Media & Entertainment

Meta's social VR platform, Horizon Worlds, opens to teens: Lawmakers have concerns, but the Facebook parent is adamant on building its metaverse user base.

Exclusive podcasts didn’t pay off for Spotify: With slower listener growth overall, the company is bringing some shows to rival audio platform

Data center operators are finding it difficult to secure reliable and cost-effective power due to rising energy prices, increased power consumption, and supply chain shortages.

TV and streaming writers overwhelmingly vote to authorize a strike: A gap between record revenues and shrinking pay set the stage for a showdown.

AI-generated music is great at impersonating artists: Universal Music pulled a fake, viral song from streaming services and demanded platforms crack down on AI.

Netflix Q1 shows growth is becoming harder to achieve: Paid sharing will prove dividends—as will strength in global markets.

We forecast US advertisers will spend a combined $86.40 billion on linear and connected TV (CTV) this year—in other words, about 1 in 4 ad dollars will go to ads on the TV glass. But as linear TV ad spending stagnates, networks are incentivized to prove the reach and efficacy of their digital properties.

On today's episode, we discuss whether Microsoft’s AI-powered Bing can take share from Google, if social platforms can compete with Amazon on product search, and what to make of the idea that Apple might release its own search engine. "In Other News," we talk about what watching Peacock in the metaverse looks like and how people feel about all of their subscriptions. Tune in to the discussion with our director of forecasting Peter Newman and analyst Max Willens.

Citing security concerns, the bill now goes to Gov. Greg Gianforte, who banned TikTok on state-owned devices. TikTok is pushing back, but other states could accelerate all-out bans.

China still has some clout as the biggest chip market in the world, and the restrictions could spur competition and growth in domestic semiconductor production.

Nielsen regains key MRC accreditation ahead of 2023 upfronts: This comes as a number of measurement rivals go after the incumbent leader’s turf.

Physical therapy enters the metaverse: XRHealth acquired Amelia Health to treat both physical and mental health with extended reality. But AR/VR use is growing slowly in the US, and the metaverse is still a novelty.

Optimizing its user interface for touchscreens could help to make Microsoft’s Windows 11 a viable option for gaming on future handheld devices without investing in a mobile console to compete with Nintendo or Sony.

Children’s safety advocates are pushing back on Meta’s plan to open the metaverse to minors in order to expand user adoption. An unmoderated metaverse without proactive security poses various dangers to minors.

The NBA cuts budgets, freezes hiring due to economic headwinds: This comes ahead of critical media rights negotiations.

CTV to continue strong US growth: Households using the format to more than double pay TV in 2024, aided by tech shifts.

Publishers launch AI task forces as anxiety swirls: Amid speculation that AI could hurt the industry’s jobs, publishers try to get their bearings.

The city is giving robot dogs a second chance as it finds new ways to integrate emerging technology into policing. Could this be the big break needed to push mass adoption?

Despite a surge in ads, connected TV (CTV) faces the same challenge as traditional TV: getting consumers’ attention. Our analyst Paul Verna shares why co-viewing won’t hurt CTV’s targeting abilities and how too much repetition may make ads ineffective.