Tech

Samsung, the world’s largest maker of connected TVs, is looking to flex more muscle in content distribution through a pact with Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Tennis Channel to carry a new free streaming channel in the U.S. Dubbed T2, the Sinclair-owned channel will feature an advertising-supported 24/7 live stream of matches from major tournaments that might

Popular short-form video app TikTok is blocking Russian users from posting video to the platform because of the country’s new law that threatens to severely punish the publication of “false information.” On Friday, Russia passed a law making it illegal to publish “false information” about Russia’s military. Violators face potential fines, forced labor and up

Russia’s media regulator announced that it was blocking access to the Facebook network in the country, claiming parent company Meta’s restrictions on Kremlin-affiliated media accounts violated a Russian law banning censorship. In the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Meta previously said it was “globally demoting” content from Facebook pages and Instagram accounts from Russian

NBCUniversal is clawing back streaming rights for its current-season TV shows from Hulu — in order to keep them for its own Peacock service. The Comcast-owned programmer officially terminated its next-day TV streaming deal with Hulu, which is majority-owned by Disney. The change will go into effect with the next TV season, starting in late

Mila Kunis, who was born in Ukraine, and her husband, Ashton Kutcher, have launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $30 million to go toward relief efforts that help Ukrainian families displaced by Russia’s attack on the country. The two actors, who famously costarred on Fox’s “That ’70s Show,” said they will match up to $3

In a first for Disney’s flagship direct-to-consumer streaming service, Disney Plus will launch an ad-supported subscription plan later this year. The ad-supported Disney Plus plan will be introduced beginning in the U.S. in late 2022, with plans to expand internationally in 2023, the media conglomerate announced Friday. No pricing or specific launch date was announced.

Dolphin Entertainment, an entertainment marketing and premium content production company, has entered into a strategic partnership with The Flower Girls, a fine art female-led non-fungible tokens. The NFT collection boast 10,000 unique works of art by revered artist Varvara Alay. Launched in December of 2021, The Flower Girls has surpassed over $15 million in sales

Russian feminist punk group Pussy Riot has become as well known for its public broadsides against Vladimir Putin’s government as its music, and the group’s Nadya Tolokonnikova put that reputation to work by joining forces with Trippy Labs and members of PleasrDAO to create UkraineDAO, which via an NFT of Ukraine’s flag has raised more

Reddit has banned users from posting links to Kremlin-affiliated outlets such as RT and Sputnik, joining a growing number of internet companies in blocking Russian state media amid that country’s attack on Ukraine. “While many communities on Reddit already prohibited links to Russian state media outlets like RT, Sputnik, and their foreign-language affiliates, we have

Rolling Stone inked a partnership with Meta — parent company of Facebook and Instagram — for an initiative to host creator experiences at festivals and custom events throughout 2022. The brands will join forces to host “Creator Houses” at some of the biggest music and cultural festivals, beginning with an installation at SXSW. Variety and

Verizon, having exited the original content business, is escalating its play as an aggregator of streaming services — including forming a new partnership with Netflix. The telco unveiled plans for “Plus Play,” a platform to let Verizon customers discover, purchase and manage subscriptions across entertainment, audio, gaming, fitness, music and lifestyle. In a way, Plus

Rachel Brosnahan is set to star in and executive produce podcast drama series “Listening In,” in which she will play a woman whose home sound system inexplicably lets her eavesdrop on people living in her apartment building. Audio content studio QCode will finance and distribute the podcast, producing “Listening In” alongside Automatik and Brosnahan’s production

Tally Labs, creator of NFT character Jenkins the Valet, and SALT Audio are teaming up to bring Jenkins The Valet’s debut interactive audio experience to market this summer. The partners have amassed a roster of writers, directors and voice actors, and it will be accompanied by a unique software experience, as well as gamified NFTs.

Spotify has taken several steps in response to Russia’s military attack on Ukraine, including closing its offices in Russia “indefinitely.” The company is not disabling access to its service within Russia. “We think it’s critically important to try to keep our service operational in Russia to allow for the global flow of information,” a Spotify

When Patti Smith joined Substack — the now-five-year-old online platform that has writers getting paid via a subscription model — the poet, author and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer had been stuck at home in New York City after having canceled a world tour due to COVID. Starting with her tagline (“The reader is

Video-game developer Epic Games announced that it has bought Bandcamp, the online music store and community geared around independent musicians. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. “Fair and open platforms are critical to the future of the creator economy,” Epic Games, best known as the company behind battle-royale game “Fortnite,” said in announcing the pact. “Epic

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” is a sure bet to swing home with the first fan-voted trophy at this year’s Academy Awards, according to a new survey. Industry watchers’ spidey-senses were tingling when the Academy on Monday posted a tweet revealing the top 10 leaderboard (listed alphabetically) in the Oscars’ first-ever fan-favorite voting contest, in partnership

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to record audiences for the BBC’s Russian and Ukrainian language news service websites. The BBC Russian news website more than tripled its year-to-date weekly average, with a reach of 10.7 million people in the last week, compared to 3.1 million, according to data released by the BBC on

Netflix, in its second games-related acquisition, plans to buy Next Games, mobile games developer based in Finland, for $72 million in cash. Founded in 2013, Next Games has created games based on popular entertainment franchises, including story-driven puzzle game “Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales” and two based on hit zombie series “The Walking Dead.” Helsinki-based Next

Apple announced several actions it has taken in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including temporarily halting all product sales in Russia. The company also has disabled both traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine “as a safety and precautionary measure for Ukrainian citizens.” Last week, according to Apple, the company stopped all

Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, is the latest internet company to weigh in on the Russian attack on Ukraine. The social messaging and media company said it has stopped running all advertising in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine and is halting ad sales to all Russian and Belarusian entities as part of “complying with all

Songwriters were having a beef with Spotify before beefing with Spotify were cool, and representatives from several writers’ groups renewed their effort to train attention on the digital service provider’s payouts to tunesmiths with a demonstration in front of Spotify’s former headquarters on Sunset Blvd. Monday. The rally was sponsored by the 100 Percenters, a

 Leading up to releases of her original novel, “Run, Rose, Run,” co-written with best-selling author James Patterson, and its companion music album, Dolly Parton is partnering with Fox Entertainment’s Blockchain Creative Labs to launch “Dollyverse,” an audience-centric Web3 experience, at the South by Southwest Conference and Festivals starting next week. Parton will make her first-ever appearance at

Paramount Plus is throwing itself a one-year birthday party — by knocking 80% off the price of its subscription plans for three months. Looking to hook new customers, Paramount Plus is offering a special deal from March 1-7 that will let new or returning subscribers use the promo code “BIRTHDAY” to sign up for either

Rishi Malhotra has been tapped to lead Luminary as the subscription audio platform’s new CEO. In his new role, Malhotra, the founder and former CEO of the Indian online music streaming service JioSaavn, will reposition the company around a few key areas of content, bolstering Luminary’s sports, music and comedy programming. Malhotra replaces Simon Sutton,

Ricky Gervais’ “Absolutely Mental” podcast is back for a third season, Variety can exclusively confirm. “The Office” creator and writer Gervais launched “Absolutely Mental” with neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris. The duo chat about everything on the show from what they would ask all-powerful aliens if they ever had the chance to whether knees or

Members of a union representing about 100 editorial staffers at G/O Media publications — including Jezebel, The Root, Lifehacker, Kotaku, Jalopnik and Gizmodo — have gone on strike after its contract with the company expired Monday at midnight. Gizmodo Media Group Union, organized with the Writers Guild of America, East, unanimously approved the strike (with

Mobile marketing software company AppLovin is jumping into the connected-TV streaming video space with a deal to acquire Wurl for $430 million. With the acquisition, Wurl is expected to retain its brand and operate independently with its existing management team, led by Wurl co-founder and CEO Sean Doherty Sr. The deal, announced Monday, is expected

Alba Rohrwacher (“The Lost Daughter,” “The Wonders”) is set to play Elena, aka Lenù, in the fourth and final season of RAI/HBO show “My Brilliant Friend.” Just as season three of the Elena Ferrante adaptation, directed by Daniele Luchetti, kicks off in the U.S. where it debuted on Feb. 28. on HBO and HBO Max

Sony is effectively merging its two anime streaming services, announcing that Crunchyroll subscribers will have access to library and simulcast content previously available exclusively on Funimation starting March 1. The move brings more than 1,600 hours from more than 50 newly added titles in Funimation’s lineup to Crunchyroll, while Sony said it won’t be raising