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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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NBC Sports is planning to live-stream an alt-cast matchup between the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday, December 21 that will blend live action and video game elements from EA Sports’ Madden NFL franchise. (Variety)
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Google launched Gemini 2.0, its latest AI model that can generate images and audio, is faster and cheaper to run, and is meant to make AI agents possible. (The Verge)
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Prime Video is testing a new AI-powered functionality called AI Topics to help consumers find relevant shows and movies more quickly. (Amazon)
Audiences
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Hub Entertainment Research data shows that the average household is using more individual sources (13.1) to get their entertainment than ever before. (Streamable)
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15% of America now listens to six hours or more a week to podcasts, and fans are looking for more "watchable" options. (Insider Radio)
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New Parks Associates research finds US apartment residents consume digital content at a higher rate than residents of single-family homes or condos, driven by higher use of smartphones and gaming consoles. (Parks Associates)
Platforms
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Walmart completed its $2.3B acquisition of TV maker Vizio, a move designed to expand its advertising business. (Variety)
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Social platform Bluesky now has more than 25M users, up from 15M users just a month ago. (The Verge)
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A US federal appeals court ruled that a congressional ban on TikTok can go into effect in the next few weeks - that is, if the incoming Trump administration doesn’t decide to upend the court’s decision. (Vox)
Content
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Fortnite has set a new milestone, drawing 14.3M concurrent players for its "Remix: The Finale" virtual concert featuring performances from Snoop Dogg, Ice Spice and more. (Music Business Worldwide)
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Comcast plans to launch another streaming service in 2025 that will be the streaming home of all of CNBC’s linear programming. (Tech Radar)
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Americans' time spent watching television hit a nine-month high in November, as viewing levels grew 5% MoM to reach the largest monthly total since February. (The Wrap)
Tech &
AI-
Amazon announced its own set of Nova AI models and is partnering with Anthropic to build a huge AI compute cluster. (The Verge)
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Google is rolling out the ability for users to talk with the AI “hosts” of its podcast-like Audio Overviews. (The Verge)
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Google's virtual assistant Project Astra is expanding its testing program to more users, including tests that use prototype glasses. (The Verge)
Location-based
entertainment-
The now-concluded Taylor Swift Eras Tour saw a total of 10,168,008 people purchase $2,077,618,725 in tickets, averaging about $204 per seat. (NPR)
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The Winter Music Series will return to AGM client Dollywood’s Dreammore Resort & Spa, kicking off January 24. (Amusement Today)
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Google's list of most searched-for museums in 2024 sees London's British Museum and Brazil's Museum of Art of São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand topping the list. (Art Net)
Travel &
hospitality-
The number of Aussies travelling overseas has jumped 12% from last year, with the biggest growth coming from Japan (+73.8% YoY), Vietnam (+35.4%), Indonesia (+26%), the USA (+13%) and New Zealand (8.2%). (Karryon)
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Cruise operators like Royal Caribbean and Carnival are increasingly focusing their development energies on "private destinations" - exclusive seaside resorts wholly controlled by individual cruise line companies. (Skift)
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Many international travelers will soon need to register for an online authorisation before touching down in the UK or many EU nations. (BBC)
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Premium cabins have emerged as a critical post-pandemic revenue stream for airlines, contributing nearly half of all passenger revenue while representing a relatively small portion of total seats. (Skift)
Gaming
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Gaming advertising in Australia overtook news media's ad revenues for the first time this year, climbing to more than $2B. (Mi3)
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A number of Fortnite players are owed a refund for buying unwanted in-game skins, according to a ruling from the US Federal Trade Commission. (NME)
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PC Gamer released its 2025 trend forecast, highlighting AA/A (mid-market and indie) games as the biggest audience driver for next year. (PC Gamer)
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The Metaverse In Gaming market was valued at $21.6B in 2023 and is expected to grow to $390.6B by 2032 thanks to a rise in immersive experiences. (Globe Newswire)
