A new study that tracks players' heart rates in the gaming community shows that Mario Kart is the most stressful game. (Forbes)

The one-click checkout solution Shop Pay is getting popularity over guest checkout and credit cards with 100M+ buyers already using it. (Liontree)

The American Library Association says Gen Z and Millennials are using public libraries at higher rates than older Americans. 54% visited a library within a year, including 23% who did not identify as readers. (Publishers Weekly)

US Gen Z adults are more likely than the general public to say that corporate brands should speak out about race and racism in America, LGBTQ+ and trans rights, access to abortion/contraception and gun control. (Morning Consult)

Knowing and trusting a brand is the top factor influencing purchase decisions for US adults, particularly among those ages 55 and older, per an August 2023 CivicScience survey. (Insider Intelligence)

Far more high-income (39%) and financially anxious (49%) adults are considering using Buy Now Pay Later loans for their holiday expenses than they were last year (21% and 35%, respectively). (Morning Consult)

Spotify announced that tracks will have to be played 1,000 times before they start earning money. (Music Business Worldwide)

ByteDance's Pico 4 now has a TikTok app. (UploadVr)

WhatsApp head confirms in-app ads are still in the works. (The Verge)

Crunchyroll is adding mobile games to its subscription. (The Verge)

Dish loses 64,000 net pay TV subscribers as satellite losses outweigh Sling TV gains. (Hollywood Reporter)

Amazon Fire TV intros new options for advertisers, including contextual sponsored tiles. (StreamTV Insider)

Paramount Advertising unveiled Conduit, a new solution that directly integrates with programmatic platforms for CTV to drive scalability and interoperability for advertisers. (Ad Week)

Apple Music discontinues US $5 "Voice Plan" that was only accessible through Siri. (9to5mac)

Fortnite became the world’s most popular game again with the map restored to its original 2018 state. (The Guardian)

Back on the publicity train: Stars rush to promote projects as actors strike ends. (Hollywood Reporter)

Netflix has discussed live-streaming a match featuring boxer and YouTube influencer Jake Paul, as well as a potential bout between boxers from Premier Boxing Champions, a show currently on Paramount’s Showtime. (Wall Street Journal)

Comedian Taylor Tomlinson will host a new CBS late-night show "After Midnight" becoming the only female late-late night host. (CBSNews)

"House of the Dragon" season 2 sets summer 2024 release date, as trailer shown behind closed doors. (Gamesradar)

New "Prison Break" series is in the works at Hulu. (Variety)

The final "Yellowstone" episodes are delayed until late 2024 due to Hollywood strikes. (AP News)

The CW is expanding its reach to live TV streaming customers in top markets across the country. (The Streamable)

“NFL Sunday Ticket” customers who get the pricey out-of-market games package via YouTube TV voiced their frustration after buffering and pixelization issues on the virtual pay TV platform impacted the first round of games. (Nexttv)

Musk says X subscribers will get early access to xAI’s chatbot, Grok. (Tech Crunch)

Microsoft is partnering with Inworld AI to create Xbox game development tools for generative AI characters, storylines and more. (The Verge)

Meta bars political advertisers from using generative AI ads tools. (Reuters)

Facebook owner Meta faces EU ban on targeted advertising. (Reuters)

OpenAI is letting anyone create their own version of ChatGPT. (The Verge)

Being perceived as entertaining is critical to gaining and sustaining engagement for both exhibit and performance-based entities – but how the public defines "entertaining" in the context of cultural entities isn't what some leaders may think. (Colleendilen)

Live Nation has already sold 140M tickets to its shows this year, 19M more than in the whole of 2022. (Music Business Insider)

Live Nation is currently at the forefront of an investigation by the Department of Justice over its alleged monopolistic practices with Ticketmaster. (Ticket News)

As "Stranger Things: The First Shadow", the stage spin-off of the hit Netflix series, gears up for its November 17 previews, the team behind the new stage adaptation have released a featurette showing the making of the play. (The Standard)

Amusement parks Six Flags and Cedar Fair are merging in an US $8B deal that creates a theme park powerhouse across North America. (CNN)

The modern Christmas classic "Elf" is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a return to local theaters for the holiday season. (Dispatch)

8 Aussie streamers join the class of Gen V with prizes up for grabs. (Dotesports)

Boy George is returning to Broadway in “Moulin Rouge! The Musical.” (AP News)

IMAX has revealed a deal with global entertainment company EVT for five new screens across Australia and Germany: one in an Event Cinemas location in Sydney and four at CineStar locations in Germany. (Hollywood Reporter)

Royal Caribbean Group is removing Israel from its 2024 itineraries due to the Israel-Hamas war, making it the second major US cruise operator to alter its plans over the conflict. (Skift)

Booking Holdings reported customers booked 276M room nights in Q3, up 15% YoY. The company expects customers will continue to prioritize travel over other discretionary spend in 2024. (Skift)

JetBlue announced that they are cutting back on flights after shares hit a nearly 12-year low after the airline forecast a wider-than-expected loss in the current quarter. (Wall Street Journal)

Q3 airline ticket bookings rose +57% YoY (vs +58% YoY in Q2), benefiting from the continued expansion of Booking.com’s flight offering. (Liontree)

A company planning to compete with Eurostar for cross-channel rail services has signed a deal for up to 16 new trains to start operation in 2025. (News Sky)