Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial began Monday. The 79-year-old actor and comedian is facing charges of aggravated indecent assault for an alleged incident involving a former Temple University employee.

That employee, Andrea Constand, said that Cosby gave her quaaludes, a type of sedative, and sexually assaulted her more than a decade ago.

She is one of dozens of women who have claimed that they were drugged and assaulted by the comedian.

Constand filed a civil suit against Cosby years ago, and later a damning deposition from that suit was made public.

In that deposition from 2005, Cosby answered "yes" to the following question:

"When you got the Quaaludes was it in your mind that you were going to use these Quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?"

After Constand filed her lawsuit that produced the deposition, she claimed that she could produce more than a dozen other women with similar stories. But that suit was settled in 2006, and Cosby's reputation remained intact — until a few years ago.

That's when another comedian, Hannibal Buress, suggested that Cosby was a hypocrite for telling African-Americans how to behave.

"Pull your pants up, black people! I was on TV in the '80s. I can talk down to you 'cause I had a successful sitcom," Buress said, sarcastically. He continued, imitating Cosby, "I don't curse on stage."

"Well, yeah, you're a rapist," Buress said to the audience.

The taped set went viral, spurring more women to come forward. The renewed attention ultimately led The Associated Press to compel the release of the court deposition from 2005.

Cosby has maintained his innocence even as more and more women have come forward to accuse him of rape.

The accusations have common threads, painting a picture of a man who allegedly used his power and influence in the entertainment industry to seek out vulnerable young women and lure them in with the promise of mentorship.

Some have said that they felt discouraged from going public because of Cosby's fame, power, and reputation as "America's dad."

Even before Cosby was criminally charged, the accusations hurt his career. Cosby's agency, Creative Artists Agency, quietly dumped him in late 2015.

TV networks yanked reruns of "The Cosby Show," and Disney took down a statue of the comedian at Hollywood Studios. In 2015, Inside Higher Ed reported that a dozen colleges had revoked his honorary degree.

Here's an overview of some of the more high-profile women who have made allegations against Cosby, starting with the one whose case resulted in criminal charges.

Andrea Constand

Constand alleges that Cosby sexually assaulted her in his Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, home in 2004.

She went to police with the allegations, but a previous district attorney ruled that there wasn't enough evidence to charge Cosby. The district attorney on the case told the Daily Mail that at the time he thought Cosby was probably guilty, and he wanted to arrest him, but he didn't have sufficient proof of the alleged assault.

There wasn't any physical evidence for the case because Constand waited a year before going to police.

After police declined to charge him, she filed a civil suit and lined up 13 other women as supporting witnesses who had stories about Cosby similar to hers. She settled the lawsuit in 2006 for an undisclosed amount.

Constand used to work for the women's basketball program at Temple University, Cosby's alma mater. She said she met Cosby in 2002 and saw him as a mentor. He invited her for dinners at his house, she told the Daily Mail.

She claimed in court documents that in 2004 she went to Cosby's house for a visit at his request. He reportedly told her that he wanted to help her pursue a new career. When Constand talked about being stressed, he allegedly gave her three blue pills that he said were an "herbal medication" to help her relax.

Constand said she then began to feel shaky, weak, and dizzy. She said she told Cosby that she wasn't feeling well, and he led her to a sofa where he laid her down. Constand was allegedly so impaired that she couldn't walk on her own.

She said Cosby then positioned himself behind her on the sofa and began touching her inappropriately. He then allegedly sexually assaulted her. Constand claimed she was barely conscious throughout the alleged attack.

Constand woke up at about 4 a.m. with her clothes and underwear in disarray, according to the lawsuit. Cosby allegedly greeted her in his bathrobe before she left his house.

Tamara Green

Green, a lawyer who lives in California, was the only named supporting witness in Constand's suit.

When Green heard that the district attorney thought that Constand's story was weak and that she didn't come forward quickly enough, she decided to step forward and tell her story.

She claimed that Cosby assaulted her in the 1970s. Green told Newsweek she met Cosby through a friend when she was 19 and modeling in Los Angeles.

Green said she met Cosby for a business lunch one day while she had the flu. He allegedly gave her pills he said were cold medicine.

Green told the "Today" show in 2005 that she was "face down on the table of the restaurant" about 30 minutes after taking the pills. Cosby allegedly offered to take her home. Once they were at Green's apartment, he allegedly undressed her and assaulted her in her bed.

Eventually, Green said, she started throwing things. Cosby left her apartment after leaving two $100 bills on her coffee table, according to Green.

She never reported the alleged assault to the police because, as she said in the Newsweek interview, "it never works out [for the victim], unless you're bleeding and there's DNA and an eyewitness. I was 19 and he was the king of the world ... Nobody would've believed me."

Green told the news magazine that coming forward with the allegations essentially ended her career as a lawyer.

Barbara Bowman

Bowman, another witness in Constand's lawsuit, came forward and identified herself in 2006 in interviews with Philadelphia news outlets. She later wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post in light of the viral comedy video that called Cosby a rapist.

Bowman said she met Cosby in 1985 when she was a 17-year-old aspiring actress. He became a father figure and mentor to her, she said.

She claimed that Cosby drugged and raped her several times during the two years they knew each other. Bowman told the Daily Mail that he flew her all over the country and invited her to attend events with him to "see if [she] was worth mentoring and grooming" for an acting career.

Bowman said in the Daily Mail interview that Cosby brainwashed her and befriended her mother to gain her trust. He eventually started giving her drugs and raping her, Bowman alleged. She said she continued to see him because he was a useful mentor while she was trying to build a career in the entertainment industry.

One time, Bowman said, she had one glass of wine at Cosby's house and then came to a while later slumped over a toilet throwing up while wearing a man's T-shirt. She told the Daily Mail that he was wearing a robe as he was helping her after she regained consciousness.

The last incident happened in Atlantic City, she said. She wrote in The Post op-ed that she fought him when he tried to pin her to his bed, and he called her a "baby" and sent her home.

Beth Ferrier

Ferrier met Cosby in 1984 while she was working as a young model in New York, according to Philadelphia Magazine. She was another unnamed witness in the Constand lawsuit.

She came forward with her story in the Philadelphia Daily News in 2005 after the suit was filed but before it was settled.

Her relationship with Cosby started as a consensual affair, she told the Daily News. She said in 2005 that the affair lasted about six months, but she told People magazine in 2006 that it was an on-and-off affair that lasted several years. Ferrier claimed that at one point after they decided to end the affair, Cosby drugged and assaulted her when she went to see him perform in Denver.

Cosby allegedly gave Ferrier her "favorite coffee" that he made to relax her. After she drank it, she said, she started to feel woozy. She allegedly woke up in the back seat of her car several hours later with her clothes disheveled.

When she confronted him at his hotel later, he allegedly told her she had too much to drink.

Ferrier told People magazine in 2006 that she had recently lost her father when she met Cosby and was "very vulnerable." Cosby was a mentor and father figure to her, she said.

Joan Tarshis

In 2014, Hollywood Elsewhere published accusations from Tarshis, a former actress who said Cosby raped her in 1969. She decided to come forward after seeing renewed media attention on the Cosby allegations.

Tarshis was 19 years old when she flew to Los Angeles to work on a monologue. Friends she was staying with reportedly knew Cosby. She said she met Cosby at a lunch and he took a liking to her.

Cosby reportedly asked Tarshis to work on some material with him one day, and he gave her a drink. Tarshis claimed that she vaguely remembers being undressed by Cosby and telling him that she had an infection so that he wouldn't have sex with her. He allegedly still sexually assaulted her.

Tarshis told Hollywood Elsewhere about one other incident that allegedly occurred in a hotel room when he invited her to an event. She said she went because she was too ashamed to tell her mother what had happened and turn down the invitation.

She never went to police with the allegations. Tarshis told Philadelphia Magazine: "What could I say? I was 19 years old. I felt, 'He's Bill Cosby. He'll lawyer himself up. I don't have a lawyer. It's going to be he said, she said, and they'll look at me like I'm crazy.' ... My reputation would have been ruined."

Tarshis also pointed out that at the time the assault allegedly happened, no other women had come forward with similar accusations.

Janice Dickinson

Dickinson, a supermodel and TV personality, is so far the most high-profile woman to publicly come forward and accuse Cosby of sexual assault.

She told Entertainment Tonight in 2014 that the alleged assault happened in 1982. Dickinson said she met Cosby at the request of her agent, who was trying to get her booked on "The Cosby Show."

Dickinson later landed in rehab for drug and alcohol abuse. She said Cosby called her while she was there, and then after she got out, he invited her to visit him while he was performing in Lake Tahoe. He allegedly told her he wanted to offer her a job and help her develop a singing career.

Dickinson claimed that after she had dinner with Cosby in Lake Tahoe, she had a glass of wine and a pill that Cosby gave her in her room.

She said the last thing she remembers before she passed out was seeing Cosby take off his patchwork robe and get on top of her.

She told ET that she never went to the police about the alleged assault because she was "embarrassed and ashamed" and "was afraid of being labeled a whore or a slut and trying to sleep my way to the top of a career that never took place."

Dickinson has previously alluded to her issues with Cosby, but hadn't publicly accused him of sexual assault before 2014. She told ET that she wanted to write about the assault in her 2002 autobiography, but was pressured by Cosby and his lawyers to remove the details of the incident.

She said the alleged assault is one of the "biggest resentments" of her life.

Therese Serignese

Serignese, a nurse in Florida, came forward last year and identified herself as another of the 13 witnesses in Constand's suit. She claimed that Cosby raped her four decades ago in Las Vegas.

Serignese told The Huffington Post that she met Cosby in 1976 when she was 19 years old.

She was in Las Vegas visiting her mother and Cosby was in town to perform at the Hilton, she told WPTV News. She said she ran into him at the hotel's gift shop while she was there with her sister looking at jewelry. He reportedly came up to her, put his arm around her, and invited her to come see his show later.

Backstage after the show, Cosby allegedly gave Serignese two white pills. She said the next thing she remembers is Cosby raping her in a bathroom.

She kept in touch with him intermittently throughout the next 20 years, she told HuffPo. There was reportedly one more sexual encounter in 1985.

Serignese also alleges that Cosby put her up in a Hilton penthouse for three weeks after the alleged rape in Las Vegas and then sent her money in 1996 after she got into a car accident.

She said she was initially reluctant to report the alleged assault because she thought no one would believe her, but she eventually came forward after hearing about Constand's allegations.

Beverly Johnson

In 2014, another high-profile woman came out to accuse Bill Cosby of drugging her: Beverly Johnson, the first black model to appear on the cover of Vogue.

Writing in Vanity Fair, Johnson said that Cosby drugged her in his home in the mid-'80s when she'd gone there to read lines for a part on "The Cosby Show." Here's what she said happened when Cosby gave her a cappuccino:

"I knew by the second sip of the drink Cosby had given me that I'd been drugged — and drugged good ... My head became woozy, my speech became slurred, and the room began to spin nonstop."

She said she began shouting at Cosby, prompting this response:

"I recall his seething anger at my tirade and then him grabbing me by my left arm hard and yanking all 110 pounds of me down a bunch of stairs as my high heels clicked and clacked on every step. I feared my neck was going to break with the force he was using to pull me down those stairs."

While she didn't allege that Cosby raped her, she did allege that Cosby physically assaulted her.

Chloe Goins

In 2015, a 25-year-old woman named Chloe Goins told the Los Angeles Police Department that Cosby had assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion when she was 18, according to CNN.

While few details of her case have been revealed, it's notable because the alleged assault took place in 2008. California has a 10-year statute of limitations on rape cases, meaning the case could lead to criminal charges, according to her lawyer, Spencer Kuvin.

"She was drugged. She doesn't know what happened, she blacked out and woke up finding Mr. Cosby over her as she was in a state of complete undress," he said, according to CNN.

"I don't want to go into details about what he was doing, and I don't believe any of these cameras can actually publish what he was doing," Kuvin told reporters.

Lili Bernard and Sammie Mays

In 2015, celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred held a press conference to announce that two more women were accusing Cosby of assaulting them: writer Sammie Mays and Lili Bernard, who guest-starred on "The Cosby Show."

Mays claimed Cosby drugged her in the late '80s when she was writing about a convention in New Orleans that Cosby attended, according to USA Today. She believes he raped her while she was unconscious.

Bernard says Cosby drugged, raped, and threatened her in the studio of the "Cosby Show" in 1992. She said she still has panic attacks.

"I stand here to take back my power and to confront the fear that has paralyzed me for so many years," Bernard reportedly said during the press conference with Allred.

While Bernard tried to have criminal charges against Cosby filed in New Jersey, a prosecutor there ultimately decided not to file any.

Others who came forward

Angela Leslie, a former model and actress, claimed in a New York Daily News report published in November 2014 that Cosby assaulted her in a hotel room more than two decades ago. She said she met him in 1990 after she sent him a letter and photo hoping to land a role in his movie "Ghost Dad."

Cosby reportedly then invited her to the set of his show. She said the alleged assault happened in a hotel suite in 1992 when Cosby asked her to audition for him. Leslie said he gave her a drink and told her to act like she was intoxicated. She didn't drink what Cosby gave her, but after she came out of the bathroom, Cosby was reportedly lying in bed with his clothes off. Leslie alleges that Cosby took her hand and had her fondle him while he was in bed.

Carla Ferrigno, who is married to the actor Lou Ferrigno, has come forward and said that she experienced an unwanted sexual advance from Cosby at a party in 1967 when she was just a teenager. She was reportedly working as a Playboy Bunny in Los Angeles when she was invited to Cosby's house. At one point in the evening, Ferrigno was alone with Cosby playing pool, she said. He then forcefully grabbed her and kissed her, she claimed.

She said:

"I had never been treated so roughly and he pulled me hard to him so hard. And then kissed me so hard, right in the mouth. No one has ever been that physically violent with me. I was stunned. I was frozen. I took all my body strength and used both of my arms to stop him and push him away from me. He was so forceful."

Kristina Ruehli, a New Hampshire woman who says she was one of the unnamed witnesses in the Constand suit, told Philadelphia Magazine that Cosby drugged and tried to sexually assault her in 1965 when she was 22. She said she met Cosby while she was working as a secretary at a talent agency in Beverly Hills. He reportedly invited her to a party at his home one night, but when she arrived, no one else was there. Cosby allegedly gave her two drinks, and after that everything became "foggy," she claimed. She eventually wound up in one of the bedrooms in the house. Cosby then allegedly tried to force Ruehli to perform oral sex on him. She said she pushed him away, ran into a bathroom, and started throwing up. When she came out of the bathroom, Cosby was reportedly gone, and she left his house.

Renita Chaney Hill, a Pittsburgh woman, told KDKA News that she had a four-year-long relationship with Cosby in the 1980s. She said she believes he drugged and likely raped her when she would go visit him. She was 15 years old when she met him. Hill told KDKA that Cosby would fly her to various cities and she would visit him at his hotel room at night. He would allegedly insist that she drink even though he knew she was underage.

Hill claimed that she would wake up the next day and not remember anything, despite not having that much to drink. She said that during one incident, right before she passed out, she remembers him kissing and touching her.

Linda Traitz, a woman who met Cosby in 1969 when she was waiting tables for a restaurant he co-owned in West Hollywood, came forward to accuse Cosby of sexual assault in an interview with The Washington Post. She said Cosby chatted her up one day at the restaurant and offered her a ride home.

But instead of going home, Cosby drove to the beach and took out a briefcase that had "assorted sections in it, with pills and tablets in it, different colors arranged and assorted into compartments," she told The Post.

She said she told Cosby that she didn't want any of the pills, but he reportedly kept insisting. He then allegedly lunged at her and grabbed her chest. When she ran out of the car and onto the beach, he allegedly pursued her and offered to take her home.

Victoria Valentino, a former Playboy Bunny, told The Post that she met Cosby in 1970. Another Playboy Bunny knew Cosby and introduced him to Valentino, who reportedly met him for dinner with a friend one night following their initial meeting. Cosby reportedly offered Valentino and her friend red pills at the end of dinner. She said she then began slurring her words and "couldn't function."

Cosby then reportedly drove the pair to an apartment under the pretense of showing them memorabilia from his popular "I Spy" show. It was there that he allegedly assaulted Valentino. She said she never went to the police because "in those days, it was always the rape victim who wound up being victimized."

Shawn Brown, the only woman Cosby admitted to sleeping with, told the Daily Mail in November 2015 that he also drugged and raped her.

Judy Huth filed a lawsuit in December 2015, claiming that Cosby sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion when she was 15. 

Helen Gumpel, who appeared on one episode of "The Cosby Show," came forward in 2015 and said Cosby made lewd advances toward her in 1977, according to The Associated Press.

Sunni Welles and Margie Shapiro claimed in 2015 that Cosby sexually assaulted them in the '60s and '70s when they were teenagers, according to Reuters.

Autumn Burns, Marcella Tate, and Janice Baker-Kinney, who are all represented by Gloria Allred, came forward in 2015 to claim that they'd been raped by Cosby in the '70s and early '80s.

"All this time, and for many, many years, I felt this was my fault," Kinney said, according to USA Today. "I took the pills from him ... I never thought of it as rape ... I still felt like I was solely to blame."

Erin Fuchs contributed to this report.

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Amazon's Prime Video app is finally coming to the Apple TV "later this year," Apple announced at WWDC on Monday.

That means you'll soon be able to watch Amazon's shows and movies on your Apple TV to your heart's content.

This will be welcome news for many Apple TV users, since the lack of access to Amazon's exclusive video content was a major drawback.

Beyond having a Prime Video app, Apple CEO Tim Cook indicated that Amazon's videos will also appear in Apple's unified "TV" app, which lets you easily browse content from different apps like Hulu or HBO Now in one place.

Amazon, which offers its own Fire TV streaming products, has made a habit of sparring with its competitors. In 2015, Amazon pulled Apple TVs and Chromecasts from its store, and there is still no Prime Video app for Chromecast or Android TV. Roku does have a Prime Video app, which is one reason why I personally chose it as my primary streaming platform.

But for Apple TV users, and Google hopefuls, this respite in the Apple-Amazon feud is a promising step toward better integration of Amazon's video content with platforms run by its competitors.

This is especially useful as Amazon ramps up its spending on video this year. JPMorgan estimates the internet giant will spend a whopping $4.5 billion in 2017.

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Logic's Sunday night performance at the Governors Ball music festival in New York City was something of a coming-out party for the 27-year-old rapper.

The show was one of his first since the May release of "Everbody," his anticipated followup to his 2015 hit "The Incredible True Story," and his first concert in New York since the release. Logic begins a major headlining tour with Joey Bada$$ and Big Lenbo next month.

While "Everybody" has received cautious praise and healthy criticism for its ambitious, but "heavy-handed" approach, Logic answered the critics with a tireless performance that put the focus where he always has: on giving back and connecting with his fans, who he calls the "Ratt Pack" (an acronym for "Real All The Time").

Logic spoke to the audience often, pointing out specific fans in the crowd who he recognized from past performances, and calling on no less than 10 young fans in the audience to hear their name, their age, and where they were from. That level of crowd work could seem stilted for another artist, but when it's someone who appears as good-hearted and earnest as Logic, you can't help but root for him.

And then he took the playfulness to another level, stepping down to introduce the American Sign Language interpreter for his show, Kat, and asking her if he could test the speed of her signing by freestyle rapping. She, of course, assented, and Logic showed off his impressive flow, all while Kat kept pace.

Here's a video of the moment:

He showed why he has such a rabid fanbase throughout the show, with energetic and heartfelt renditions of "Black SpiderMan," "1-800-273-8255" (the number for the National Suicide Prevention hotline), and "Anziety."

Logic ended the concert with a monologue about his struggles with anxiety and panic attacks and, seemingly, an answer to those knocks about his "heavy handedness."

"I want y'all to know that all of the music I make is for the people that truly appreciate it and care about it. It's not for the people who don't f—k with it or say it's this or that or whatever. That's subjective. This song is for everybody who needed it. I love you," he said, leaving more than a few audience members in tears.

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Remember "Monument Valley"? Perhaps you remember it as the game that Frank Underwood couldn't stop playing on Netflix's "House of Cards"? Or maybe you remember it as that gorgeous puzzle game you played years ago on your iPad?

Either way, it's getting a sequel. Surprise: That sequel is out right now.

The game was announced as a surprise during Apple's annual WWDC developer conference — it was the first game shown in a demonstration of Apple's revamped App Store. 

Here's a look at the fantastical worlds of "Monument Valley 2":

Looks abstract, no? It is! But the reality of playing "Monument Valley" is simple: You control a small character, and that character gets moved from one part of a puzzle world to another. Once you reach the end of that level, you move on to the next. Simple!

The twist in "Monument Valley" is in perspective. The puzzle worlds above are only being seen from one side, but they can be rotated. And that's how "Monument Valley" plays with your mind and your perception, thus making it a simple-yet-complex (and delightful) experience.

Interested in playing "Monument Valley 2"? Of course you are! It's available right now on the iTunes App Store, and it costs $4.99. If it's anything like the first game in the series, it's worth that money for sure. 

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"Wonder Woman" is getting a lot of praise after its opening weekend, and it deserves it. It's given a much-needed boost to the DC Extended Universe, with reviews that are much better than those for 2016's disappointing "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and "Suicide Squad."

But it also performed well compared to other superhero films outside of the DC Universe. While the opening weekend domestic box office  numbers (according to Box Office Mojo) didn't surpass massive hits like "The Avengers" (2012), "The Dark Knight" (2008), or "Deadpool" (2016), the movie's gross did beat "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011), "Iron Man" (2008), both "Thor" movies, and even "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014).

In the case of most franchises, especially superhero movies, sequels perform better at the box office than the first installments. "Wonder Woman's" opening weekend has definitely proven that a sequel could be another hit for the female-led franchise. "Wonder Woman" also broke the record for the most successful opening weekend for a movie directed by a woman. Director Patty Jenkins took the record from Sam Taylor-Johnson for 2015's "Fifty Shades of Grey."

See how "Wonder Woman" compares to your favorite superhero movies at the box office:

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Chance the Rapper has solidified his status as one of the most talented rappers of his generation and pioneers in the music industry over the last year.

The 24-year-old independent rapper made Grammys history in February when he won a Grammy for best rap performance for the song "No Problem," off his hit album "Coloring Book." It was the first track off a streaming-only album to win a Grammy.

Chance, who famously doesn't have a record deal and doesn't sell his albums, won two more Grammys for Best Rap Album and Best New Artist this year.

This is all to say that the self-made man doesn't really need to pay respect to anybody. And yet, on Friday at the Governors Ball music festival in New York City, Chance took a chunk out of his headlining set to perform covers of three songs from one of his hip-hop heroes: Kanye West.

Chance played renditions of "Waves," "Father Stretch My Hands," and "Ultralight Beam" — all tracks from West's 2016 "The Life of Pablo" — amidst a set full of his own mega-hits including "No Problem," "Sunday Candy," and "Angels."

It's worth noting that Chance worked on a number of tracks for "Pablo," earning writing credits on all three of those songs, and production credits on "Ultralight Beam."

Here's a bit of Waves:

And Ultralight Beam:

I was too busy enjoying the show to film "Father Stretch My Hands," but here it is at Red Rocks Ampitheatre in Colorado last month:

And bonus video of Chance coming out for Francis and the Lights' "May I Have This Dance" (They did the song together again during Chance's set):

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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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NOW WATCH: Watch the first trailer for 'Blade Runner 2049' starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford

Last November, when Sony launched the new PlayStation 4 Pro, a souped-up version of its market-leading video games console, it was practically unprecedented.

Normally, companies like Sony and Microsoft launch a new game console every five years or so. And when they do, the new consoles carry huge graphical upgrades — usually at the cost of instantly rendering your old games and accessories obsolete and essentially worthless. 

But the PlayStation 4 Pro was different. The new console provides a big graphical boost, provided you have an ultra-HD 4K TV. And yet, it plays every last existing PlayStation 4 game out there. It's something that's never really been done. And it's led a lot of people to wonder if this means that the traditional notion of the console "generation" is finished, kaput, RIP.

That sentiment is only enhanced by the fact that Microsoft has said its forthcoming "Project Scorpio" console could signal a major slowdown of those generational console cycles. It's promised to work with every single Xbox One game, a growing selection of older Xbox 360 games, and your existing controllers and accessories.

It's an idea that's won some cautious approval from gamers and critics. But Sony isn't having any of it, as PlayStation global sales and marketing head Jim Ryan and Sony Interactive Entertainment America CEO Shawn Layden told Business Insider in a recent interview.

"These are probably the same people who predicted the demise of the console in 2012," Ryan says, likening it to the ultimately unfounded panic that smartphones would destroy the video game console market.

'Those days are just gone'

The notion of the game console "generation" hasn't really changed, says Layden, it's just that "tech cycles are getting shorter." In the old days, from 2000 to 2012, you could release a new console every five to 10 years and roughly keep pace with major advances in technology, Layden says. 

"Those days are just gone," says Layden.

Along those lines, the PlayStation 4 Pro isn't so much a refutation of the notion of a console generation, so much as it is a reflection of that new reality. You can't release a brand-new console as quickly as you can launch upgrades to the old one, for the simple reason that "it takes developers time" to get started on new platforms, Layden says.

So when it comes to the PlayStation 4 Pro, "it is definitely part of the PS4 ecosystem," says Layden.

The implication is that Sony doesn't see it as an experiment in challenging the norms of the video game console market, so much as it is a way to keep up with the rapidly-shifting technological landscape as it prepares whatever moves it might be planning next.

That's backed up by the fact that Sony doesn't seem especially interested in making the PlayStation 4 compatible with older games. In a separate interview with Time, Ryan went so far as to question why anyone would want to play older games on their current console. Sony seems to be looking to the future, not the past. 

'Pretty marginal play'

Ahead of the release of Project Scorpio later this year, the most visible part of Microsoft's master plan is a program called Xbox Play Anywhere. Under this program, certain select games give you a free copy of the Windows 10 version of a game if you buy it for Xbox One, and vice versa. 

The idea is to bring Windows and the Xbox closer together. Just like Apple lets you own the same app on an iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV, Microsoft wants your games to be available whatever device you're using. And, importantly, it means that upgrading either your Xbox console or your PC means your game is still playable.

From Sony's perspective, this is interesting, but not really relevant so long as the developers that actually make the games aren't signing on. Right now, there are only about two dozen Xbox Play Anywhere titles, mostly published by Microsoft itself. And without that buy-in, says Ryan, it's a "somewhat marginal play."

And when it comes to games, well, Ryan says Sony has them in spades, and that's what matters.

SEE ALSO: Sony's PlayStation 4 is crushing Nintendo and Microsoft — now execs explain the master plan

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NOW WATCH: 5 hidden features only PlayStation 4 power users know about

Comedian Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial started on Monday in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Cosby is charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004. 

In three hours of emotional testimony, another woman, Kelly Johnson, described to the jury how the comedian allegedly drugged and assaulted her at a hotel in Los Angeles in 1996.

Johnson, who worked as an assistant to Cosby's agent and had known him since the early 1990s, told the jury in tears that Cosby  “intimidated” her into taking a white pill to help her “relax.” Some time later, she says, she woke up half-naked in the bed in his hotel room. 

“I could see a bottle of lotion on the corner of the nightstand,” Johnson said. “He put lotion in my hand, and he made me touch his penis."

She also explained that she was too afraid to tell anyone about the incident.

"I had a secret about the biggest celebrity in the world at that time, and it was just me," Johnson said.

In his opening statement, Cosby's defense attorney, Brian McMonagle, said, "Sexual assault is a terrible crime. The only thing worse than that is the false accusation of sexual assault."

Cosby has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and claims that all sexual acts were consensual. Johnson and Constand are two of over sixty women who have accused Cosby of similar crimes. 

SEE ALSO: The backstory of the allegations against Bill Cosby

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NOW WATCH: Watch Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner's 2010 cameo in the teen drama 'Gossip Girl'

While most media pundits focused on Megyn Kelly's interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the debut of her new NBC News show on Sunday, "The Daily Show" called her out for trying to distance herself from her past Fox News tenure.

"Seeing someone so conniving trying to manipulate the American public was disgusting," "The Daily Show" correspondent Michelle Wolf said on Monday.

"I agree with you, Michelle. Vladimir Putin is a slimy person," host Trevor Noah responded.

"No, no, no, I'm not talking about Putin. I'm talking about Megyn Kelly," Wolf said.

Wolf was especially annoyed by the opening of "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly" when the newswoman slammed the contentious arguments on TV news programs. 

"Can’t we all just get along?" Kelly said.

"Oh, I’m sorry, now we’re all supposed to be friends?" Wolf responded. "Now that you’re at NBC, you’re acting all peaceful, like you’re some sort of Mahatma Blondie? Because let’s not forget before she was NBC News’ Megyn Kelly, for over a decade she was Fox News’ Megyn Kelly, basically a pretty, race-baiting puppet who Roger Ailes kept trying to put his hand up. Oh, don't worry, she's on network now and he's dead. They're both in better places."

The show then played clips of Kelly arguing with guests and being generally combative on Fox News.

"Five months ago, she was part of the problem," Wolf said. "Actually, she was the queen of the problem. Now she acts all high and mighty, saying she doesn’t watch TV news and she only consumes news by print. This is like finding out Ronald McDonald only eats broccoli rabe.”

"The Daily Show" continued to hit Kelly for supposed hypocrisy.

"Sorry, Megyn, you’re not the new Barbara Walters," Wolf added. “You’re that Sprint-Verizon guy who follows the money: 'I'm on NBC now. Can you hear me now?' Maybe you thought doing this interview with Putin would be good, because he's so skilled at making journalists vanish. But Meggy, we still see you."

Watch the clip below:

SEE ALSO: Fox News' Megyn Kelly says she can't go on Twitter because of her 'surreal' Donald Trump feud

DON'T MISS: Megyn Kelly is now one of the highest-paid hosts on TV — here's where her salary ranks

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NOW WATCH: 'Do you even understand what you're asking?': Putin and Megyn Kelly have a heated exchange over Trump-Russia ties

Michael Moore is at it again. 

On the heels of the announcement last month that the Oscar-winning filmmaker is in production on a documentary about President Donald Trump that promises to "dissolve" his presidency, Moore has now created TrumpiLeaks.

Existing on his personal website, MichaelMoore.com, TrumpiLeaks is a secure section where Trump whistleblowers are welcome to send information to the filmmaker.

"Patriotic Americans in government, law enforcement, or the private sector with knowledge of the crimes, lies, and general misconduct committed by Donald J. Trump and his associates are encouraged to blow the whistle in the name of protecting the United States of America from tyranny," the site reads.

The site features encrypted messaging apps like Signal and Peerio, gives instructions on how to send Moore information through encrypted email, and also provides a P.O. Box address.

Moore launched the site the day after news broke that the FBI arrested 25-year-old federal contractor Reality Leigh Winner on charges involving the leak of a top-secret National Security Agency document to The Intercept that detailed a Russian hacking operation targeting US voting systems. 

SEE ALSO: Hollywood is fighting billionaire Sean Parker's plan to let you rent movies still in theaters for $50

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NOW WATCH: Terry Crews explains how intermittent fasting keeps him in shape

As we're halfway through 2017, we thought it would be a good time to look at the movies that pretty much no one has wanted to see in theaters so far this year.

While movies like "Get Out," "Logan," "Beauty and the Beast," "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," and "Wonder Woman" have all found love at the box office, there are some titles that were seeking major coin and Rotten Tomatoes "Fresh" ratings only to be playing in front of empty seats at the multiplex.

From "Baywatch" to "Monster Trucks," these are the 10 worst box-office earners of the year — so far:

Note: This selection is limited to only those titles released by the six major studios that have played in over 2,000 screens for at least two weekends. Grosses below are all domestic earnings from Box Office Mojo.

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 11 best movies of the year so far

10. "Smurfs: The Lost Village" - $43.8 million*

Reported budget: $60 million

(Note: Production budgets are estimates and do not include expenses for marketing and release.)

*Movie is still playing in theaters.

9. "Baywatch" - $41.7 million*

Reported budget: $69 million

*Movie is still playing in theaters. 

8. "Ghost in the Shell" - $40.5 million

Reported budget: $110 million

To celebrate World Environment Day, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took the chance to kayak down the Niagara River— and, after the photos emerged, again earn the adulation of the internet.

After finishing a short trip down the river that borders Canada and the US, Trudeau also made an appearance on "Live with Kelly and Ryan."

The environmental photo op comes days after US President Donald Trump announced he would pull the US out of the Paris climate agreement. While Trudeau called his relationship with Trump "constructive," he also said he was disappointed with the president's choice.

"World Environment Day reminds us that we have a global responsibility to safeguard our environment – and that each of us has a role to play to preserve and protect it," Trudeau said in an official statement. "More than ever, Canada is committed to provide international leadership to fight climate change and support clean economic growth."

SEE ALSO: 10 books Justin Trudeau thinks everyone should read

DON'T MISS: Canadian PM Justin Trudeau tells Trump he's 'disappointed' with US decision to quit climate agreement

The 45-year-old prime minister carried his kayak with one hand to the edge of the Niagara River.

He didn't need assistance getting in the boat, either. He made sure to wear a life jacket.

Source: Radio-Canada

"Any day I get to kick off with a paddle is a great day in my books," Trudeau said.

Apple on Monday finally unveiled its long-rumored Amazon Echo competitor, HomePod:

It costs $350.

With the HomePod, Apple made clear its smart-home intentions: It wants HomePod to be the intelligent hub for your home, borrowing the best aspects from smart speakers like the Amazon Echo and connected home-audio systems like Sonos to let you talk to your speaker from anywhere in your home and have it talk back.

HomePod is a speaker for playing music, but it can also give you the weather, set timers, control other electronics in your home, or even tell you a joke.

As someone who owns both an Amazon Echo and a Sonos family of connected speakers, I understand why Apple wants a piece of this space — they are, in short, the future. Sonos products work exceedingly well together and improve each room they're in. The Amazon Echo, meanwhile, has completely changed the way I live and behave in my home. Each product offers a seamless audio experience in its own way.

But when you think of "seamless" experiences in consumer technology, Apple is usually the first name that comes to mind — not necessarily Amazon or Sonos — and it has been absent in this smart-home space until now. So Apple hopes the HomePod can be a similar frictionless device that improves the way you live at home.

I believe that in time, through updates and iterations, Apple has the capabilities to make HomePod a better product than the Echo family or Sonos family. But right now, I don't believe it's better than either product line.

Here's why:

1. You still have to say "Hey, Siri."

Wake words might seem like a small detail, but in the scheme of virtual assistants, they are hugely important. The reason owning and using an Amazon Echo feels so effortless is that addressing it never feels like you're talking to technology. You can just say "Alexa" and your command. It feels very natural, as if you're talking to a person.

For some reason, other smart-home devices miss this concept. This was my main gripe with Google's Home, released last year, which insists you say "OK, Google" to wake the device.

It feels too much like you're interacting with technology — I would never say "OK, Google" in real life. Saying "Hey, Siri" is the same thing. It's not how I normally talk, and it feels awkward.

If you still think this isn't a big deal, imagine saying "Hey, Siri" every time you want to wake the device — several times a day, every day, for weeks and months and possibly even years. That's hundreds of thousands of times you need to say "Hey, Siri."

Trust me, by that point, you'll wonder why Apple couldn't have come up with a more natural-sounding wake word, especially when Amazon lets you choose your wake word: "Alexa" or "Amazon" or, if you're a fan of "Star Trek," even "Computer," which is awesome.

2. The price is not right.

Apple's HomePod is designed to be something between a smart speaker like an Amazon Echo and a connected speaker like a Sonos device — and its price is meant to be a reflection of that, too. As of June, here's what the most popular smart-home and connected-speaker options are:

• Amazon Echo Dot: $50
• Amazon Tap: $130
• Google Home: $130
• Amazon Echo: $180
• Amazon Echo Look: $200
• Sonos Play 1: $200
• Amazon Echo Show: $230
• Sonos Play 3: $300
• Apple HomePod: $350
• Sonos Play 5: $500

Apple's HomePod is on the upper price end of the most popular options. And that, to me, is another big knock against it.

I own both a Sonos family of speakers and an Amazon Echo. Sonos speakers sound better than the Echo, as most people will tell you. But more than 90% of the time, when I want to play music, I choose the Echo.

There's an important reason I play music through my Echo more often than the Sonos: The Echo is easier and more satisfying to use. I can ask to play a song with my voice more quickly than I could search for that song on my computer, via the Spotify section of the Sonos app. I can also change songs on the fly, as quickly as my imagination can come up with new songs to suggest. And the audio quality on the Echo, while not better than the Sonos, is good enough to merit me choosing the Echo as my main speaker.

This is the same reason I prefer Apple's $170 AirPods over most headphones, even my favorite over-ear pair for more than three years now, the $300 V-Moda Crossfade Wireless. If the difference in audio is negligible — and most people cannot discern small differences in audio quality — ease of use wins out every time. I don't mind that AirPods can't achieve the same bass as my V-Modas. They're easier to charge, carry, and use, and that makes all the difference.

In other words, the key selling point of the HomePod is its Echo-like attributes, not its Sonos-like ones. Trust me on this one: Connected speakers are nice, but they're not as transformative as smart speakers, because audio quality matters less when its other abilities can have a bigger impact on your life. So when considering the price of the HomePod, don't compare it to Sonos; compare it to the Amazon Echo. And in this particular case, the Amazon Echo can do all of the same things the HomePod can (with the exception of AirPlay and Apple Music-related features), for $170 less. You can buy two Amazon Echos for the price of one HomePod, pretty much.

3. The design is uninspired.

Apple's new HomePod is by no means ugly. When I first laid eyes on it, I thought it was very "Apple." Simple. Minimalist.

But the more I looked at this speaker, the more I realized: The HomePods design doesn't feel very inspired at all. It feels very safe.

It only comes in two colors: black and white. Why so serious? If Apple is trying to distinguish itself in the home audio/home assistant space, it feels strange that the HomePod would look so same-feeling and plain, limited to the same austere colors as the Amazon Echo (black and white). Even Sonos equipment, which is also relatively monotone with lots of grays and blacks, is more exciting by comparison.

Considering the uniformity among popular home audio equipment today, Apple had an opportunity to actually do something different in this category, but instead largely followed the crowd in terms of design. It's a toilet paper-shaped rectangle with a ring on top and a light in the middle, which somehow manages to be reminiscent of the two most popular smart home devices right now: the Amazon Echo, and the more stout Google Home. The design feels very familiar.

Though it might not be exactly what fans wanted, there's finally a Pokémon game coming to the Nintendo Switch. "Pokkén Tournament DX" (the DX means "deluxe") will be coming to the hybrid console in the fall. 

As a "deluxe" version of the original "Pokkén Tournament" game for the Wii U, the new game will feature five new Pokémon, bringing the total number of playable characters to 21. The new, "deluxe" features include 3-on-3 team battles, online ranked matches, and friend-only one-on-one and group matches that don't impact your global ranking. 

The game can be played using the Switch's dock and a TV set, or in "tabletop mode" with the console's handheld screen placed on a table and each player using a Joy-Con, or in handheld mode (shown in the image above). 

"Pokkén Tournament DX" will be released on September 22. You can check out the announcement trailer here. 

SEE ALSO: Nintendo's Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a 'mega-hit on a different scale' (NTDOY, NINTENDO)

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NOW WATCH: These size comparisons show the true scale of enormous things

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has a new favorite analogy he uses when describing how Netflix and Amazon can coexist in the media landscape: Amazon is Walmart, and Netflix is Starbucks.

Hastings used this analogy twice last week to separate Netflix’s “specialty” function from Amazon’s “breadth.”

“You know, if we try to out-Amazon Amazon, then that’s a losing battle,” Hastings told CNBC. “So what we have to do is be the specialty play. We are trying to be Starbucks and they are trying to be Walmart. So, we have to have brand intense love and focus.”

Hastings brought the idea of focus back again in his second use of the analogy, on stage at the Code Conference. “We’re not trying to meet all needs,” Hastings said. “Amazon’s business strategy is super broad … What we can be is the emotional connection brand … super-focused on one thing that people are very passionate about.”

Netflix will be a beloved video brand, like HBO (only bigger), while Amazon will be, well, Amazon. Amazon is the everything store, and of course Netflix won’t compete with them for that. No one would expect them to. The subtext: investors shouldn't be worried.

But there's a problem with that. Investors aren’t worried that Netflix won’t be able to compete with Amazon in selling shoes, or books, or cloud storage. They are worried about something else, something not easily explained with the Starbucks-Walmart analogy.

The flywheel

What concerns some is that Amazon might not actually have to make any money off of premium video for it to be a success. And that could make it a tough player to compete with for companies that do have to make money directly, like Netflix.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos laid the case for this at last year’s Code Conference.

"We get to monetize [our subscription video] in a very unusual way," Bezos said last June. "When we win a Golden Globe, it helps us sell more shoes. And it does that in a very direct way. Because if you look at Prime members, they buy more on Amazon than non-Prime members, and one of the reasons they do that is once they pay their annual fee, they're looking around to see, 'How can I get more value out of the program?' And so they look across more categories — they shop more. A lot of their behaviors change in ways that are very attractive to us as a business. And the customers utilize more of our services."

This fact could give Amazon a structural advantage over competitors like Netflix. Amazon doesn’t have to sweat the margins, and is set to spend an estimated $4.5 billion in 2017 competing against Netflix for both customers and content.

"Because we have this unusual way to monetize the premium content, we can charge less for the premium content than we would otherwise have to charge, if we didn't have the flywheel spinning to help sell more shoes," Bezos said.

Netflix is broad

While Hastings might want to characterize Netflix as a "specialty" play in relation to Amazon's entire sprawling company, in the video space, Netflix is actually very broad.

Netflix wants everyone in the world to be a subscriber, and will spend billions and billions of dollars per year to get there ($6 billion on content in 2017).

Hastings is completely correct that Netflix needs passionate fans that have an emotional connection to its brand, but it’s not as if Netflix is putting out a specialty video service for art-house film buffs, like FilmStruck. Its shows and movies are meant to have broad appeal.

Amazon and Netflix are bidding against each other on shows and movies, and they are competing for your watching time.

There's enough space

The more compelling argument isn’t that Amazon and Netflix are competing on different fields, but that there will be enough room for both of them.

There’s a lot of evidence that people who subscribe to Amazon Prime are more likely to subscribe to services like Netflix and Hulu as well. It’s not like the streaming-music market, where people are picking either Spotify or Apple Music.

And if you broadly believe that digital distribution with unmake and remake the TV and movie business, then there will likely be a few giants that come out the other side. It’s not a winner-take-all market.

But the competition between Netflix and Amazon is real. They are competing for your eyeballs and for the best showrunners. And in that, they are also competing with the behemoths of traditional TV, who are trying to understand how to adapt their businesses to fit the new digital reality.

If Netflix is Starbucks and Amazon is Walmart, then this Walmart is putting premium coffee shops inside every one of its stores.

SEE ALSO: You will finally be able to watch all of Amazon's shows and movies on Apple TV

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's why white noise helps us sleep

When you left the theater after watching "Wonder Woman" and got over the thrills of the movie, you might have been asking yourself, "What was that Professor M teaser all about?"

In many markets, a 22-second teaser showed before "Wonder Woman" with the text "Ever Wonder?" appearing on the screen and dialogue like this: "Why don't you write it under your real name?" "I created her, she's a smash success because of me..." And "I wonder if you're the one with the secret identity."

We then got an image of a woman who looks to be in a Wonder Woman costume holding a lasso while a man stands looking in the background. The teaser then ends.

What the heck does all this mean?

It's actually some very clever marketing for the latest movie from Annapurna Pictures (behind movies like "Her," "Zero Dark Thirty," and "Sausage Party"), "Professor Marston & the Wonder Women," which looks at the creation of the Wonder Woman comic in 1941. 

Luke Evans ("Beauty and the Beast") plays Dr. William Marston (get it, Professor M), an American psychologist who along with being responsible for inventing the lie detector also penned the Wonder Woman comic with his wife Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall) and their mutual lover, Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote).

Through the pen name Charles Moulton, Marston combined his and Elizabeth and Olive's feminist ideals to create a superhero character that young girls could look up to.

The movie, directed by Angela Robinson ("D.E.B.S.," "The L Word"), will focus on the creation and success of the comic-book character and how the three dealt with it. 

Head over to the movie's site for a look at the main characters in comic-book form.

The movie currently doesn't have a release date, but with the box-office success of "Wonder Woman" over the weekend, expect that to change soon.

SEE ALSO: The 17 wildest celebrity conspiracy theories on the internet

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NOW WATCH: Terry Crews explains how intermittent fasting keeps him in shape

Every year, it often seems like there's at least one actor who is in absolutely everything.

In 2011, it was Jessica Chastain (her most popular films being "The Help" and "Zero Dark Thirty"). This year, there are so many actors making us wonder how these people have personal lives, and how they even have the time to eat, sleep, or have more than one project going on at the same time. 

These busy people have already appeared in a lot of things this year, will appear in more things in the next six months, and will appear in even more things come 2018 (and, in some cases, 2019). Tom Cruise is just the latest actor — between his new "The Mummy" out June 9, and news of an upcoming "Top Gun" sequel — to make our heads spin.

Here are the busiest actors working in Hollywood right now:

SEE ALSO: The 10 biggest box-office bombs of 2017 so far

Tom Cruise

Cruise is not an actor who likes to slow down. In addition to his new reboot of "The Mummy," he's confirmed for a "Top Gun" sequel, known as "Top Gun: Maverick," that should be shooting soon. He also has "American Made," a based-on-real-life thriller, in 2017, and you can see him in another "Mission: Impossible" movie soon enough.

Elle Fanning

The 20-year old actress has four movies set to premiere in 2017, and two projects coming in 2018. And two projects without release dates. Fanning had several movies premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, including Sofia Coppola's "The Beguiled" and "How to Talk to Girls at Parties."

Source: IMDb

Nicole Kidman

One of Kidman's many projects for 2017 is "The Beguiled," with fellow busy lady Elle Fannng. In addition to her critically acclaimed turn in HBO's "Big Little Lies," Kidman will be in the second season of "Top of the Lake," which received great reviews at Cannes. Kidman had two other movies premiere at Cannes in 2017 (including "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" with Elle Fanning), and will be in two movies in 2018. She's also expressed interest in a second season of "Big Little Lies," which she executive produced. 

Source: IMDb

Welcome to “Remote Controlled,” a podcast from Variety featuring the best and brightest in television, both in front of and behind the camera.

In this week’s episode, Variety’s executive editor of TV Debra Birnbaum talks with Matt and Ross Duffer, creators of Netflix’s runaway hit series, “Stranger Things.”

They’ve just returned from Atlanta, where they were filming Season 2, which they promise is “big in scope.”

The brothers addressed the pressure going into the second season, given that the first was an overnight success. “There was pressure going into Season 1, too,” says Ross. “We were just worried no one was going to watch it. Now the pressure is we know people are going to watch it. It’s trying to make something that we think they’re going to like. … We’ve tried in the writers’ room to go, ‘Okay, what do we want to see?’ And hopefully people will respond to that as well.”

Adds Matt, “A lot of the story for Season 2 was figured before the show had come out, so we had the big beats figured out already. It was almost scarier last year.”

The reaction to the first season took them by surprise, but they took pains to make sure that that didn’t impact their approach to the writing of Season 2. “Some of the stuff that fans had been asking for, we wanted the same stuff,” says Matt. Adds Ross, “But the point is not to give everyone what they think they want. Because I don’t think they really know what they want.”

What they learned the most from the first season was about the strengths of their actors. “We don’t have the element of surprise on our side this time, but we execute it better,” says Ross. “But I think we screwed up less this year.”

Naturally, they were reluctant to give away any spoilers. But they did allow that Millie Bobby Brown will, of course, be back (“We let her hair grow out”), that Season 2 will be centered around Noah Schnapp’s Will, and that new monsters will be introduced. “Hiding the monsters can be more effective than seeing it, so restraint can be a good thing,” admits Ross. Adds Matt, “I can’t talk too much about them, but they’re cool.”

And of course, there will be some recognition of dearly departed Barb. While she is still in fact dead, “There’s no resurrecting Barb,” they admit. “It was really surprising how much she took off,” Matt says. “I related to her, so I think other people did as well."

You can listen to this week's episode here:

SEE ALSO: 45 TV shows that have been canceled

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NOW WATCH: The richest village in China is one of the most mysterious places on earth

The traditional TV industry could be in for a historically brutal quarter.

Pay TV providers could lose more than a million subscribers in the current period, a team of analysts at UBS led by John C. Hodulik wrote in a research note distributed Tuesday.

"That would be the worst result on record and equate to a 2.5% annual decline," compared to 2.1% last quarter, the analysts wrote. 

And things for the industry could only get worse, the analysts wrote.

"We estimate this will put the industry on pace for a 3.3% decline in 2017 and 4.0% in 2018," they said in their note.

Over the last few years, there has been a fierce debate over whether "cord-cutting" — people ditching their expensive cable TV packages — is a trend, or an overblown media narrative. But recent results make it hard to say "nothing" is going on. The pay-TV industry already lost about 762,000 subscribers in the first quarter this year, according to MoffettNathanson.

“For the better part of fifteen years, pundits have predicted that cord-cutting was the future. Well, the future has arrived,” industry analyst Craig Moffett wrote in a report about the Q1 results.

The UBS analysts took into account current "cord-cutting trends, seasonal weakness and additional pressure from streaming TV alternatives" to come up with their forecast. Here's a chart of what UBS is estimating over the next few years for traditional video subscribers:

It isn't all bad news for the pay TV industry, though. UBS does believe one segment of the market will see growth: streaming TV packages. Like traditional pay-TV offerings, these packages give subscribers access to collections of channels. But they're delivered over the internet, tend to offer fewer channels, and generally provide more flexible terms.

Here's how UBS sees the competitive landscape of these services:

"We believe YouTube TV and Hulu Live are off to strong starts (both launched in 2Q17) while DirecTV Now regroups as it deals with technical issues. While Sling TV and DirecTV Now offer consumers lower prices, we believe YouTube and Hulu are more clearly taking advantage of the benefits of being an online/mobile service (intuitive user interface, strong search & discovery, etc.), have leading expertise and trusted brands for streaming video, and will have significantly faster innovation cycles given their tech scale. Aside from solving many of the issues that have plagued early offerings, we also believe these services will boost awareness of the overall streaming TV market going forward."

Since some of these new services are being offered by traditional pay TV players, their rise could offset some of subscriber losses for those companies' older services. Meanwhile, companies that offer broadband as well as pay TV could mitigate some of their losses with the former, since the new streaming TV packages need broadband connections to function.

UBS estimates the number of subscribers to such streaming services will grow to around 4 million by the end of this year, around 7 million by the end of next year, and about 15 million by the end of 2020.

Here's what the entire balance of the TV industry will look like over the next couple of years, according to UBS estimates:

The big question for the industry is what affect the loss of pay TV subscribers will have on their business models, which have relied on a combination of subscriber fees and advertising. As more and more consumers migrate to streaming alternatives, it's unclear whether those services will emulate this traditional business model or whether they will adopt new ones.

For their part, streaming services like Netflix and HBO Now are betting they can build businesses solely around monthly subscription fees, rather than ads. By contrast, Facebook and YouTube are prepping slates of TV-quality shows to be completely supported by their ad machines.

But with Netflix seeing a massive outflow of cash each year as it bulks up its library of videos — and YouTube and Facebook premium video services largely untested — it's too early to tell whether the digital future will be ruled by the same models that defined the past.

SEE ALSO: Here's what Snapchat's big push for TV-like 'shows' will look like

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