November 12, 2019 10:02PM PT In this week’s edition of the Variety Movie Commercial Tracker, powered by the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot.tv, Lionsgate claims the top spot in spending with “Knives Out.” Ads placed for the drama had an estimated media value of $6.23 million through Sunday for 514 national ad
Tech
For some users, Disney Plus was a Disney Minus on its big launch day Tuesday. In its Nov. 12 debut, the service was beset by multiple problems, including Disney Plus customers being unable to log in to the service, access specific content, or use certain streaming devices — while some who called Disney’s customer service
November 12, 2019 1:00PM PT YouTube has tapped Shana Tepper as its head of entertainment communications. In her new role, Tepper will lead all press and communications strategies for YouTube Originals series and specials focused on personalities, artists and learning. Tepper joins YouTube from Viacom, where she most recently served as vice president of communications
Former HBO chief Richard Plepler is close to signing an exclusive production pact with Apple TV Plus. Apple declined to comment and Plepler could not immediately be reached for comment. It’s understood that Plepler plans to launch a boutique production company designed to focus on a handful of high-profile projects. Among his advisors in pulling
November 12, 2019 9:53AM PT Sonos owners just got access to another source for free music: The smart speaker maker has struck a deal with Spotify to stream Spotify’s free tier to its users, both companies announced Tuesday. Free Spotify streams are going live on Sonos devices with the latest Sonos software update, which also
Holographic display hardware startup Looking Glass Factory unveiled its first real product Tuesday: the Looking Glass 8K Immersive Display aims to provide companies with a way to view 3D assets as holograms, without the need to use VR headsets. The product is being sold into the enterprise market, but the company also has plans to
The team that helped resurrect James Dean with visual effects for an upcoming Vietnam war movie isn’t done creating digital versions of famous actors and other celebrities: Intellectual property licensing specialist CMG Worldwide has merged with immersive content creation studio Observe Media to form Worldwide XR, a new company that aims to bring digital humans
Kevin Hart is chilling out again in “Cold as Balls” season 3 — with his most eclectic guest list yet for the locker-room talk show in which he and his guests get immersed in an ice bath. Featured guests in season 3 of the sports/comedy talk show include esports star Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, Dennis Rodman,
Audio entertainment and ebook company Serial Box landed its first deals to bring the company’s original fiction serials to film and television. Serial Box is announcing two separate pacts: “The Co-Founder” is being developed as a feature film by MWM Studios and Matador Content, while drama “First Street” is being developed into a series by
iHeartMedia announced nominees for the 2020 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards, which return for a second run next January to honor the most entertaining and innovative podcasts of the year across 30 categories. The 10 podcasts nominated for Podcast of the Year are the New York Times’ “The Daily,” “The Joe Rogan Experience,” “Stuff You Should Know,”
Disney Plus opened its doors Tuesday — but some fans immediately encountered problems trying to access the streaming service. Multiple users on social media said they had trouble signing in to Disney Plus when it first went live, while others said they had problems accessing specific content or using features (like setting up a watch
New episodes of Disney Plus original series dropped Tuesday as the streaming service went live in three countries, with second installments of “Star Wars” spinoff “The Mandalorian” and other shows set to become available just a few days later. Disney’s new direct-to-consumer service launched Tuesday in the U.S., Canada and the Netherlands, with company chief
First there was Vine, then Tiktok… and now Instagram Reels? In an attempt to stay relevant with music-loving video makers, Instagram started to test a new Stories format by that name in Brazil Tuesday. Reels, in essence, are a collection of creation tools that include the ability to add music to a video, as well
A group of film executives and tech industry entrepreneurs are to establish a working group seeking to plan how blockchain technology should be applied to the creative industries. The call will be made at the American Film Market on Tuesday in Santa Monica by Manuel Badel from Badel Media and Patrice Poujol from The Lumiere
Augmented reality startup Magic Leap is raising even more money. The company is currently in the process of raising its Series E round of funding, a spokesperson told Variety on Monday. Magic Leap previously raised around $2.6 billion, including $280 million from NTT Docomo in April. “Magic Leap is in the midst of a significant
The Writers Guild of America East has scored a major victory by unionizing Hearst Magazines’ editorial, video, design, photo and social staff across 24 digital and print brands. The New York-based WGA East, which has about 6,000 members in film, television, news and digital media, announced on Monday that a strong majority of the 500-member
November 11, 2019 9:38AM PT Apple’s augmented reality (AR) headset won’t be arriving on store shelves until at least 2022, according to a new The Information report. The iPhone maker reportedly updated a large number of employees about the project last month, filling the spacious Steve Jobs Theater on its Cupertino, Calif. campus with employees
November 11, 2019 8:00AM PT Variety has launched a daily video series covering the business of entertainment. Hosted by Audrey Cleo Yap and executive produced by Eva Wong, “Daily Variety” will feature breaking news coverage and analysis from Variety’s award-winning staff as well as in-depth features and interviews with top industry professionals. Each bite-sized segment
Music television is back: Major label-owned music video platform Vevo is launching a series of linear channels for leanback viewing on Pluto TV, the ad-supported video service that got acquired by Viacom earlier this year. A first channel, dubbed Vevo Pop, will launch on November 12; additional channels, including a holiday-themed station, are expected to
Instagram is about to launch a test of removing like counts from posts in the U.S. — and, predictably, the idea has been met with a range of reactions ranging from praise and support to concern and mockery. The hope is that the change can reduce anxiety among Instagram users, to make social media less
Netflix film chief Scott Stuber urged film producers and exhibitors to come together to reach a consensus on exhibition window disputes as Netflix and other streaming giants move forcefully into feature production. Stuber, Netflix’s VP of film, spoke Saturday morning at the Producers Guild of America’s Produced By NY conference in a wide-ranging Q&A with
November 8, 2019 5:09PM PT Instagram likes are about to disappear from public view for many more users: The Facebook-owned photo sharing service is getting ready to hide like counts from U.S. users as early as next week, CEO Adam Mosseri announced at a Wired event in San Francisco Friday. In an attempt to strengthen
Since the dawn of digital music, the MP3 has been the main format for downloads and streaming — and for just as long, audiophiles great and small have been complaining about the format’s low quality. Well, Qobuz, the French hi-res audio service that recently launched in the U.S., has said “Ça suffit!” (“Enough!”) The company
Just in time for the launch of the new “Terminator: Dark Fate” movie, Dave & Buster’s is getting a “Terminator: Guardian of Fate” virtual reality experience, courtesy of VRStudios. The experience, which features the voice of Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor, is launching at 130 Dave & Buster’s locations across the U.S. Just like previous
Condé Nast Entertainment named Reginald Williams — a former top content exec at Viacom’s BET and MTV — as senior VP of programming, overseeing the studio’s global digital content production team. Williams will be based in New York and report to Oren Katzeff, president of Condé Nast Entertainment, the media company’s studio that produces original
“Megyn Kelly Today” was cancelled by NBC about a year ago. But “The Megyn Kelly Show,” so to speak, continues. The former star anchor from Fox News Channel and NBC took to Instagram Friday to unveil what appears to be a new social-media venture. In a video, she told followers of her newly-established account she
There are a few reasons why “Death Stranding” might seem like a marketing slam dunk. It’s the first game from Hideo Kojima, the video game legend behind the “Metal Gear” series, since 2015, and also the first since he reformed his Kojima Productions into an independent studio, partnered with Sony Interactive Entertainment. It boasts Hollywood
November 7, 2019 3:05PM PT With days left until the service’s official launch, Disney and Amazon have struck a deal to carry apps for the Mouse’s upcoming Disney Plus streaming service on Amazon’s devices. Disney Plus will be available on Fire TV streaming devices, Fire TV Edition smart TVs, and compatible Fire Tablets, the two
Controversy? What controversy? As Activision Blizzard reported its fiscal Q3 earnings Thursday afternoon, there was no mention at all of a recent backlash over the company’s controversial suspension of one of its players. Instead, executives celebrated better-than-expected results, and promised to more aggressively embrace mobile gaming. The gaming company generated $1.28 billion in sales in
November 7, 2019 1:00PM PT Apple TV Plus has given second season orders to the four scripted drama series that launched the streaming service last week. Dramas “See,” “For All Mankind,” “Dickinson” and “The Morning Show” have been greenlit for sophomore seasons. “Morning Show,” led by Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, already had a two-season