reshaping distribution—they’re dominating and reshaping the awards season cycle.

Streaming-First Strategies for Big Titles

These streaming-first strategies bring unique advantages. By skipping the traditional theatrical release, studios save on the heavy marketing costs and long waiting periods typical of theatrical runs. They can reach a global audience immediately, offering films to viewers worldwide at the click of a button. The convenience of streaming platforms allows more films to be accessible to a diverse audience, making it easier for smaller and international films to find their niche.

In the last five years, we’ve seen a shift in how streaming-first films are rolled out, especially as awards season prestige has become a bigger priority for streamers. Netflix, which once focused on bypassing theaters altogether, now opts for strategic theatrical runs to secure eligibility while still maintaining a strong streaming-first approach. Apple TV+ has also followed this model, with Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) getting a wide theatrical release before heading to streaming, a move that helped the film become a major Oscar contender. Meanwhile, movies like Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) and Maestro (2023) saw limited theatrical runs before landing on Netflix, proving that streaming services are now balancing exclusivity with accessibility. These evolving strategies show that streaming-first no longer means streaming-only—it’s about leveraging multiple platforms to maximize both audience reach and awards potential.

How Streaming Titles Are Dominating Award Shows

This year, streaming-first films have made a significant impact on the Oscars, with several titles receiving nominations across various categories. Notably, Netflix leads among streaming platforms with 18 nominations across six titles, second only to Universal Pictures’ 25 nominations. Amazon MGM Studios also secured two nominations for Nickel Boys, including a Best Picture nod.

As we tune in to the Oscars today, it’s clear that streaming platforms are no longer just a side note in award season. They’ve evolved from an alternative to traditional cinema and become part of the main stage for award-worthy films.

Tech Byte

This week in New York, Panos Panay, Amazon’s senior VP of devices and services, unveiled Alexa+, the next-generation AI-powered assistant. I got to see the Amazon team present Alexa+ to a room full of press and select content creators, marking the first major Alexa upgrade in two years. Panay called it a complete “re-architecture of all of Alexa,” with a focus on making it more conversational, smarter, and deeply integrated with services for tasks like home management, shopping, and entertainment. Alexa+ can now complete tasks like making reservations on OpenTable, ordering a ride via Uber, or even coordinating your smart home devices with voice commands.

Alexa+ begins rolling out in the U.S. next month, and it will be free for Prime members or $19.99 a month for non-members. It will be available on Echo devices, a new mobile app, and Alexa.com.

This Week in Tech

• At this weekend’s NFL Combine, AWS launched a public-facing Next Gen Stats dashboard on NFL.com, allowing fans to analyze player performance in real time. The dashboard adapts based on position groups, offering more insights into key attributes beyond standard Combine results—giving fans a chance to evaluate prospects like league scouts and general managers.
•  Netflix‘s latest Engagement Report reveals that subscribers streamed over 94 billion hours of content from July to December 2024, with Squid Game S2 leading as the most-viewed series at 87 million views despite premiering just six days before year-end. Animated films, true crime, and non-English content saw strong engagement, with nearly a third of viewing coming from international titles like Norway’s La Palma (52M) and Mexico’s The Accident (41M), alongside hits from Japan, South Korea, and India.
• Microsoft is shutting down Skype on May 5, urging users to migrate to its free Teams app as the service struggles to stay relevant in the mobile and cloud era. Once a pioneer in online calling, the 21-year-old video calling and messaging service lost ground to competitors like Zoom, FaceTime, and WhatsApp, while Microsoft shifted its focus to Teams for business and virtual collaboration.
• Apple is investing over $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years to expand across Michigan, Texas, California, Arizona, Nevada, Iowa, Oregon, North Carolina, and Washington. The commitment includes a new Texas factory, doubling its Advanced Manufacturing Fund to $10 billion, and accelerating investments in AI, silicon engineering, and workforce development.
• Anthropic is set to raise $3.5 billion in a new funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, tripling its valuation to $61.5 billion. The AI startup initially aimed to raise $2 billion, but strong investor demand drove the round higher. This news came as Anthropic released its newest AI model, Claude 3.7 Sonnet, dubbed as its most intelligent model yet.
• Google’s newest generative AI video model, Veo 2, will cost 50 cents per second, totaling $30 per minute or $1,800 per hour. This pricing comes as AI video generation heats up, with OpenAI also recently making its Sora video generation model available to ChatGPT Pro subscribers, who pay $200 a month.
• The new photo-sharing app Yope, which has a unique focus on private group sharing, has rapidly gained traction, reaching 2.2 million monthly active users and 800,000 daily active users. After raising $4.65 million in seed funding, Yope set a goal to hit 50 million users by next year by offering unfiltered content sharing and plans to expand its features and monetization strategies.

Michelai’s Bet of the Week

Christie’s AI art auction, “Augmented Intelligence,” has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in bids, despite protests from artists concerned about the use of platforms relying on copyrighted works. I’m betting this auction will prove successful, and we’ll likely see another one like it from Christie’s before the year ends.