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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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ABC suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely, elevating existing concerns within the media industry regarding censorship and free speech. (THR)
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OpenAI is releasing a new version of GPT-5 to its AI coding agent, Codex, that performs better on agentic coding benchmarks. (Tech Crunch)
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ESPN’s new streaming app and Fox One collectively signed up 1M new subscribers in the first 10 days after their respective launches. (The Verge)
Audiences
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87% of US adults read AI summaries in search results, but only 41% click on a source link afterward. (EMarketer)
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Cable accounted for 22.5% of all TV viewing in the US in August, up from 22.2% in July and likely due to the start of football season. (THR)
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60% of US “sports superfans” use dedicated sports streaming platforms. (Media Play News)
Platforms
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YouTube is bringing a custom version of Google’s Veo 3 to Shorts, along with a new remixing tool and an AI-editing feature. (Tech Crunch)
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Snapchat users took 930T selfies last year, more than 2x the amount of selfies from all iPhone users. (Social Media Today)
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Threads is expanding its DM controls so that anybody in the app will be able to send anyone else a message. (Social Media Today)
Content
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Universal Pictures’ “Him” is set to top the weekend box office with $19.5M in projected ticket sales. (Media Play News)
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The Chiefs-Eagles NFL game on Sept. 14 generated a record 128M viewers across all Fox platforms. (Media Play News)
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Prime Video is launching new augmented reality and data-enhanced live sports coverage across its NFL and Champions League soccer coverage. (Media Play News)
Tech &
AI-
Google is rolling out Gemini in Chrome to all Mac and Windows desktop users in the US. (Tech Crunch)
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Luma AI is partnering with Adobe to release its new Ray3 video generation model, aiming to rival other models like Google's Veo. (THR)
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Google is is now letting users share their Gemini Gems — custom AI assistants and experts designed for specific tasks. (Tech Crunch)
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Amazon is introducing an always-on AI agent, Seller Assistant, that will help sellers on its platform run their businesses. (Tech Crunch)
Location-based
entertainment-
Dollywood announced it's opening the world’s first indoor family hybrid coaster and whitewater river raft ride. (T&L)
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Sesame Place San Diego announced it will transition from year-round to a seasonal schedule, set to open back up to the public in spring 2026. (Blooloop)
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Family entertainment brand Chuck E. Cheese is expanding to the UK through a new multi-venue agreement. (Blooloop)
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The largest F1 Arcade location in the US is set to open next month in Las Vegas, combining the thrill of Formula 1 racing with world-class food and drink. (Blooloop)
Travel &
hospitality-
American Express Travel launched its first dedicated travel mobile app, bringing together hotel and flight booking capabilities with other perks and tools. (Skift)
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A new report from Skift revealed that the global cruise market generated $71B in revenue in 2024 and is expected to reach $78B in 2026. (Skift)
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Seibu Prince, one of Japan’s leading hospitality operators, announced it will acquire Ace Group International in a $90M deal. (Hotel Dive)
Gaming
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Epic Games announced it will allow creators in Fortnite to sell digital durable and consumable items they build for their games. (gamesindustry.biz)
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A new report from MTM reveals that 90% of global PC and console gamers have played a remaster or remake in the last 12 months. (gamesindustry.biz)
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TV adaptations of video games drive an average player growth of almost 140%, according to new research by Ampere Analysis. (gamesindustry.biz)
