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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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Streaming’s share of US viewing time grew to a new high in July, while television viewing fell below 50% for the first time. (WSJ)
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Experts predict that Google's Search Generative Experience could reduce up to 80% of publishers' organic search traffic if implemented in its current form. (AdWeek)
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Instagram is testing a new Reels display for multi-advertiser ads which will show users a group of four related brands in a grid on the single screen. (Social Media Today)
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OpenAI has developed a way to use GPT-4 for content moderation - prompting the bot with a policy that guides it in making moderation judgments and creating a test set of content examples that might violate the policy. (Tech Crunch)
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All of Florida’s major theme parks saw drops in attendance last quarter due to a combination of weather, inflation and political tension. (Orlando Weekly)
Audiences
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The share of US adults not paying for any video streaming service subscriptions was 22% in July, down 3 points from January. (Morning Consult)
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Roughly half of Americans (47%) are interested in trying AI in search engines in the next five years, ahead of other forward-looking technologies. (Morning Consult)
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US adults who enjoy shopping in stores also tend to use TikTok, Instagram and Spotify at higher rates than the general population. (Morning Consult)
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Most American adults under 30 prefer watching TV with subtitles even when they know the language. (YouGov)
Platforms
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X, formerly Twitter, will no longer allow advertisers to promote their accounts within the platform's timeline to attract new followers. (Axios)
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Fubo is raising prices for the second time this year as it drops the "Premier" plan in favor of the revived "Ultimate" plan - costing fans $5 more per month. (Streamable)
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Amazon will hold a second sale event in October, open to Prime members in 19 countries. (Retail Dive)
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YouTube Music has added a TikTok-like "Samples" tab to help users find new music. (The Verge)
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NYC banned TikTok on city-owned devices and is and requiring agencies to remove the app within the next 30 days. (The Verge)
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The price of Amazon Music Unlimited plans is increasing by $1/mo for Prime members and customers on the family plan. (Tech Crunch)
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India has approved the merger of domestic broadcaster Zee and the local arm of Japan’s Sony, a deal that will create the country’s biggest media company and a rival to industry leader Disney. (FT)
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Amazon is expanding its cost-per-click Sponsored Products ads to include placements on select third-party apps and websites like Pinterest. (Marketing Dive)
Content
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Netflix has rolled out its beta streaming games trial to a small selection of members in Canada and the UK. (Digital TV Europe)
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"Heart of Stone" has become one of the biggest Netflix titles this year, appearing at no.1 in 91 countries and racking up 33M views. (Flix Patrol)
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Roku’s free ad-supported TV service is adding over 30 news channels and a dedicated MrBeast channel. (The Verge)
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"Suits," available in the US on Netflix and Peacock, accounted for more than 18B minutes of viewing during the month of July. (THR)
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Creators on TikTok are acting as video game characters over live streams, potentially helping to bolster live-stream shopping. (Insider)
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DAZN, which has made several investments into women's soccer recently, acquired women’s soccer platform "ata football." (Broadcast Now)
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Marvel’s "Spider-Man 2" video game will offer an accessibility setting that lets you slow down the game’s action by 70%, 50% or 30%. (The Verge)
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Indonesia is on course to become Southeast Asia’s biggest content market, driven by online services overtaking conventional TV’s market share. (Variety)
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Instagram is testing a new collaborative posting option where users can add their own images or video to an existing post. (Social Media Today)
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Spotify considered banning new uploads of white noise podcasts after realizing how much its algorithm promoted them. (The Verge)
Tech & AI
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Google Photos added generative AI to help users name photo collections. (The Verge)
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Google Chrome will summarize entire articles for you thanks to a new feature of its Search Generative Experience. (The Verge)
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A group of over 2K hackers tried to break through the safeguards of various AI programs to identify their vulnerabilities, and they found political misinformation, demographic stereotypes, instructions on how to carry out surveillance and more. (NYT)
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Some of the world's biggest advertisers, from Nestle to Unilever, are experimenting with using generative AI software like ChatGPT and DALL-E to cut costs and increase productivity. (Reuters)
Location-based entertainment
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US commercial gaming crossed the $16B revenue mark for second consecutive quarter driven by surge in online gaming. (Yogonet)
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Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie’s "The Curse" will premiere at New York Film Festival on October 2nd. (Variety)
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Hayao Miyazaki’s "The Boy and the Heron" will open the San Sebastian Film Festival on September 7th. (THR)
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Palms Casino Resort near the Las Vegas Strip announced various packages for the Formula One Grand Prix scheduled for November, with price tags up to $777K. (Yogonet)
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One of the last remaining free parking holdouts, Venetian/Palazzo, will charge for parking later this summer. (Casino.org)
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Broadway Week is returning this September with two-for-one ticket deals for just about every show. (TimeOut)
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"Barbie" passed "The Dark Knight" to become Warner Bros. highest grossing movie ever at the domestic box office. (MovieWeb)