TL;DR

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

Among US adults who took a leisure trip in the last year, 11% learned about the destination from a TV show or movie — the same as the share who said they heard about it from an advertisement. (Morning Consult)
Instagram introduced download capability for public Reels, letting users save and share this type of content beyond the app. (Tech Crunch)
Google Ads postponed the switch to data-driven attribution until mid-July, at which point first click, linear, time decay and position-based attribution models in Google Ads will go away. (Search Engine Journal)
Warner Bros. Discovery is shopping some of its HBO library titles to Netflix, marking the first time in nearly a decade that HBO shows would exist on a rival SVOD service in the US. (Deadline)
Marvel's "Secret Invasion" opening credits were created using AI, and though the move caused outrage among fans, the creators have reiterated it was a "stylistic choice." (PetaPixel)

Audiences

Consumers in Japan, South Korea, France and Germany are the least close to maxing out on spending money for subscription services. (Morning Consult)
The share of US millennials who owned a VR headset in May was 10 points higher YoY, exceeding the change for other generations. (Morning Consult)
37% of US adults are interested in AI-generated movies, while 57% are interested in paying to see a movie in theaters. (Morning Consult)
Research in Asia has found that both product recall (10% uplift) and brand recall (12% uplift) are significantly higher for the same ads when shown in a premium OTT environment over a mass environment. (Advanced Television)

Discord added new monetization features, letting creators sell downloadable products. (The Verge)
Spotify plans to launch a new premium tier that includes HiFi audio, offering subscribers a higher quality listening experience. (Bloomberg)
Twitter is making efforts to improve brand safety on its platform, partnering with media companies and advertisers to develop industry standards and guidelines. (Axios)
US federal agencies have reduced their ad spending on TikTok due to concerns over the app's ties to the Chinese government. (The Information)
Disney has integrated Google's ad ID into its post-cookie ad tech strategy, allowing for more targeted and personalized advertising across its platforms. (AdAge)
A US judge granted the Federal Trade Commission's request to temporarily block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. (Reuters)
British broadcaster Sky has launched a new camera, Sky Live, that’s designed to add more social, fitness and gaming features to its smart TVs. (The Verge)
SVOD revenue in Australia is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 8.2% until 2027, driven by growth in subscriptions and a steady rise in the average monthly revenue per household. (Advanced Television)

From the upcoming "Barbie" movie to a purple McDonald's milkshake honoring the 52nd birthday of Grimace, throwback products and entertainment are huge this year. (Axios)
Aussie SVOD Stan has extended its partnership with US studio Lionsgate and its network, Starz, to secure a new slate of scripted dramas and theatrical films. (Mumbrella)
Beginning in 2024, films will no longer become eligible for the best picture Oscar with just a one-week theatrical release in an approved city, but will require a lengthier stay in theaters. (THR)
Trevor Noah is launching an original Spotify weekly podcast set to debut later this year. (Variety)
Disney is closing its six remaining linear TV channels in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea as it puts a greater emphasis on direct-to-consumer streaming. (Variety)
YouTube is updating its policies on impersonation and will remove any fan channels that are not obviously fan accounts. (9to5Google)

About 150M people have used the Snapchat’s My AI chatbot, sending more than 10B messages. (WSJ)
TuneCore has partnered with CreateSafe and Grimes to let TuneCore artists distribute collaborations created through Grimes’ Elf.Tech AI to all major streaming platforms. (DMY)
Gannett is exploring the use of generative AI to assist in content creation, with humans maintaining the final say to ensure quality control and accuracy. (Reuters)
Vimeo has introduced three AI-powered editing features, including automatic video cropping, smart text detection and audio enhancement, to enhance the editing process for its users. (Tech Crunch)
IBM is working with All England Club to launch a new feature that leverages generative AI to produce tennis commentary for all video highlights during the Wimbledon tournament. (QZ)
AR gaming company Niantic unveiled a new in-game ads product called Rewarded AR, which lets consumers engage with branded AR experiences that unlock in-game rewards. (Marketing Dive)
TikTok added a new AI-powered tool, Script Generator, to help users create better videos by mapping out video concepts based on prompts. (Social Media Today)

Global cinema admissions will reach 7.2B in 2027, but helped by higher ticket prices, revenue will reach pre-COVID pandemic levels by 2025. (THR)
New Jersey gambling revenue reached $471M in May, showing mixed results but still up 9.4% YoY. (Yogonet)
Singapore Airlines is named the World’s Best Airline at the 2023 World Airline Awards, with Qatar Airways ranked 2nd and ANA All Nippon Airways in 3rd place. (WAA)
Avelo is expanding at Harry Reid International Airport in September with four new nonstop flights to destinations previously unserved from Las Vegas. (LVRJ)
Carrie Underwood returned to Resorts World stage for REFLECTION: The Las Vegas Residency. (Webwire)
Though attendance hasn't yet reached pre-pandemic levels, Disneyland’s 16.9M visitors in 2022 was 90% of the 18.7M that came to the park in 2019. (OC Register)
The British Columbia Lottery Corporation announced it’s going to start checking visitor IDs before allowing them on the gaming floors. (Casino.org)
"Life of Pi" will play its final Broadway performance on July 23rd, and a North American tour of the show is scheduled to launch in fall of 2024. (Deadline)