Tech

UPDATED: Facebook employees and top execs, including chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, were fully aware the social giant was overestimating the projected advertising reach it told marketers — and failed to disclose it to clients for years, according to a newly unsealed legal filing. “Facebook knew for years its Potential Reach [metric] was misleading, and

MMA promoter UFC plans to throw more hands on TikTok. The Endeavor-owned mixed martial arts organization inked a multiyear partnership with TIkTok, under which UFC will produce live content on the social-video platform. The deal encompasses new weekly UFC shows on TikTok that will feature live footage from weigh-ins and press conferences, athlete interviews, arena

Australia’s proposed legislation that will make tech giants pay local media firms for news has not yet become law. But already it is sparking historic – and contrasting – reactions from Google and Facebook, the world’s two largest vectors for digital advertising. The proposed News Media Bargaining Code was born of a study from the

Nintendo kicked off its highly anticipated Direct on Wednesday by announcing that both Pyra and Mytha from the “Xenoblade Chronicles” series will be joining “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” as playable fighters. There was much speculation that the Direct would release some details on the highly anticipated “Breath of the Wild” sequel, especially with the 35th

Social media provides an unprecedented way for stars to connect with their fans — but only the upper echelons of celebrities have been able to convert their online presence into cold, hard cash. Steven Galanis, co-founder and CEO of Cameo, says his company is part of a rising wave of direct-to-fan platforms that is changing

Facebook said that, in response to Australia’s proposed law to force internet platforms to pay for news content, it will no longer let publishers or users in the country share news content on its service. Facebook’s decision means Australian publishers will not be able to share or post content on Facebook pages, while news content

As E.W. Scripps exits the podcast sector, radio and podcast giant iHeartMedia continues to bulk up. On Wednesday, iHeartMedia announced a deal with Scripps to acquire Triton Digital, an audio and podcast advertising-tech company, for $230 million. Under the proposed deal, all 166 Triton employees are joining iHeartMedia and CEO Neal Schore will continue to

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp said it reached a three-year pact with Google under which the publisher will provide news content from sites worldwide to the internet giant in return for “significant payments by Google.” Among the News Corp sites joining the Google News Showcase are the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, MarketWatch and the New York

YouTube outlined a string of new features coming to the internet’s biggest video platform, including enhancements to YouTube TV and the rollout next month in the U.S. of YouTube Shorts — its tool for creating short-form vertical videos à la TikTok. YouTube TV, Google’s pay-TV service, will introduce an add-on option that will let subscribers

The Mechanical Licensing Collective announced Tuesday that it has received a total of $424,384,787 in accrued historical unmatched royalties from Spotify, Apple Music and other digital service providers, along with corresponding data reports that identify the usage related to these royalties. In other words, some songwriters and publishers will be receiving a windfall once the MLC reviews and

Roku is evidently gearing up to produce its own original TV shows and movies to bulk up its free, ad-supported VOD business. The company placed an ad in January seeking a “lead production attorney,” to work on its “expanding slate of original content.” According to the job listing, which was first reported by Protocol and

News site Vox has found its new editor-in-chief: Swati Sharma, who joins the digital media publication after serving as managing editor at The Atlantic for a little over three years. Sharma will start as Vox’s EIC in March. She takes over the role from Lauren Williams, former editor-in-chief and senior VP who exited the publication

Spotify announced Tuesday that Mona Sutphen will join its board of directors in April, subject to shareholder approval. Sutphen is a private equity advisor and a co-founder/advisor for several technology start-ups, and was a senior White House official during the Obama Administration. She is currently a Senior Advisor at The Vistria Group, a Chicago-based private equity

Facebook has launched We the Culture, a new content initiative created and managed by a team of Black employees that is investing in and amplifying content from Black creators. The company announced an inaugural class of over 120 creators for We the Culture, including Danielle Young, Lauren “Lolo” Spencer (“Sitting Lolo”), Cameron J. Henderson, Lazarus

CJ ENM, the Korean entertainment group behind last year’s “Parasite,” is to build its first real time virtual production studio, having struck a deal with Epic Games, maker of “Fortnite,” to develop virtual production. The arrangement means using Epic’s ‘Unreal Engine’ game engine technology in CJ ENM’s potential future projects. The studio will be located

Hours after Beijing banned the BBC World Service, Hong Kong’s public broadcaster announced Friday that it will also drop certain BBC programs, sparking concern from foreign governments and journalist organizations. Beijing’s tit-for-tat move to block the BBC came a week after the U.K. revoked the local license for the Chinese government-backed CGTN network, citing its

Lemonada Media, a podcast network startup founded by Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittels Wachs, has signed with CAA. The company says its podcasts “share an unfiltered version of the human experience” that provide a way for people to come together. Lemonada previously was repped by UTA. Cordova Kramer (above left) is Lemonada’s CEO and

Disney Plus’s reality-warping “WandaVision” was one of the 10 most-watched original shows on streaming platforms the week of its debut, according to Nielsen estimates — and with just two episodes released, the Marvel show outpaced the service’s hit “The Mandalorian.” For the week of Jan. 11-17, Netflix’s “Bridgerton” from Shonda Rhimes’ Shondaland, held the No.

Rapper-entrepreneur Jay-Z and Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square, teamed up to form a new Bitcoin fund, focused on developing the cryptocurrency’s adoption initially in Africa and India. The duo are investing 500 Bitcoin, currently worth about $24 million, in the project, according to Dorsey, with the mission of making Bitcoin “the internet’s currency.”

Apple has launched its first augmented-reality app for an original Apple TV Plus series, “For All Mankind,” taking fans back to 1980 in a nostalgia trip to promote the upcoming Season 2 premiere of the alternative-history space drama. The free “For All Mankind: Time Capsule” app lets users explore artifacts in the decade that elapses

Hugely-popular Chinese video entertainment platform Bilibili is facing an ad boycott from Chinese brands after its airing of a controversial Japanese anime series sparked user criticism that the site appears to tolerate misogynistic comments and content. The controversy comes just months ahead of an expected secondary listing of Bilibili shares in Hong Kong. The company’s

Disney Plus had the wind at its back to close out 2020: The streaming service notched 94.9 million customers worldwide as of Jan. 2, 2021, the company announced. That’s up more than 8 million in just one month, from 86.8 million paid subscribers as of Dec. 2. It also now tops Disney’s original projections of

Ryan Kavanaugh is returning to linear programming for the small screen via Triller.TV. More than 50 new shows are planned to launch on Triller Live starting Feb. 18. Talent signed on to helm or curate programs include Jennifer Lopez, the D’Amelio family, Jake Paul, DJ Khaled, the famed Hype House, Fat Joe, 2 Chainz, Noah

Like most art forms, recent music history is filled with artists whose music lots of people just don’t get — whether it’s the Grateful Dead or Tyler, the Creator, whether it’s Insane Clown Posse or Dave Matthews. Well, today Spotify is launching an audio show on that very subject: the awesomely titled “Bandsplain.” The Spotify

Simone Biles, superstar gymnast and Olympic champion, will be the subject of a new Facebook Watch original series following her as she gets ready to compete in the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games — expected to be her last run at a medal. “Simone vs Herself” is slated to premiere this summer, timed for the Tokyo

The team at indie Wall Street analyst house LightShed Partners has expanded beyond selling research into the venture-investing game. The analyst firm’s founders have formed LightShed Ventures, a new venture investment company targeting early-stage tech, media and telecom startups, that has closed an initial fund of $75 million. The LightShed Ventures Fund I will invest

Netflix has announced it will open a dedicated outpost in Canada with a local chief who will be in charge of commissioning domestic content. The news was announced on Thursday by Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos in a blog post. “Ten years ago, Canadians invited Netflix into their homes for the first time,” Sarandos wrote. “And

Facebook’s Instagram kicked notorious anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. off the platform for violations of its COVID-19 misinformation policy, while his Facebook account currently remains active. “We removed this account for repeatedly sharing debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement about Kennedy’s Instagram account. However, the company does

The ongoing disagreement between social networking app Twitter and the Indian government over the ongoing farmers’ protests around Delhi is reaching a crescendo. Earlier this month, the government sought the suspension of several Twitter accounts that had tweeted about the protests, alleging the spread of misinformation. Twitter initially complied but reinstated them after a few

Donald Trump was kicked off Twitter a month ago. And the social-networking company has confirmed that the former president is never coming back. Twitter CFO Ned Segal, in an interview Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” said that even if Trump were to run for public office again, he would not be allowed back on the