Tech

Google said it will no longer claim that YouTube TV is “$600 less than cable” in its advertising, after an industry ad-review board found the assertion was potentially misleading. The YouTube TV pricing claim, which had appeared in two of Google’s ads for the service, had been challenged by Charter Communications in a fast-track complaint

All anime, all the time: Crunchyroll, the Sony-owned anime service, announced a new 24-hour free, ad-supported channel in the U.S. to promote the Japanese animation format — and try to win a few new fans for its core offerings. The first services to carry Crunchyroll’s free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel are LG Channels, the

European Union commissioner Thierry Breton has issued a warning to Elon Musk over “illegal content and disinformation” about the Israel-Hamas war on X, formerly known as Twitter, giving him 24 hours to respond. “Following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel, we have indication that your platform is being used to disseminate illegal

Ryadh-based media conglomerate SRMG has partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery to launch Asharq Discovery, a free-to-view pan-Arabic-language platform with a lineup that includes shows that have never been seen for free in Arabic before. These include international dating reality TV series “90 Day Fiancé” (pictured), reality shows “Gold Rush” and “Wheeler Dealers” and the Morgan

Agnes Chu is out at Condé Nast Entertainment, a little more than three years after the former Disney exec joined the media and publishing company. Chu had joined Condé Nast in September 2020 after 12 years at the Walt Disney Co., most recently as senior VP of content for Disney+. In an internal memo, Condé

Jellysmack has acquired Law&Crime Network, the legal and true-crime video network and production company headed by Dan Abrams. Terms of the deal were not disclosed; Jellysmack said Law&Crime Network is the company’s largest acquisition to date. Recent deals include Jellysmack’s investment in creator commerce platform Fourthwall; its deal to buy creator-development community Network Media; and

Playboy has cut Mia Khalifa, a Lebanese-American media personality and former porn star, from its roster of OnlyFans-like creators after she shared comments “celebrating” Hamas’ deadly attacked on Israel, according to the company. “We are writing today to let you know of our decision to terminate Playboy’s relationship with Mia Khalifa, including deleting Mia’s Playboy

Carletta Higginson, most recently head of music publishing at YouTube and Google Play, is joining Warner Music Group as EVP and chief digital officer. Higginson will start at WMG on Oct. 16, based in New York and reporting to CEO Robert Kyncl — a reteaming of the two execs, as Kyncl had formerly been chief

John Riccitiello will retire as Unity Technologies‘s president, CEO and chairman effective immediately, the video-game and 3D content software company said. Riccitiello’s resignation comes after Unity last month rolled out a new pricing model — switching from a flat licensing fee to a per-download charge — and retroactively changed its terms of service, angering many

Italian genre specialist Stefano Sollima, who is known for gritty TV series “Gomorrah” and Hollywood movies “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” and “Without Remorse,” is shooting Netflix original limited series “Il Mostro” about the string of sex-related murders that took place outside Florence from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s. “Il Mostro,” which translates as “The

Raffaele Annecchino, the former president of Paramount Global who left the company last year, is launching a consultancy firm called Blue Ocean Media Partners. In its first deal, he has forged a partnership with Spain’s Mediapro Group, which is looking to expand its footprint in the Middle East. Blue Ocean, which is based in Madrid

Hugh Dancy‘s great-grandmother is the subject of a new true crime podcast from Wondery. “Ghost Story” unravels the tale of Dr. Naomi Dancy, who was found dead in 1937 after being shot twice in the face as she slept. “Law & Order” star Hugh Dancy takes part in the series alongside other members of his

X, the Elon Musk-owned social platform previously known as Twitter, has failed to flag “dozens” of posts purporting to show developments of the Israel-Hamas conflict that are false, CNBC reported. The social network has in fact flagged several posts as misleading or false, including a video “purportedly showing Israeli airstrikes against Hamas in Gaza,” according

Martin Scorsese took a TikTok pop quiz proctored by his daughter Francesca in which the legendary filmmaker guessed the meaning of modern slang words. Marty did quite well, correctly nailing down the definitions of terms like “tea” (“That means you’re gonna tell all you know”), “ick” (“You were thoroughly repulsed by it”) and “hits different”

Netflix has given the green light to a new “Squid Game” slot machine — the streamer’s first licensing deal in the casino and gambling industry. The slot game is based on one of Netflix’s most popular shows of all time, the South Korean survival drama “Squid Game.” Built by gaming company Light & Wonder, it

Sony‘s game division this week notified about 6,800 current and former employees, as well as affected family members, that their personal info may have been exposed in a hack earlier this year. The news was first reported by Bleeping Computer. Sony Interactive Entertainment did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Information about Sony’s

The SEC filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk, seeking to compel him to testify about his acquisition of a large amount of Twitter shares worth around $3 billion before his takeover of the social network. Per the suit, filed Oct. 5 in federal court in San Francisco, Musk was scheduled to appear for testimony Sept.

Rooster Teeth has pulled some content off YouTube, claiming the video platform’s ad-supported economics don’t make sense. Rooster Teeth, Warner Bros. Discovery’s fandom, gaming and comedy entertainment brand, has removed some of its most popular animated shows, including “Red vs. Blue” and “Camp Camp,” from YouTube. In a video posted Thursday on Instagram, Kerry Shawcross,

Matt Buchanan and Karl von Randow, the two movie mega-fans who started Letterboxd as a part-time labor of love, have sold a majority stake in the business. So what’s going to be different now? Not much, the two New Zealanders tell Variety. For starters, they remain in charge of running Letterboxd. “We are not expecting

A live-action project set in the world of the popular sci-fi video game Cyberpunk 2077 is in the works, video game developer CD Projekt Red announced Thursday. There are few details revealed about the project — namely whether it’s a film or TV series — but it will be made with Anonymous Content, the media

Sean Atkins has watched the digital media revolution transform entertainment throughout his career as a content executive for Discovery Communications, MTV and HBO, among other outlets. In his present role as president of talent and marketing firm Jellysmack, he’s now got a front-row seat to watch how social media and the growth of the creator

Will Ferrell wants to work with up-and-coming comedians on social media — who will get a chance to mentor under some big-name podcasters and be featured across iHeartMedia‘s audio outlets. Ferrell and iHeartMedia’s Big Money Players Podcast Network (BMP) announced the “Big Money Players Circle.” Ferrell has hand-picked “the coolest and funniest social sensations to

Viral cook and bestselling author Alison Roman is launching her own podcast. “Solicited Advice with Alison Roman” is debuting today via the Talkhouse Podcast Network and will be available on all podcast platforms. The weekly program is described as a discussion between Roman and “a special guest who, like her, enjoys giving and/or receiving advice.

Here’s another tweak Elon Musk has made to X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, which is bound to aggravate people: The site and its apps no longer display the headline for articles that are shared to X. Back in August, Musk confirmed the change was in the works: “This is coming from me

Can Xumo help cable companies grab a new foothold in the streaming space? Xumo — the joint venture of Comcast and Charter Communications, the two biggest cable operators in the U.S. — is launching its first streaming set-top boxes for new video customers of Charter’s Spectrum this week. The partners say they plan to bring

Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max turned in the highest total customer satisfaction rating among U.S. subscription-streaming services, according to the results of Whip Media’s 2023 Streaming Satisfaction Report. Max (then HBO Max) also topped Whip Media’s study last year. Even so, this year Max fell 6 points (out of 100) to 88%, from 94% in 2022.

Spotify is hoping to jump-start its push into audiobooks — announcing that paying subscribers can access up to 15 hours free listening per month from among 150,000 titles. A year ago, the audio streamer announced that users would be able to purchase and listen to 300,000 audiobooks on Spotify. Spotify’s entry into the audiobook market

Don’t be alarmed: The U.S. government on Oct. 4 will be conducting a test — only a test — of the emergency alert systems that span the nation’s millions of wireless phones, TVs and radios. FEMA, in coordination with the FCC, will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency

TV veteran Campbell Brown, after heading Meta‘s news and media partnerships for almost seven years, is departing the internet giant this fall. In a note to staff Tuesday, Brown said she will share additional details in the coming weeks about her next role, but that she will “remain affiliated with Meta in a new consultant

After just more than a year at Netflix booting up the streamer’s ad business, Jeremi Gorman is leaving the company. Amy Reinhard, previously VP of studio operations, will succeed Gorman as president of advertising. The change comes as Netflix announced two other notable C-suite appointments Tuesday, promoting Eunice Kim to chief product officer and Elizabeth