- Now that sports are all heading to streamers, the pay-TV bundle might finally be dead (The Hollywood Reporter)
- Gaming companies need to be careful about how they design loot boxes in the UK…the US is taking note (The Verge)
- Mattel has apologized for failing to include any Asian dolls in its Olympic Barbie collection (NBC News)
- How Hey Arnold introduced a new generation of kids to jazz (The Ringer)
- Sony has completed its acquisition of Crunchyroll, bringing it under the same roof as Funimation (The Verge)
- Nintendo’s pandemic growth has slowed and its future slate is uncertain…should investors be worried? (Games Industry)
- Brands are already starting to market products towards Gen Alpha, and not just kids brands either (Vox)
- How did Nickelodeon create its slime-drenched ’90s style? (The Ringer)
- Roku is looking to keep its original content strategy on track with even more Quibi shows (CNBC)
- The Slip N’ Slide series is officially flushed from NBC’s schedule after an unfortunate giardia outbreak (Variety)
- TikTok, YouTube and Facebook are working overtime to appear trustworthy…but should you trust them? (New York Times)
- The ultimate Nickelodeon bracket to decide the best character ever on the kidcaster (The Ringer)
- The head of the National Association of Theater Owners is fighting a war on multiple fronts (Variety)
- …And as more movies premiere on streaming, a big problem has arisen—how will we know what’s actually a hit? (The Verge)
- TerraCycle has been helping some of the world’s biggest companies become greener, but it might be doing more harm than good (Vox)
- How did Marvel manage to age down its IP? By asking preschoolers what they wanted, of course (Los Angeles Times)
- ViacomCBS has partnered with Sky to launch Paramount+ in Europe (Deadline)
- …Which is good timing—UK streaming subscriptions jumped by 50% in 2020 (Digital TV Europe)
- Roku had an OK Q2, though it’s total hours streamed declined by one billion hours, compared to the previous quarter (Variety)
- If Instagram wants to copy TikTok, then TikTok will copy Instagram with a new Stories function launch (Tech Crunch)
- Even being the number-one show on Netflix won’t save a series from cancellation (Forbes)
- Vodafone in Spain will integrate Disney+ into its existing service (Digital TV Europe)
- Tencent is having to crack down on screen time after the Chinese government referred to gaming as “spiritual opium” (CTV News)
- YouTube’s chief product officer is ready to give a peek behind the curtain (The Verge)
- Mattel is creating a Barbie based on the co-creator of the AstraZeneca vaccine (Irish Examiner)
- The video game industry was more prepared than most to switch to WFH…so why did it go so poorly? (Harvard Business Review)
- Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine sold to private equity firm for nearly US$1 billion (Variety)
- Discovery’s Q2 beat expectations and it hit 18 million streaming subs (Deadline)
- Edtech startup Novakid is betting it can teach kids English, and investors think so too (Tech Crunch)
- Jungle Cruise, Disney’s latest movie based on a ride, sailed into a US$90-million opening weekend (CNN)
- Eighty percent of the toy industry still isn’t working towards sustainability, according to a new industry white paper (Toy News)
- Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney over Black Widow‘s streaming release—are more such lawsuits on the horizon? (Vanity Fair)
- Peacock is expanding internationally, starting with a partnership with Sky in Europe (Digital TV Europe)
- Toy prices are increasing as toycos stock up to try and avoid shipping issues at the end of the year (Wall Street Journal)
- If it passes, the COPPA update would also protect teenagers in the US (The Washington Post)
- Netflix’s film chief gears up to lead a movie industry revolution (Variety)
- Activision Blizzard is facing an historic lawsuit for its allegedly sexist culture (Los Angeles Times)
- After a big earnings day, YouTube has proven it’s one of the streaming wars’ strongest competitors (CNBC)
- …Meanwhile, Peacock reached a milestone of its own with 54 million sign-ups (The Wrap)
- Sky is overhauling its UK channels and retiring the Sky One brand (Deadline)
- It’s earnings week, and Apple had a record June, thanks to a spike in phone sales (CTV News)
- …Meanwhile, YouTube’s ad revenue is up by 83% (Forbes)
- Unfortunately, TV is lagging behind films in terms of disability representation (Variety)
- When it comes to kid screen time, rules don’t work all that well—more nuance is needed (New York Times)
August 11, 2021
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