France’s antitrust board has fined Google €150 million ($166 million) for abusing its dominant position in the online search advertising market. In its decision published online, the board said that Google Ads, the advertising platform of The Alphabet unit, imposed rules on advertisers that were established and applied in conditions that were “non-objective, non-transparent and
Tech
Collecting much Baby Yoda merch money this holiday season, Disney is — even if fans won’t get their mitts on the adorable creature until spring of 2020. Demand for Baby Yoda toys and collectible figures is strong: Currently, Mattel’s Baby Yoda plush (available for pre-order at $24.99) is the No. 1 best-selling product on Amazon
We’ve got impeachment on the brain and the remaining Democratic presidential candidates probably do too. The top seven qualifying candidates will take the stage in Los Angeles on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET and there are plenty of ways to follow along. The debate — co-hosted by Politico — will be broadcast by PBS. In
Cox Communications was hit with a $1 billion verdict on Thursday in a lawsuit alleging that it allowed its internet subscribers to illegally download music. The jury delivered the verdict after a three-week trial in federal court in Alexandria, Va., finding that Cox was liable for infringement of 10,017 recordings and compositions, each infringement costing
Hollywood and media types have long been part of the massive throngs that alight in Las Vegas each January for the annual CES convention. But CES 2020 will have an even bigger focus on entertainment, thanks in large part to the streaming wars, while Apple’s first appearance at CES in nearly three decades has also
December 19, 2019 9:55AM PT Google is looking to grow the catalog of its Stadia cloud gaming service: The search giant has acquired Montreal-based game studio Typhon Studios, and will integrate it into its Stadia Games and Entertainment studio. “We’re always looking for people who share our passion and vision for the future of gaming,”
December 19, 2019 8:49AM PT The U.S. podcast market has been on the rise for years, but 2019 marked an extraordinary year of growth for the space. At least 90 million U.S. consumers (27% of the population) listen to podcasts monthly, up 23% from 73 million in 2018, which is an acceleration from the 9%
All Def Digital, the Russell Simmons-founded hip-hop, comedy and culture media company that ceased operations and laid off its staff this summer after running out of money, is getting a rebirth of sorts. All Def’s assets, including its intellectual property, content library and social-media channels, have been acquired by Culture Genesis, a Santa Monica-based digital
Facebook has enlisted Hollywood stars Chris Rock and Sylvester Stallone for its first-ever Super Bowl ad, set to air during Fox’s Feb. 2, 2020 telecast. The 60-second spot will highlight Facebook Groups, which lets users create specific communities for people to interact directly with each other. “Facebook for the first time is advertising during the
TiVo has scrapped plans to split itself into two separate companies, and instead announced a $3 billion merger with Xperi, a company that sells audio, imaging and computing technology products. The new merged entity will take the Xperi name but will continue to sell entertainment services under the TiVo brand along with Xperi’s DTS, HD
Facebook has acquired the Spanish cloud gaming startup PlayGiga, according to reports from CNBC and Spanish business newspaper Cinco Dias. The social media giant reportedly spent €70 million (around $78 million) for the startup. Facebook confirmed the acquisition Wednesday afternoon. “We’re thrilled to welcome PlayGiga to the Facebook Gaming team,” A Facebook spokesperson told Variety,
December 18, 2019 3:00PM PT True crime podcast “The Clearing” is set to be adapted as a TV series by Chernin Entertainment and Weimaraner Republic Pictures. The scripted series will revolve around the life of April Balascio, whose story is the focus of the “The Clearing” podcast. Balascio was 40 in 2009 when she reached
The highest-earning YouTuber this year is once again Ryan Kaji, the 8-year-old star of the Ryan’s World channel who’s the main talent for a small media empire that pulled in an estimated $26 million. That’s according to the annual YouTube creator earning estimates from Forbes, which tracked gross income from a variety of sources from
December 18, 2019 10:12AM PT Berlin-based streaming guide JustWatch is making the jump to the TV screen: The company launched apps on Apple TV, Fire TV and Android TV this week, allowing users to discover and track the availability of movies and TV shows across a multitude of services. JustWatch’s free smart TV apps are
Last year, Susanne Daniels, YouTube’s global head of original content, was telling friends in the biz that her goal was to win an Emmy. Today, that’s decidedly not the central tenet of YouTube’s content strategy. The Google-owned video giant has retreated from battling in the subscription VOD arena with the likes of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon
When executive producer and host Geoff Keighley launched The Game Awards in 2014, he admits it was a “bold idea” to hold a major awards show primarily on streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube. But today, he can feel some validation. The annual gaming show, which was held last week at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater,
The relaunch of National Lampoon as a comedy production house begins in earnest this week with the Dec. 19 debut of “National Lampoon Radio Hour,” a sketch comedy podcast written and performed by Cole Escola, Jo Firestone and clutch of rising-star comedians. On the latest episode of Variety‘s Strictly Business podcast, National Lampoon president Evan
December 18, 2019 7:30AM PT UFC fans will ring in the new year by being forced to pay a few bucks more to watch the MMA promoter’s premier pay-per-view events on ESPN Plus. Disney’s ESPN Plus will hike the price of UFC’s tentpole PPV events to $64.99 each, starting with UFC 246 on Jan. 18,
Disney Plus had snagged an estimated 24 million U.S. subscribers as of the end of November — and the strong debut for the Mouse House’s new streaming package boosted cancellations among Netflix customers, according to a new Wall Street analysis. The estimates come from the research team at Cowen & Co., based on a census-weighted
Discovery’s Food Network has tapped Mary McCartney, British cookbook author, photographer and vegetarian advocate, in a bid to bring more subscribers into its recently launched subscription app. McCartney, who’s the daughter of famed Beatle Paul McCartney, worked with Food Network on a series of new on-demand cooking classes for the Food Network Kitchen app and
PBS has teamed up with its member station WGBH Boston to launch an interactive kids series called “Scribbles and Ink” on PBS Kids digital platform. Based on the book series by the same name from author and illustrator Ethan Long, the show lets children participate in the action with their own drawings. “Scribbles and Ink”
Apple, by all appearances gearing up for a bigger push into podcasts, has hired Zach Kahn, formerly with Vox Media, to head public relations for Apple’s podcast business. Kahn will start at Apple in January 2020, reporting to senior director of communications Tom Neumayr. Kahn will be responsible for handling PR for all podcast initiatives,
As the 2010s come to a close, it’s high time that one of the biggest acts of the 2000s, Amy Lee’s Evanescence, gets its proper Gen Z-era due. The band, who have sold 8 million albums in the U.S. and took home the 2004 Best New Artist Grammy, has been largely absent from the mainstream
Emmy award-winning immersive storytelling startup Baobab Studios has teamed up with Penguin Random House for one of its latest projects: “The Magic Paintbrush,” a fantasy epic about a 12-year-old Chinese-American girl from Queens, will be published both in VR as well as in the form of a book series — a first-of-its-kind collaboration for immersive
Madison Avenue has long been able to stuff some $70 billion annually into TV commercials. Now the advertising industry is trying to figure out how much of that money it can put down on streaming video. Streaming will account for 60% of all video viewing in 2020, compared with 56% in 2018, and is poised
December 17, 2019 7:00AM PT The long arm of the NFL’s Super Bowl reached across YouTube ads throughout 2019. Six of the top 10 most-viewed ads on YouTube this year originated as Super Bowl LIII ads that aired in February. According to YouTube, that shows that marketers were able to extend the return on investment
Audible, the Amazon-owned seller and producer of audiobooks and spoken-word entertainment, hired media and publishing veteran Bob Carrigan as CEO. Don Katz, who founded Audible in 1995, will step out of the chief executive role to become executive chairman. Carrigan joins Audible effective Jan. 2. As executive chairman, Katz will work with Carrigan on the
December 17, 2019 6:00AM PT Premium podcast service Luminary has started to enlist Amazon’s Alexa to facilitate subscription sales: Owners of Amazon’s Echo smart speakers and other Alexa-enabled devices can now subscribe to the service with a simple voice command, Luminary announced Tuesday morning. Consumers can start accessing the service’s premium catalog simply by saying
Attention Capital, the startup media investment venture, has cut a deal to acquire the Girlboss digital network for rising female executives and entrepreneurs. Girlboss founder Sophia Amoruso has assembled an online community of professional and aspiring women seeking advice and community in advancing careers and running businesses. The deal with Attention Capital will give the
Tipping Point, the digital production arm of Indian media giant Viacom18 Studios, is to produce three original series for Netflix in India. “Jamtara – Sabka Number Aayega” looks at the conflicts that emerge when a small town is identified as India’s phishing capital. “She” will follow an undercover cop who discovers her sexuality and breaks