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TL;DR

In a hurry? Here's our pick of the top news items of the week.

  • Season 3 of "Squid Game" made a record No. 1 debut across all Netflix-ranking countries with over 60M views in three days, becoming the streamer’s first show to do so in its premiere week. (Media Play News)

  • Microsoft is laying off 4% of its workforce including part of its gaming division, leading to the closure of their studio The Initiative and multiple games in production being cancelled. (gamesindustry.biz)

  • Google has begun rolling out its Veo 3 video generation model to Gemini users in more than 159 countries. (Tech Crunch)

Audiences

  • Over 90% of young Chinese consumers are willing to pay premiums for products and experiences that provide “emotional value” and support their mental well-being in a trend known as “emotional consumption.” (Campaign Asia)

  • Gen Z is opting out of both traditional pay TV and ad-supported streaming tiers, with only 42% of US Gen Z subscribers using ad-supported SVOD. (EMarketer)

  • Younger live-TV viewers in the US are much more likely to use Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST) services to watch live TV content than their older counterparts. (Media Play News)

Platforms

  • Snapchat has reached 250M users in India, Snap’s biggest user market, with the nation making up more than a quarter of the platform's overall audience. (Social Media Today)

  • Meta announced that all Threads users will gain access to their own Threads-specific inbox to engage in private chats. (Social Media Today)

  • Ten years after its introduction, Spotify's Discover Weekly playlist will get new user controls, including buttons to specify genres like pop, R&B, and funk. (The Verge)

Content

  • Universal Pictures’ "Jurassic World Rebirth" is expected to dominate the July 4th holiday with $81M in US ticket sales over the three-day weekend. (Media Play News)

  • Amazon confirmed that their ad-supported streaming service, Freevee, will shutter in August, with the platform’s content migrating to Prime Video. (Media Play News)

  • Netflix is set to begin live-streaming NASA launches this summer as part of a new agreement with the national space agency. (Forbes)

Tech & AI

  • Google Home is rolling out new "Member" and "Admin" tiers, which will let you choose which smart home features your household members have access to. (The Verge)

  • Apple is reportedly considering using AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic to power its updated version of Siri, rather than using technology the company has built in-house. (Tech Crunch)

  • Google announced a series of updates intended to bring its Gemini AI and other AI-powered tools deeper into the classroom, including a version of the Gemini app built for education and other tools for managed Chromebooks. (Tech Crunch)

Location-based entertainment

  • Seven years after a devastating fire destroyed it, Brazil's National Museum, home to over 20M artifacts, is set to reopen this week following a $95M renovation. (AP)

  • The Louvre in Paris launched an international design competition for a new exhibition space for the Mona Lisa, as well as a new entrance. (Blooloop)

  • A record 23.5M music tourists visited UK concerts and festivals in 2024, with Taylor Swift and Charli XCX leading the way, according to a new report from UK Music. (Ticketing Business)

Travel & hospitality

  • Airbnb is testing a new feature, "Reserve Now, Pay Later," which enables some guests in the US and Canada to make a reservation without paying anything at the time of booking. (Skift)

  • Cannes is the latest destination to clamp down on the cruise industry to combat overtourism by banning vessels carrying more than a thousand people from its harbor. (Skift)

  • A record 72M Americans are projected to travel for the July 4th holiday, marking a 2.4% YoY increase. (Hotel Dive)

Gaming

  • Turkey’s video game industry expanded by more than 20% in 2024 to reach a market value of $695M, fueled primarily by mobile gaming and the rising use of artificial intelligence in development. (Daily Sabah)

  • According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, younger Americans are spending 25% less on video games now than this time last year. (IGN)

  • Players of Epic Games' "Fortnite" who were charged for unwanted purchases while playing the game will be receiving more than $126M in refunds from the Federal Trade Commission. (Variety)
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