Tech

When Super Bowl LVII kicks off in Arizona, on Sunday, Barstool Sports will be among the many media outlets on the ground celebrating the big game, but in its own distinctive way. The irreverent brand will be everywhere in state, from hosting its own mini-golf “open” in Phoenix to a trivia competition in Scottsdale, which

MipTV has announced it will be holding a curated event dedicated to free ad-supported streaming TV services (FAST) called FAST and GLOBAL on April 18 in the Cannes Palais des Festivals. Touted as the first-of-its-kind, the FAST channel summit will feature global players and specialists from across the world of free advertising-supported streaming for panels

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is dropping her first podcast series this spring — in which she’ll drop some knowledge from women who are older than she is. In “Wiser Than Me,” Louis-Dreyfus (who is 62) will have “candid, witty conversations” with women over 70, according to podcast network Lemonada Media, which is producing the show. The 10-part

Joe Rogan has found himself facing new controversy after voicing antisemitic tropes on his massively popular podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience.” In a recent episode featuring guests Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti, hosts of the “Breaking Points” podcast, Rogan stated that “the idea that Jewish people aren’t into money is ridiculous. That’s like saying Italians

UPDATED: After more than eight years at Snap, Ben Schwerin — the company’s top content and partnerships executive — is leaving next month, Variety has learned. Schwerin, who is Snap’s senior VP, content and partnerships, informed team members of his decision to leave the company at the end of March to “pursue a new opportunity.”

On Feb. 8, Netflix will drop “The Exchange,” the streamer’s first original series from Kuwait. Set in 1988, on the eve of Saddam Hussein’s invasion of the city-state, this groundbreaking show is based on the true story of the first two women who broke the glass ceiling of Kuwait’s male-dominated stock exchange and proved themselves

Google is expanding its efforts to prevent internet users from accidentally seeing sexually explicit or violent images in results surfaced by its widely used search engine. In the coming months, “we’re expanding a safeguard to help protect you and your family from inadvertently encountering explicit imagery on Search,” Jen Fitzpatrick, senior VP for Google Core

Roku users can now binge on food ordered through its devices — while binge-watching the latest streaming TV shows. Roku and food-delivery service DoorDash inked a partnership under which DoorDash will be the exclusive marketplace ad partner for DoorDash U.S. restaurants and grocery stores that buy interactive shoppable ads on Roku. Fast-food chain Wendy’s is

The top-to-bottom rebrand of Epix into MGM+ under Amazon’s ownership means an increase in not only scripted series but also documentary content. R.J. Cutler’s “Murf the Surf: Jewels, Jesus and Mayhem in the USA” is the first of five docuseries that will stream on the new platform in 2023. About Jack Roland Murphy, an infamous

Penske Media Corp. announced a strategic investment in Vox Media, the digital publisher whose brands include Vox.com, New York Magazine, Popsugar, Thrillist, Vulture and SB Nation. With the investment, PMC (whose properties include Variety) will become Vox Media’s largest single shareholder. Otherwise, the financial terms of the investment were not disclosed. The two companies said

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is the most-watched Marvel film premiere on Disney+ across the globe, based on hours streamed in its first five days, the company announced Monday. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” directed by Ryan Coogler, launched on Disney+ on Feb. 1, after its theatrical debut Nov. 11, 2022. The hit Marvel sequel takes place

The soon-to-be-released “Hogwarts Legacy” game — set in J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World of more than 100 years ago — will include the franchise’s first transgender character. The new Harry Potter-based open-world role-playing game, which is set in the 1800s Wizarding World created by Rowling, introduces players to Sirona Ryan, the proprietor of the Three Broomsticks

Elon Musk’s Twitter needs cash — and now the mega-billionaire wants companies and brands to fork over $1,000 monthly to get verified check-marks on his social network. Twitter is asking organizations to pay $1,000 per month, plus an additional $50 monthly for each affiliated sub-account, to maintain the gold check-mark verification badges the company introduced

Jason Derulo and The Black Keys are set to headline the third annual NFL TikTok Tailgate livestream on the short-form video app on Sunday, Feb. 12, prior to Super Bowl LVII. In addition to the music performances, the livestream (at @NFL on TikTok) will feature NFL special guests and TikTok creators, as well as gameday

Apple revenue declined 5% in the year-end 2022 quarter amid iPhone manufacturing disruptions and fell short of Wall Street’s earnings estimates for the critical holiday-shopping period. Meanwhile, Apple’s Services segment turned in revenue of $20.8 billion — a quarterly record — but its growth slowed down in the period, to a 6.4% year-over-year increase. The

Alphabet, parent company of Google and YouTube, turned in fourth-quarter 2022 earnings that missed analyst estimates, as YouTube’s ad revenue again suffered a year-over-year decline. Overall, Alphabet posted revenue of $76.05 billion, up just 1%, and net income of $13.62 billion (down 34% versus $20.6 billion in Q4 2021), or earnings of $1.05 per share.

Amazon’s top-line growth in the last three months of 2022 was far better than investors expected, while its bottom line fell short. The ecommerce kingpin’s fourth-quarter 2022 results handily beat Wall Street sales forecasts. Amazon reported revenue of $149.2 billion billion, up 9% year over year. Net income of $278 million (or 3 cents per

Hip-hop artist Saweetie is swinging into the metaverse for the NFL’s Super Bowl LVII pregame festivities. The NFL announced plans for the Saweetie Super Bowl Concert, set to debut Friday, Feb. 10, exclusively in the Roblox virtual-world game platform. Saweetie’s free virtual concert will take place in Warner Music Group’s Rhythm City area in Roblox,

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, posted a revenue decline for the third consecutive quarter as it faces a pullback in ad spending and heightened competition from the likes of TikTok. Overall, the internet company reported revenue of $32.17 billion, down 4% year over year, for the fourth quarter of 2022. (Meta said

Strikeout: Google’s YouTube TV and Major League Baseball failed reach a renewal for MLB Network before it expired at the end of January, and as a result the channel is no longer available on the internet streaming package. As of Jan. 31, 2023, the MLB Network was dropped from the YouTube TV lineup. In addition,

In today’s podcast roundup, Michelle Obama gets personal in conversations with celeb friends about her recently published book in a new series for Audible; Louis Theroux is bringing a podcast to Spotify; and Dan Abrams’ Law&Crime digs into the history of the Sarah Lawrence College sex cult. DATES Amazon’s Audible and the Obamas’ Higher Ground

Gawker, the gossipy and snarky pop-culture site rebooted in mid-2021, is shutting down — for a second time. In July 2021, Gawker relaunched under the ownership of Bustle Digital Group, whose founder and CEO Bryan Goldberg bought the website’s assets for $1.35 million in a bankruptcy auction in 2018. The original Gawker went dormant in

Listen to this: Netflix is hoping audiophiles will upgrade to the $20-per-month Premium tier to gain access to the streamer’s full collection of content that supports spatial audio. Netflix initially announced support for theater-like spatial audio — using existing stereo speakers — last summer. Spatial audio, in theory, provides a 360-degree audio experience, including reproducing

NBCUniversal once touted the free, ad-supported flavor of Peacock as a competitive advantage in the streaming wars, when the service first took flight in 2020 — even debuting with the tagline “Free as a bird.” But now, the media company will make anyone who wants to stream Peacock pay up. As of Monday (Jan. 30),

Snapchat’s parent continues to reel from a pullback in ad spending, with Snap posting $1.3 billion revenue for the fourth quarter of 2022 — up just 0.1% year-over-year, its lowest quarterly growth as a public company. Snap reported revenue of $1.30 billion, essentially flat compared with Q4 of 2021. The company posted a net loss

KPCC-FM, one of the nation’s most prominent public radio stations, will change its on-air branding to LAist 89.3 unifying the outlet with the local-color digital media brand that KPCC acquired in 2018. The goal is to connect KPCC to the LAist’s presence online and in social media and in-person events. The rebrand for KPCC will

UPDATED: Roku and Fox Corp.’s Tubi are set to bring a big bucket of free, ad-supported content from Warner Bros. Discovery to their streaming platforms. Roku and Tubi are the first two partners for WBD’s new free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels. The deals come after Warner Bros. Discovery in December announced that it was

Linda Ronstadt’s “Long Long Time” has soared up the streaming charts following last night’s episode of the HBO series “The Last of Us.” After the episode aired, the 1970s song saw streaming numbers increase by 4900% according to Spotify. “Long, Long Time” featured prominently and can be heard in scenes with survivors Bill (Nick Offerman)

Fox Corp.’s Fox Entertainment and Disney’s Hulu announced a multiyear content deal renewal, encompassing in-season streaming rights for Fox’s primetime shows. The pact also includes “an extensive multiplatform strategic marketing alliance,” the companies said. That will feature joint Fox and Hulu branding across all Fox-owned and “external marketing touchpoints” to “align live and on-demand viewing

Listen up! The Podcast Academy announced the nominees for its third annual Awards for Excellence in Audio — a.k.a. The Ambies — comprising 185 nominees across 26 categories. The 2023 Ambies will take place March 7, hosted by producer, writer, comedian, actor and podcaster Larry Wilmore. The ceremony will be streamed live from 6-7:30 p.m.