February 2023

Guidelines for Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown went live last week, and streamers were angry. The company is claiming that the rules only apply to users in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru and that users in other countries saw them by mistake. A spokesperson from Netflix told The Streamable, “For a brief time yesterday, a help center article containing information that is only applicable to Chile, Costa Rica, and...

Last week, the canned meat company, Conagra Brands, recalled over 2.5 million pounds of canned meat and poultry due to a packaging defect that may cause contamination. The problem was reported after someone in an Iowa Conagra location notified the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of leaking and spoiled cans with multiple production dates in a warehouse, according to the agency’s...

Subway had two record-setting years and has no plans of slowing down. Subway does not usually release quarterly earnings as a privately held company, but CNN reported, “Sales at its North America stores open at least a year rose 7.8% last year compared to 2021, which Subway said exceeded its projections by more than $700 million (it didn’t reveal specific numbers).” Subway CEO, John Chidsey, told CNN,...

On Wednesday, the FTC alleged that the digital health service, GoodRx, repeatedly shared consumer health data with Google, Facebook and other advertising platforms without its users’ knowledge or consent. The FTC is hitting GoodRx with a $1.5 million civil penalty for “violating the agency’s Health Breach Notification rule,” CNBC reported. The complaint claims in one case, GoodRx created campaigns catered to users based on their health information...

Peloton is losing money on its exercise equipment, but CEO Barry McCarthy is not phased. According to CNBC, in the second quarter of 2023, Peloton lost $42.8 million on its connected fitness products resulting in the company’s division’s gross margin being negative 11.2%. However, despite the negative margins, McCarthy is focusing on the positive aggregate margins produced by Peloton’s subscription revenue. “We take a holistic view of...

Samsung introduced its new Galaxy S23 smartphone line on Wednesday. The new models feature an improved camera, enhanced gaming quality and will reportedly be going “head-to-head” with Apple’s iPhone 14 model, according to CNBC. The Galaxy S23 line will include 3 new models: the S23 ($799), the S23+($1,000), and the S23 Ultra ($1,200). All three of these models are available for pre-order now and will show...

Starbucks announced that changes will be made to its popular rewards program starting on Feb. 13. Rewards members will now have to spend more money to redeem their points for free items. In other words, free drinks are going to cost more. Starbucks broke the news to customers in an email detailing the changes. Customers will now have to redeem 100 stars to get a free hot...

Paramount Global has plans to integrate Showtime into its streaming service, the company announced on Monday. The battle for subscribers has been raging on as streaming services navigate the rapidly changing industry. According to CNN, “Merging Showtime and Parmount+ on streaming will be a far more compelling offering to consumers versus trying to convince them to subscribe to each service separately.”  The product of the merger will...