gamesindustry.biz reports: “Epic Games is disputing some of the numbers being publicized regarding its free-to-play battle royale shooter Fortnite. The company reached out to GamesIndustry.biz today with a statement questioning the methodology of Nielsen’s market intelligence firm SuperData.”
Variety reports: “Amid fears over a global economic slowdown from the widening coronavirus outbreak, companies like Netflix that provide in-home services are best positioned to withstand the storm or even see upside from the crisis, according to industry analysts.”
The Hollywood Reporter reports: “While Hollywood creators are criticized for relying on established properties, video game developers are ramping up reboots and revivals that aim to feel “familiar yet fresh.””
TechCrunch reports: “Thus far in this series we’ve outlined “multiverse” virtual worlds — a concept different from the metaverse — as the next stage of social media and what this future will look like. It begs the question though: if video games have been massively popular for many years, why hasn’t this shift to online virtual worlds as mainstream social hubs on par with Facebook and Instagram already happened?”
Gamesindustry.biz reports: “Mobile startup FunCraft has emerged from stealth as it announces a successful funding round of $1.8 million. The investment was led by Play Ventures, reports GamesBeat, with contributions from Zynga co-founder Mark Pincus, the CEOs of Gucci and Huuuge Games, plus the co-founders of Allbirds, Harry’s and Warby Parker.”
Hypebot reports: “An estimated 37.5 million people in the US will watch streaming video on Amazon-owned Twitch at least monthly in 2020, according to eMarketer.”
Variety reports: “Discovery lost viewers in the fourth quarter, saw ratings decline and increased the amount of money it invested in new businesses. And yet, fourth-quarter profit rose as the company saw revenue from advertising and distribution rise in both the U.S. and overseas.”
The Hollywood Reporter reports: “Spanish-language media giant Univision Communications, a couple of days after unveiling a deal that will see an investor group led by former Viacom CFO Wade Davis acquire a 64 percent stake in it, on Thursday said it swung to a fourth-quarter profit amid higher revenue and lower expenses.”
Deadline reports: “The ever-deepening ties between the U.S. and UK television industries were laid bare today in a chunky report by Ofcom. The British media regulator dropped a five-year study on the state of play at British public service broadcasters — namely the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and ViacomCBS’s Channel 5.”
TechCrunch reports: “TikTok is one of the hottest social media platforms but the CEO of Reddit had some harsh words for the popular app, calling it “fundamentally parasitic” at an event Wednesday.”
