AGM _magic_

We orchestrated the wrapping of the 72 “Rocky Steps” at the Philadelphia Art Museum for the promotion of "Blue Beetle", the first Mexican American superhero to hit the big screen! The event also honored The Block Gives Back with the Blue Beetle Superhero Award for their heroic community service.

TL;DR

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

US Gen Zers and millennials trust social media influencers over any other channel for advice on products. (Morning Consult)
TikTok is running a small test of an ad-free subscription tier outside the US which costs $4.99/mo. (Tech Crunch)
Paramount celebrated Mean Girls' Day, October 3rd, by releasing "Mean Girls" for free on TikTok in 23 parts. (Variety)
Visa plans to invest $100M in companies developing generative AI technologies and applications “that will impact the future of commerce and payments.” (Tech Crunch)
U2 played the first-ever show at the Las Vegas Sphere with the concert alternating between gigantic, trippy visual effects sweeping across the domed display and band close-ups. (The Verge)

Audiences

The average number of streaming services used by US consumers decreased from 11.6 in Q4 2022 to 10.9 in Q2 2023. (Advanced-Television)
The Chiefs-Jets NFL game drew 27M viewers across linear and streaming TV as Taylor Swift cheered on Travis Kelce for the second week, making the game the most-watched since Super Bowl LVII. (Variety)
Everyone wants to be Barbie for Halloween this year, with the costume being the third most popular for US adults. (Bloomberg)
US adults limiting social media use through applications such as the Freedom app are able to manage distractions and focus on the task at hand. (BBC News)
US Gez Z and millennials adults are using subtitles at much higher rates than baby boomers and Gen Xers due to factors like the increasing amount of non-English language originals. (Morning Consult)
Consumers are more responsive to certain categories when a person is present within the ad vs. not present. For example, when it comes to photos/videos of holiday destinations (an identity-related purchase) consumers like the advertisement less when there are people present. (Oxford Academic)

Platforms

Warner Bros. Discovery raised the price of the ad-free tier of Discovery+ from $6.99/mo to $8.99/mo. (THR)
BeReal pushed back at report that says it’s losing steam, saying it now has 25M daily users. (Tech Crunch)
Netflix plans to raise the price of its ad-free service a few months after the Hollywood actors strike ends. (WSJ)
Netflix is creating experiences and merchandise to deepen fan loyalty to shows like "Stranger Things" and "One Piece." (WSJ)
Verizon announced an exclusive combo offering Netflix Premium and NFL Plus Premium for $25/mo in the US. (The Verge)
Lionsgate will buy Hasbro’s Entertainment One film and TV business for $500M as Hasbro looks to become a digital games giant. (THR)
Amazon is shutting down Amp, the live-audio app that let users act like radio DJs by playing music and talking alongside the songs. (Bloomberg)
X, formerly Twitter, is no longer showing headlines on articles shared on the platform. (The Verge)
Meta may offer an ad-free subscription tier for both Facebook and Instagram that costs $14/mo (€13/mo). (Social Media Today)
Instagram will now let users share a Story with multiple group lists at once so they can better curate who sees their updates. (Social Media Today)
X rolled out a new ad format that can't be reported or blocked. The ads also don't disclose who the advertiser is or that they are even ads. (Mashable)

Content

X, formerly Twitter, tested livestream shopping in partnership with Paris Hilton, continuing its vision to become an "everything app." (Tech Crunch)
Netflix paid $7M for TIFF drama "His Three Daughters," starring Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon. (Variety)
Late-night shows returned after the writers strike with CBS’s “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" being the first to return. (AP News)
Amazon and Netflix are in a bidding battle for "Crime 101," a new movie starring Chris Hemsworth and Pedro Pascal. (Deadline)
NFL RedZone is coming to NFL Plus and will cost football fans $14.99/mo or $99.99/yr. (The Verge)
Spotify plans to offer subscribers up to 15 hours of free audiobooks each month to better compete with Audible and find a path to profitability. (WSJ)
Formula 1 could be coming to Apple TV+ as it mulls offering up to $2B a year to show races. (Insider)
Prime Video plans to roll out channels and TVOD in Southeast Asian markets, as well as an expanded local-language content slate. (Deadline)
ABC said "The Golden Bachelor" is the network’s most-watched premiere ever on Hulu, with a total audience of 7.7M in its first three days on the platform. (Variety)

_Tech_ _&_ AI

More than 40% of AI and machine learning (ML) decision-makers worldwide highlighted improvements to their product or service quality as their primary driver for developing AI and ML applications. (Insider)
Okta plans to weave AI across its entire identity platform using multiple models. (Tech Crunch)
OpenAI’s latest DALL-E 3 model is now available to all Bing Chat and Bing Image Creator users. (The Verge)
Zoom is selling a cheaper AI package than Microsoft 365 Copilot and Google Duet AI, and soon it can plug into a new "modular workspace." (The Verge)
Next month, Humane will release its "Ai Pin," a connected, clothing-based wearable device that uses a range of sensors that enable contextual and ambient computer interactions. (Tech Crunch)
Meta started rolling out its first generative AI-powered features for ad creatives in Ads Manager. (AdNews)

Location-based _entertainment_

Nevada's casino industry reported its second consecutive monthly increase in gaming revenue to $1.21B in August. (Yogonet)
Amidst the buzz around Taylor Swift's Eras Tour movie, it was announced Beyoncé’s Renaissance film is coming to theaters across the US, Canada and Mexico on December 1st. (The Verge)
Disney is discounting children’s tickets at its US theme parks for a limited time early next year. (CNBC)
The 2030 men’s soccer World Cup is set to feature games in six countries on three continents in a unique format that will allow the tournament to celebrate its 100th anniversary in Uruguay. (AP)
LCD Soundsystem announced a 12-date New York residency across the boroughs for later this fall. (Pitchfork)

_Travel_ & hospitality

Toys R Us will open shops in airports and on cruise ships, with the first store set to open in time for holiday season inside Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. (CNBC)
Clark County commissioners unanimously approved an ordinance that prohibits sidewalk vendors from selling their goods within 1.5K feet of prominent Las Vegas attractions. (Yogonet)
Blackbird, a loyalty program for restaurants that's designed to entice customers into becoming regulars, will expand to San Francisco and Los Angeles after initially launching in New York City. (NYT)
Intentions to travel dropped 11 percentage points in France and 6 in Germany since 2022, indicating "revenge travel" may have run its course. (CNBC)
Post-pandemic travelers are prioritizing a good night's sleep, healthy lifestyle amenities, and "smart" rooms with lots of technology. They're also engaging in "bleiusire" travel, tacking vacation days onto work trips. (Axios)
The Michelin Guide will start designating “the most exceptional hotels across the world," not with one, two or three stars but with a “key” emblem. (Bloomberg)