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Disney+ and Hulu subscription cancellations rose during the month that ABC briefly cancelled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” according to data from subscription analytics company Antenna.Walt Disney Co. owns the streaming platforms and ABC. ABC pulled the show off the air for less than a week in September in the wake of criticism over his comments related the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.Antenna estimates total cancellations in September were 4.1 million for Hulu and 3 million for Disney+. The “churn rate,” or the percentage of customers that cancel their subscriptions in a specific month, jumped from 5% in August to 10% in September for Hulu. That figure jumped 4% in August to 8% in September for Disney+.However, signups were higher in September for both Hulu and Disney+ than the prior five months.Antenna is a subscription analytics company that tracks U.S. consumer data. The data excludes subscribers in bundle deals.In its most recent earnings report for the quarter ended June 28, Disney reported 183 million Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions.Disney declined to comment. Associated Press
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E-Commerce
A major Amazon Web Services outage disrupted scores of online platforms on Monday leaving people around the world unable to access some banks, chatting apps, online food ordering and more.History shows these kinds of system outages can be short-lived, and are often minor inconveniences such as placing a lunch order in person or waiting a few hours for a gaming platform to come back online than long-term problems, but recovery can be a bumpy road. And for people trying to move money, communicate with loved ones or work using impacted services, disruptions are especially stressful.Consumers may not realize how many platforms they use rely on the same back-end technology. AWS is one of only a handful of major cloud service providers that businesses, governments, universities and other organizations rely on. Monday’s outage is an important reminder of that and experts stress it’s important to diversify our online lives where we can, or even have some “old school” alternatives to turn to as a backup plan.“Don’t put all your eggs in one digital basket,” said Lee McKnight, an associate professor at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies, noting these kinds of outages aren’t going away anytime soon.So what, if anything, can you do to prepare for disruptions? Here are a few tips. Keep your money in more than one place During Monday’s AWS disruptions, users on outage tracker Downdetector reported problems with platforms like Venmo and online broker Robinhood. Banks such as Halifax and Lloyds also said some of their services were temporarily affected, although some customers continued to report lingering issues.Even if short-lived, outages that impact online banking and other financial services can be among the most stressful, particularly if a consumer is waiting on a paycheck, trying to pay rent, checking on investment funds or making purchases. While much of your stress will depend on the scope and length of disruptions, experts say a good rule of thumb is to park your money in multiple places.“I’m a big fan of holding multiple accounts that can give us access, to some degree, of funds at any given time,” said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate. This underlines the importance of having an emergency savings account, he explains, or other accounts separate from something like day-to-day checking account, for example.Keeping some cash in a safe place is also a good idea, he adds and emergency preparedness agencies similarly recommend having physical money on hand in case of a natural disaster or power failures. Still, it’s important to keep hoarding in moderation.“We shouldn’t go overboard, because we can lose cash it can be stolen or misplaced,” Hamrick said. And in terms of prudent financial practices overall, he explains, you also don’t want to have lots of money “stored under a mattress” if it could instead be earning interest in a bank.Depending on the scope of the outage, some other options could still be available.If digital banking apps are offline, for example, consumers may still be able to visit a branch in person, or call a representative over the phone although wait times during widespread disruptions are often longer. And if the disruptions are tied to a third-party cloud services provider, as seen with AWS on Monday, it’s not always something a bank or other impacted business can fix on its own. Have backup communication channels Monday’s AWS outage also impacted some communications platforms, including social media site Snapchat and messaging app Signal.In our ever-digitized world, people have become all the more reliant on online channels to call or chat with loved ones, communicate in the workplace and more. And while it can be easy to become accustomed to certain apps or platforms, experts note that outages serve as an important reminder to have backup plans in place.That could take the form of simply making sure you can reach those who you speak to regularly across different apps, again depending on the scope of disruption. If broader internet and cloud services that smartphones rely on are impacted, you may need to turn to more traditional phone calls and SMS text messages.SMS texting relies on “an older telecom infrastructure,” McKnight explains. For that reason, he notes that it’s important to have contacts for SMS texting up to date, “and not just the fancier and more fun services that we use day to day” in case of an emergency.Meanwhile, there can also be outages that specifically impact phone services. For non-cloud service outages in the past, impacted carriers have suggested users try Wi-Fi calling on both iPhones and Android devices.Save your work across multiple platforms and monitor service updatesOverall, McKnight suggests “building out your own personal, multi-cloud strategy.”For online work or projects, that could look like storing documents across multiple platforms such as Google Drive, Dropbox and iCloud, McKnight explains. It’s important to recognize potential security risks and make sure all of your accounts are secure, he adds, but “having some diversity in how you store information” could also reduce headaches when and if certain services are disrupted.Many businesses may also have their own workarounds or contingency plans in case the technology they use goes offline. While a wider recovery from Monday’s outage is still largely reliant on Amazon’s wider mitigation efforts, individual platforms’ social media or online status pages may have updates or details about alternative operations.You can also check outage trackers like Downdetector to see if others are experiencing similar problems.Even after recovery, experts also suggest checking payments, online orders and messages you may have sent during or close to the outage in case something didn’t go through. Is there a tech topic that you think needs explaining? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your suggestions for future editions of One Tech Tip. Wyatte Grantham-Philips, AP Business Writer
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E-Commerce
The White House on Monday started tearing down part of the East Wing, the traditional base of operations for the first lady, to build President Donald Trump’s $250 million ballroom despite lacking approval for construction from the federal agency that oversees such projects.Dramatic photos of the demolition work showed construction equipment tearing into the East Wing façade and windows and other building parts in tatters on the ground. Some reporters watched from a park near the Treasury Department, which is next to the East Wing.Trump announced the start of construction in a social media post and referenced the work while hosting 2025 college baseball champs Louisiana State University and LSU-Shreveport in the East Room. He noted the work was happening “right behind us.”“We have a lot of construction going on, which you might hear periodically,” he said, adding, “It just started today.”The White House has moved ahead with the massive construction project despite not yet having sign-off from the National Capital Planning Commission, which approves construction work and major renovations to government buildings in the Washington area.Its chairman, Will Scharf, who is also the White House staff secretary and one of Trump’s top aides, said at the commission’s September meeting that agency does not have jurisdiction over demolition or site preparation work for buildings on federal property.“What we deal with is essentially construction, vertical build,” Scharf said last month.It was unclear whether the White House had submitted the ballroom plans for the agency’s review and approval. The White House did not respond to a request for comment and the commission’s offices are closed because of the government shutdown.The Republican president had said in July when the project was announced that the ballroom would not interfere with the mansion itself.“It’ll be near it but not touching it and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of,” he said of the White House.The East Wing houses several offices, including those of the first lady. It was built in 1902 and and has been renovated over the years, with a second story added in 1942, according to the White House.Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said those East Wing offices will be temporarily relocated during construction and that wing of the building will be modernized and renovated.“Nothing will be torn down,” Leavitt said when she announced the project in July.Trump insists that presidents have desired such a ballroom for 150 years and that he’s adding the massive 90,000-square-foot, glass-walled space because the East Room, which is the largest room in the White House with an approximately 200-person capacity, is too small. He also has said he does not like the idea of hosting kings, queens, presidents and prime ministers in pavilions on the South Lawn.Trump said in the social media announcement that the project would be completed “with zero cost to the American Taxpayer! The White House Ballroom is being privately funded by many generous Patriots, Great American Companies, and, yours truly.”The ballroom will be the biggest structural change to the Executive Mansion since the addition in 1948 of the Truman Balcony overlooking the South Lawn, even dwarfing the residence itself.At a dinner he hosted last week for some of the wealthy business executives who are donating money toward the $250 million construction cost, Trump said the project had grown in size and now will accommodate 999 people. The capacity was 650 seated people at the July announcement.The White House has said it will disclose information on who has contributed money to build the ballroom, but has yet to do so.Trump also said at last week’s event that the head of Carrier Global Corp., a leading manufacturer of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, had offered to donate the air conditioning system for the ballroom.Carrier confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday that it had done so. A cost estimate was not immediately available.“Carrier is honored to provide the new iconic ballroom at the White House with a world-class, energy-efficient HVAC system, bringing comfort to distinguished guests and dignitaries in this historic setting for years to come,” the company said in an emailed statement.The clearing of trees on the south grounds and other site preparation work for the construction started in September. Plans call for the ballroom to be ready before Trump’s term ends in January 2029. Darlene Superville, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
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