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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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105.3M Americans will watch live sports via digital this year, up from 95.5M last year, thanks to new sports deals and offerings from streamers. (eMarketer)
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Max will start with "very soft messaging" around password sharing later this year as it moves toward implementing its password crackdown. (Mashable)
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One of the biggest travel trends for 2025 globally is the rise of "reset jetting," where travelers escape to quiet retreats to relax and unwind. (Expedia)
Audiences
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In a world-first initiative, the Australian government will introduce legislation to ban social media use for children under 16. (Media Week)
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UK spending on discretionary items saw its biggest spike of the year in September, with entertainment jumping by 14.4% MoM thanks to Oasis ticket sales. (Reuters)
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57% of Korean Gen Zers and 53% of global Gen Z consumers would like to use an AI travel planner before commencing their travels. (Korea Times)
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40% of Americans pretend to be travel influencers on vacation, and 58% see using social media when traveling as a good thing. (NY Post)
Platforms
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Instagram has now surpassed Facebook’s active user count in the EU with 260.6M monthly active users. (Social Media Today)
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TikTok’s adding another music integration with a new “Share to TikTok” option that’ll let users share music from Apple Music and Spotify to TikTok. (Social Media Today)
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Instagram has added DM filters to assist creators, letting them find the most relevant inquiries easily. (Social Media Today)
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Nintendo Music was downloaded by 265K users on the first day of its release and went on to surpass 1.2M downloads in just four days. (Nintendo Life)
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Paramount+ added 3.5M subscribers and posted a $49 million profit in Q3, up from the $26M reported last quarter. (The Verge)
Content
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Disney‘s "Moana 2" is heading to the best five-day opening ever at the Thanksgiving box office, expecting to earn $135M over the holiday weekend. (Deadline)
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Netflix will soon hold its first live sports streaming event featuring heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and social personality turned fighter Jake Paul. (LMT)
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Amazon Prime Video saw the highest monthly growth among streaming platforms in September thanks to NFL Thursday Night Football and "The Rings of Power." (Nielsen)
Tech &
AI-
OpenAI launched a consumer hardware division led by former Meta AR lead Caithlin Kalinowski. (Coin Telegraph)
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Universal Music Group has partnered with Klay Vision to create an “ethical” foundational model for AI music generation. (The Verge)
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Mistral AI launched a new content moderation API, marking its latest move to compete with OpenAI to address safety and content filtering. (Venturebeat)
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Google is generally rolling out its Gemini AI-powered Vids app that lets users create video presentations using a prompt. (The Verge)
Location-based
entertainment-
The abandoned Six Flags New Orleans theme park, formerly Jazzland, will be torn down as a new development called Bayou Phoenix begins construction. (Attractions Magazine)
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The opening of the American Heartland theme park in Oklahoma has been pushed back, and two firms have filed liens against the developers. (Construction Dive)
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AMC Entertainment unveiled what it calls its “GO Plan” - a set of major improvements to seating, projection and auditoriums during the next few years. (Deadline)
Travel &
hospitality-
Taylor Swift's Eras Tour has so far generated approximately $1B in additional hotel revenue across the US, Europe and Asia, with its impact rivaling traditional tourism drivers like the Super Bowl and even the Olympics during its peak periods. (Travel Weekly)
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Over half of global travelers are considering visiting darker sky destinations in 2025 with starbathing experiences, star guides, once-in-a-lifetime cosmic events and constellation tracking top of the list. (Forbes)
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"Travel Tuesday" deals are soaring alongside Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, with airlines, hotels and more offering between 20% and 30% off of the best available rates. (NY Post)
Gaming
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Ice Spice and Snoop Dogg's surprise Times Square performance was live streamed to Fortnite. (Variety)
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The new mobile Pokémon Trading Card Game generated more than $12M after just four days of release. (Games Industry)
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Just three weeks after "Zenless Zone Zero" was released, HoYoverse received a Chinese license approval for its next new game "Astaweave Haven." (Pocket Gamer)
