Weekly Roundup – August 19th, 2025

"Disney’s ESPN and Fox Corp. are teaming up to offer their upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming services as a bundle, the companies said Monday.
The move comes as media companies look to nab more consumers for their streaming alternatives, and draw them in with sports, in particular.
Last week, both companies announced additional details about the new streaming options. ESPN’s streaming service — which has the same name as the TV network — and Fox’s Fox One will each launch on Aug. 21, ahead of the college football and NFL seasons.
The bundled apps, however, will be available beginning Oct. 2 for $39.99 per month. Separately, ESPN and Fox One will cost $29.99 and $19.99 a month, respectively."

"For two decades, news and progressive opinion on the cable dial has been defined by five capital letters: MSNBC. By the end of this year, a couple of those letters are changing.
As part of a corporate spinoff from Comcast, MSNBC is changing its name to My Source News Opinion World, or MS NOW, for short. The name is meant to reflect the channel’s mission to provide “breaking news and best-in-class opinion journalism,” Rebecca Kutler, MSNBC’s president, said in a memo to employees on Monday.
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MSNBC’s original name is a throwback to MSN, the internet service that Microsoft developed in the 1990s. In 1996, as the business world was frothing over the possibilities for infusing traditional TV businesses with the internet, Microsoft and NBC created MSNBC as part of a joint cable and online venture. Executives had considered changing the name of its website after NBC’s break with Microsoft, but the name persisted.
Ms. Kutler said in her memo that the rebrand would not change MSNBC’s core identity or its editorial focus, adding that the network would mount a major marketing campaign to promote the rebrand."

"Like every other technological advancement that has preceded it, artificial intelligence has caused some panic — and fascination — over how it might transform the music industry. Its practical uses run the gamut from helping human artists restore audio quality (like the surviving members of The Beatles did with John Lennon's old vocal demos on the Grammy-winning track "Now and Then") to full-blown deception à la The Velvet Sundown.
Spotify is the most popular streaming service globally, with 696 million users in more than 180 markets. In podcasts and interviews, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has spoken about his optimism that AI will allow Spotify's algorithm to better match listeners with what they're looking for, ideally delivering "that magical thing that you didn't even know that you liked — better than you can do yourself," as he told The New York Post in May. (In 2023, Spotify rolled out an AI DJ that provides a mix of recommendations and commentary. The platform also has an AI tool for translating podcasts into different languages.)
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Ek has also made it clear that AI should help human creators, not replace them. But unlike other tech giants — including YouTube, Meta and TikTok — Spotify is not currently taking steps to label AI-generated content. So why doesn't the world's largest streaming service alert users if what they're listening to was generated through AI? And what issues does that raise for both artists and their fans?"

"Latinos are facing significant everyday economic challenges, and are looking for relief in the places they feel the squeeze the most, from groceries to healthcare. They’re losing faith in Trump as a good businessman and in his ability to handle the economy. And they favor increasing taxes for billionaires and big corporations over cutting social programs as a way to offset spending – precisely the opposite of the Trump administration’s approach. But many maintain a “wait-and-see” posture: while Democrats gained trust on economic issues following the inauguration, there is a rising cynicism toward both major parties among swing Latino voters."

"After two decades of sharing more online, it looks like we've decided to share less. New polling shows that nearly a third of all social media users post less than they did a year ago. That trend is especially true for adults in Gen Z.
In a recent essay for the New Yorker, writer Kyle Chayka suggested that society might be headed towards what he calls "posting zero": a point where regular people feel that it's not worth it to share their lives online.
I've noticed this downward trend in my own social feeds. For every picture of a friend's vacation or of a colleague's children, there seem to be dozens (if not hundreds) of posts from brands and influencers promoting a new product or discussing the latest trend.
Social media used to feel like an imperfect facsimile of my social life – but now, it feels more like "content"."