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XR Game On! Dive into the Action with Social Lenses
by Shai Goller, SVP, Creative
AGM magic
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We coordinated exclusive “Dive-In” screenings in markets all over the US in promotion of "Meg 2: The Trench," where guests faced their fears and watched the film from the water!
TL;DR
In a hurry? Here's our pick of the top news items of the week.
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In the past year, 20% of US SVOD users resubscribed to a service they’d previously canceled, coming back most often thanks to promotional pricing. (NextTV)
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In the US, ad spend on search, social and digital video grew 8.7% from Q1 to Q2, while traditional media channels saw spend decline 4.1%. (Marketing Dive)
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Hollywood writers and studios finalized the language of a contract that ended the nearly 150-day labor strike. According to the deal, AI cannot write or rewrite literary material and AI-generated material will not be considered source material. (CNBC)
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Amazon will invest up to $4B in Anthropic and take a minority ownership position in the company. (CNBC)
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OpenAI released a version of ChatGPT that can interact with people using spoken words. (NYT)
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A partnership between Spotify and OpenAI will let podcasters clone their voices to automatically create foreign-language versions of their shows. (The Verge)
Audiences
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About half of US NFL fans have used an illegal streaming site to watch an NFL game at least once, and 35% of fans regularly turn to pirate platforms to stream pro football. (NextTV)
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YouTube is the most popular free video service across all generations in the US as of Q1 2023. (Insider)
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US teenagers are only spending 3% of their screen time on Snapchat, once a Gen Z go-to app. (Fast Company)
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Music has become Australians’ top podcast genre, but there are clear gender splits regarding preferred genres. (Mumbrella)
Platforms
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Nearly three years after its launch, Paramount+ is set to roll out in Japan on December 1st. (NextTV)
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Roblox has acquired Speechly, a company specializing in tools for speech recognition and natural language understanding, to enhance its voice features. (Pymnts)
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Instagram’s Threads is forecast to have 23.7M monthly active users in the US by the end of this year compared to X’s projected 56.1M. (The Verge)
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Google Podcasts will shut down in 2024 with listeners migrated to YouTube Music. (Tech Crunch)
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Tubi is launching a feature called Rabbit AI to give users better movie recommendations based on queries. (The Verge)
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Spotify introduced a new social listening feature called Jam that lets multiple people DJ for group party playlists. (The Verge)
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Starting November 1st, Disney+ will begin restricting password sharing in Canada. (The Verge)
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Reddit is removing the ability for some users to opt out of ad personalization based on their activity on the platform. (The Verge)
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Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney and others have formed a new trade group to promote their interests to politicians and government entities. (The Verge)
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Spotify is launching video ads for its CTV apps, beginning with Roku as the first partner, in what will soon be known as the Spotify CTV Partner Network. (AdAge)
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The new, ad-supported tier of AMC+ launched at a $4.99/mo and will include AMC’s programming, as well as access to Shudder, Sundance Now and IFC Films Unlimited. (THR)
Content
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Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” has continued to climb at the box office with more than $900M in global ticket sales to date. (Variety)
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MSG+ has expanded its purchase options to include single NHL and NBA games, making it the first regional sports service to do so. (TV Technology)
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Apple Podcasts has added original programming from Apple Music, Apple News+ and other apps. (Tech Crunch)
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SAG-AFTRA members voted 98% in favor of a strike authorization against the video game industry, saying "it's time for the video game companies to stop playing games." (THR)
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Warner Bros. Discovery launched its new CNN Max content hub on Max, giving subscribers access to live news, breaking updates and more. (Streamable)
Tech & AI
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Getty Images is partnering with Nvidia to launch Generative AI by Getty Images, a new tool that lets people create images using Getty’s library of licensed photos. (The Verge)
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Snapchat has partnered with Microsoft to put ads in its My AI chatbot feature. (Tech Crunch)
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Amazon restricted authors from self-publishing more than three books a day after an influx of suspected AI-generated material was listed for sale. (Guardian)
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Meta announced partnerships with “cultural icons and influencers” to play and embody AI-powered chatbots that will have profiles on Instagram and Facebook. (Variety)
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Meta introduced new smart glasses that can take calls, play music and livestream while on your face. (The Verge)
Location-based entertainment
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A new US law requires ticketing platforms like Ticketmaster and StubHub to give the IRS information on users who sold more than $600 worth of tickets this year. (WSJ)
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AMC Theatres announced the “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” concert film will open in more than 100 countries worldwide on Oct. 13th, the same day as in North America. (Variety)
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News that Taylor Swift was attending the Kansas City Chiefs / Jets game sent ticket prices soaring more than 40% - from $83 to $119. (CNN)
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"Some Like It Hot" has set a closing date for its Broadway run, having its last show on December 30th. (Playbill)
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All of Universal’s Orlando theme parks will get a facial recognition upgrade at entry gates for frictionless entry. (Biometric Update)
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Five class action lawsuits have been filed against MGM Resorts and Caesars for data breaches at their Las Vegas properties in September. (Travel Pulse)
Travel & hospitality
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Delta's CEO said the airline went too far with its sweeping frequent-flier program changes and will be announcing “modifications” within the next few weeks. (WSJ)
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Hyatt Hotels will launch a short-term home rental platform called Homes & Hideaways by World of Hyatt. (Travel Weekly)
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Sports Illustrated plans to brand resorts in college towns, each featuring a full-service hotel, a vacation club and residential condos. (Travel Weekly)
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The US will let Israeli citizens visit the country without a visa for up to 90 days. (AP)
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The share of US adults who said they had traveled domestically in the past month dropped 3 percentage points since July to 36%. (Morning Consult)
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Marriott is rolling out a new midscale brand, Four Points Express by Sheraton, in EMEA that will offer value-conscious consumers "a seamless hotel experience in a convenient location." (Travel Weekly)
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In the US, the restaurant sector is expected to continue its growth streak into the holiday season, with consumer spend increasing 5.4% YoY. (Mastercard)
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Las Vegas hospitality workers voted to authorize a strike that could impact more than three dozen casinos and hotels. (CNBC)