Everyone in the tech industry wants your eyeballs. More specifically, a growing number of tech companies want to attract the millions who have ditched cable for services that stream live TV channels over the internet.

Hulu's flashy new service is the latest to jump into the fray, while YouTube is just coming off the launch of its YouTube TV platform. Sony, Dish Network, and AT&T, meanwhile, have been fighting it out for months now.

But since this is the TV industry in America, figuring out what's what is complicated. So to help you see which, if any, make sense for you, we've broken down the big five live-TV streaming services you can choose from today: PlayStation Vue, Sling TV, DirecTV Now, YouTube TV, and Hulu with Live TV.

Let's dig into the fine print:

SEE ALSO: Here's how the 'unlimited' plans from Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile compare

But first, a quick note on what these services are not.

As we've notedbefore, none of the existing live-TV services are solving the cord-cutter's conundrum — that is, getting the shows you want, on time, whenever and wherever you want, without paying more than you have to for channels you'll never watch.

In other words, they still look a lot like cable packages; they're just smaller cable packages, delivered over the internet, with slightly lower starting prices.

There are other issues. The on-demand selection is similar in every service, and almost exactly like what you'd get with a cable subscription. In most cases, on-demand and live content still feel stuck in separate silos. They all have gaps in channel selection. (This excellent CNET list has a full breakdown.) And most significantly, they've all had bugs and technical issues.

Today, if you're looking for cable, you should just buy cable. It's reliable.

That said, here's what you do get.

Though all of these services can have their technical hiccups, they're not unusable. All of their interfaces are clean and easy enough to navigate.

And when they work, they have value for those who can't quit the cord. They cover gaps that a hodgepodge of Netflix, Hulu, and insular streaming services can't — most notably with sports, and, well, watching popular shows as they air. Plus, they are more affordable than cable.

As more cords are cut, they should make more sense. And even if they don't take a wrecking ball to the TV industry's current power structure, they should improve. 

Sling TV

1. How much does it cost?

$20 a month for the base Sling Orange package, or $25 a month for a Sling Blue package with more channels.

For $40 a month, you can buy the Orange and Blue packages together, but the two do not totally overlap in terms of channel selection. (Hold that thought.)

From there, you can tack on a bunch of smaller specialized bundles of channels for between $5 and $15 a month per bundle. There are way too many to list here, so you should have a look at Sling’s service page.

2. How many channels does it have?

Sling Orange has 30 channels. Sling Blue has a little more than 40 channels depending on where you live, but its lineup doesn't include everything in Sling Orange.

The add-on bundles can incorporate a few dozen more channels, but those vary wildly in terms of popularity. The likes of MTV, Starz, and Showtime are very much popular; other networks, like the Outdoor Channel, are more niche. 

3. Which major channels are not included?

CBS is absent. ABC is there, but only for some markets; it also costs an extra $5 a month. For the kids, there's no main Nickelodeon channel.

Also, while Sling does carry Fox and NBC, they're only included in the Sling Blue package. And again, they aren't available in every market. Check that you're covered before you buy.

When you're as talented and in-demand an actor as Pablo Schreiber, you can afford to be picky about the roles you choose to take.

The Emmy winner for "Orange Is the New Black" stars in at least five upcoming films, so taking on the role of Mad Sweeney on Starz's "American Gods" really had to make sense for him. In fact, he turned down an audition for the role originally.

"During pilot season, they were given a straight-to-series order, so I got sent the pilot script and they asked if I would audition for it," Schreiber told Business Insider when we met him in New York City recently. "I think my agent said, 'No, he's not going to audition, but you can offer it to him.' But they wanted to see the actors, because it's such a wild character they wanted to see it on tape."

The role of Mad Sweeney then went to Sean Harris, a British actor who stars in the "Mission Impossible" movie franchise and previously, the Showtime series, "The Borgias." But after a week of filming on "American Gods," Harris left the production last year for "personal reasons."

"Whatever happened happened and they came back and said we'd like you to do it and then they offered," Schreiber said. "[Executive producers Bryan Fuller and Michael Green] sent me six of the first scripts and I got a sense of the arc and where the character was going. They talked to me a lot about their plans for using Mad Sweeney in the story and how he was gonna be used to drive the plot, which was important for me. And I'm 6-5, so I don't know if I'll get asked to play a leprechaun again, so I said yeah."

"American Gods," which is alreadyrenewed for a second season and airs Sundays, is adapted from Neil Gaiman's popular 2001 novel of the same name.

The show tells the story of Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle), an ex-convict who meets Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane), who hires Shadow as his bodyguard. Shadow accompanies McShane's mysterious character on a cross-country journey to recruit the multicultural gods of history who were brought to the US by immigrants for a war with the new gods created out of our modern worship of technology, media, drugs, and celebrity, among other things.

Mad Sweeney, a leprechaun brought over to America with Irish immigrants, has since become a grifter who yearns for the times in which his lucky charm was sought after.

With the offer in hand for Mad Sweeney and without having to do an audition, Schreiber had one more request of the show's producers before taking the role. He wanted to make sure he would look right in the role.

"My character is described as being a massive man who also calls himself a leprechaun and as having bright red, fire engine red hair. So those are things we just weren't gonna turn our back on," he said. "So the wig and the beard were very important to nail. Part of saying yes I would do it was first I had them fly me out to Toronto to do a hair and makeup test to make sure that we could come up with something that looked good and that we were all happy with."

That wasn't the easiest of jobs. Since the production was already in full swing, they tried to use the previous actor's wig on Schreiber, but that wasn't going to pass muster.

"Wigs are really specific to people. It's important," said Schreiber. "So they tried it on me and it wasn't working very well, so they changed it to fit my head. But really it kind of took off and really started to look like something after I said, 'Hey, let's cut the sides out and make it a mohawk.' So we did that and I think, for them, the character started to come to life. So, I went to Toronto and did the hair and make-up test, then the offer was accepted."

Fans of the novel may be wondering why there was so much fuss to make sure all the elements were right for Mad Sweeney, a character that only appears in the novel just twice. But Schreiber has news for you.

"If you're an avid reader of the book, you know the character really well and you know those two scenes," the Canadian-born actor, whose half-brother is "Ray Donovan" star Liev Schreiber, tells us. "But as a tv series, now we get to fill in everything that happened to Mad Sweeney in between the time when you first met him and when you see him at the end. So, you're essentially taking a character that's beloved that everybody knows and you're filling in the time that's not written in between the two things. And they did that specifically with Sweeney."

SEE ALSO: 'American Gods' star explains her character's insane sex scene: 'She absolutely owns it'

DON'T MISS: 'American Gods' star Ricky Whittle describes his 'crazy' 16 auditions for the coveted role

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NOW WATCH: 7 details you might have missed in episode 1 of 'American Gods'

Everyone knows about porn’s prevalence, but few realize its true power.

While putting together my new book “The Sex Effect”— which examines hidden relationships between sex and culture — I was surprised by how many technologies have been adopted by the masses because of pornography. VCRs, ecommerce, streaming services, affiliate marketing, and the internet itself all owe a debt of gratitude to the smut peddlers who helped popularize them. Because while the military created the internet, it would not have found a solid consumer base without porn. Think of the military as the inventor and creator of a product and porn as the entrepreneur who brings the product to the masses.

“In myriad ways, large and small, the porn industry has blazed a commercial path that other industries are hastening to follow,” Frederick Lane, author of “Obscene Profits: The Entrepreneurs of Pornography in the Cyber Age,” said.

Although new technologies have usually allowed the porn industry to expand, the internet (even though porn helped popularize it) has been a double-edged sword for the porn industry. It increased porn’s prevalence and popularity, but also facilitated easily accessible free porn and user-created sexual content.

But despite many porn companies going bust over the past decade, the industry hasn’t stopped innovating. Computer-controlled sex toys, virtual reality, and sex avatars are just a few of the products that porn execs are tinkering with.

Porn’s business models have also evolved.

To combat ubiquitous free content, porn companies are creating more live and interactive experiences that require payment. This is done through selling novelty goods from shoots (like the dildo that was used during a specific sex scene), putting on education seminars (to teach couples things such as the dynamics of rope bondage), giving studio tours (live and virtual), opening strip clubs/bars/storefronts/restaurants, live web-camming with porn stars, expanding into podcasts and radio, hosting events, crowdfunding content, and creating custom porn packages in which consumers pay premiums to act as pseudo-directors in pornographic films.

Even though porn has had an outsize impact on the everyday technologies people use, it often isn’t given its due since discussion of porn in society is driven by ideology.

“If it were not for the subject matter, pornography would be publicly praised as an industry that has successfully and quickly developed, adopted, and diffused new technologies,” historian Jonathan Coopersmith wrote. “But because the subject matter was pornography, silence and embarrassment have been the standard responses.”

Although most people have used porn casually, the ones who get quoted in the news about it typically belong to two extremes — pro-porn lobbyists and anti-porn zealots hoping to sway voters to their cause. But until society looks past its steamy content and to its true significance, the actual impact of erotica will remain largely unheard.

SEE ALSO: 24 TV shows that were just canceled

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It's about that time when television networks decide which shows have to go and which get another round. The pilot shows are being reviewed, and announcements will trickle in over the next few weeks.

And while the people behind the shows are awaiting the networks' decisions, viewers are also feeling the tension. Will your favorite show head to the TV graveyard or get another year of life?

Exhale. That question has been answered for many of your favorite shows. Business Insider has compiled an exhaustive list of the shows that have already been renewed for another season and will air during the 2017-2018 TV seasons.

The following list includes all the scripted shows that the broadcast networks have ordered for another year and a selection of the most popular scripted offerings on the cable and streaming networks.

Here are your favorite shows getting another season:

SEE ALSO: 24 TV shows that were just canceled

DON'T MISS: 18 TV shows you're watching that are probably going to be canceled

"13 Reasons Why" (Netflix)

"The 100" season five (The CW)

"A Series of Unfortunate Events" season two (Netflix)

Disney/Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" lived up to its high expectations with an estimated $145 million at the domestic box office over the weekend, according to Exhibitor Relations.

That puts the movie in 6th place on the all-time opening weekends for May. It's wedged between "Spider-Man 3" ($151.1 million) and "Iron Man 2" ($128.1 million).

This marks the 15th release by Marvel Studios. Every single one has gone to number one at the domestic box office its opening weekend.

Following a $56 million take on Friday (including $17 million in Thursday preview screenings), the movie then took in an impressive $51 million on Saturday. If you subtract the Thursday preview coin that's a 30% spike over the movie's take on Friday.

It's rare that a movie's Saturday has that kind of performance after a strong Friday, so word of mouth has certainly been strong. An 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes also doesn't hurt. 

Then there's the unique fun the "Guardians" franchise has over its equally successful counterparts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Director James Gunn's sarcastic writing style and use of classic songs has built a loyal following, while characters Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Yondu (Michael Rooker), and, of course Baby Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) have evolved nicely from the hugely successful 2014 original.

All that adds up to Marvel Studios having another hit movie in a franchise that doesn't look to have a finish line anytime soon.

SEE ALSO: 100 movies on Netflix that everyone needs to watch in their lifetime

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NOW WATCH: Watch the first trailer for ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’

This week's "Saturday Night Live" took shots at the American Health Care Act, reports that President Donald Trump used to pretend to be his own spokesperson, and the recent news that "Morning Joe" hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are engaged. 

The show's cold open featured a skit starring comedians Kate McKinnon as Brzezinski and Alex Moffat as Scarborough.

It kicked off with a conversation about the Republican health care bill, which recently squeaked by with a 217-213 vote in the House and is headed to the Senate for debate. 

"I mean, it's just, it's crazy. It's crazy," McKinnon said, mimicking Brzezinski's tone and expressive body language. 

"Mika's over it," Moffat said. 

"I am. I'm ... I'm up it, I'm over it, I'm past it, I'm in the driveway, the car is running," McKinnon replied. "This party — your party, the Republican party — is completely morally bankrupt. I'm disappointed," McKinnon continued, speaking to Moffat's Scarborough.

Scarborough is a Republican while Brzezinski is a Democrat. 

"Oh, Mika, that's enough, OK," Moffat said, before turning to McKinnon. "You're being snickety because you know it pushes my buttons."

McKinnon then turned to Moffat. "Does it ... push your buttons?" she asked, while moving closer to him.

The two actors started flirting on set while McKinnon ran a hand through Moffat's hair. The display was an apparent reference to the news that Scarborough and Brzezinski became engaged and the hosts' subsequent attempt to avoid talking about their personal lives on the show. 

The skit also featured other actors playing the show's regular columnists, all of whom acted surprised and disgusted by McKinnon's and Moffat's on-air displays of affection. 

The hosts also blasted an AHCA amendment that would allow states to waive Obamacare's pre-existing conditions requirement if they meet certain criteria.

"A C-section is a pre-existing condition," McKinnon said. "And you know what's not a pre-existing condition? Erectile dysfunction," she continued.

"Well, hold on," Moffat said, appearing to get irritated. "Now, here we go, all right, Mika, you're being dramatic," he added. 

The two hosts continued engaging in suggestive behavior throughout the skit — Moffat's Scarborough called McKinnon's Brzezinski "Mika mouse" and repeatedly said, "You're being naughty" — and in front of the show's panelists, who all looked confused and uncomfortable. 

"Willie Geist, what are you seeing here?" Moffat asked, seeking panelists' thoughts on the AHCA. 

"Uh, what am I seeing here? I have no idea, I have so many unanswered questions," said Willie Geist, who was played by SNL regular Mikey Day.

The skit also featured Alec Baldwin, who played Trump's media spokesman, John Miller. John Miller is reportedly an alias that Trump himself assumed years ago when he called members of  the media to boast about his own successes.

Baldwin did not appear on screen but phoned into the show, as Miller/Trump, to talk about the AHCA's success, despite the fact that the bill had only passed the House. 

"I'm just celebrating the fantastic success we had in Congress yesterday with the new health care law," Baldwin said. "After Congress voted, we had a party. There was beer, the disaster that was Obamacare has finally been repealed," he continued, before Moffat interrupted him to say that the bill had not yet become law. 

"The bill goes through the Senate. They might even rewrite the entire thing ... if they pass it at all," Moffat said.

"But ... there was beer," Baldwin replied. He continued, "You know what, we're going to look into this. Talk to you soon. Bye-bye." 

Watch the full cold open below:

SEE ALSO: 'SNL' mocks White House infighting with an elimination round between Kushner and Bannon

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Yale history professor: Here’s why it's useful to compare Trump's actions to Hitler's

One of the highlights of this week's 'Saturday Night Live' episode was a sketch mocking White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway for her reclusiveness over the last few weeks.

The sketch featured a number of SNL regulars and spoofed the 1990s children's game show "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?" It featured a title sequence with SNL veteran Kate McKinnon as Kellyanne Conway, but dressed as Carmen Sandiego. 

"She used to be on TV and, like, every single panel," sang SNL host Chris Pine, along with a number of other cast members in an a capella group. "One day we woke up and she was no longer there. What could have happened? She's not on any channel."

The sketch then brought out two children and referred to them as "gumshoes" — or amateur detectives — much like the '90s show did. The kids were told to find Conway and that they would win a trip to Sacramento with their mom if they succeeded.

"Now, are you guys ready to find Kellyanne Conway?" asked Mikey Day, who played the show's host. 

"Well, we don't want to find her," one of the kids said, prompting laughter and applause from the audience. 

Day then feigned confusion and said, "OK, well, that's our show. "Seven weeks in a row and nobody wants to find that woman."

Conway used to be a regular and frequent guest across cable news networks during the Trump campaign and in the early days of the Trump administration.

Later, however, Conway became engulfed in a string of controversies — she once referenced the fictional "Bowling Green massacre," she coined the term "alternative facts" to refer to White House falsehoods, and her credibility was publicly questioned by both CNN and MSNBC "Morning Joe" host Mika Brzezinski.

Following her on-air blunders, there was a noticeable dip in Conway's TV appearances, and she's rarely appeared on any news networks in recent days. 

Watch the full 'SNL' sketch below:

SEE ALSO: 'Saturday Night Live' lampoons 'Morning Joe' hosts' engagement and 'Trumpcare'

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Watch the first trailer for ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’

When President Donald Trump recently told Reuters he misses driving, many were quick to doubt that he'd been behind the wheel of a car for years.

For example, Trump's longtime confidant and political adviser Roger Stone told journalist Jamie Weinstein in a recent podcast that he's never seen Trump personally drive a car in the nearly four decades that he's known him.

The comments, which followed Trump's pronouncement to Reuters that "I like to drive" and "I can't drive anymore" caught the attention of Axios reporter Jonathan Swan, who Sunday went digging to find any video evidence of Trump behind the wheel.

What he found was what could only be described, as he wrote, as "glorious."

The footage he unearthed was from 2014. It was filmed by Melania Trump from the backseat of Trump's Rolls-Royce. Trump sat in the driver's seat, with his son, Barron Trump, riding shotgun.

The family was driving, blasting Taylor Swift's 2014 hit "Blank Space."

Watch the video here:

Trump has tweeted about the pop music star twice before. In a pair of 2012 tweets, Trump thanked Swift "for the beautiful picture --- you are fantastic!" He also wrote "Glad to hear that @taylorswift13 will be co-hosting the Grammy nominations special on 12.5. Taylor is terrific!"

SEE ALSO: Trump defends Michael Flynn ahead of blockbuster Sally Yates testimony

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NOW WATCH: 'Just a loose hunch': Watch Alec Baldwin impersonate Trump and Bill O'Reilly on 'SNL'

The massive open-world of "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" is ridiculously dangerous. 

If the Moblins don't get you, the elements probably will. In fact, just existing in the parts of Hyrule, "Breath of the Wild's" massive environment, will kill you.

There are, of course, a few things you can do to help Link survive. He can wear armor, and fight back with weapons, and even drink elixirs that will come in especially useful in extreme temperatures. All helpful, no doubt, but the most helpful tool in Link's toolbox is his ability to cook.

We've already put together the 10 most useful recipes — those are right here— so today we're focusing on one recipe in particular: the most useful recipe you can cook, no matter what the situation, in "Breath of the Wild."

Amazingly, there's only one ingredient:

That's right: the mighty durian fruit!

If you've never spent any time in Asia (particularly Southeast Asia), you may be unfamiliar with the durian. It's a particularly impressive-looking fruit that's notorious for smelling rotten. Some people love it, some people hate it — it's divisive in Asia, where you're likely to see signs in the subway specifically banning it from being eaten. 

Someone at Nintendo must have a particular affinity for it, because durian is far and away the most useful ingredient in "Breath of the Wild."

Just look at what happens when you take five and cook them together:

That's no joke! 

In case it isn't clear, the result of cooking together five durian in "Breath of the Wild" is a restorative meal that also temporarily increases your heart meter by 20 hearts. There are literally no situations in this game where that isn't tremendously useful — even if you're slowly being killed by extreme heat/cold, even if you're falling from the top of a mountain, even if you're fighting Ganon. With that much health, you can withstand pretty much anything Hyrule throws at you.

Better yet, durian is incredibly easy to collect in vast quantity. I've found a super easy location for endless durian, in southern Hyrule:

If you've already found Faron Tower, simply quick-travel to it. If you've not found it, you'll need to eventually — why not go right now? 

Here's what it looks like when you get there:

The area near the tower is tropical, as is much of the southern border of Hyrule. And that's a good thing for durian hunting — the massive fruit grows in tropical climates! 

Like this plateau, for instance, right next to Faron Tower:

Indeed, those palm trees are indicative of the treasure before you — they're filled with durian. 

All you need to do is hop over to the plateau next to Faron Tower and spend a few minutes loading up Link with more spiky fruit than he knows what to do with.

From there, take the durian you've harvested and put together five in your inventory, which then gets cooked together. No add-ons, no special ingredients — just five durian simmered together in a cooking bowl over an open flame will do it.

Sometimes you'll get lucky, like I did here, and produce a meal with even greater restorative powers than usual — check it out:

That's a full recovery of all my health plus 21 extra hearts. I've been loading up my meal inventory with this dish, and it never fails to get me out of a pinch. 

Do yourself a favor and harvest a ton of durian. You may end up as the smelliest hero in Hyrule, but you're also sure to survive.

SEE ALSO: 10 need-to-know recipes for surviving in 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild'

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NOW WATCH: Nintendo’s ‘The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’ is amazing — here’s what it’s like

What is eSports? History & Rise of Video Game Tournaments

Years ago, eSports was a community of video gamers who would gather at conventions to play Counter Strike, Call of Duty, or League of Legends.

These multiplayer video game competitions would determine League of Legends champions, the greatest shooters in Call of Duty, the cream of the crop of Street Fighter players, the elite Dota 2 competitors, and more.

But today, as the history of eSports continue to unfold, media giants such as ESPN and Turner are broadcasting eSports tournaments and competitions. And in 2014, Amazon acquired Twitch, the live streaming video platform that has been and continues to be the leader in online gaming broadcasts. And YouTube also wanted to jump on the live streaming gaming community with the creation of YouTube Gaming.

eSports Market Growth Booming

To put in perspective how big eSports is becoming, a Google search for "lol" does not produce "laughing out loud" as the top result. Instead, it points to League of Legends, one of the most popular competitive games in existence. The game has spawned a worldwide community called the League of Legends Championship Series, more commonly known as LCS or LOL eSports.

What started as friends gathering in each other's homes to host LAN parties and play into the night has become an official network of pro gaming tournaments and leagues with legitimate teams, some of which are even sponsored and have international reach. Organizations such as Denial, AHQ, and MLG have multiple eSports leagues.

And to really understand the scope of all this, consider that the prize pool for the latest Dota 2 tournament was more than $20 million.

Websites even exist for eSports live scores to let people track the competitions in real time if they are unable to watch. There are even fantasy eSports leagues similar to fantasy football, along with the large and growing scene of eSports betting and gambling.

So it's understandable why traditional media companies would want to capitalize on this growing trend just before it floods into the mainstream. Approximately 300 million people worldwide tune in to eSports today, and that number is growing rapidly. By 2020, that number will be closer to 500 million.

eSports Industry Analysis - The Future of the Competitive Gaming Market

Financial institutions are starting to take notice. Goldman Sachs valued eSports at $500 million in 2016 and expects the market will grow at 22% annually compounded over the next three years into a more than $1 billion opportunity.

And industry statistics are already backing this valuation and demonstrating the potential for massive earnings. To illustrate the market value, market growth, and potential earnings for eSports, consider Swedish media company Modern Times Group's $87 million acquisition of Turtle Entertainment, the holding company for ESL. YouTube has made its biggest eSports investment to date by signing a multiyear broadcasting deal with Faceit to stream the latter's Esports Championship Series. And the NBA will launch its own eSports league in 2018.

Of course, as with any growing phenomenon, the question becomes: How do advertisers capitalize? This is especially tricky for eSports because of its audience demographics, which is young, passionate, male-dominated, and digital-first. They live online and on social media, are avid ad-blockers, and don't watch traditional TV or respond to conventional advertising.

So what will the future of eSports look like? How high can it climb? Could it reach the mainstream popularity of baseball or football? How will advertisers be able to reach an audience that does its best to shield itself from advertising?

Robert Elder, research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled an unparalleled report on the eSports ecosystem that dissects the growing market for competitive gaming. This comprehensive, industry-defining report contains more than 30 charts and figures that forecast audience growth, average revenue per user, and revenue growth.

Companies and organizations mentioned in the report include: NFL, NBA, English Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, NHL, Paris Saint-Germain, Ligue 1, Ligue de Football, Twitch, Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, ESPN, Electronic Arts, EA Sports, Valve, Riot Games, Activision Blizzard, ESL, Turtle Entertainment, Dreamhack, Modern Times Group, Turner Broadcasting, TBS Network, Vivendi, Canal Plus, Dailymotion, Disney, BAMTech, Intel, Coca Cola, Red Bull, HTC, Mikonet

Here are some eSports industry facts and statistics from the report:

• eSports is a still nascent industry filled with commercial opportunity.
• There are a variety of revenue streams that companies can tap into.
• The market is presently undervalued and has significant room to grow.
• The dynamism of this market distinguishes it from traditional sports.
• The audience is high-value and global, and its numbers are rising.
• Brands can prosper in eSports by following the appropriate game plan.
• Game publishers approach their Esport ecosystems in different ways.  
• Successful esport games are comprised of the same basic ingredients.
• Digital streaming platforms are spearheading the popularity of eSports.
• Legacy media are investing into eSports, and seeing encouraging results.
• Traditional sports franchises have a clear opportunity to seize in eSports.
• Virtual and augmented reality firms also stand to benefit from eSports.  

In full, the report illuminates the business of eSports from four angles:

• The gaming nucleus of eSports, including an overview of popular esport genres and games; the influence of game publishers, and the spectrum of strategies they adopt toward their respective esport scenes; the role of eSports event producers and the tournaments they operate.
• The eSports audience profile, its size, global reach, and demographic, psychographic, and behavioral attributes; the underlying factors driving its growth; why they are an attractive target for brands and broadcasters; and the significant audience and commercial crossover with traditional sports.
• eSports media broadcasters, including digital avant-garde like Twitch and YouTube, newer digital entrants like Facebook and traditional media outlets like Turner’s TBS Network, ESPN, and Canal Plus; their strategies and successes in this space; and the virtual reality opportunity.
• eSports market economics, with a market sizing, growth forecasts, and regional analyses; an evaluation of the eSports spectacle and its revenue generators, some of which are idiosyncratic to this industry; strategic planning for brand marketers, with case studies; and an exploration of the infinite dynamism and immense potential of the eSports economy.

Interested in getting the full report? Here are two ways to access it:

1. Subscribe to an All-Access pass to BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and over 100 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
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The Netflix series "13 Reasons Why" follows high-school student Clay Jensen and his late classmate Hannah Baker, who killed herself. She left behind cassette tapes laying out 13 reasons she said she took her own life. Each tape is made for someone who she said was responsible for her suicide in some way. Each episode focuses on one of the tapes.

Netflix released all the episodes of the show on March 31, and this past weekend, Netflix announced that the show would return for season two in 2018.

The show has gotten a lot of attention — not all of it positive. It's now facing major controversy.

Many mental-health experts, concerned parents, and teachers are saying it glorifies suicide and could be a dangerous lesson for teens who could be going through the same things as Hannah.

Here's how the Netflix show "13 Reasons Why" became a hit among teens and why experts are calling it "harmful":

SEE ALSO: 100 movies on Netflix that everyone needs to watch in their lifetime

The show is based on the 2007 novel "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher.

It got so popular so fast that it's getting a second season.

The show is about a teenager, Hannah Baker, who kills herself.

Before taking her own life, she leaves audiotapes for people she holds responsible. The tapes are an act of revenge and a partial justification of her fatal act. 

It's common practice for high-end condo buildings to tout all kinds of amenities to attract buyers. But 443 Greenwich, a luxury building in the Tribeca neighborhood of New York, claims to have an entirely different perk: it's apparently "paparazzi-proof." 

While the building's management can't comment on the identity of its residents, it has been reported that the building's "paparazzi-proof" architectural features — such as its lower-level parking and interior courtyard garden — have proved attractive to high-end clients who value their privacy.

Most recently, singer Harry Styles is said to have purchased a $8.71 million condo in the building, joining rumored neighbors Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel. Other big names like Jennifer Lawrence, Ryan Reynolds, and Blake Lively have reportedly looked into buying property there. Earlier this year, actor Mike Myers purchased a $14.65 million loft in the building, but just a week later, he put it back on the market. It later sold for $14 million.

As for the eight penthouses, one is still available for $55 million. Prices for the available lofts range from $3.9 million to $14.5 million.

Ahead, take a look inside one of the building's gorgeous four-bedroom condos.  

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Built in 1882, the 443 Greenwich building was originally a book bindery. Today, it's a landmarked building with 53 residential condominiums, including eight penthouses.

Calling itself "paparazzi-proof," the building's privacy has been a big draw for celebrity buyers. Jennifer Lawrence considered a space here, and actor Mike Myers reportedly purchased — then put back on the market — a $14.65 million condo in January.

Source: Curbed

One of the building's major privacy-geared benefits is its lower-level lobby and parking space, guarded by wrought-iron gates. The building has on-site valet parking.

The show introduced viewers to a few more gods, and there were some hints about their past if you paid close attention. Do you know why there was a bear on the wall at Zorya's apartment? Here's a look at everything you might have missed the first time around.

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Three years ago, "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" dedicated an episode to net neutrality. At the time, the Federal Communications Commission was looking to regulate a free and open internet.

The FCC's site crashed thanks to the flood of comments it got after that episode aired.

Oliver was back at it again on Sunday night, raising awareness about the FCC's latest attempt at messing with web access.

President Donald Trump's White House has announced plans to roll back net-neutrality rules.

It's currently illegal for internet service providers to manipulate the choices we make online — like slowing access to Google but speeding up Bing for web searches, or making Netflix streaming slower so your viewing experience is intolerable. The rules level the playing field.

But Oliver points out that the new, Trump-appointed head of the FCC, Ajit Pai, may change all of that.

Oliver says that despite Pai's public persona as a lovable nerd who drinks out of a gigantic Reese's mug, his background should concern you.

"He's a former lawyer for Verizon," Oliver said.

That's a big red flag for people who are concerned about net neutrality — not only because he used to work for a major ISP, but because it happens to be the one that successfully took the FCC to court in 2014 to change laws and regulations around net neutrality, now known as Title II.

"It's deeply disingenuous because he has to know that Verizon, his ex-employer, won a lawsuit that meant if the FCC wanted strong enforceable protection, its only real option was to reclassify the ISPs," Oliver said. "Yet he cheerily insists under questioning that there was just no evidence that cable companies were engaging in rampant wrongdoing."

But Oliver said that in 2013, Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile blocked Google Wallet from their phones because it competed with the companies' mobile-payment app, called Isis (yes, really).

Pai's idea for how ISPs should abide by net neutrality? He has floated the idea that ISPs could "voluntarily agree" not to obstruct or slow web access for consumers by putting that in their terms of service.

"You know, the thing that no human being has ever read and can change whenever companies want them to," Oliver said. "That idea would basically make net neutrality as binding as a proposal on 'The Bachelor.'

"The fact is Title II is the most solid legal foundation we have right now for strong enforceable net neutrality protections," Oliver said.

The late-night host has once more asked his audience to flood the FCC with complaints demanding it not change net-neutrality rules.

Watch the "Last Week Tonight" segment:

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As you’ve probably heard, the House of Representatives recently passed a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare (also known as the Affordable Care Act) with the American Health Care Act (AHCA).

The ACHA could take away protections that Obamacare had in place for Americans with preexisting conditions, which could make health care less affordable for those who need it most. On Sunday's "Last Week Tonight," host John Oliver had strong words about the bill.

"Yes, they took a bad thing, and managed to make it even worse," Oliver said on his HBO show. "It's like watching Mariah Carey’s ‘Glitter' and saying, 'You know what this needs? Jar Jar Binks.'"

The host also mocked one congressman who asked a reporter to explain part of the bill, which he had not read in full.

"Okay. I can explain that to you right now," Oliver said. "This bill could cause many of your constituents to get thrown into an individual marketplace they cannot afford, and when they realize that, they are going to be furious with you. Essentially: You f---ed up."

Oliver closed the segment by encouraging viewers to take action.

"It is dangerous to assume that this bill will die on its own. Your Senators are incredibly important right now and they're going to recess soon, so you need to let them know how you feel about this," he said. "Call your Senators. Call. Your. Senators."

You can watch the segment below:

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If you stand outside just about any Broadway show in New York City, you'll see a few cheerful people in bright red "TodayTix" t-shirts handing out tickets to theatergoers as they walk inside.

For the past three years, TodayTix has sold tickets to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows through its mobile app. Rather than delivering the tickets digitally, the New York-based startup's concierges hand-deliver them to buyers outside of shows before they walk in.

While TodayTix has yet to disclose any of its financials, CEO and cofounder Merritt Baer recently told Business Insider that the app has sold $100 million in tickets to date. And on Monday, TodayTix unveiled a complete redesign of its app and branding to help fuel its expansion in the U.S. and internationally.

“We had taken a lot of time as a company being a product, being a utility to buy tickets for Broadway shows,” Baer said, noting that TodayTix "now wants to be a consumer brand around theater and arts culture."

Tapping into a $50 billion market

The new TodayTix app makes it easier to browse shows on and off Broadway in New York City as well as the 9 other cities the startup operates in. Shows can now be purchased up to 30 days in advance, and curated lists such as Broadway shows with Tony nominations are available to browse. The new TodayTix branding, which will be featured in a new ad campaign and on its iconic red concierge t-shirts, showcases Broadway actors from well-known shows like "Hamilton' and "Significant Other."

“Our look and feel felt like we were just trying to be a theater ticket app, and not actually trying to help people discover or get enthusiastic or be inspired by theater," Baer said.

With 60 employees, TodayTix has raised $16 million in VC funding to date. The startup isn't yet profitable, according to Baer, but he sees the app eventually becoming the Fandango of ticketing for the roughly $50 billion theater market.

“Some people don’t see the scale of the opportunity," he said. “Wherever there’s theater you want to see, we’ll have it."

SEE ALSO: How two former Broadway producers created an app that solves the biggest annoyance with buying theater tickets

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Thirty-five years after Ridley Scott's dazzling adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novel hit the big screen and became a sci-fi classic, a "Blade Runner" sequel is coming this fall, and its first official trailer is now here. 

Ryan Gosling plays the new Blade Runner, Officer K, with Harrison Ford returning as the one from three decades ago, Rick Deckard. The futuristic Los Angeles is brought to life this time by "Arrival" director Denis Villeneuve and legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins (the two worked previously on "Prisoners" and "Sicario").

The trailer has a familiar synthesized score that pays homage to the original movie, and the visuals look to be as lush as anything Deakins has done (and that's saying something).

Watch the trailer below. The movie opens in theaters October 6.

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The sequel to Ridley Scott's popular 1982 sci-fi film is finally here. Harrison Ford returns and Ryan Gosling joins the cast as a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K. The film is set 30 years after the original. According to the IMDB summary, Officer K "unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard, a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years."

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Since 2011, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has sat on Facebook’s board, and as Facebook’s plans to fund TV-style shows take form, many are naturally curious what ideas Hastings shares with Mark Zuckerberg — and whether Netflix and Facebook will ever be seen as head-to-head competitors.

In the past few months, as Zuckerberg has articulated Facebook’s new approach to premium video, one thing has become clear: The pair share an important belief about the future of high-quality digital video. Both Hastings and Zuckerberg appear committed to the idea that, with global digital scale, TV-quality shows can be sustained primarily by a single big revenue stream. For Netflix, that stream is subscription revenue, with ads completely cut out of the equation. For Facebook, it’s advertising.

That's significant because it goes against the broad wisdom of the pay-TV industry, which uses both subscriptions and advertising dollars to prop itself up. It also stands in contrast to some digital competitors like Hulu, who are trying to replicate a model similar to pay-TV in the digital realm.

Facebook TV

Right now, Facebook is busy readying its first slate of TV-like shows, which the social media behemoth wants to unveil in mid-June. And while Facebook is putting up cash this time around, the company's executives have been explicit that in the long run, Facebook wants its premium video ecosystem to be entirely sustained by advertising revenue.

“The goal is going to be creating some anchor content initially that helps people learn that … the video tab [is] a great destination where they can explore, and come to Facebook with the intent to watch the videos that they want,” Zuckerberg said during Facebook’s last earnings call with investors. “And then the long-term goal is actually not to be paying for specific content like that, but doing a revenue share model once the whole economy around video on Facebook is built up.”

Facebook thinks that it can make its advertising offering compelling enough that media companies will make TV-quality video for its platform without being paid directly by Facebook to do so. Facebook will simply have to split the ad revenue with them.

There is evidence that YouTube thinks its advertising products will be able to support that level of shows as well. On Thursday, YouTube announced that it would fund half a dozen new shows, anchored by big-name celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres, Kevin Hart, and Katy Perry. Significantly, YouTube is going to have these shows run on its main, advertising-supported service, and not on its $9.99-a-month subscription service, YouTube Red.

"Five years ago, 85% of all original series were ad-supported," Robert Kyncl, YouTube's business chief, said at an the event on Thursday. "This year, that number has fallen to just over two-thirds. And with significantly more content coming to subscription services, that shift is accelerating. So we see these shows as a way for us to partner with [advertisers] to buck this trend."

For both Facebook and YouTube, the coming months will be a test to see whether that thesis is correct, and a premium set of shows can lure a premium set of advertisers.

Forever ad-free

Netflix has taken the complete opposite route, and has remained committed to keeping advertising off its service.

“No advertising coming onto Netflix. Period,” Hastings wrote on Facebook in 2015, in response to reports that Netflix was testing ads. “Just adding relevant cool trailers for other Netflix content you are likely to love.” The company has given no indication that its thinking has changed since then.

But as Netflix has introduced more and more original shows, and its spending on content has ballooned to $6 billion, some have questioned whether Netflix will eventually have to introduce some sort of advertising. Still, Netflix’s thesis seems to be that it can continue to grow its user base to offset those costs, and that the potential reach of the digital realm will let the company climb to sustainability.

That said, with Netflix predicting its negative free cash flow will be $2 billion in 2016, and that it will continue to burn cash for “many years,” that is a thesis that may not be completely tested for awhile.

TV, but online

It’s not a sure thing for either Netflix or Facebook that standing on one major revenue leg will be able to sustain the kinds of shows you’d see on cable TV. (Netflix could diversify beyond subscriptions and into things like merchandise, without having to get into advertising, but subscriptions will likely remain the major pillar.)

Other companies looking to disrupt TV are going the more traditional pay-TV route, with a combination of advertising and subscription.

It’s not surprising that Hulu, which is owned by big TV companies, is trying to keep that business model intact. The ad load might be lower than cable, but Hulu is still firmly in the dual revenue camp. And those betting on new online “skinny bundles,” which are essentially cable packages delivered over the internet, are also hoping the subscription-ad combo can make it across the digital divide. That includes services like Sling TV, DirecTV Now, YouTube TV, Sony’s Vue, and many more to come.

It’s good to note that everyone could be right.

Advertising alone could let Facebook and YouTube support TV-quality shows, while Netflix and other streaming services could rely on only subscriptions, or some combination of subscriptions and ads. Or they could be wrong, and the Golden Age of TV could falter as the digital business models fail to recreate the huge budgets that powered a whopping 455 scripted shows in 2016.

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Warning: Mild spoilers for the movie below.

Director Ridley Scott kept us in suspense with his last "Alien" movie, 2012's "Prometheus," with an ending that saw sole survivor Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Repace) flying away from the distant moon she and her crew thought would have answers about the creators of humanity, only to find a species that wanted to destroy them.

With the bodiless android David (Michael Fassbender) as her guide, Shaw set out to find why the beings she calls "Engineers" want to end the human race.

"Alien: Convenant" (opening in theaters May 19) picks up the story 10 years later. No one has heard from Shaw and we are now following the crew of Covenant as they travel to a remote planet to colonize it. But after getting a faint broadcast from what may be a human on a planet that seems to be perfect to colonize and is conveniently closer than the one they were originally planning to go to, they change course.

And if you've ever seen any of the "Alien" movies, you know anything too good to be true is just that.

Michael Fassbender plays the android on Covenant, Walter, and accompanies Daniels (Katherine Waterston), Oram (Billy Crudup), and Faris (Amy Seimetz) as they land on the planet in search of the "ghost" who sent the transmission. Like in "Prometheus" (well, pretty much every "Alien" movie), someone does something stupid to begin the domino effect that leads to an alien bursting out of someone's body and terrorizing the rest of the crew.

Scott has pretty much mastered the execution of building suspense in the sci-fi thriller genre, and the first half-hour of "Alien: Covenant" is some of the best work in the franchise.

But the movie hits a speed bump when David (Fassbender) comes out of nowhere to save the group on the planet from aliens. Yes, we get some needed answers about what was left unexplained at the end of "Prometheus," but I have to admit, they're kind of a letdown.

And then there are the strange interactions between David and Walter that fill up a lot of the middle of the movie. That's right — Fassbender talking to Fassbender (in fact, at one point they kiss).

David has always taken his fascination with the human race a little too far, as we saw in "Prometheus," and this movie shows he's moved from an obsession with how humans operate to having a god complex and doing some creature building of his own. (You can thank David for the legendary pods from the first "Alien" movie.)

Back up on the Covenant, Danny McBride's Tennessee character is the movie's secret weapon. Showing some impressive dramatic chops and heroic moves, Tennessee is the character you assume will be the first to die, and you will be pleasantly shocked how things turn out for him.

There are a few surprising moments in the movie that are best not to mention for ultimate viewing enjoyment, but if you were hoping for some finality to this prequel portion of the "Alien" franchise, you don't get that here. Seeing as how Scott has a few more "Alien" movies coming down the pike, with this one you get some great thrills, but you're pretty much strung along, which is extremely frustrating.

One major tip: Before going to see the movie, definitely check out the teaser videos 20th Century Fox has released on the web in the last few months. The "Last Supper" and "The Crossing" prologues will really bring some clarity to a few plot points in the movie.

Though the thrills in "Alien: Covenant" live up to the franchise, and Waterston gives a worthy, badass performance in the vein of Sigourney Weaver in the early movies, it would have been nice to see Scott stray from beats similar to the "Prometheus" plot (not to mention other "Alien" movies).

I guess there's always the next "Alien" movie.

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