Tech

Apple is claiming it’s complying with a court ruling to let app developers choose to bill customers of their iPhone or iPad apps directly, rather than be forced to use Apple’s App Store. But some of Apple’s partners, including Disney+ and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max, won’t have that option in the U.S. That said, given

Tubi CEO Anjali Sud, the former chief exec of Vimeo who started at the Fox Corp.-owned free TV streaming service last year, has tapped her former lieutenant at Vimeo, Courtney Sanchez. Sanchez, who has more than 20 years of experience in media and tech, joins Tubi as chief strategy officer and EVP of operations. She

YouTube is laying off about 100 employees and is restructuring some of its operations. The cuts at the internet video giant were announced in a memo to staffers Wednesday from Mary Ellen Coe, YouTube’s chief business officer. The roughly 100 jobs eliminated represent about 1.4% of YouTube’s nearly 7,200 headcount. “As the business evolves, we

Condé Nast is merging Pitchfork, the digital music publication it bought in 2015, with men’s magazine GQ — a move that will result in layoffs at Pitchfork, including the exit of editor-in-chief Puja Patel. Anna Wintour, Condé Nast’s chief content officer and global editorial director of Vogue, announced the changes in a memo to company

A group of 20 prominent screen trade organizations have united to ask governments around the world to enact regulations ensuring that global streaming giants like Netflix and Disney+ invest more resources in local content. The joint plea — hailing from production bodies in Europe, Canada, Australasia and Latin America — comes as streaming services have

After more than seven years at the helm of Barstool Sports — and in the wake of the company’s ill-fated sale in 2023 — Erika Ayers Badan announced Tuesday that she is stepping down as CEO. Last summer, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy bought the site back from casino and online gambling operator Penn Entertainment

Live from Las Vegas, Gwen Stefani will be the marquee performer for the Super Bowl LVIII TikTok Tailgate, the pregame party before the NFL’s championship game on Feb. 11, 2024. It’s the fourth year of the NFL’s partnership with TikTok for the tailgate show. Fans can tune in on the @NFL account on TikTok for

Audible, the Amazon-owned audiobook and podcast division, laid off about 5% of its employees, representing just over 100 staffers. The cutbacks come as other Amazon groups — including Prime Video, Amazon MGM Studios and Twitch — this week are pink-slipping several hundred workers. Audible CEO Bob Carrigan informed employees of the cuts in an audio

More than 15 years after his death, stand-up comedian George Carlin has been brought back to life in an artificial intelligence-generated special called “George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead.” The hour-long special, which dropped on Tuesday, comes from Dudesy, a comedy AI that hosts a podcast and YouTube show with “Mad TV” alum Will Sasso

The Game Theorists creator MatPat has announced his retirement from YouTube. In a new video titled “Goodbye Internet,” MatPat, whose real name is Matthew Patrick, stated that March 9 would be his last day hosting his YouTube franchise and that he will be “handing off the channels to someone else.” “For me, and my journey

X, formerly known as Twitter, and Range Media Partners have inked a multi-show slate deal. Range will develop at least 10 shows spanning various genres and formats which X will distribute worldwide through a multi-year partnership. “We’re building out more than just a content offering at X. We’re building a 360 degree media destination that

As Hollywood tries to get its arms around the potential uses of generative AI, a Detroit-based tech firm has quietly spent the past few years building a video AI platform that can create ready-to-air TV commercials in a matter of minutes. Waymark has signed a broad pact with E.W. Scripps Co. stations to roll out

Globally renowned Italian comic book artist Mirka Andolfo, creator of the steamy series “Sweet Paprika,” is releasing a new comic titled “Blasfamous.” The story is set in a world where pop stars have ascended to divinity, dominated by a singer named Clelia who is loosely inspired by Lady Gaga. The new eros-infused horror comic launches

George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece “1984” is getting a new audio-only treatment from Audible. The Audible original audio drama, set to premiere April 4, stars Andrew Garfield (“Tick, Tick…Boom,” “The Amazing Spider-Man”) as Winston alongside Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked,” “Harriet”) as Julia. They are joined by Tom Hardy (“Inception,” “The Dark Knight Rises”) as the voice of

Is that photo or article someone posted on the internet claiming it came from Fox News actually from Fox News — or is it bogus? Fox Corp. has created a technical protocol called Verify, designed with two objectives: to let media companies register content and grant usage rights to AI platforms; and to allow consumers

Radio and podcast company iHeartMedia is teaming with South by Southwest for the 2024 iHeartPodcast Awards — returning as an in-person event after behind held virtually the last three years. The awards show, honoring podcasting excellence across 29 categories including the fan-voted Podcast of the Year Award, will take place Monday, March 11, starting at

Ready for it? ROXi, a music video streaming app for TVs whose backers include Simon Cowell and Kylie Minogue that was first launched in the U.K., is coming to the United States. The service promises American viewers access to some 100 million music videos — including the likes of Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé

Bada bing! Warner Bros. Discovery‘s HBO and Max are celebrating the 25th anniversary of “The Sopranos” with an array of events for the iconic franchise. Among them: HBO has launched a new official Sopranos TikTok account for the series (@TheSopranos) featuring “Sopranos in :25,” a series comprising super-condensed, 25-second recaps of all 86 episodes. In

Apple has set the release date for Vision Pro, its virtual- and augmented-reality headset — priced at a whopping $3,500 each and hyped as providing “the ultimate entertainment experience.” It marks the company’s most ambitious product launch in nearly a decade. The tech giant announced that Apple Vision Pro will be available at all U.S.

 DAZN, a top sports streaming provider, has tapped Walker Jacobs as its first global chief revenue officer and president of DAZN U.S. Jacobs most recently served as Twitch’s chief revenue officer and managing director of sports for the Amazon Ads division, before exiting in December 2023 after five years with the company. At Twitch, Jacobs

Good mythical new year! Rhett & Link are taking their popular YouTube talk show “Good Mythical Morning” on the road for the first time. The creators, comedians, entrepreneurs and lifelong pals are launching the Good Mythical Tour, scheduled to hit nine cities across the country this spring. It kicks off May 28, 2024, at The

Warner Bros. Discovery will continue to make Max‘s Bleacher Report live sports tier free to subscribers for several more months, citing “tech integrations” for a months-long delay before it starts charging for the programming add-on. Launched last October, WBD initially offered the Bleacher Report (B/R) Sports Add-On Max subscribers for a promotional period. The plan

Sarah Personette, who quit as Twitter’s head of ad sales after Elon Musk bought the social network in the fall of 2022, has landed a new gig as CEO of digital-news startup Puck. Personette will start at New York-based Puck on Jan. 7, assuming the role at the company that has been vacant since the

Disney+ is now included as part of the pay-TV bundle on Charter’s Spectrum TV Select tier. Charter Communications and the Walt Disney Co. announced that the ad-supported version of Disney+ (called Disney+ Basic, priced normally at $7.99/month) is now available in all Spectrum TV Select packages nationwide at no additional cost. Disney+ Basic launched on

The red carpet is rolling up for “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood,” the casual mobile game that let players create their own aspiring virtual celebrity. The game, after launching nearly a decade ago, was a smash hit — and pulled in millions of dollars in revenue over its run. In the free-to-play game, launched in June 2014,

T-Mobile is sweetening the deal for its most expensive wireless plan with another free streamer: The carrier is bundling the ad-supported version of Disney’s Hulu for no extra charge later this month. Starting Jan. 24, 2024, Hulu With Ads (normally $7.99 per month) will be included at no extra cost as a part of T-Mobile’s

The new owners of Cheddar News, once touted as a kind of next-generation financial news network ala CNBC, have furloughed staff members because of “unforeseen” circumstances, the New York Times reported. Cheddar, founded in early 2016, was acquired by cable operator Altice USA in 2019 for $200 million. Last Thursday (Dec. 28), Altice USA said

TikTok star Jake Shane is finally leaning into longer form content. The social media comedian — who rose to fame with his viral skits and now boasts more than 5 million followers across platforms — has announced a brand new podcast launching Jan 4. “Therapuss with Jake Shane,” announced Monday morning, will loosely follow the

Move over, Gritty, the sports world has a new favorite mascot. The first-ever Pop-Tarts Bowl introduced college football fans to a life-sized, actually edible Pop-Tarts mascot that was gleefully lowered into a giant toaster and ravenously devoured by players Thursday night. Named Strawberry, the Pop-Tarts mascot immediately went viral on social media for its sacrificial,

The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft, the creators of ChatGPT and other A.I. platforms, over copyright infringement, claiming the companies are responsible for “billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages.” The suit, filed Wednesday in Federal District Court in Manhattan, does not include a specific monetary demand but does assert the