Tech

Snap, parent company of Snapchat, turned in better results than Wall Street expected for the third quarter of 2023, as the company touted improvements to its ad platform. Overall, Snap posted Q3 revenue of $1.19 billion, an increase of 5%, and a net loss of $368 million (or 23 cents per share). Analyst consensus estimates

Internet video giant YouTube larded its coffers with $7.95 billion in ad revenue for third quarter of 2023, representing a 12.5% year-over-year increase, as parent Alphabet overall topped Wall Street forecasts. Analysts had projected YouTube advertising revenue to come in at $7.81 billion for the quarter, per FactSet. The stronger-than-expected results, which execs said came

Meta designed features in Instagram and other apps to “purposefully addict children and teens,” a group of 42 state attorneys general alleged in federal and state lawsuits filed Tuesday. Asked for comment, a Meta spokesperson said in a statement, “We share the attorneys general’s commitment to providing teens with safe, positive experiences online, and have

Conservative media company Blaze Media shifted its news website and video content to an ad-free, subscription-only model Tuesday, a choice made in part to “avoid the censorship” it says comes along with Big Tech advertising. The new version of Blaze’s news website, which will add in content from Blaze Media’s recently acquired publications Align and

Netflix is now streaming Jennifer Lawrence‘s R-rated comedy “No Hard Feelings,” after the film scored at the box office this summer. In “No Hard Feelings,” Lawrence plays an Uber driver in the Hamptons whose car has been repossessed because she failed to pay her property taxes. She ends up answering a Craigslist ad posted by

Sony’s Crunchyroll inked global distribution pact with Amazon bringing the anime streaming service to Prime Video — letting you access Crunchyroll’s library of 24,000 hours of content from the ecommerce giant’s video platform. Crunchyroll is now available via Prime Video Channels in the U.S., Canada, Sweden and the U.K., followed by additional territories throughout 2024.

Whitney Cummings is taking her next stand-up special — which she performed while seven months pregnant — to OFTV, the free streaming service operated by OnlyFans, the porn-friendly creator platform. Cummings’ “Mouthy” will be released as an OFTV original, premiering exclusively on the platform on Nov. 15, 2023. Recorded in front of a sold-out live

Jon Hamm, Ryan Coogler and Molly Shannon are among the luminaries headlining a new podcast that reunites former Sundance Film Festival directors John Cooper and Tabitha Jackson. Titled “The Film That Blew My Mind,” the first season of the podcast will have 20 episodes and will be co-hosted by Cooper and Jackson. Each episode centers

For many content creators, TikTok is the gateway to Hollywood. But now, the movie industry may finally be catching on to the value of the behemoth social media platform, which will soon be home to more scripted and produced shows.   Adam McKay, with his non-profit production company Yellow Dot Studios, is set to be

Bad Bunny is officially making his big crossover into video games: The hugely popular Latin music artist is featured in a new edition of 2K’s best-selling WWE 2K23 wrestling title. Take-Two Interactive’s 2K division announced the WWE 2K23 Bad Bunny Edition, available as of Friday. Bad Bunny is a well-known WWE fan, having participated in

On X — the social network formerly called Twitter — about 74% of the most-viral posts promoting misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war in the first week of the conflict were shared by verified blue check-mark accounts, according to a new study. For the first seven days following Hamas’ deadly terrorist attack on Israeli civilians (Oct.

Elon Musk has kicked off his plan to charge users of X, formerly known as Twitter, to post content to the social network. As of Oct. 17, 2023, X said in a post on its website that it has started testing “Not A Bot,” a new subscription tier for new users in two countries: the

As he approaches his one-year anniversary as president of Roku Media, Charlie Collier is setting his first restructuring of the company’s leadership team, including naming Alison Levin head of global media revenue, upping Kristina Shepard to vice president of global advertising sales and partnerships, giving head of content David Eilenberg oversight of Roku’s Brand Studio segment

Creator subscription platform Patreon has acquired Moment, which provides a platform for hosting and ticketing livestreamed events. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Moment (formerly known as Moment House) touts itself as the top digital events platform for artists and creators, including Justin Bieber, Tame Impala, Kygo, Pod Save America and the “Good for You”

Hank and John Green — aka YouTube’s Vlogbrothers — promoted chief operating officer Julie Walsh Smith to the role of acting CEO of their educational entertainment studio, Complexly, and hired Gabriel Blanco (most recently with Mythical Entertainment) as the company’s first chief creative officer. Earlier this year, Hank Green stepped away from his role as

Turkish producer Onur Güvenatam founded OGM Pictures in 2019, and has since shepherded a steady stream of hit series and movies such as drama “The Red Room,” the widely-sold “Golden Boy” and “One Way for Tomorrow,” the first Netflix original film out of Turkey.  For Netflix, OGM has also made Turkish original film “Paper Lives”

SAG-AFTRA announced Monday that it will schedule more bargaining sessions on a new video game contract, in hopes of averting a second strike. The talks broke off last month without an agreement, but both sides indicated at the time that they would continue to negotiate. SAG-AFTRA members remain on strike against the major film and

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Live TV streaming service Sling TV is introducing significant discounts as part of a new promotion: right now, both of the service’s base plans, Sling Blue and Sling Orange, are available for just $20

Veteran media exec Christian Toksvig is launching Cocoa Media, a distribution company dedicated to placing content on Free Advertising Supported Television (FAST) platforms. Cocoa has pacted with cutting edge Turkish content aggregator Merzigo to bring Turkish dramas into the FAST sphere. Toksvig, a former SVP Of HBO Max In EMEA who previously served as commercial officer

Do you want a side of fries — or maybe a T-shirt or hoodie — with your next binge-worthy Netflix show? Netflix announced plans to open its first permanent bricks-and-mortar locations, initially targeting two in the U.S. in 2025. (The company has not said where those will be.) The outlets will be kind of mini

Mario’s big brown boots have been filled following the departure of longtime Nintendo voice actor Charles Martinet. The gaming company announced Friday that voice actor Kevin Afghani is the voice of Mario and Luigi in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Wonder, a new Mario platforming game available on Nintendo Switch on Oct. 20. Afghani’s credits,

Best Buy is checking out of the DVD business. The consumer-electronics retailer will phase out sales of DVDs and Blu-ray discs both in-store and online in early 2024, according to industry sources familiar with the company’s plans. Best Buy made the initial decision to end DVD sales nine months ago, according to one source. Best

Microsoft‘s deal to buy Activision Blizzard got the green light Friday from regulators in the U.K. — clearing the way for the $68.7 billion blockbuster acquisition to close nearly two years after it was announced. The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Friday, Oct. 13, announced the approval of the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard acquisition. The

Classic ’80s legal drama “L.A. Law” is coming to Hulu — with an upgrade. All eight seasons of the show, comprising 172 episodes total, have been newly remastered by Disney in HD with 16:9 aspect ratio from the original film source for streaming on Hulu. “L.A. Law” will be available on Hulu starting Nov. 3.

The European Union has issued a warning to TikTok over reports that the app is being used to “disseminate illegal content and disinformation” related to the Hamas-Israel conflict in violation of EU law, including “violent content depicting hostage taking and other graphic videos.” In a letter to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, EU commissioner Thierry

Alex Cooper‘s mega-popular podcast “Call Her Daddy” is already exclusive to Spotify. Now the host and entrepreneur has entered into a new business deal with Spotify covering ad sales and distribution for podcasts under her Unwell Network banner. Under the pact, Spotify will serve as the sales partner for the Unwell Network, aimed at Gen

Sony Pictures Entertainment has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing its Crunchyroll anime streaming service of illegally violating users’ privacy — and Crunchyroll users may be eligible to receive a piece of the $16 million settlement fund. The lawsuit, filed in September 2022, claimed that Sony and Crunchyroll violated the U.S.’s Video Privacy Protection

X Corp CEO Linda Yaccarino has responded to EU commissioner Thierry Breton’s warning about “illegal content and disinformation” spreading on the platform regarding the Israel-Hamas war. In a letter posted to X (formerly known as Twitter) on Thursday morning, Yaccarino said the social media site has “taken action to remove or label tens of thousands

If your favorite broadcast network goes dark on a cable or satellite TV provider because of a business dispute, you should get some money back, FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel says. Rosenworcel on Wednesday announced two proposals she said would “further the FCC’s strategic goal to empower consumers in the media marketplace.” One proposal seeks comment

It’s not just X/Twitter: The European Union also has put Meta on notice about the urgent need to address a flood of misinformation about the Israel-Hamas conflict to remain in compliance with the EU’s Digital Services Act. In an Oct. 11 letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, European Union commissioner Thierry Breton did not specifically