Tech

The France-based streaming service Deezer, which has a relatively low profile in the U.S. but is one of the world’s largest streamers, is merging with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) with an eye toward going public at a $1.13 billion valuation, the companies told the Wall Street Journal. Deezer, which launched in 2007, is merging

Once again, the Grammy Awards on CBS and the Academy Awards on ABC dominated Variety’s Trending TV chart for the week of April 11 to 17. However, the award shows’ stronghold on the chart dropped significantly as “Stranger Things” debuted with more than 427,000 engagements on Twitter. Netflix has been dropping teasers for the much-anticipated

Netflix has ordered an adult animated series based on the card game “Exploding Kittens,” starring “Lucifer” star Tom Ellis and Lucy Liu. A new mobile game adaptation, “Exploding Kittens – The Game,” is being co-developed and will launch via the streamer in May, well ahead of the TV show’s planned 2023 debut. The show, which

Marvel is kicking butt and eating nuts with the launch of a scripted “Squirrel Girl” podcast that serves as a continuation of the comic book series from Ryan North, Variety has learned exclusively. The six-episode SiriusXM podcast series titled “Marvel’s Squirrel Girl: The Unbeatable Radio Show,” which stars Milana Vayntrub of AT&T-ad fame as Doreen Green/Squirrel Girl

Twitter’s board of directors hastily approved a poison pill agreement in the wake of Elon Musk’s unsolicited $43 billion takeover bid that surfaced Thursday. The “limited duration shareholder rights plan” that was unanimously approved by Twitter board late Thursday is  designed to stop any individual or entity from amassing more than a 15% stake in

PODCASTS Prince Harry isn’t the only British royal getting into podcasting. His older brother Prince William has recorded an episode of Cate Blanchett‘s environmental podcast “Climate of Change.” “Nightmare Alley” star Blanchett hosts the series alongside environmental advocate Danny Kennedy. Prince William appears in the second episode of the six-part series, which is out Thursday,

Critical Role, the D&D role-playing collective with millions of fans, is teaming with SiriusXM to handle worldwide ad sales and distribution of its popular podcast. Under the multiyear deal, SXM Media, the combined advertising revenue organization of SiriusXM, has exclusive global ad-sales rights to the Critical Role podcast. Additionally, the agreement calls for SiriusXM’s Stitcher

Elon Musk, the controversial billionaire investor and entrepreneur, has made an offer to buy all of social media group Twitter for $43 billion, according to a filing made Thursday morning. Twitter declined immediate comment on the offer beyond its terse statement after the news broke that Musk was offering an all-cash deal that works out

Elon Musk is facing a federal lawsuit from a group of Twitter shareholders who claim the Tesla founder failed to properly disclose his purchases of the social media giant’s stock. The suit filed Tuesday in U.S. Southern District of New York asserts that Musk was 10 days late in filing his legally mandated disclosure form

Courtney Holt, a top executive in Spotify’s podcasting business and a four-year veteran of the company, is leaving the streaming giant, a source close to the situation has confirmed to Variety. The source said that Holt’s departure was his decision and is amicable, and that he will stay on as an advisor to the company

Producer, author and motivational speaker DeVon Franklin has partnered with Audible for the new audiobook “It Takes a Woman.” The Audible Original’s title refers to the African proverb that says “It takes a village to raise a child.” But Franklin’s take introduces audiences to the women — his mother Paulette and his five living great-aunts

Many music and comedy venue attendees know exactly what is meant when they hear the word “Yondr.” For some, the grey-and-green smartphone pouch with a magnetic lock is the pain-in-the-ass bag keeping them from their phones (and social accounts and recording apps) until after a live gig is over. Others recognize the Yondr pouch as

Live award shows continued to prove they’re a hit with viewers, as once again, the April 3 Grammy Awards and the March 27 Academy Awards landed in the No. 1 and 2 spots on Variety’s Trending TV chart for the week of April 4 to 10. Last week the Grammys earned a record-making 56.9 million

As VLAD TV, a go-to source for hip-hop news and hard-hitting interviews, approaches its 15th anniversary, founder Vlad Lyubovny has to curb his enthusiasm slightly. As a native of the Ukraine, where his family faced anti-semitism and defected to the United States in order to escape it, Lyubovny has his eyes on the raging war

Netflix will let customers express a deeper affection for TV shows or movies that they love — not just like — with the launch of a new ratings option: two thumbs up. According to Netflix, the new feature will give the streamer a valuable signal into user preferences that will let it further refine content

For a decade, YouTube has been the best way to experience the Coachella festival without actually being there, and that will continue this weekend. According to an announcement on Monday, the streaming giant will livestream both weekends of the festival — April 15-17 and April 22-24 — via desktop, mobile or the YouTube Music app, with

Elon Musk has reversed his plan to join Twitter’s board of directors, less than a week after he announced his investment in the social media giant. On Sunday night, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal disclosed in a message to company staffers that Musk has decided not to join the board. Elon has decided not to join

YouTube will award $100,000 to the grand-prize winner of a new global talent show to find the next breakout gaming creator, hosted by U.K. YouTube gaming creator Ali-A. YouTube’s uTure contest kicks off Saturday with a call for entries and the show will debut in June, letting aspiring digital stars compete in weekly challenges to

Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos, the two top executives at Netflix, saw their overall pay packages drop a bit in 2021 — but they still raked in tens of millions each. Hastings’ total compensation package for 2021 was worth $40.8 million, including $39.7 million in stock grants and $650,000 in salary, according to the company’s

In September 2018, AT&T summoned the big players from the worlds of media and advertising to a beachside resort in Santa Barbara. The company had finally closed its $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner, after a protracted fight with the Department of Justice, and wanted to celebrate — and to mark its place at the

Namewee, the controversy-courting Malaysian singer-songwriter, has been the victim of an unusual hacking attack. His YouTube channel was this week attacked, stripped of its content and renamed with a Russian obscenity. Given the degree of access necessary to achieve such a feat, the hacking suggests that Namewee (real name Wee Meng Chee) has upset some

Apple is stepping up to the plate with its first live sports broadcasts Friday, set to debut “Friday Night Baseball” on Apple TV Plus — and, for a limited time, the MLB livestreams will be free for anyone in the U.S. and eight other countries. The games on Apple TV Plus — which will be

YouTube comedy network and studio Smosh hired casting director and actor Lesley Wolff, who is joining the company as director of on-air talent. Wolff will report directly to Ian Hecox, Smosh’s co-founder and president. In the role, she will oversee the current cast of Smosh, lead casting efforts including scouting for new talent, and develop

Lego Group is linking arms with Epic Games, the company behind hit battle-royale game “Fortnite,” to jump into the metaverse — in a way that will be “safe and fun for children and families,” the companies announced. Lego and Epic Games inked a long-term partnership under which they will build an “immersive, creatively inspiring and

Frustrated HBO Max customers who use Apple TV devices to access the streaming service should be getting a welcome upgrade. Amid user complaints about the app’s performance and stability woes, WarnerMedia is deploying a new version of the HBO Max app for Apple TV and Apple TV 4K boxes, which will roll out slowly through

Starting next month, some customers of Amazon’s unlimited streaming music services will be paying more. The Amazon Music Unlimited individual plan for Prime members is increasing from $7.99 to $8.99 per month, or from $79 to $89 per year. In addition, the Amazon Music Unlimited single-device plan (which allows one designated Echo or Fire TV to

Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, will not hold the F8 conference for developers in 2022 at all. The move comes after Facebook F8, which the social giant has used to introduce new initiatives, was held virtually in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID pandemic. Meta is “pausing” F8 this year “while we

Musical theater has become a thing on TikTok. This Sunday, for example, “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical” became the first project that originated on TikTok to win a Grammy. Now the popular video-app maker announced that it commissioned its first original musical, called “For You, Paige,” led by Daniel Mertzlufft — the creative force behind viral

Feeling swamped by the deluge of TV and streaming choices available at the touch of a button? You’re not alone. The sheer tonnage of video programming available to American viewers today is staggering — and it’s only going to keep growing. As of February 2022, there were more than 817,000 unique program titles across traditional

ESPN has clambered aboard the NFT bandwagon: The sports giant is going into business with Tom Brady, angling to sell fans on the idea of owning a digital piece of the famed NFL quarterback’s legacy. ESPN inked a multiyear deal with Autograph, the NFT startup co-founded by Brady, to release its first nonfungible tokens. NFTs