Latest news with #Nitro
BBC News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Gladiators: Epic Pranks returns along with more family-favourite commissions from BBC Children's and Education
BBC Children's and Education unveils fun-filled new commissions to bring family audiences together with laugh out practical jokes and intergalactic adventures defeating aliens. BBC Children's and Education unveils fun-filled new commissions to bring family audiences together with laugh out practical jokes and intergalactic adventures defeating aliens. Leading the charge is the return of Gladiators: Epic Pranks, which debuted on CBBC and BBC iPlayer in February this year. Nitro is back as the main sneaky prankster, but this time the other Gladiators are getting in the action. Taking part in the 'Gladiator Prank Challenge' daring each other to do silly things in public; pranking the audience at Sheffield Arena and each other behind the scenes and even plotting a revenge prank on Nitro! Building on the success of the first series, series 2 will consist of 20 x 15 minute episodes – with even bigger and bolder pranks. Gladiators: Epic Pranks 2 (20 x 15') is made for CBBC by Hungry Bear and MGM, producers of hit show Gladiators. Watch Gladiators: Epic Pranks on BBC iPlayer and add to your watchlist now Girl Troop vs Aliens (10 x 25') is a brand new live-action comedy adventure that sees a quartet of 12-year-olds take on extra-terrestrials. Best friends Tilda, Kiara, Ruby and Ginny are all members of the Brighthawks – a global outward-bound association for girls – and their troop are hosting this year's annual summer camp. They're thrilled to welcome other Brighthawk troops from around the world… but they are about to discover that some attendees have come from much, much further afield! Who are these aliens? What do they want? And will our Girl Troop earn their 'Planet Protector' badge. Based on the critically acclaimed 2019 Edinburgh Fringe show, the series is created by playwright Madeleine Perham with lead writer Julia Kent (Malory Towers, Hunter Street). Girl Troop vs Aliens is filmed in Liverpool, produced by Lime Pictures for CBBC with worldwide distribution rights handled by Boat Rocker Studios. Sarah Muller, Senior Head of Commissioning 7+, BBC Children's and Education, says: 'Gladiators: Epic Pranks has been a huge hit with our audience so it's only right we bring it back for more silly antics and outrageous fun. Audiences will also love the brand-new title Girl Troop vs Aliens, as our brave squad of girls take on an enemy that is literally out of this world! Both commissions demonstrate our commitment to delivering high-energy, high-quality homegrown content that brings families together and keeps kids laughing, guessing, and inspired.' Gladiators: Epic Pranks (15 x 15') is a Hungry Bear Media and MGM Alternative UK production for CBBC and BBC iPlayer commissioned by Sarah Muller, Senior Head of BBC Children's Commissioning 7+ and the Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Melissa Hardinge. The Executive Producers are Dan Baldwin and Lou Brown for Hungry Bear Media, and Barry Poznick and Dom Bird for MGM Alternative UK. The original American Gladiators series was created by Johnny C. Ferraro and Dan Carr and developed by Johnny C. Ferraro. EG Follow For More
Malaysian Reserve
15-07-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
Discord Launches Orbs Globally: New Virtual Rewards Transform Brand Interactions into More Player Benefits
Players worldwide can now earn Orbs to redeem for exclusive perks like Nitro credits, avatar decorations, profile effects and badges, and more SAN FRANCISCO, July 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Discord announces the global launch of Orbs, a new virtual reward players can earn by completing Quests – the platform's opt-in reward-based advertising experience. This milestone launch marks the next evolution of Discord's advertising offering, which invites players to engage with brands through actions that fit authentically within their gaming experience. Orbs opens opportunities for more premium experiences on Discord for all users by offering access to the Shop and Discord Nitro without a monetary commitment. Users can redeem Orbs in the Shop for new, Orbs-exclusive items like Nitro credits – a limited time access version of Discord's premium subscription that offers enhanced streaming and customization features – as well as a unique profile badge, and a matching profile effect and avatar decoration. Beyond these exclusives, Orbs also provides an alternative path to obtain many popular Shop collections without spending money. Developed based on feedback from Discord's most dedicated users, Orbs is a feature that reflects Discord's user-first approach to building products and advertising solutions. A recent survey of Discord users revealed that 82% of respondents said they would want to earn a virtual currency on Discord with 46% saying that a virtual currency would improve their experience on the platform [Source: Discord user survey, September 2024]. During its recent beta, millions of Orbs were earned and redeemed over the seven-week pilot, driving a 16x increase in first-time Shop purchasers with 79% first-time Shop buyers. For advertisers, Orbs make campaign launches even easier – advertisers no longer need to create their own reward or wonder if their reward will resonate with their target audience. 'By rewarding players with something they value, Discord is giving brands the ability to create an advertising experience that feels like gameplay,' said Peter Sellis, Senior Vice President of Product at Discord. 'Our focus is solely on creating the most authentic, player-centric advertising platform in the galaxy. With the launch of Orbs, we're helping brands drive discovery and engagement in a way that feels natural to how people already use Discord.' Since launching its advertising program one year ago, Discord is scaling its advertising business with a deliberate, user-first approach to offer more authentic experiences for players with its reward-based ad solution, Quests, while also unlocking opportunities for advertisers to tap into the massive and uniquely engaged audience on the platform. Quests make brands feel like they're 'part of the mission' rather than an interruption. In fact, more than 50% of users who have seen or interacted with a Quest in the past month say that Quests improve their experience on Discord with players even proactively seeking out new Quests to complete. [Source: 2025 Discord internal survey of ~1,000 Quests users]. Orbs are now available to Discord's more than 200 million monthly active users. Discord will continue to look for ways to expand how users can redeem Orbs and offer Nitro subscribers more compelling rewards and deals across the ecosystem. About DiscordDiscord is the communications platform that enables you to build meaningful connections around the joy of playing games through voice, video and text features. As the only communications platform purposely built for people who play multiplayer games, Discord has a highly engaged community of +200 million monthly active users who spend a combined 1.5 billion hours playing games each month across thousands of game titles on PC alone. Headquartered in San Francisco, Discord is free to download at with an optional subscription offering called Nitro that offers enhanced streaming and customization features. For more information, please contact: press@
Miami Herald
14-07-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Adventurous pup's 7-year wait for right home ends in Ohio. ‘Only took 2,498 days'
A dog has finally found a permanent home after a long wait in Ohio. Meet Nitro, a pup who has waited his entire life to find his happily ever after with a family who won't let him down or abandon him … after seven long years. 'What can we say about Nitro… why is he still here all this time …' a staff member with Healthy Hearts and Paws Project in Youngstown said in an August 2024 Facebook post, when he was 6 years old at the time. 'He is a handsome, athletic looking boy … weighing in at about 90 pounds of pure amazingness. He is neutered and he has been in many play groups through the years.' He was living with a family before, but was brought back almost a year later. 'He did get adopted out for about 11 months where he did live with a 5-year-old child and a cat. He was just super curious of the cat, not aggressive, so they returned him,' the staff member said. Jason Cooke, owner of Healthy Hearts, announced that Nitro finally found the family he was meant to be a part of. 'Only took 2,498 days, but Nitro finally found a home today,' Cooke said in a July 13 Facebook post along with Nitro with his new dog siblings and a video. Why it took so long for someone to welcome him will remain a mystery to the shelter since he has an exciting history. 'He also tried to be a search and rescue dog for Poland Township,' the shelter said in the 2024 post. 'He did very well and passed all testing except he was hesitant/scared of the dark. Which is necessary for that role as they are often in vacant buildings with no lighting.' For information on other animals available for adoption, visit the shelter's website.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Discord's virtual reward, ‘Orbs,' launches out of beta
After announcing in late May that the platform would be experimenting with a new virtual reward system, Discord is now launching it to the public. The aim of the rewards, called Orbs, is to get people to click on more interactive ads. Users earn Orbs after completing Quests, which involve interacting with ads for products or games to get virtual items. Users can redeem Orbs for digital items in Discord's Shop, like a three-day Nitro credit, an Orb-themed profile badge, profile effects, avatar decorations, and more. According to Discord, Orbs have been popular among testers, with millions earned and spent during the seven-week beta period. Other company data shows that there was a 16-fold increase in first-time purchases in the Shop, with 79% of participants having never bought anything before. Discord is said to be considering an IPO and is looking to show potential partners that it can maintain a scalable ad model. Discord is marketing Orbs to advertisers as a simpler way to launch Quest campaigns without needing to create their own rewards. The Orbs experiment is also likely meant to attract users who do not have a subscription to try Nitro, as they can use Orbs to purchase credits. However, it's unclear whether there was an increase in subscriptions. The company didn't respond to a request for comment, but it did mention that 70% of Orbs participants were nonmembers.
Engadget
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Discord's virtual Orbs currency is now available for everyone to earn
Discord has begun rolling out its in-app Orbs currency to everyone. In conjunction with the platform's Quest system, users can earn Orbs by watching ads on Discord. You can then use the currency to purchase exclusive drip for your profile, including badges, effects and avatars. It's also possible to exchange Orbs for three-day Nitro credits and anything else you can buy on the Discord Shop. Sometimes developers will also offer the currency in exchange for simply trying out their game, or completing a specific gameplay task. Other rewards include exclusive profile decorations you can only earn by completing an associated Quest. The fastest way to start earning Orbs is by tapping the "Discover" icon in Discord's sidebar and then selecting "Quests." There you will see any promotions Discord is currently running, along with recently completed ones. If you're keen on earning Orbs, be sure to check back often as Discord frequently rotates new Quests in and out. The online response to Orbs has been about what you would expect. When Discord first announced the currency, most people on the Discord subreddit were either lukewarm on the idea or outright hostile to it. However, the company says users are broadly in favor of it. Discord points to a survey it conducted before it began rolling out Orbs to beta testers this past May. In September 2024, the company found 82 percent of users it surveyed said they would like to earn a virtual currency on the platform, with nearly half of survey respondents saying a virtual currency would improve their overall experience. In June, Discord CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy told Engadget the company sees Orbs as a way to give players something in return for their time and attention while aiding game studios with discoverability. In my testing, I've found the system is easy enough to ignore if you don't care about customizing your profile, and they're not necessary to access any of Discord's core functionality.
