Activision Blizzard has become the first major North American video game company where workers have voted to form a union, the Game Workers Alliance. The vote, which took place over the last few weeks, passed 19 to 3, affecting 28 quality-assurance employees at the company’s Wisconsin-based Raven Software subsidiary, which works on “Call of Duty” game development. Results were tabulated by the National Labor Relations Board on Monday. Activision has a week to lodge formal objections. The Communications Workers of America says it hopes the development “serves as inspiration for the growing movement of workers organizing at video game studios.” Continue reading Unions a Gaming Hot Button as Activision Blizzard Organizes

Los Angeles-based avatar technology firm Genies Inc. has secured Bob Iger as an investor and board member, a coup for the five-year-old startup, which crafts celebrity avatars and also allows people to create their own avatars, fashion, worlds and experiences. The move into the metaverse is Iger’s first entertainment play since exiting Disney in December after 15 years as CEO. Genies says Iger will help “navigate its mission to empower humans to create their own avatar ecosystems” in Web3 — including avatars, fashion lines, immersive experiences and virtual worlds.  Continue reading Bob Iger’s Act 2: Into the Metaverse with Avatar Firm Genies

Moving back toward an onsite experience, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) hybrid format for CES 2022 opened to an anticipated reduced audience compared to previous years but continued its showcase of insightful and exciting product revelations and keynote addresses. With its own hybrid makeup, the ETC@USC team’s boots on the ground in Las Vegas and remote reporting in Los Angeles identified and covered four specific areas of activities — the multiverse, augmented reality, NFTs and artificial intelligence – as well as other CES tech trends, products, keynotes and highlights. ETC’s CES 2022 Report is now available online. Continue reading ETC Releases Its CES 2022 Report: AI, AR, Multiverse, NFTs

Amazon Style, an IRL clothing store, will open in Los Angeles later this year. The 30,000-square-foot retail establishment, located in Glendale’s upscale Americana at Brand open-air mall, will feature high-tech dressing rooms from which shoppers can electronically summon items as Amazon attempts to address the “pressure points” of traditional clothes shopping. Amazon has been experimenting with physical retail since 2015 when it opened a bookstore in Seattle. In 2017 it purchased the Whole Foods grocery chain for $13.7 billion, and has since then experimented with various formats, including “grab-and-go” convenience stores. Continue reading Amazon Style Retail Clothing Store to Launch in Los Angeles

Startups enjoyed record venture capital funding last year, raising $621 billion globally and seeding several new tech hubs around the world, although Silicon Valley remains ground zero, according to research firm CB Insights. The U.S. accounted for roughly half of the funding raised globally, with stateside startups raising roughly $311 billion. Bootstrappers in Silicon Valley and New York retained the leading positions in terms of most money raised and number of deals completed, says CBI. Early-stage funding accounted for 63 percent of Philadelphia’s startup deals. Los Angeles and Dallas also grew early stage numbers, to 62 and 55 percent respectively. Continue reading Global Startups Raised $621 Billion in 2021, Breaking Record

Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-California), who serves on the House Committee on Homeland Security and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, is concerned about the potential harm of cyberattacks in her 44th district, which includes of the Port of Los Angeles. Congressman Jay Obernolte (R-California), among his other assignments, is a member of the Committee of Science, Space and Technology and two caucuses, one on 5G and another on AI.  What they both have in common are concerns about cybersecurity, topics that were addressed during a panel at CES 2022. Continue reading CES: Members of Congress Discuss Cybersecurity Concerns

ATSC president Madeleine Noland presented a “virtual tour” of NextGen TV at CES 2022, where it is again located in the Las Vegas Convention Center lobby. She revealed that, in addition to three displays showing off NextGen TV’s improved visuals, audio and interactivity, ATSC will also highlight products from Gaian Solutions, LG Electronics, Pearl TV, Samsung, Sony and Sinclair Broadcast Group. She also interviewed three executives on their NextGen launches and other activities from 2021 as well as their upcoming plans for 2022. Continue reading CES: An Update on the U.S. Rollout of ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV

Netflix has released its first slate of mobile games. Available to the global Android market, the inaugural five titles are “Stranger Things: 1984” and “Stranger Things 3: The Game,” both developed by Texas-based BonusXP; “Shooting Hoops” and “Teeter (Up)” from Vancouver-headquartered Frosty Pop; and “Card Blast,” created by England-based Amuzo in conjunction with L.A.’s Rogue Games. The titles were released Tuesday for download on Google Play, then began rolling out on the streamer’s app. Netflix is offering the games as a value-added for subscribers, without advertising or in-app solicitation. Continue reading Netflix Debuts Five Games on Android for Global Subscribers

While the arthouse cinema business has been pushed to the edge of extinction in recent years, production company and streaming platform Mubi is offering movie lovers hope. Featuring an eclectic mix of films, the monthly digital subscription service Mubi Go comes with a weekly invite for New York City members to experience a film in select theaters. Mubi expects to expand the theatrical component to Los Angeles next year, and from there to select markets throughout the U.S. Mubi Go launched in Britain in 2018 and has since teamed with more than 150 arthouses. Continue reading Art Film Streamer Mubi Debuts NYC Theater Ticket Program

Apple is expanding its Los Angeles footprint, building new regional headquarters in the northern part of Culver City. Construction is in progress on two adjacent buildings comprising more than 550,000 square feet on a lot flanked by National, Venice and Washington boulevards. Apple says the complex will house teams working on Apple TV+, Apple Music, engineering and artificial intelligence at a site near the new Ivy Station development and Metro Expo Line stop. Apple already has more than 1,500 employees working in a leased 128,000-square-foot Culver City office.  Continue reading Apple to Expand Hollywood Ambitions with Regional Campus

Apple just opened a new Apple Store in a 94-year-old former landmark movie theater in downtown Los Angeles. The company completed a lavish restoration of the 1927 Tower Theatre, located below 8th and Broadway. Hundreds of Apple fans awaited the opening and many of them met chief executive Tim Cook at the door. Other celebrities at the opening included filmmaker and actor Mark Duplass, singer and producer Finneas, and actor and comedian Paul Scheer. The previous day, historic preservationists were invited to tour the building. Continue reading Apple Unveils Downtown Los Angeles Store in Historic Cinema

Google is creating a post-pandemic workplace to appeal to employees who got used to working remotely last year and may not want to return to the office full-time. Over the next year, the company plans to try out a variety of different ways to design office spaces, based on research done before COVID-19 hit. A variety of consultants were asked to imagine the future workspace, one of which is “Team Pods,” where desks, chairs, whiteboards and storage units are all on casters and can be rearranged in numerous configurations. Continue reading Google Adopts Futuristic Hybrid Plan for Work Post-Pandemic

To the dismay of cinephiles, ArcLight Cinemas and Pacific Theatres are permanently shuttered, a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the company’s holdings is the historic Cinerama Dome on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. An IndieWire report stated that Pacific Theatres still owes $181,900 for its March 2021 rent on the Culver City ArcLight location, which could rise to $2.2 million for a full year. Parent company Decurion Corporation controlled 300+ screens in California, including 18 at the Americana at Brand mall in Glendale and 14 at The Grove in Los Angeles. Continue reading ArcLight Cinemas, Pacific Theatres to Shut Down Operations

During this month’s HPA Tech Retreat, Variety Intelligence Platform (VIP) president and chief media analyst Andrew Wallenstein presented “The Third Wave,” the second VIP report on COVID-19’s impact on the media and entertainment business. “The Third Wave” analyzed the consumption habits of 23-to-49-year-old viewers, relying on data collected by VIP and the Trailer Park Group. “Perhaps it’s no surprise,” said Wallenstein, “that every available form of media and entertainment saw increases during the pandemic … but the biggest winner was streaming.” Continue reading HPA Tech Retreat: Variety Intelligence Analyzes M&E Industry

Feature film “Songbird,” directed by Adam Mason, is a thriller based on the COVID-19 pandemic. Shot last summer in Los Angeles, the production used new camera-to-cloud technology that enabled remote participation — including live feedback — by any crew member that couldn’t be on set. Cloud-based video review company Frame.io had been working on the concept, streaming footage from connected cameras over 4G or LTE to remote crew. The company’s C2C solution launches this month. “Songbird” co-producer Max Votolato dubbed it “like having a video village in your pocket.” Continue reading New Camera-to-Cloud Technology Available for Productions