Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) News & EventsBBYBest Buy Co., Inc.

HP Announces Pricing and Availability for RTX Spark

HP Inc. (HPQ) announced pricing and availability for HP's RTX Spark Windows portfolio, the introduction of Perplexity experiences on select consumer platforms, and the first public demonstration of Windows running on the HP ZGX Fury powered by the Nvidia (NVDA) GB300 Grace Blackwell Ultra Desktop Superchip. "At Microsoft's event earlier today, Microsoft's Satya Nadella and NVIDIA's Jensen Huang showcased the first public demonstration of Windows running on the HP ZGX Fury powered by the NVIDIA GB300 Grace Blackwell Ultra Desktop Superchip, highlighting a new class of AI workstation designed for developers, data scientists, researchers, and enterprise teams building and deploying advanced AI applications. The demonstration builds on HP's GB300 vision first previewed earlier this year at Computex and underscores HP's commitment to bringing powerful AI development capabilities to the Windows ecosystem. The HP ZGX Fury is designed to help organizations develop, test, and deploy increasingly sophisticated AI applications on-premises, closer to their users, data, and workflows. Its powerful capabilities enable enterprise teams to run demanding inference workloads, support more concurrent users and AI calls, and experiment with larger or more complex models - all while maintaining greater control over their AI infrastructure," HP stated. The HP OmniBook Ultra 16 is expected to be available at HP.com on October 16, for a starting price of $3,199.99. The device will also be available at Best Buy locations. The HP OmniBook X 14 is expected to be available at HP.com on October 16, for a starting price of $2,999.99. The device is also expected to be available at Costco.com, Micro Center, Walmart, and other U.S. retailers. Perplexity Pro will be offered as a one-month free trial on eligible HP consumer devices beginning in November, with availability expanding to both new and existing devices, HP added.

Paramount Reaches Settlement with Warner Bros, Commits to Increase Film Output

"Now Streaming" is The Fly's weekly recap of the stories surrounding the biggest content streamers.PLAYING THIS WEEKEND:Among this weekend's notable new streaming content is the first two episodes of Apple TVcomedy series "Brothers," starring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey as themselves. Meanwhile, Amazon Prime Videosubscribers can catch romantic comedy film "The Love Hypothesis" starring Tom Bateman and Lili Reinhart, while Netflixusers can watch the revival of comedy series "A Different World."PARAMOUNT/WARNER BROS.:Earlier this week, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said the state joined a coalition of 12 attorneys general in securing a settlement with Paramount Skydance, resolving the states' lawsuit alleging the company's merger with Warner Bros. Discoverywould harm competition. The settlement, pending approval by the court, includes a five-year court enforceable commitment to increase film output, a minimum of an additional $1.5B commitment to bolster domestic film production, a $47.5M fund for workers who are impacted by the merger, and restrictions on how the company handles cable negotiations to help keep prices competitive, Davenport said in a statement. Paramount has agreed to a five-year term, where the merged company will commit to release: 30 films a year, including 20 wide releases, in the first two years; 32 films a year - with 21 wide releases in years three, four, and five; and Paramount commits to release at least four independent films in each year of the commitment period.Following the settlement announcement, Semafor reported that Paramount is exploring additional equity funding to strengthen its balance sheet as it absorbs Warner Bros. Discovery, with CEO David Ellison considering Tesla'sElon Musk and other wealthy investors for a syndicate alongside substantial equity backing already guaranteed by Larry Ellison. A day after that report, Paramount announced the launch of syndication for a proposed senior secured incremental tranche of term "B" loans in an aggregate principal amount of $7.5B. The consummation of the Incremental Term B Facility is subject to market and other conditions. Subject to market and other conditions, Paramount intends to raise approximately $44.4B of additional secured debt, in addition to the Incremental Term B Facility and previously announced financings.Additionally, Business Insider reported that Paramount is preparing to launch new streaming features designed to drive engagement and increase revenue from viewers as it finalizes its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. The deal will give Paramount control of HBO Max and Discovery+. CEO David Ellison's company told streaming employees at a town hall this summer that Paramount+ is planning to add a free tier, micro dramas, and new interactive ad formats, the publication noted. Paramount is also preparing to put a comments section in its TikTok-style feed and leverage AI to help it clip videos, according to a screenshot of its streaming initiatives list recently viewed by Business Insider.DISNEY+ PRICE HIKES:Disneyraised prices on several of its streaming subscriptions, Bloomberg reported this week. The price of the flagship Disney+ streaming service, without ads, will rise 13% to $21.49 per month, sources told Bloomberg. The increase will bring the premium Disney+ product more in line with a similar plan sold by Netflix, which charges $26.99 a month for an ad-free service with 4K resolution and access on multiple devices, the report noted.AMAZON/BEST BUY:Best Buyand Amazon announced an expanded multiyear Fire TV partnership that will continue bringing the Fire TV experience to Insignia TVs and create more connected TV advertising opportunities through Best Buy Ads, powered by Amazon Ads technology. Beginning February 2027, Best Buy Ads will use Amazon Ads' programmatic technology, including AI-powered tools, to help brands plan, activate, optimize and measure advertising campaigns.NETFLIX DOWNGRADE:Earlier this week, HSBC downgraded Netflix to Hold from Buy with a price target of $76, down from $96. The firm believes Alphabet'sYouTube is taking increasing viewer share from Netflix. A Near-term engagement recovery is unlikely at Netflix as YouTube's strategy shift adds to its competitive headwinds, the analyst tells investors in a research note. HSBC says YouTube has been rapidly expanding its living room footprint, having captured a record 14.2% share of U.S. TV time in July. The firm believes YouTube's momentum is increasingly coming at the expense of Netflix as its share fell to a multi-year low of 7.8%.STOCK PLAYS:Other publicly traded companies in the streaming space include Roku, AMC Networks, Comcast, Fox, and FuboTV.