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Looking for Quordle clues? We can help. Plus get the answers to Quordle today and past solutions.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc’s Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1065) – hint #1 – Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1065) – hint #2 – repeated letters

Do any of today’s Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #1065) – hint #3 – uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today’s Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1065) – hint #4 – starting letters (1)

Do any of today’s Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today’s Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you’re not ready yet then here’s one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1065) – hint #5 – starting letters (2)

What letters do today’s Quordle answers start with?

• T

• S

• F

• V

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1065) – the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today’s Quordle, game #1065, are…

TIPSY
SCALE
FLYER
VALVE

It’s not a bad idea to look over Quordle when you’ve finished, but I always get a sense of regret.

I’ve still not pinned down the perfect second Quordle guess, but I’m pretty stuck on STARE as my starter, which landed me three letters of the second word, narrowing the field down to a possible 35 other possible words. Despite this narrowing of odds I still messed up and wasted a go when I could have got TIPSY a line earlier.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Daily Sequence today (game #1065) – the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today’s Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1065, are…

THREE
CRUMP
AGING
TRUTH

Quordle answers: The past 20

Quordle #1064, Monday 23 December: SNAKE, SAVVY, ELBOW, TWEED

Quordle #1063, Sunday 22 December: DOUBT, SLURP, PAPER, CIVIL

Quordle #1062, Saturday 21 December: STRIP, BUDGE, SAPPY, SHELF

Quordle #1061, Friday 20 December: PENAL, EAGLE, DILLY, QUITE

Quordle #1060, Thursday 19 December: JEWEL, GNOME, TRAMP, IDLER

Quordle #1059, Wednesday 18 December: LITHE, BIRTH, HUMID, ROBOT

Quordle #1058, Tuesday 17 December: DOING, ENJOY, SNAKY, AMPLE

Quordle #1057, Monday 16 December: HYDRO, CREAM, CHIDE, SLIME

Quordle #1056, Sunday 15 December: DROVE, STILT, LINEN, GIANT

Quordle #1055, Saturday 14 December: SPIEL, ONSET, TIGER, DITTO

Quordle #1054, Friday 13 December: ERECT, REBAR, MOIST, IDIOM

Quordle #1053, Thursday 12 December: MILKY, CRIER, STORK, DRIER

Quordle #1052, Wednesday 11 December: BRIAR, NASAL, SHARD, FLUFF

Quordle #1051, Tuesday 10 December: BEGAN, TRIAL, IDEAL, GUIDE

Quordle #1050, Monday 9 December: TITAN, FORTE, SPEED, BRIAR

Quordle #1049, Sunday 8 December: BUNCH, SHINY, MOULT, INTRO

Quordle #1048, Saturday 7 December: SHAKY, CROOK, GHOUL, VERSE

Quordle #1047, Friday 6 December: BRAWL, UNTIL, DOWRY, STING

Quordle #1046, Thursday 5 December: AGING, BICEP, CLOVE, SPILL

Quordle #1045, Wednesday 4 December: JUDGE, GIVER, GNASH, CLOAK

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Looking for NYT Connections answers and hints? Here’s all you need to know to solve today’s game, plus my commentary on the puzzles.

Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the NYT’s clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.

What should you do once you’ve finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I’ve also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc’s Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #562) – today’s words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today’s NYT Connections words are…

LIONS
TIGERS
BEARS
OH MY
DEAR
JAYS
BILLS
USE
BYE
BEES
PLEASE
CLOSE
TIGHT
GIMME
EASE
INTIMATE

NYT Connections today (game #562) – hint #1 – group hints

What are some clues for today’s NYT Connections groups?

YELLOW: Follow the Yellow Brick Road

GREEN: Companion 

BLUE: Letter soundalikes 

PURPLE: Big, big, big tunes

Need more clues?

We’re firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today’s NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #562) – hint #2 – group answers

What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?

YELLOW: “LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS, OH MY!” 

GREEN: BELOVED, AS A FRIEND 
BLUE: WORDS THAT SOUND LIKE PLURAL LETTERS 

PURPLE: WHEN TRIPLED, HIT SONG TITLES 

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #562) – the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today’s Connections, game #562, are…

YELLOW: “LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS, OH MY!” BEARS, LIONS, OH MY, TIGERS

GREEN: BELOVED, AS A FRIEND CLOSE, DEAR, INTIMATE, TIGHT

BLUE: WORDS THAT SOUND LIKE PLURAL LETTERS BEES, EASE, JAYS, USE

PURPLE: WHEN TRIPLED, HIT SONG TITLES BILLS, BYE, GIMME, PLEASE

My rating: Hard

My score: 2 mistakes

I’m sure I wasn’t alone in thinking that at least one of the groups today was about sports. This hunch was made even stronger by the fact that the LIONS and TIGERS are both Detroit teams.

The Lion we were looking for, though, was the cowardly one that leaps into the path of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz as they fret about the existence of “LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS, OH MY!”

NSYNC and boy bands in general are a bit of a musical blindspot for me, so I missed BYE in the song titles, using a mistake on USE (although on reflection “Use Use Use Your Imagination” by Gorgon City would be a little obscure).

Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Monday, 23 December, game #561)

YELLOW: HOMOPHONES EWE, U, YEW, YOU

GREEN: NECKLINES BOAT, CREW, SCOOP, V

BLUE: WAYS TO EXPRESS 1,000 GRAND, K, M, THOU

PURPLE: SUPER 8, BOWL, GLUE, TUESDAY

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don’t technically need to solve the final one, as you’ll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What’s more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It’s a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It’s playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

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Looking for NYT Strands answers and hints? Here’s all you need to know to solve today’s game, including the spangram.

Strands is the NYT’s latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it’s great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc’s Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #296) – hint #1 – today’s theme

What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?

• Today’s NYT Strands theme is… Who on earth …?

NYT Strands today (game #296) – hint #2 – clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

INTERN
NINE
HEALER
CRIME
RARE
VINE

NYT Strands today (game #296) – hint #3 – spangram

What is a hint for today’s spangram?

• Earthy ID

NYT Strands today (game #296) – hint #4 – spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today’s spangram touches?

First side: top, 3rd column

Last side: bottom, 5th column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #296) – the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today’s Strands, game #296, are…

BROOK
HOLLY
RIVER
CLEMENTINE
LAUREL
WILLOW
SPANGERAM: NATURE NAMES

My rating: Moderate

My score: Perfect

Even after completing today’s Strands it took me a while to understand what was meant by NATURE NAMES – then BROOK Shields, HOLLY Hunter, WILLOW Johnson, and RIVER Phoenix popped into my mind.

I was hard-pressed to think of anyone famous called CLEMENTINE or LAUREL, however.

Both are pretty rare names in general. According to the Social Security Administration in 2023 there were 543 babies named Clementine and just 391 called Laurel. For comparison, 15,270 girls in the US were named Olivia in 2023.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday’s NYT Strands answers (Monday, 23 December, game #295)

COCOA
GINGERBREAD
CRANBERRY
PEPPERMINT
SPANGRAM: HOLIDAY FLAVOR

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT’s new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It’s now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT’s games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I’ve got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you’re struggling to beat it each day.

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Want the best Santa Tracker and to play some fun games through Norad or Google? We’re live-blogging Santa’s movements as he ventures out from the North Pole

The moment we’ve all been waiting for has arrived – it’s time for TechRadar’s annual Santa Tracker! We’re going to be monitoring St. Nick’s whereabouts as he delivers all the best tech gifts this Christmas, following along using the two most popular trackers; NORAD and Google.

Kris Kringle’s annual jaunt across the globe is practically a sporting event these years, with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)’s Santa tracker historically being the go-to resource for following Santa’s whereabouts. However, nowadays thanks to the internet and smartphones, there are plenty of options to follow along as he delivers gifts at breakneck speeds.

We like to think we’re the best way to keep up-to-date, and will be sharing global festive traditions, holiday entertainment recommendations and even some hot last-minute tech bargains to keep you entertained.

In keeping with the continued ‘AI everywhere’ theme of 2024, we’ve also asked Firefly AI to create some images of the big man himself and the elves back at home as they prep for some serious gift-giving. They’re only slightly cursed.

What’s a Santa tracker?

Santa tracking is a well-loved tradition increasingly observed worldwide, but it all began with a happy accident in 1955. According to NORAD, a Sears catalog accidentally printed the Colorado Springs’ Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Center’s phone number instead of a Santa hotline and began to receive calls from children hopeful to speak to Klaus himself.

Seeing an opportunity for a little festive fun (and some positive PR), CONAD began publishing press releases on Santa’s whereabouts every year, handing the reins to NORAD after its formation in 1958. In 2004, Google released its own Santa Tracker, which offers a very different experience but is still just as fun.

Fast forward to today and there are a number of ways to find out what’s happening to Santa, but these two are the key ones to look out for, in our expert opinion.

Which is the best Santa tracker?

You’ve got two main choices when it comes to tracking Santa – they offer different ways of following along, but which is best depends on the experience you’re looking for.

Norad Santa Tracker

(Image credit: Future)

The original way of following Santa and, some would say, the best. This website, run by the US military, fuses gruff colonels presenting a video about Santa Claus with live, up-to-the-minute info on where the man in the big red suit is.

You can download the app on the App Store or Google Play Store, and from there you’ll be presented with some mini-games to play as well as being able to follow the progress of the present-giving live.

It’s quite basic compared to other trackers, lacking a lot of polish and website design. However, it’s also the most popular and has a heartwarming history behind it – as well as an army of volunteers ready to take your call to find out where Santa is, and the power of Verizon’s network in a now 22-year partnership.

NORAD has also added an AI chatbot called Radar to help you spot Santa too, but if you can be bothered, then dialling +1 (877) HI-NORAD will do the trick too.

Google Santa Tracker

A more recent addition to the Santa tracking mix, Google’s Santa Tracker has been going since 2004, combining the power of Google Maps with the savvy knowledge of where Father Christmas is.

While Google doesn’t have the same satellite tracking power as NORAD, one has to assume the search giant has struck a deal with the North Pole to figure out where he is in real-time using search and radar and lasers and… stuff. Don’t ask us to interpret the magic.

Backing up the Santa Tracker are a whole host of minigames to play, as well as a month-long website encouraging children to learn to code while they encounter a winter wonderland.

There are some pro-Google tools moments in this Santa Tracker – the Quick Draw game is designed to teach Google’s image-recognition software to improve, which feels a bit odd – but it’s a wonderfully designed site and arguably the most visually accessible way to follow Santa.

You can download the app from the Google Play Store, but in our eyes the mobile site is just as good and more accessible for iPhone users, plus Google’s Santa Tracker has the best and easiest-to-use desktop experience, too.

Live updates

Yes, it’s the highlight of our year once again – time for TechRadar’s annual Santa tracker!

The big man himself is readying all stations to set off on his annual world tour, but there’s still plenty of time left to get yourself ready for his arrival. After all, it’s not even Christmas Eve yet in many parts of the world.

We’ll be live blogging Santa’s journey over the next day and a half, bringing you the latest on his whereabouts and sharing plenty of info about Christmas traditions as we go. Trust us – it’s the best possible way to prepare for the big day.

Right then, on with the show…

I should really introduce myself at this stage – very rude of me to not do so. So I’m Marc, and I’ll be your guide for the next hour or so. Hi! 👋

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We have some questions

X CEO Linda Yaccarino is unexpectedly sweeping into CES 2025 for a keynote. The former NBC Universal executive, who joined X (formerly Twitter) as CEO in 2023 and had done little to nothing to dampen owner Elon Musk’s incendiary use of the platform, will sit down with CBS News investigative journalist Catherine Herridge on January 7 at 1:30 PM PST.

The chat comes after a tumultuous couple of years at the head of the struggling social media platform. Yaccarino is no stranger to the interview stage, but she’s been notoriously obtuse when asked point-blank about the activity on her platform. Her 2023 Vox Media interview is almost legendary, with some describing it “like something of HBO’s Silicon Valley.”

CES, which invited Yaccarino to speak, pitched her as something of a resilient innovator. “Linda’s career exemplifies the spirit of CES – innovation, resilience, and vision,” said CTA CEO Gary Shapiro in a press release where CTA President Kinsey Fabrizio, President, CTA, described her as a “visionary.”

What that vision is, though, is hard to define. Since Yacarrino took the reigns, she’s done nothing to move X back to a more inviting center (legions of people – including many celebrities – recently exited X to join BlueSky). In fact, the platform has become more closed off and fertile ground for dangerous misinformation. At a more practical level, the company has reportedly lost 72% of its value.

Larger influence

Still, Yacarrino’s chat might be more compelling now than even three months ago. Her boss, Elon Musk, now sits at the right hand of soon-to-be President Donald Trump (this chat will take place just weeks before Trump is reinaugurated into office) and Musk is now using X and his 200 million followers on the platform to shape policy. A recent Tweet barrage helped temporarily sink a funding bill that would’ve kept the US government functioning for a few more months (a revised bill did pass).

Musk is also about to start co-running with Vivek Ramaswamy DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), which will look to suggest drastic cuts to the US government. Whatever decisions Musk and Ramaswamy make will likely be run through the X echo chamber, probably with live polls.

I don’t expect Yacarrino to address any of this directly. She’ll likely deflect questions on the health of the business, the worrisome rhetoric flourishing on it, and the possible conflicts that might exist between Musk’s various businesses, his control of the increasingly influential platform, and his new unelected governmental role.

Since she’s painting X in the release as “the global newsroom in your pocket,” it’s fairly certain Herridge will press her on how, with many reputable news outlets leaving the platform, X is still a newsroom.

Her answer might not make any sense, but guaranteed Musk will love it, and everyone on X will eat it up.

Enjoy the show at CES 2025.

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The Panasonic TOUGHBOOK 33mk4 is built for demanding environments and offers enhanced performance for mobile workers in tough conditions.

Toughbook 33mk4 features MIL-STD 810H military standard certification
Advanced 5G connectivity ensures seamless data transfer in the field
Extended 15 hours battery life promises long-life usage

Panasonic has announced the TOUGHBOOK 33mk4, a new rugged tablet promising 2-in-1 functionality and enhancements in performance, connectivity, and screen technology.

The device was designed to for the needs of mobile workers across various industries, meeting both the MIL-STD 810H military standard developed by the US Department of Defense as well as the IEC 60529 industry standard for electronic devices.

The TOUGHBOOK 33mk4 integrates Intel’s 13th-generation processors, advanced 5G connectivity, and a unique 12-inch Quad High Definition (QHD) display that boosts usability in field environments.

Toughbook 33mk4

The TOUGHBOOK 33mk4 comes with an Intel Core i5 processor from the 13th generation, featuring Intel vPro Technology, also known as “Raptor Lake.” This device also has an optional upgrade which uses the Intel Core i7 processor which offers greater computing power and is for users with more demanding tasks.

The 12-inch QHD screen of the TOUGHBOOK 33mk4 is not the largest around, but does come with a resolution of 2160 x 1440 pixels and an aspect ratio of 3:2, offering more vertical space compared to the traditional 16:9 seen in many larger 14-inch models.

This improvement in display design meets a shift in user preference, where larger and more detailed screens are necessary for increased productivity in the field. Panasonic believes that for professionals in industries such as utilities, automotive, and defense, this display means easier navigation and interpretation of complex visual information.

The TOUGHBOOK 33mk4 supports 5G connectivity out of the box, offering mobile workers faster data transfer speeds, ultra-low latency, and improved reliability in various environments. It also supports standalone (SA) 5G networks enabling users to securely transfer large amounts of data while in the field. Moreover, the device’s optional GPS and improved Bluetooth technology further increase its connectivity flexibility.

This notebook is also rated IP65 for dust and water resistance making it suitable for use in harsh conditions, and also boasts 15 hours of battery life, making it suitable for long work shifts where charging may not be immediately available.

With certification for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the TOUGHBOOK 33mk4 is ideal for businesses that require secure, Linux-based solutions, expanding its appeal to more sectors where security and compatibility are paramount.

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xAI gains 150MW power approval for its supercomputer, but locals fear impact on grid and future power availability.

Elon Musk’s xAI supercomputer gets power boost amid concerns
150MW approval raises questions about grid reliability in Tennessee
Local stakeholders voice concerns over growing data center demands

Elon Musk’s xAI supercomputer has taken a major step forward with approval for 150 megawatts of power from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

This approval significantly boosts the facility’s energy supply, enabling it to run all 100,000 of its GPUs concurrently, a feat previously limited by available power.

However, this massive energy demand has raised concerns among local stakeholders regarding the impact on the region’s power grid.

xAI expands power use

When xAI first launched its supercomputer in July 2024, it required significantly more energy than was available. Initially, only 8MW of power was available at the site, which was insufficient to meet the demands of the AI data center.

Musk’s team improvised by using portable power stations to fill the gap. Over the summer, Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW), a local utility company, upgraded the existing substation to provide 50MW of power, still far short of the requirements to fully operate the facility.

The xAI supercomputer, nicknamed the “Gigafactory of Compute,” is designed to support Musk’s artificial intelligence company. To run all of its 100,000 GPUs simultaneously, the data center needs an estimated 155MW of power, meaning the new approval for 150MW is just enough to get close to full capacity.

With approval for an additional 150MW, MLGW and TVA have worked to assure local residents that the increased demand from xAI will not negatively impact power reliability in the Memphis area. According to MLGW’s CEO Doug McGowen, the additional power needed for xAI’s operations is still within the utility’s peak load forecast, and measures are in place to buy more energy from TVA if necessary.

To meet these growing energy needs, many tech companies, including Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Oracle, are investing in alternative energy sources, particularly nuclear power. However, it will take at least five years before nuclear energy solutions are ready for widespread deployment.

Until then, companies like xAI must rely on existing infrastructure to power their data centers, raising concerns about grid stability and the ability to keep up with increasing demands.

“We are alarmed that the TVA Board rubberstamped xAI’s request for power without studying the impact it will have on local communities,” says Southern Environmental Law Center senior attorney Amanda Garcia.

“Board members expressed concern about the impact large industrial energy users have on power bills across the Tennessee Valley. TVA should be prioritizing families over data centers like xAI,” Garcia notes.

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Synthesia offers custom video messages from Santa.

Want to send a special message straight from the North Pole this year? AI video developer Synthesia has you covered with festive greetings with a dash of AI magic. You can get a digital Santa Claus speaking right to you or whoever you wish using Synthesia’s AI-powered video platform,

The personalized video messages stars a lifelike AI-generated Santa and even less tech-savvy well-wishers can use it easily. You can pick from an array of templates showing cozy living rooms adorned with Christmas trees and a comfy chair with Santa sitting and sharing your message. Synthesia’s virtual elves work their magic and your message is sent. Your heartfelt greeting is processed with Synthesia’s platform of advanced AI-powered text-to-speech and video generation technology. Santa is the latest of Synthesia’s more than 230 pre-designed AI avatars, including custom creations.

Synthesia has the most comprehensive AI Santa message, but it’s not alone. OpenAI debuted Santa Mode for ChatGPT last week, giving the AI chatbot a simulated version of Santa’s voice for Advanced Voice Mode, which is described as “merry and bright.”

Santa delivers a dose of Christmas spirit with striking realism and can speak 140 different languages. To maintain its family-friendly charm, Synthesia screens all user-submitted scripts to prevent any untoward or non-jolly messages. You can see my example below.

How to send a message from Santa

If you want to send a video from Santa, go to this website then:

1. Choose a Template: Visit Synthesia’s Santa video generator page and select from festive templates.

2. Craft Your Message: Write a personalized message for your recipient. If you’re unsure what to say, consider using an AI writing assistant for inspiration.

3. Submit and Generate: After finalizing your message, submit it through the platform. In just a few minutes, Synthesia’s AI processes the text, generating a lifelike video featuring Santa delivering your message.

4. Share the Joy: Once the video is ready, it will be emailed directly to you. You can then share it with your loved ones, bringing a personalized touch to your holiday greetings.

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Who decides which streamer gets what, and when?

Movies and shows are licensed rather than sold outright
Pay-TV and video on demand are usually licensed before streaming
Rights are increasingly being licensed to multiple platforms

If like me you enjoy nothing more than watching a great new movie on great home cinema kit, you’ve probably asked this question more than once about an exciting new release: when’s it coming to one of the best streaming services – and which streamer is it coming to? And the answer is: it’s complicated.

In a simpler world every movie would come to every streaming service. But of course we live in a world that’s much messier, which is why we write separate guides to cover the best movies coming to Netflix, to Disney Plus, to Max, to Prime Video, to Paramount Plus and to Apple TV Plus.

So how do certain movies end up on certain streamers, and who decides who gets what and when? Let’s find out.

How movies aren’t sold

Some streamers are also in the movie business: Netflix’s Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F was a Netflix Original. (Image credit: Netflix )

It’s important to clarify what it means when we talk about films being released. Films aren’t sold outright; in most cases, the companies that paid for them own them and like to keep it that way. What studios and their distributors do is sell licenses to show, sell or stream movies in a particular way, in a particular place, for a particular period of time.

When your local megaplex shows Wicked, it hasn’t bought the movie; the theater chain has bought a licence to screen it in certain territories for a few weeks or months. Similarly, when Prime Video, Max or Paramount Plus offers a movie as part of your membership, the streamer has bought a licence that gives it the right to stream it – again, in certain territories for a certain period of time.

In addition to being licensed to different companies in different parts of the world, movie licenses are also sold in several stages. A studio movie will typically be shown in theaters first, made available digitally as pay-per-view or buy-to-own, and then made available on streaming.

Things are slightly different with TV shows, because of course there’s not a theatrical release. But unless a show is made in-house by a streamer, it’ll be licensed in much the same way that movies are.

Windows on the world

Apple TV Plus released Wolfs in theaters, but only for one week. (Image credit: Sony Pictures / Apple)

The movie business uses the term “release windows” to describe the different stages of a movie release campaign. So you have the theatrical release window, the pay-per-view window, the first streaming release window and so on.

The first release window is the original theatrical release. That used to be very long, typically three to six months or more, and then COVID came along. With theaters shut the studios either massively reduced the theatrical release window or abandoned it completely, turning to pay per view and streaming deals instead. And while COVID closures are thankfully a thing of the past, the much shorter theatrical windows remain.

Theatrical licences are traditionally exclusive: you won’t usually be able to rent or buy a movie anywhere while it’s still having its initial theatrical run. But the time between a movie hitting theaters and being available to rent, buy or stream is much shorter than it used to be.

Everything’s accelerating

Five Nights at Freddy’s took an unusual approach with a simultaneous theatrical and streaming release. (Image credit: Blumhouse/Universal)

According to Indiewire, the average theatrical window across all the big studio movies in 2023 was just 37 days. There were outliers such as Oppenheimer, which spent 122 days as a theater-only release. But that one was really unusual. The same studio’s Super Mario Bros Movie was more typical (and more profitable), ending its theatrical run after 41 days.

Indiewire’s analysis shows that Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour movie ran for 60 days while Disney movies averaged 62 days, A24 movies 48 days, Paramount 42 days and Sony 35 days. The shortest theatrical window? Five Nights At Freddy’s, which didn’t have one: it was available on Peacock from day one.

FNAF was the third-biggest horror movie opening in cinema history but its release isn’t likely to be widely copied. The consensus is that simultaneous releases are more likely to cannibalize box office sales – especially in genres such as horror, which teens like to see together in theaters – and by missing out on the word of mouth that can turn modest successes into big ones.

When the run is done

Barbie followed a typical schedule: theaters first, then buy to own, then streaming (Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Once the theatrical run is done, it’s time for the release window that matters to streamers. That’s called the Pay One Window, and it’s when movies move from theaters to home viewing.

During the Pay One Window, the rights to show a movie are sold to two different markets: the PVOD/TVOD market (paid/transactional video on demand, aka pay-to-rent and buy-to-own) and the SVOD market, which is short for streaming video on demand.

SVOD means streamers such as Max, Prime, Netflix and Hulu; TVOD means rental and purchases on the likes of Apple TV (but not Apple TV+), Google Play, the Microsoft Store, Amazon (but not Included With Prime) and other digital storefronts.

It’s always clearest if we use a real example, so let’s take Barbie. Barbie’s theatrical run started in July 2023 and stayed exclusive to theaters until September 2023, when it became available through TVOD platforms as a pay-to-rent and buy-to-own digital release. It then became available for Max subscribers to stream in December 2023.

When the Pay One Window expires, it’s time to sell more licences. This next release window is known as the Pay Two Window, and it’s when older movies are licensed, often to other streaming services than during the Pay One period. For example, Sony has a Pay One deal in place with Netflix but a Pay Two deal with all the Disney platforms.

Of the two windows, the Pay One Window is the more desirable: pent-up demand for big-name movies drives sales of new streaming subscriptions in a way that older movies don’t. But Pay Two Window licences tend to be cheaper, and that means they enable streamers to expand their catalogs relatively cheaply.

Relationship status: it’s complicated

Joker Folie à Deux was released on Max two-months after its theatrical run. (Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Traditionally, Pay One Window deals were for up to 18 months and were exclusive – so if a movie was going to Peacock then it wouldn’t also go to Amazon Prime for at least a year and a bit. But modern movie markets are much messier, and as Variety reports, most studios now licence to multiple streamers either simultaneously or slightly staggered.

As if that wasn’t complicated enough, some of the movie studios also own streamers and some of the streamers make movies. So for example Apple TV+ and Netflix make movies that hit theaters first but which were made with streaming in mind; Disney the company owns Disney the studio and Disney Plus the streamer, so Disney movies will move to Disney Plus after their theatrical run finishes. But Disney also owns 20th Century Fox and Searchlight, and those movies don’t just end up with Disney+ or the Disney-owned Hulu; they are usually licensed to HBO and Max too.

Here’s how Variety describes it. “Netflix gets major studio fare from Sony Pictures and additional prestige films from Sony Pictures Classics, while Prime Video offers rotating selections of Universal and Paramount titles, alongside Amazon’s MGM films after they’re done on MGM+. Disney’s streamers eventually get Sony titles, too, and Hulu is also where art-house distributor Neon’s films stream after their theatrical runs.”

As we said, it’s complicated – and it’ll only get more so.

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$100bn tech company is teaming up with the world’s biggest memory manufacturers to produce supercharged HBM.

HBM is fundamental to the AI revolution as it allows ultra fast data transfer close to the GPU
Scaling HBM performance is difficult if it sticks to JEDEC protocols
Marvell and others wants to develop a custom HBM architecture to accelerate its development

Marvell Technology has unveiled a custom HBM compute architecture designed to increase the efficiency and performance of XPUs, a key component in the rapidly evolving cloud infrastructure landscape.

The new architecture, developed in collaboration with memory giants Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix, aims to address limitations in traditional memory integration by offering tailored solutions for next-generation data center needs.

The architecture focuses on improving how XPUs – used in advanced AI and cloud computing systems – handle memory. By optimizing the interfaces between AI compute silicon dies and High Bandwidth Memory stacks, Marvell claims the technology reduces power consumption by up to 70% compared to standard HBM implementations.

Moving away from JEDEC

Additionally, its redesign reportedly decreases silicon real estate requirements by as much as 25%, allowing cloud operators to expand compute capacity or include more memory. This could potentially allow XPUs to support up to 33% more HBM stacks, massively boosting memory density.

“The leading cloud data center operators have scaled with custom infrastructure. Enhancing XPUs by tailoring HBM for specific performance, power, and total cost of ownership is the latest step in a new paradigm in the way AI accelerators are designed and delivered,” Will Chu, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Custom, Compute and Storage Group at Marvell said.

“We’re very grateful to work with leading memory designers to accelerate this revolution and, help cloud data center operators continue to scale their XPUs and infrastructure for the AI era.”

HBM plays a central role in XPUs, which use advanced packaging technology to integrate memory and processing power. Traditional architectures, however, limit scalability and energy efficiency.

Marvell’s new approach modifies the HBM stack itself and its integration, aiming to deliver better performance for less power and lower costs – key considerations for hyperscalers who are continually seeking to manage rising energy demands in data centers.

ServeTheHome’s Patrick Kennedy, who reported the news live from Marvell Analyst Day 2024, noted the cHBM (custom HBM) is not a JEDEC solution and so will not be standard off the shelf HBM.

“Moving memory away from JEDEC standards and into customization for hyperscalers is a monumental move in the industry,” he writes. “This shows Marvell has some big hyperscale XPU wins since this type of customization in the memory space does not happen for small orders.”

The collaboration with leading memory makers reflects a broader trend in the industry toward highly customized hardware.

“Increased memory capacity and bandwidth will help cloud operators efficiently scale their infrastructure for the AI era,” said Raj Narasimhan, senior vice president and general manager of Micron’s Compute and Networking Business Unit.

“Strategic collaborations focused on power efficiency, such as the one we have with Marvell, will build on Micron’s industry-leading HBM power specs, and provide hyperscalers with a robust platform to deliver the capabilities and optimal performance required to scale AI.”

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