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TL;DR
In a hurry? Here's our pick of the top news items of the week.
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Meta is testing AI summaries in post comment streams on Facebook, which will sum up what people are saying about that post. (Social Media Today)
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A CrowdStrike update affecting Microsoft Windows devices caused a massive IT outage that disrupted businesses, banks, airlines, media outlets and emergency services across the world. (The Verge)
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Netflix is removing its least-expensive, ad-free plan as an option for consumers in the US. (CNN)
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FAST platforms Tubi, the Roku Channel, and Pluto TV accounted for a combined 4.3% share of television audiences in June, which exceeds the combined total of 3.7% for SVODs Paramount+, Max, and Peacock. (Deadline)
AGM
magic-
As part of our Tomorrow's Table series of events, we recently hosted the Women in Film and Media Lunch alongside Meta at London's Hotel Cafe Royal. The event brought together 35 influential women from across the European entertainment sector for a networking forum that featured a fireside chat between two female entrepreneurs representing diversity in entertainment. Their discussion focused on navigating the media landscape, business growth, diversity, and content creation. By creating a space for open dialogue and connection, Tomorrow's Table aims to inspire innovation and drive positive change in the industry.
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Our next Tomorrow's Table event is Women in Gaming, bringing together women from across the gaming industry. These gatherings first launched in Europe over a year ago and are now expanding to the US and APAC. Click here to sign up for future invites!
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Premier Sports Network (PSN), the leading private network for the global sports industry, has appointed Allied Global Marketing as its official Marketing Agency Partner. This strategic alliance marks a significant milestone for both companies, combining PSN’s extensive network in professional sports with our proficiency in integrated marketing across entertainment, consumer and lifestyle brands. The partnership aims to enhance Allied’s footprint in the sports industry by expanding our dedicated sports practice built upon data-driven strategies that drive audience expansion and unlock new revenue streams and innovative activations for clients.
Audiences
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Young travelers may not yet have the highest spending power, but 89% of US Gen Zers and 87% of Millennials say travel is a financial priority for them, more so than any other generation. (Thrillist)
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The share of US Millennials loyal to a product or service they like has grown from 82% to 89% as their values shift to appreciate routine and convenience. (Morning Consult)
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Two-thirds of US consumers are “unsatisfied with current representations of disability and mental health in film and TV.” (Variety)
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Americans spent 40.3% of their TV viewing time in June on streaming services, a record high. (Axios)
Platforms
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Instagram announced a new feature that lets users add multiple music tracks to their Reels, enabling variable soundtrack elements within a single clip. (Social Media Today)
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TikTok is partnering with events platform Eventbrite to let creators and fans promote Eventbrite links in-stream. (Social Media Today)
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Netflix's ad-supported subscribers grew 34% YoY as of Q2, and overall subscriptions rose 17% to 278M. (CNBC)
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UKTV launched a new masterbrand called U, uniting its free-to-air channels and streaming service with 8.5K hours of content. (Advanced Television)
Content
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The Euro 2024 final, broadcasted across ITV and the BBC, attracted a peak TV audience of 24.2M, with an average of 22.3M viewers watching the match. (Advanced Television)
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The Emmy Nominations were announced on July 17, with Netflix landing at No. 1 with 107 nominations, followed by FX (93), HBO | Max (91), and Apple TV+ scoring a record 72 nominations. (Variety)
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BBC Studios and Samsung TV Plus have partnered to expand two BBC FAST channel brands in the EMEA region and BBC Drama in the MENA region. (Advanced Television)
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HBO's "House of the Dragon" racked up 1.23B minutes of viewing on Max for the week after its season two premiere. (THR)
Tech &
AI-
Meta won't offer future multimodal AI models in the EU because of what it says is a lack of clarity from regulators there. (Axios)
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OpenAI has announced GPT-4o mini, a small model designed to make AI more accessible and affordable for developers. (Developer Tech)
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Meta's Quest 4 VR headset will have two versions released in 2026, while a premium headset is planned for 2027. (The Verge)
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Apple's Vision Pro debuted immersive content featuring NBA players, The Weeknd and more. (Tech Crunch)
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Pinterest is developing its own AI text-to-image generation process, Canvas, that will let users generate options for product backgrounds. (Social Media Today)
Location-based
entertainment-
Ticket sales for concerts in the US are slowing, potentially indicating a challenging time for the live music industry. (NPR)
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Over 8.6M tickets have already been sold for the Olympic Games, and organizers predict that ticket sales will surpass 10M. (Inside the Games)
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All but one of the 20 Premier League clubs have increased the price of their season tickets to watch their men’s teams in the 2024-25 campaign. (NYT)
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Universal Orlando is offering Florida residents unlimited theme park access with an exclusive ticket deal. (Fox 35 Orlando)
Travel &
hospitality-
South Korea has announced the K-pop girl group NewJeans as its tourism ambassador as the Hallyu wave continues to attract younger international travelers to the country. (Skift)
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Both traditional and non-traditional Southern European and Mediterranean destinations continue to be the most popular choices for tourists visiting Europe, with destinations such as Serbia and Bulgaria attracting a growing share. (ETC)
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To reach a younger generation of travelers, Southwest Airlines is partnering with TikTok to let users book flights through the platform until October 13. (Travel Pulse)
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Copenhagen tourists who engage in an environmentally responsible activity like riding a bike, taking public transportation, or collecting plastic will be offered a thank-you gift from the tourism board. (CN Traveler)
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Emirates Skywards Chief Nejib Ben-Khedher highlighted six key lessons for airline loyalty programs, including leveraging free Wi-Fi for membership growth and evolving loyalty into a lifestyle with diverse earning opportunities. (Skift)
Gaming
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UK spending on video games fell by 29% during the first half of this year, while music and video sales grew. (Eurogamer)
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Square Enix has invested in soccer metaverse game "Soccerverse," which runs on the Polygon blockchain. (Bitcoin)
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"Star Wars Outlaws" has dropped an exclusive preview of its new game to showcase it’s “open galaxy”. (IGN)
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62% of US adults engaged in gaming in 2023 and 82% of gamers made an in-game purchase in freemium titles. (gameindustry.biz)
