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The eSports competitive video gaming market continues to grow revenues & attract investors

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eSports Advertising and Sponsorships

This is a preview of a research report from BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about BI Intelligence, click here.

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
  2. Purchase & download the full report from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT

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BuzzFeed is investigating anonymous allegations of harassment by its employees

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  • BuzzFeed is investigating allegations of harassment by its employees.
  • The investigation follows a BuzzFeed report about a list titled "Sh---- Media Men."
  • BuzzFeed staffers appeared on this list, which is anonymously sourced. The number of BuzzFeed employees on the list sparked a conversation among current and former employees about the publication's own workplace culture.

 

BuzzFeed is investigating allegations of harassment by its employees, people familiar with the matter said.

The investigation comes after several of its staffers appeared on a list, titled "Sh---- Media Men," which was distributed among journalists across several news organizations. The existence of the list, which names men from a variety of publications, was reported by BuzzFeed last week.

The allegations on the list include verbal, physical and sexual abuse, but were added anonymously so it is unclear who wrote them. The list makes clear that these are "allegations and rumors," and that readers should "take everything with a grain of salt." 

BuzzFeed staffers, both current and past, are represented in multiple versions of the list reviewed by Business Insider. The number of BuzzFeed employees on the list sparked a conversation among current and former employees about the publication's own workplace culture, according to people familiar with the matter. 

An anonymous reporting tip line was distributed to editors this week in which employees can report harassment if they don't feel comfortable going to their managers, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

"We cannot discuss specific personnel matters, but we take allegations of inappropriate conduct extremely seriously, including anonymous ones," BuzzFeed spokesman Matt Mittenthal said.

The list was widely distributed among journalists in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal that has rocked Hollywood.  

Female journalists, in conversations with Business Insider, say that a list of this nature is necessary to warn other women and because women may otherwise hesitate to report harassment to management for fear of retribution.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger's new movie has him facing the one thing he fears most: singing

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  • Arnold Schwarzenegger plays an assassin in "Killing Gunther."
  • He does a lot of outlandish things in the movie, including singing a country music song.
  • Schwarzenegger said he did "freak out" when he learned he had to sing on screen.

 

There aren’t many things Arnold Schwarzenegger will admit that make him feel vulnerable.

The 70-year-old action movie icon, who’s also a former Mr. Universe and governor of California, has played the tough-guy persona for decades. But in his new movie, “Killing Gunther” (in theaters and available on streaming), there is a moment that Schwarzenegger admits he did “freak out” over doing: singing. A country music song, to be exact.

“I don’t mind looking foolish but it's just that I'm so bad at singing,” Schwarzenegger told Business Insider. “The only time people ask me to sing is if they want the party to stop. If they want everyone to go home. Immediately.”

Schwarzenegger plays Gunther in the movie, the world’s best assassin. “Saturday Night Live” alum Taran Killam leads a group trying to track down Gunther and kill him (Killam also directed the movie). In the faux documentary-style action/comedy we are given a glimpse into Gunther’s fabulously outlandish life. Along with showing off his wacky outfits and other accessories he also reveals one of his hobbies: singing. He explains that he has a recording studio in his home and loves recording country music songs. The scene then cuts to Gunther in a recording booth singing a song.

That’s right, Schwarzenegger, singing country, and also dressed like he’s about to go to a rodeo.

“I just don’t have an ear for music,” said Schwarzenegger. “That’s why for ‘Twins’ Ivan Reitman made me sing so people would laugh. So, I get it. It’s embarrassing.”

And there’s nothing more funny than a guy with an Austrian accent trying to sing country. Make sure to stick around for the closing credits of “Killing Gunther” to hear Schwarzenegger’s entire song.

Here’s Arnold singing in “Twins.”

SEE ALSO: Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about playing his most outlandish character yet in "Killing Gunther," and which of his movies he'll stop to watch

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Google wants to own the future of TV ad infrastructure (GOOGL)

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  • Google wants to become an integral player in the TV ad landscape.
  • The company is trying to get TV companies to adopt its video ad tech software – and in the process is looking to displace Comcast.
  • The stakes are high, as Google would love to get a slice of the $72 billion US TV ad market. But the TV business has reasons to be wary of the search giant's clout.

For Google, TV is the final frontier. So it would make sense that to get there, the search giant started with Star Trek.

As CBS bets big on the latest original "Star Trek" series as the anchor series for its fledgling streaming subscription service CBS All Access, it is relying on Google's technology to deliver ads.

That partnership will hardly shift the power structure of the TV advertising business on its own. But it's a significant win for Google.

"The CBS partnership is big for us," said Rany Ng, Google’s director of product management for video. She points to the "Star Trek" digital distribution as an example of how seriously big media companies are taking the changes in TV. 

Google has attempted to wedge its way into TV several times over the last decade, with very mixed results. But over the last six months or so, Google has been quietly and deliberately trying to sell its ad serving software to big TV and video players.

That puts Google directly in competition with cable giant Comcast – which owns Freewheel, the leader in delivering ads to people who stream TV shows on the web.

In some cases, Google has held corporate level discussions with some of the giant TV conglomerates about strategic partnerships. Those deals would theoretically provide these TV companies with some incentives for adopting Google's video ad technology, such as including proprietary access to some Google data that could be used for ad targeting, said people familiar with the matter. 

The stakes are high. Though ad-free streaming services like Netflix still dominate, more and more people are streaming ad-supported TV content through smart TVs and apps, whether that's through Hulu, CBS All Access, or Watch ESPN.

If Google can insert itself into the TV ad ecosystem as the provider of the pipes through which most ads flow, it could establish a powerful position that could theoretically set it up to take on more.

For example, Google could offer some of its consumer data to help TV companies sell more targeted ads. It could maybe even build a TV ad exchange, accelerating a future when TV ads are traded "programmatically" much like web ads, using automated software.

"If you think about Google’s future growth, it’s not clear they can maintain the momentum they have without taking over the TV industry," said a media insider.

That is, if the TV business decides to let Google into its world. There are many that don't want them around.

Google's tried to crack TV for a long time

Google's current push into TV is a essentially a two-pronged approach. Besides trying to displace Comcast for ad delivery, last spring Google also rolled out an ad buying software tool, as Ad Age reported.

This is not the first time Google has made this move. As far back as 2007, Google had a business promising to bring elements of digital advertising to the TV world. It had deals to help TV networks sell excess inventory, but that initiative, Google TV Ads, never took off and was shuttered in 2012.

In addition, Google also has Android TV, software that powers many smart TVs. But its initial ambition to own the TV screen interface never materialized.

This time around, Google appears to have some real momentum.

Besides CBS, Google has inked deals with a growing number of TV networks to deliver ads in streams, including Bloomberg, AMC, the CW, BBC America and Lifetime. A few weeks ago, Google rolled out a slew of new ad products on this front – which AdExchanger covered in depth.

To date, over 50 top TV and entertainment companies in the US, Canada, and and Latin America use Google's ad platform. 

To be sure, Comcast's Freewheel has a big head start in this space, and works with lots of marquee TV companies, including NBCUniversal, Disney and Turner. They won't be easy to unseat. 

TV and the web are getting married

"This new generation is just not going to understand this concept of scheduled programming," said Ng at Google. "They are really screen agnostic. This is a massive viewer paradigm shift and something the whole industry is trying to figure out."

New Roku 3 InterfaceTo help figure things out, Google promises media companies that its tech can yield much more sophisticated TV advertising. For example:

  • Google can tell you what people search for directly after watching a show or watching an ad.
  • TV networks can use Google's tools to gain more insight into the audiences that watch their shows, which can help with forecasting and managing revenue.
  • Advertisers can also use the Google software to bring their own data to the table for ad targeting.
  • Plus Google says its tools will make sure that people don't see the same ads over and over again and that competitive advertisers won't find theirs ads running next to each other.

"We use millions of signals," said Ng. "This is really about how to make TV ads smarter. Understanding people's interest and intent will help you really capture their attention."

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What helps is that while Google is a relative newbie in TV production or ads sales, the company has a long track record in providing ad serving technology. The company's DoubleClick business is the most commonly used ad platform among publishers and advertisers to deliver web ads to the right place at the right time.

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So if anyone's going to build the "DoubleClick of TV" it may as well be Google.

Google's track record, vs. Google's track record

"Google is going to be seen as very legitimate in the marketplace," said Dave Morgan, CEO of the TV ad targeting firm Simulmedia. "This is a more natural way for them to get in through technology. I think they'll be formidable."

RobotsYet Google will face some real resistance. Many in the TV industry fear the very idea of programmatic advertising to begin with, associating it with low prices and unnecessary middlemen.

And then there's the general fear of giving Google even more power, as TV executives watch it and Facebook – the dreaded duopoly – thoroughly dominate all comers in digital advertising.

Jason Burke, VP of strategic development at Clypd, an ad tech company with a foothold in the TV ad business, said that given Google's long-held, advantaged position as managing the leading ad delivery system in digital media (DoubleClick), they are surely salivating over making that thing same happen in the massive TV market. "But there are significant challenges."

For one, the technology is very different in TV, Burke said. Not to mention that Google competes with TV networks for ad budgets on YouTube.

"You'll have to consider whether you want to partner with a company that wakes up every morning trying to kill you," said a media executive. 

costco tvsThe biggest hurdle Google faces, said Burke, is that digital advertising deals with an oversupply of ad inventory. There's more ads than anybody can buy. So ad tech is very useful.

Because there are only so many ads that can be shown on TV networks in a 24 hour period, TV has a constrained supply, in contrast. The number of TV ads is essentially finite.

"The supply and demand dynamic is flipped,' said Burke "That's a pretty damn big difference." Plus, TV ads are typically sold weeks or months in advance, when web ads can be purchased at the last second.

And one top TV ad sales executive said that Google's TV ad tech is actually inferior to Freewheel's, and the switching challenges are "massive."

Yet Megan Latham, global head advertising operations for Bloomberg Media raved about the tech, which the company uses to deliver ads via Apple TV and plans to eventually employ for its live streaming. "They are using machine learning to help you make the most money you can from your ads," she said. "It really answers all of our needs."

Mad Men vs. Silicon Valley

Google also faces a big cultural barrier. TV is a $72 billion ad market in the US, one that's been growing of late.

Consider the recent TV ad sales upfront, the annual period when top TV networks sell upwards of two thirds of their its ad space. Despite all of the ratings challenges in TV, the market was , was robust, reported Variety. 

And many of these big deals include streaming TV inventory. Meaning that TV ad networks aren't sitting on lots of unsold ad space.

So folks who've worked in TV for a long time may think, why mess with it?

"They are in an industry that has been established for years, and they're protecting an infrastructure," said Keith Grossman, chief revenue officer at Bloomberg. "But that's not the way brands want to operate."

"Some of these people are in denial that this is happening, or thinking, it's not going to happen before I retire," said Burke at Clypd. "A lot of people in the industry are very worried and scared."

You are not alone

Google isn't the only tech company trying to conquer TV ads. Facebook has been running tests with a handful of video partners to help them use Facebook's robust consumer data to target connected TV ads, reported Recode.

AT&T, with its pending acquisition of Time Warner, is pledging to reinvent TV advertising. And of course, there's Amazon, which is dipping its toe into TV ads this year by streaming NFL games.

Google may be just the most methodical about its plans at the moment. 

"There's just so many things we can improve," said Ng "We think there's an opportunity to reinvent that 30-second commercial. I think people have been open to partnering with us. We're getting pretty strong traction."

After all, it might be a chance for TV to go boldly where it's never gone before.

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The 5 best new shows of the fall that you have to watch, ranked

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Mindhunter netflix

This fall has been quite disappointing for new TV shows, but that's actually a good thing. 

With so little shows being worth your time, you'll actually have time to catch up on those that matter. Netflix dominated this year, since more than half of the shows on our list are Netflix Originals.

If you don't watch them right now, you should definitely add them to your queue.

Here are the best new shows of fall 2017, ranked: 

 

SEE ALSO: These are the 7 most popular new TV shows this fall

5. "The Deuce" — HBO

With "The Deuce," David Simon proves that he's not a one trick pony. Simon knows how to make gritty, hard-to-watch characters and stories impossible to look away from. "The Deuce," set in the 70s and starring James Franco, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Method Man, follows the rise of the porn industry, specifically in New York City's Times Square. 



4. "The Mayor" — ABC

This earnest, clever comedy is a welcome presence to ABC's comedy lineup. The show is about a rapper who, in an attempt to promote himself, runs for mayor. The problem? He unexpectedly wins, and has to actually be the mayor. It's fresh and politically relevant, which essentially makes it a network version of incredible comedies like "Atlanta" (FX) and "Insecure" (HBO). 



2. "Big Mouth" — Netflix

This charming but vulgar Netflix series follows seventh graders experiencing — or about to experience — puberty. Their bodies are changing, and they're developing sexual desires. Following around these pre-teens are "hormone monsters," who are both helpful and very, very awful. The show comes from the mind of Nick Kroll, and features the voices of Jordan Peele, John Mulaney, Fred Armisen, Jenny Slate, Jason Mantzoukas, Maya Rudolph, and more. 

You can read out our interview with the show's co-creator, Andrew Goldberg, here



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Fox is letting people watch fewer ads on TV using a trick adapted from the internet

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trident

  • Fox and video-tech company Innovid are bringing a new ad product to TV that is designed to let people watch fewer ads.
  • The plan is to help people used to binging shows on streaming services have more control of their ad experiences.
  • For advertisers, it's a chance to give people the choice to engage with their TV ads on a deeper level.

People are doing whatever they can to avoid TV ads. Fox wants to help them.

The broadcaster has teamed up with the video tech company Innovid to bring new interactive ads to people's TV screens designed to engage viewers and satisfy their desire to watch fewer ads.

Specifically, viewers will be able to chose to watch a specific longer ad from a brand like Trident or Clorox, and, in return, they'll be able to stream a show like FX's "Atlanta" with limited commercial interruptions.

These new interactive ads – Fox calls them "Engagement Ads" – have already debuted on FX's connected TV app (FX Now) via Roku devices, and Fox is planning to roll it out on multiple network's digital platforms. These ads are available only when people stream content on demand, and not during live TV.

The ad product was born out of TrueX, the ad-tech company 21st Century Fox acquired in late 2014. For a while, TrueX ads were mostly limited to desktop experiences; a person streaming an episode of "Gotham" on Fox.com could choose to watch a longer ad upfront in exchange for seeing fewer ads during the rest of the show.

This type of "watch an ad for longer content sessions" offering has become more common on digital outlets like Hulu and Spotify. But TrueX's challenge has long been getting enough scale to make interactive ads compelling enough for ad buyers.

Bringing the functionality to connected TV viewing, or OTT in ad-industry parlance, should help.

Here's what it looks like:

"We want to reduce ad load and increase engagement," said Ed Davis, chief product officer at TrueX. "We're really focused on that. We think this engagement ads model is very transparent for consumers, who understand what they are getting in exchange for their attention."

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Fox's move comes at a time when the TV industry is grappling with the rise of ad-free content streaming on services like Netflix and people ditching cable altogether. As a remedy, many in the industry (including Fox's recently hired sales chief) have advocated reducing the number of ads on TV.

Turner has experimented with this tactic, and Fox has been testing six-second ads during NFL broadcasts.

The trick will be for TV networks to ensure they can charge advertisers a high enough premium for these type of interactive ads to make up for any revenue lost from running fewer ads overall.

Though Fox has been running the consumer choice ads for years, putting them on the TV screen has proven a technological challenge, said Tal Chalozin, cofounder and CTO at Innovid.

On-demand viewing is fragmented (people connect using devices ranging from Apple TVs to Amazon Fires to Xboxes), and because consumers expect TV streaming to be seamless, so translating the digital ad tech to TV was not simple.

But the even bigger challenge is getting people accustomed to interacting with TV ads when they're used to watching TV passively from the couch. Thus, the ads have to be both compelling and simple.

"What we’ve been focused on is bringing all of the awesomeness of interactive ads to a medium that has historically been lean back," said Chalozin. "Getting people to pull up their remote is not an easy thing. Getting people buying into the future of TV requires some training."

trident2Fox says it has been testing the new product on the FX app, and to date, 50% of viewers have chosen to interact with the brand's video ads.

The new interactive ads are rolling out on the TV apps for the Fox network and National Geographic Channel, in addition to FX. But Fox wants to bring this product to the rest of the industry. It has rival network A&E on board, for example.

"We want to telegraph to all publishers that this isn’t a unique cottage thing for Fox," said Davis. "Everybody is realizing that we need scale in TV ads, and we need to measure quality of attention if we want to continue to differentiate this premium media compared to other options out there."

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Here all of the bonuses and new Pokémon added to 'Pokémon Go' for the next two weeks

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  • Pokémon Go is throwing an in-game Halloween event for the next two weeks with special bonuses and new Pokémon to catch.
  • All Pokémon from the original game's third generation of creatures will be made available by December.

"Pokémon Go" creator Niantic Labs is throwing an in-game event for Halloween.

The promotion includes special bonuses and the addition of a few new Pokémon from the original game's third generation of creatures. The perks and new Pokémon will be available in the hit game between Friday, October 20 and Thursday, November 2.

Here's how Niantic is encouraging more gameplay for the next two weeks:

  • New Pokémon from the original game's third generation of creatures, including Duskull, Dusclops, Sableye, Shuppet, and Banette are now available.
  • More previously available dark-type Pokémon, like Houndor and Gastly, are spawning more frequently in the game.
  • Double Pokémon candy will be awarded for in-game actions like evolutions, transfers, egg hatches, and buddy Pokémon.
  • Special Halloween-themed Pikachu will be available to catch.

If you prefer the promotion's details in chart form, one Reddit user put together the following:

Niantic said it plans to release the rest of the Pokémon from the original game's third generation of creatures in December.

While "Pokémon Go" is no longer the cultural phenomenon it once was, tens of millions of people still play the game. It's also one of the fastest mobile games to reach $1 billion in revenue, according to third-party estimates.

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Here's why people are afraid of clowns — and what you can do to get over it

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Lots of people are creeped out at the site of clown, whether it's at the circus or creeping around in the woods at night. Movies like Stephen King's "It" and the new season of "American Horror Story" featuring some terrifying clowns that take prey on the fears of the viewer. We spoke with Dr. Dena Rabinowitz, a psychologist in New York who specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders and phobias, to find out why we are so scared of something that's meant to make us laugh. Following is a transcript of the video.

Hi my name is Dr. Dena Rabinowitz, and I'm a clinical psychologist specializing in anxiety disorders.

I think most people find clowns delightful, but there's definitely a group of people who find them creepy. There two things about clowns that kind of inherently lead people to be frightened of them. The first is that we rely a lot on facial expressions to understand people and see their motivations. And with clowns you don't have facial expressions. It's all under makeup, and it's fixed. And so there's a kind of a question of, "what's going on under there?"

The second thing is people don't inherently trust people who are always happy and laughing. For a lot of people, the fear of clowns actually is part of a more general fear of masked creatures. In regular parlance it's called: coulrophobia.

We don't like things that are familiar but then a little bit off. And so clowns look like people, but there's an oddity to it. There's something that is a little bit strange and from the norm. If we see clowns in places like in a circus where they belong, that's often not as scary. But if we see a clown which is already slightly odd and different to us in a place where we don't typically think they should be like the woods, it's even scarier.

People aren't born with a clown phobia, but they can certainly be genetically predispositioned to have an anxiety disorder. But a specific fear of clowns either comes because you had a traumatic event in childhood around clowns, a family member or somebody close to you kind of has taught you that clowns are scary, or you had an anxiety attack when you were around clowns and paired them together.

If you already have a clown phobia, watching movies like "It" or "American Horror Story" is not going to help, because all it does is reinforce the fact that clowns are in fact dangerous and scary. What we want to do to help with a phobia is show you that they're just people with makeup underneath and that there's nothing inherently scary.

Well if you just don't like clowns, then you really don't need to do anything about it. but there's a small subset of people who really are terrified of clowns in that goes into the category of a phobia lots of people have phobias and just because you have a phobia doesn't mean you need treatment. When you need to seek treatment for a phobia is when it interferes with your daily life. If you go screaming from a theater because there might be a clown that shows up or you can't go into town because there's a circus, then you really need to seek treatment.

The best thing to do about a phobia is first of all recognize that the thing you're afraid of is not dangerous and then do something called "exposure." Which is putting yourself in proximity to the feared object until you get comfortable.

So one of the things I recommend of clowns is watch somebody put on the clown makeup, so you can see that they're just a human being and see the progression of them turning into a clown. It makes it a lot more approachable, and you can learn to overcome your fear.

I don't have a fear of clowns. I have a fear of snakes. So i understand this.

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11 reasons why now is the perfect time to buy a Nintendo Switch

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Nintendo's new console is off to a strong start: The Switch is already Nintendo's fastest-selling game console.

Nintendo Switch

Like so many things, its success comes as a surprise to experts in the field — the $299 console isn't very competitive on paper, and it wasn't a guaranteed success in concept:

  • It's underpowered compared with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, both of which cost less.
  • It has a paltry game library compared with the competition.
  • Because of its lack of horsepower, major games released on multiple platforms — think "Assassin's Creed," "Call of Duty," "Grand Theft Auto," etc. — won't ever come to the Switch.

But using the Switch is a surprising delight, and 2017 has been a year full of huge hits for the console. And now, on the verge of a brand new Mario game launch, it's a better time than ever to buy the Switch. Here's why:

SEE ALSO: 16 reasons why now is the perfect time to buy a PlayStation 4

DON'T MISS: 16 reasons why now is the perfect time to buy an Xbox One

1. The Nintendo Switch is remarkably fast, which is more important than you'd think.

Using the Switch feels blessedly modern.

Unlike the often sludgy experience on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, powering up and using the Switch is quick and easy. At any moment in a game, you can push the console's home button and immediately exit to the dashboard. This concept also exists on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but it's far quicker and more seamless on the Switch.

Frankly speaking, it doesn't feel like a technological downgrade from the smartphone in my pocket. Even the user interface is clean and efficient — no digging through sub-menus to turn off WiFi or see how much storage I'm using. It's this kind of "quality of life" stuff that makes using the Switch intuitive and accessible to pretty much any user.



2. Sleep Mode turns the Switch into a game console that's quickly accessible.

A major reason people are inclined to play games on their phones is ease of use. A phone is already in your pocket and takes just a second to wake up, which lets you get in and out of apps and games quickly. The Switch takes this concept to heart with Sleep Mode, which enables the console to operate like, say, a laptop or a tablet.

Rather than turning the console all the way off, you can enter Sleep Mode: a low-power mode that enables the console to be quickly accessed later, comparable to reopening a laptop screen. No restarting the game — you're back exactly where you left off.

Though there are comparable functions on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, the Switch pulls it off much more cleanly — a nod to the portability of the console.



3. Jumping into games, in general, is surprisingly fast.

I take a ton of screenshots on the Switch, and getting them off the Switch requires removing the microSD card I put in the console. And every time I remove the microSD card, I have to power the Switch all the way down. Bummer!

Thankfully, restarting the Switch — even a "cold boot," as it's known — is remarkably quick. I just tested: It takes roughly 10 seconds from all the way off to the main menu. I'd bet any amount of money that it's faster than the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

This quickness is due partially to the design of the hardware itself and partially to the medium used for games: cartridges. In both instances, Nintendo smartly prioritized the consumer experience — and it makes a difference in daily use.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

13 of the most famous last words in history

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We love famous last words.

There's a reason there are so many books listing memorable deathbed sayings throughout history out there. Perhaps we'd just rather believe well-known figures tend to die saying something clever and profound. It makes death itself a little less scary.

But, for that reason, final words can be quite tricky. As with any quotes on the internet — and historical quotes, in general — it's hard to sort out what's true and what's phony or exaggerated.

Here are several poignant, strange, or otherwise memorable last words from throughout history:

SEE ALSO: 18 people who accomplished incredible things at a shockingly young age

Historians believe the 21-year-old school teacher-turned-spy was paraphrasing a line from the popular 18th century play "Cato" as he stood on the scaffold, according to the book "Cato's Tears and the Making of Anglo-American Emotion." The British hung Hale after he was captured during a failed 1776 espionage mission in Long Island.



The Roman statesman met his fate in 43 BCE, after Mark Anthony put a hit out on him during the power struggle following Julius Caesar's death.

Cicero attempted to flee, but accepted his death when confronted by his assassins. He even stuck his head out of his litter in order to make it easier for the killers to strike, according to "Forgotten Justice."



According to the 2016 biography "Marie-Antoinette," the deposed French queen apologized to her executioner on the scaffold in 1793. She had accidentally stepped on his foot on her way to the guillotine.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

'Boo 2! A Madea Halloween' beats mediocre competition to win the weekend box office

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Boo 2 Madea Halloween Chip Bergmann Lionsgate final

  • Tyler Perry's latest movie won the weekend box office.
  • "Boo 2! A Madea Halloween" didn't face much competition.
  • Other new releases like "Geostorm" and "The Snowman" performed poorly.


What was originally just a joke by Chris Rock has turned into Tyler Perry's latest successful franchise.

"Boo 2! A Madea Halloween" opened in theaters this weekend and demolished the lackluster new releases as it won the domestic box office with an estimated $21.7 million, according to Variety.

Perry's Madea character and Lionsgate have teamed up for years to produce box office gold, and "Boo 2!" is no exception.

The original opened this time a year ago and took in a surprising $28.5 million its opening weekend (easily making back its $20 million production budget), and went on to earn $74.8 million worldwide. The sequel, with a $25 million budget, did a little less its opening weekend this time around, but easily won the weekend.

The Snowman Universal PicturesThat's the other storyline: mid-October has turned into a wasteland for theatrical releases. Past box office disasters like "Rock and Kasbah" and "Jem and the Holograms" have been placed this time of year.

Basically, the studios choose this time of year to dump their unwanted titles, leaving the likes of Jason Blum's Blumhouse (its latest, "Happy Death Day," won the box office last week) and Perry to reap the rewards.

This weekend included stinkers like "The Snowman," which critics slaughtered (it received only a 9% Rotten Tomatoes rating), and the disaster movie, "Geostorm," which wasn't even screened for critics. "Geostorm" (budgeted at $120 million) took in $13.3 million, while "The Snowman" (which stars the usually dependable Michael Fassbender) only earned $3.4 million this weekend.

SEE ALSO: Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about playing his most outlandish character yet in "Killing Gunther," and which of his movies he'll stop to watch

Join the conversation about this story »

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Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about playing his most outlandish character yet in 'Killing Gunther,' and which of his movies he'll stop to watch

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bi_graphics_arnold2 Anaele Pelisson Getty

  • Arnold Schwarzenegger talked about coming up with one of his most outlandish characters yet in the movie, "Killing Gunther."
  • Schwarzenegger explained why he still makes "Terminator" movies.
  • He also shared the movie he's made in the past that he'll still watch, though it's "just so stupid."

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger has built a legendary career through iconic action movie roles that will be watched by generations of audiences. So who better to be at the center of a comedy that spoofs the genre?

For “Killing Gunther” (currently streaming, in theaters on Friday), the directorial debut of “Saturday Night Live” alum Taran Killam, Schwarzenegger plays Gunther, the world’s most famous hitman, who is being chased by a group of bumbling assassins (Killam and Bobby Moynihan among them) trying to take him out. Sporting a stylish haircut, red sunglasses, outlandish outfits, and at one point even singing an country music song, Schwarzenegger delivers his most outlandish performance of his career.

Business Insider spoke with Schwarzenegger over the phone about coming up with the character, why he wants to keep making “Terminator” movies, his theory why “Last Action Hero” was his biggest bomb of the '90s, and the movie he’s sat back and watched with his kids because it’s “just so stupid.”

Jason Guerrasio: What was it that made you say yes to a movie like “Killing Gunther?"

Arnold Schwarzenegger: I was a fan of Taran Killam. I saw him on “Saturday Night Live.” He came to me with the script, I read it, I had a conversation with him, it was his first time directing but he seemed very organized. He had a clear vision of how the movie should be done. I felt the script was hilarious, I thought the whole concept of taking the kind of movies that I've have done many times, of playing a killer of some sort, and that this guy was the ultimate number one assassin, I thought that was funny. I had a blast doing the movie. And my character was written exactly for me. It was heaven. It was just so over the top. 

Guerrasio: The thing that stands out at first, and you see it in the trailer and the marketing, is your outlandish haircut and clothes for the movie, is that something you and Taran fleshed out together?

Schwarzenegger: No. We didn't even talk about that. He had it all planned out. I remember coming to the set and the hairdresser started cutting my hair and I was like, "Wow, it's kind of short on the sides," and they said, "Yeah, we want to make you really cutting edge," and I was like ok, for a 70-year-old guy to look cutting edge, not bad. [Laughs.] The flamboyant wardrobe and behavior, it all fit together perfectly. 

Guerrasio: So you didn't pick out the sunglasses or any of the outfits?

Schwarzenegger: We had some decisions, but I made it clear to him that I would rather go with his vision, which made him feel really happy that I wasn't one of those actors that was second-guessing everything. But you second-guess everything when you have a s----y director or someone who doesn't have a clear vision. With him I didn't feel that way. When he explained to me my character I thought that he had thought through the whole thing so much, all I cared about was that everything fit. I just wanted to make sure there were enough fittings. I think I picked out the sunglasses.

Guerrasio: How about your performance. 

Schwarzenegger: I was rehearsing it for months before I got to the set. Doing it my way, the way I interpreted it. And when we did rehearsals a week before we started shooting, Taran liked what I came up with. During shooting he did little tweaks, as he should. But he was wonderful. I said to him, any script that you have where I fit in I would love to work with you again. 

Guerrasio: So if he did a sequel to this you would be into playing this character again?

Schwarzenegger: That would be funny. 

Guerrasio: I would love to see you do this character again, but I will say it's a bummer that we have to wait 45 minutes or so into the movie before you show up.

Schwarzenegger: That will be the tagline of the sequel — "Gunther will be in sooner."

Guerrasio: [Laughs.]

Schwarzenegger: But the way Taran did it, reading the script, it was perfect. But seeing the movie, yeah, it's too bad we don't have a scene or two where I could come in sooner. 

Guerrasio: You’ve done comedies in the past, but this was more outlandish than anything we've ever seen you do before. Were you nervous if you could pull it off?

Schwarzenegger: No, because you have to see some of the commercials I have done for the Japanese.

Guerrasio: Very true. Good point.

Schwarzenegger: They are more outrageous than “Finding Gunther.” There is nothing, for me, that is too outrageous. I mean I can go all the way out there or I can be as subtle as in "Maggie" or "Aftermath."

Guerrasio: Well, what about doing the country music song? Some nervousness doing that?

Schwarzenegger: Yes. I have to admit that I did really freak out over that. I don't mind looking foolish but it's just that I'm so bad at singing. The only time people ask me to sing is if they want the party to stop. If they want everyone to go home. Immediately. So I was worried that if I sang everyone was going to run out the theater. I just don't have an ear for music. That's why for "Twins" Ivan Reitman made me sing so people would laugh. So, I get it. It's embarrassing. 

Guerrasio: But you owned it. And Taran putting you singing the song in the end credits, either you're hypnotized by it that you can't leave or you run out of the theater. 

Schwarzenegger: Right. Exactly. As soon as I heard it I ran out. 

Guerrasio: Is there a character you've played in your career that it still bugs you audiences didn't get what you tried to do?

Schwarzenegger: There could be 10 of those characters around. [Laughs.] That's not my style to really dwell on it, and drive around during the day on my bicycle, or working out in the gym, and to worry about what character people didn't understand. I think that's just me. And I'm not a person that thinks back in the first place. I think forward. And it's always been less that people didn't get the character, but more people being mad that the movie fell short. Or people would say they are glad the movie went in the toilet. And I totally agree with them. I think there are some movies I made that it was a good thing they went into the toilet, because they weren't good enough. The director f---ed up, or the production was too small, or I screwed up, whatever the reasons are. I’m lucky I've made more movies that went through the roof and people liked internationally than movies that didn't do well. 

Last Action Hero Columbia PicturesGuerrasio: For me I still love the Jack Slater character in “Last Action Hero.” I don't have to tell you, that movie didn't do well when it opened in 1993, but if I show someone younger than me that movie now they get sucked in. 

Schwarzenegger: And don't forget that the year that movie came out it was the year to beat up on Arnold. There was nothing I could do. It was one of those things where President Clinton was elected and the press somehow made the whole thing kind of political where they thought, “Okay, the '80s action guys are gone here's a perfect example,” and they wrote this narrative before anyone saw the movie. And I could see before the movie even came out there were stories coming out about how the movie was still shooting and it's supposed to come out in two months so why are they still shooting. The action hero era is over, Bill Clinton is in, the highbrow movies are the in thing now, I couldn't recuperate. It was treated like the biggest failure and when other movies came out that year that did less money they didn't say that. So yes, I think more people would have seen it if the press treated it differently, but now the good thing is that with streaming, people can go and watch it and many people say exactly what you're saying. They enjoy it.  

Guerrasio: Why continue playing The Terminator? What is it about this character that makes you want to keep playing it?

Schwarzenegger: I love the character. I think the T-800 model is a really interesting character that was developed with a tremendous ability. He's a machine, can be destructive, can do things human being can't do, but at the same time when newer technology comes along the character suddenly is vulnerable and that makes him even more interesting. That's why it plays well in the past movies. I think [James] Cameron and [upcoming Terminator movie director] Tim [Miller] came up with a concept where they can continue on with the T-800, but make the movie a whole new movie. I think the character was stuck in the future and was more like an ordinary guy who suddenly gets activated again. 

terminator genisys arnold schwarzeneggerGuerrasio: What went wrong with “Terminator Genisys?" Too much of the story getting in the weeds about the future and the past?

Schwarzenegger: Remember, all movies, except the one when I was governor so I wasn't in it, “Terminator” 3 and 5 made over $400 million worldwide, so those are huge grosses. We wish we had made $700 million or $800 million, but I think the key thing now is not to get stuck with the same timeline. I think what they are doing now with this one is basically to just take a few very basic characters, like Linda Hamilton's character and my character, and dismiss everything else. Just move away from all these rules of the timeline and the other characters. It's hard to come up with new ideas when you stay within that framework. And I think this time they are going to take the freedom of opening up and not tying themselves down to the timelines and the other characters. 

Guerrasio: You've been teasing “Triplets,” the sequel to “Twins,” for so long, what’s the latest on that project? 

Schwarzenegger: I had a conversation yesterday with my agent and he said that the script will be finished in 14 days. Ivan Reitman is extremely happy with what he's seen so far, he just wants to make a few tweaks. So that's music to my ears. I think sometime beginning of next year we can shoot the film. 

Guerrasio: Is Eddie Murphy still involved?

Schwarzenegger: Absolutely. 

Guerrasio: Have you and Danny DeVito and Eddie talked, exchanged messages?

Schwarzenegger: We are in touch with each other all the time. We support each other. Everyone is happy to do this movie. 

Guerrasio: What movie of yours will you stop and watch if it's on TV or someone tells you it's on?

Schwarzenegger: I’ll tell you, I remember when my kids started understanding that I was in movies and they would be watching television and one of my movies would come on, they’d say "Daddy, this is you!" I would see the scene, I would stop and just watch it with them. One scene or two. Even a movie like “Hercules in New York,” which I always make fun of because it's so outrageous, and it was my first movie, and they had to dub my voice. My name was "Arnold Strong" in the movie. I was really stupid. But I had to stop and watch it when my kids watched it because it was just so stupid. In one scene it's me wrestling a bear and you could tell the bear in Central Park was not a bear, it was a guy with this coat thrown over him. But it was done so cheap. The budget on that movie was $300,000. We shot the movie in 1969, everything was so cheap. I hadn't seen it in so long and my kids got it and put it on, and they saw me wrestling a bear, and I had to stop and watch this entire fight scene with that bear. Just to watch how ludicrous it was. 

And now, enjoy Arnold wrestling a bear in “Hercules in New York”:

SEE ALSO: The best movie of every year since 2000, according to critics

Join the conversation about this story »

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4 female senators share their own stories of being sexually harassed after the Harvey Weinstein scandal

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  • Four Democratic senators are speaking out about their own experiences being sexually harassed.
  • They opened up as part of the #MeToo campaign that picked up steam in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
  • They emphasized that for things to change, there needs to be a cultural shift from teaching women to avoid sexual assault, to teaching men not to behave inappropriately towards women.


Four female senators spoke out about their own past experiences involving sexual harassment after over three dozen women accused Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of varying degrees of sexual misconduct.

NBC's "Meet The Press" reached out to all 21 female members of the US Senate and asked if they wanted to share stories of sexual harassment as part of the #MeToo campaign that picked up steam following the Weinstein scandal.

Four women — Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Claire McCaskill, Mazie Hirono, and Heidi Heitkamp — came forward and recounted their experiences.

Warren, a Massachusetts senator known for her progressive ideology, recalled being harassed by a senior faculty member when she had just started out as a law professor. The colleague, Warren said, often made inappropriate jokes and commented on her appearance, and one day invited her to his office.

Once she got to his office, Warren said, "he slammed the door and lunged for me. It's like a bad cartoon. He's chasing me around the desk trying to get his hands on me."

"And I kept saying, 'You don't want to do this. You don't want to do this. I have little children at home, please don't do this,'" she recalled. Eventually, she was able to reach the door and get out before things progressed, and she went back to her office.

"I just sat and shook and thought, what had I done to bring this on?" Warren told NBC. "And I told my best friend about it. Never said a word to anyone else, but for a long time, I wore a lot of brown."

Mazie Hirono

Hirono, who represents Hawaii, recalled having been propositioned by teachers, by colleagues, and several others. She observed that sexual harassment and other "unwanted attention" occurs when there is "uneven power, and it's usually the woman who has less power."

McCaskill, a senator from Missouri, was harassed while working as a state legislator in her 20s. She said she approached the "very powerful speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives" when she was nervous about getting her first bill out of committee. She recalled asking him whether he had any advice for her on how she could move the legislation forward.

"And he looked at me and he paused and he said, 'Well, did you bring your knee pads?'" McCaskill told NBC. "I do think he was joking, but it was shocking that he would make that joke to a colleague, even a very young colleague."

Heitkamp, of North Dakota, recounted speaking at an event focusing on curbing domestic violence when she was the state's attorney general. At the event, Heitkamp said, a law enforcement officer approached her, "and he pretty much put his finger in my face, and he said, 'Listen here, men will always beat their wives, and you can't stop them.'"

She told NBC that she was "stunned" and replied to the official, "You know, you might be right. I hope you're not right, but we shouldn't live in a world where we don't try."

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp (ND) speaks with reporters after the weekly party caucus luncheons at the U.S. Capitol in Washington June 23, 2015.  REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

#MeToo

The four senators spoke out about their experiences after activist Tarana Burke revived the #MeToo campaign, which she originally launched more than a decade ago, following the bombshell allegations against Weinstein. Scores of men and women tweeted out the hashtag to indicate that they, too, had been harassed in the past.

The campaign drew support from several prominent figures, many of whom have previously opened up about their experiences with sexual harassment and assault, like Lady Gaga and actresses Evan Rachel Wood and Gabrielle Union. People like Alyssa Milano, Debra Messing, Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney, America Ferrera, and Bjork spoke out as well.

Weinstein was fired from the Weinstein Company, which he co-founded, after the allegations against him became public. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts also suspended Weinstein's membership, releasing a statement that called his alleged behavior "completely unacceptable and incompatible with BAFTA's values."

Last week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted to oust him from its ranks.

Heitkamp said it was sad that it took something as "horrific" as the Weinstein scandal to "make people feel strong enough to actually speak up."

"The voices of all these women are so much stronger and louder together," she added.

McCaskill said she wasn't surprised by the allegations, given her own past experiences, and that she understood why victims of sexual assault and harassment keep their experiences to themselves.

Claire McCaskill

Moving forward, Heitkamp said, it's imperative that families work to implement cultural change so that the focus is on teaching men not to behave inappropriately, instead of teaching women how to guard against sexual assault.

"We have to achieve something within our families and within our children," Heitkamp said. "It's not acceptable, if you're raising daughters, to say, 'Look, you may not think it's ever going to happen to you. In all likelihood, it will.'"

Instead, she added, "we should be raising sons to say, 'I will never do this. I will behave differently.'"

Hirono told NBC that men should know that suggestive comments and lewd behavior is "not cute, it's not fun."

McCaskill emphasized that women who are victims of campus sexual assault should not wonder whether they had done something to provoke the attack.

Things like how much a woman has had to drink, who she was with, and whether she should have gone to a party "does not excuse criminal conduct," McCaskill said. "You don't have to have perfect judgment to be a victim of a crime."

Watch all of their interviews below:

SEE ALSO: 'The Big Bang Theory' star's op-ed about Harvey Weinstein sparks outrage on Twitter

DON'T MISS: All the women who have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment or assault

Join the conversation about this story »

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How Netflix prepares to unleash a monster like 'Stranger Things 2' to its 'north of 300 million' potential viewers

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A huge part of Netflix’s pitch to investors, which has helped propel its stock up and up, is that it will become the first truly global TV network.

Getting worldwide rights to original shows and movies, and delivering them by internet data, means that Netflix can zap a marquee release like “Stranger Things 2” into the eyeballs of subscribers all over the world on release day.

And Netflix's reach is gargantuan. Todd Yellin, Netflix’s VP of product innovation, said that while its subscriber base recently crossed 100 million, its total number of viewers (including families, password sharing, and so on) is north of 300 million. The first season of "Stranger Things" was even watched by one viewer in Antarctica, Yellin said.

But while being a global TV network sounds good to investors, who are hoping for continued subscriber growth for years to come, it also presents Netflix with a set of challenges: How do you prepare a show to be consumed all over the world at once?

Demogorgons and Eggos

Besides the obvious technical challenges to ensure people don’t get hit with a dreaded “buffering” icon, there are a host of other ways Netflix has to make shows ready for international viewing.

One big element is “localization” — things like subtitles and dubbing — which often involves translating words with pop culture meaning attached.

The visual references in “Stranger Things” should feel familiar if you love the work of Steven Spielberg or Stanley Kubrick, or films like “Stand by Me” or “E.T.” Tim Ives, the director of photography for “Stranger Things,” said the team is “continually inspired” by Spielberg’s work in the 80s. You can feel that, no matter what language you speak.

But words and phrases are a different beast.

Take the “Demogorgon,” a term the “Stranger Things” kids crib from Dungeons & Dragons, and use for the monster that comes from the Upside Down. Finding the right word in each language for “Demogorgon” wasn’t as easy as transliterating it, Netflix’s head of localization, Denny Sheehan, said in an interview.

“Demogorgon,” like much of the nostalgia-filled “Stranger Things,” is meant to reference a cultural touchpoint from someone's past. So to translate it, Netflix had to go back and see how the original Dungeons & Dragons translated it at the time — in every language. Netflix also had to see how Eggo waffles, a favorite of "Stranger Things" character Eleven, appeared in the Middle East. It's about continuity.

Netflix had to not just capture the words, but also the “zeitgeist,” Sheehan explained.

netflix stranger things demogorgon monster

The 'taste community'

After trying to make sure its international subscribers get the references, and won't experience any awkward dubbing or subtitling, Netflix has to figure out how to market each show to each individual.

One big factor is choosing what thumbnail image (or clip) to show you.

Netflix used to pick the "winning" image on a country-by-country basis — in other words, all of Sweden would see one image, Yellin said. But now Netflix has personalized that image based on 2,000 distinct “taste communities” it has identified. These "taste communities" don’t have to do with geography, but rather, with your previous viewing habits.

If you are drawn more to action or horror movies, you might get a scarier thumbnail, while if you go for comedies, it might be funnier.

But for that thumbnail to catch your eye, you need to see it. Yellin said that placement is key to getting someone to watch, since even if they are in “discovery mode,” they will only scroll over an average of 40 to 50 titles. You can't bury it down the page.

The upper left is the most valuable real estate on the Netflix homepage, and you can bet that for many people that will be exactly where Netflix sticks “Stranger Things 2.”

netflix pics

Canada leads the way

Ives is mum on what we can expect in “Stranger Things 2,” but he did say that the photography is a bit more colorful, with 90s influences like “Terminator 2.”

And while the binge-watching will no doubt spread quickly across the world, there is one place that will probably be extra excited: Canada.

When Netflix crunched the data, Yellin said he found that Canada was the country where the first season of “Stranger Things” went viral the fastest.

“Canada wins the race,” he said.

SEE ALSO: Netflix's 'Mindhunter' is a thrilling look at famous serial killers that reinvents the crime procedural

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The 6 worst TV shows of the fall 2017 season, ranked

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You've probably noticed that this year was particularly weak for fall television. 

There are way more stinkers than successes, particularly from the big networks like CBS and ABC.

So we ranked the worst of the worst, from The CW's "Dynasty" to ABC's "Wisdom of the Crowd." Hopefully you see this before you've watched any of these.

Here are the worst new shows of the fall 2017 season, ranked:

SEE ALSO: These are the 7 most popular new TV shows this fall

6. "Young Sheldon" — CBS

"Young Sheldon" could be good if it wasn't trying so hard. The show has something going for it, especially in Sheldon Cooper's parents and family life, but everything is lost in network comedy cliche. An exhaustive effort to incorporate Sheldon Cooper's personality into the adorable newcomer Iain Armitage — mixed with every cliche you can think of — makes it feel like something you've seen before, but don't need to see again.



5. "Dynasty" — The CW

This reboot isn't nearly as fun as the original because it's trying way too hard in every way. The first shot of the series is of the Trump family. Everyone is overacting, but not in the silly way that made the '80s "Dynasty" so enjoyable. The dialogue tries so hard to be clever that it's condescending. The pilot is filled with exposition — the main character, in voiceover, explains what a dynasty is, as if some people would be too dumb or poor to know. And the show desperately tries to fit in a feminist angle, despite the fact that the plot clearly relies on pitting two women against each other. 



4. "The Good Doctor" — ABC

This gimmicky ABC drama has a great cast. Freddie Highmore continues to prove he should be taken seriously as an actor, and Richard Schiff is amazing, as always. But the cast can't make this emotionally manipulative drama worthwhile, though it has potential. The show has solid ratings, so it can trust its reliable audience and make the story a little more nuanced, but will it?



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Netflix's 28 original drama films, ranked from worst to best

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Beasts of No Nation Idris Elba

Netflix's library of original movies has expanded exponentially since it released its first film, "Beasts of No Nation," in 2015 — and its pace of production is only picking up.

The company recently announced that it will be releasing 80 original films in 2018, including high-profile movies from the likes of Will Smith and Martin Scorsese.

Among Netflix's recent original drama releases, films like the new Noah Baumbach dramedy, "The Meyerowitz Stories," and the Stephen King adaptation "1922" (out this Friday) have garnered universal critical acclaim.

To find out which Netflix drama films are worth watching, we turned to the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes to rank each release by its composite critical reception. We excluded films that didn't have enough reviews to receive a designation of "Rotten" or "Fresh." We also included and footnoted upcoming films that have already screened for critics, like the Oscar-contender "Mudbound."

Here are 28 of Netflix's original drama films, ranked by their Rotten Tomatoes critic score from lowest to highest (if there was a tie, we used the audience score to break it):

SEE ALSO: Netflix's 24 original drama series, ranked from worst to best

28. “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny” — 19%

Critic score: 19%

Audience score: 38%

Netflix description: "Renowned warrior Yu Shu-Lien comes out of retirement to keep the legendary Green Destiny sword away from villainous warlord Hades Dai."



27. “Brain on Fire” — 22%

Critic score: 22%

Audience score: 59%

Netflix description: "Struck by a mysterious, mentally devastating illness, a young reporter searches for answers while battling psychosis, catatonia and memory loss."



26. “Death Note” — 40%

Critic score: 40%

Audience score: 24%

Netflix description: "Light Turner finds a supernatural notebook and uses it to mete out death, attracting the attention of a detective, a demon and a girl in his class."



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Netflix is ticking higher after announcing plans to raise $1.6 billion in debt to fund new content (NFLX)

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Reed Hastings Netflix

  • Netflix announced plans to raise $1.6 billion in debt.
  • The funds will be for general purpose uses, including funding new content.
  • Shares are ticking higher, up 0.32% ahead of the opening bell

 

On Monday, Netflix announced it will raise $1.6 billion in debt to fund its ever-increasing content budget.

The company's stock was up 0.32% in early trading to $194.79. Netflix said that the terms of the deal will be sorted out between the company and the first buyers of the debt.

The move comes after Netflix announced a content budget of between $7 billion and $8 billion for 2018. The company said it hopes to increase the amount it is spending on original content that it won't have to license from partners.

Netflix has said that good, original content is its main driver of subscriber growth, so it makes sense that it would want to spend more money in the area. The company reported a total net addition of 5.3 million subscribers in the third quarter, easily outpacing the 4.5 million additions that Wall Street was expecting.

The company's biggest subscriber additions were outside of the US, which Ben Swinburne, head of media research at Morgan Stanley, told Business Insider is one of the more impressive parts of Netflix's business.

By offering original content in a country's native language, Netflix has been able to penetrate even emerging markets like Brazil. On the company's earnings call, company executives said that native language programming has the power to cross borders and become popular internationally as well.

Netflix said it hopes to add another 5.05 million subscribers in the third quarter.

Shares are up 52.24% this year.

Read more about Netflix's third-quarter earnings report here...

netflix stock price

SEE ALSO: Netflix hits record high as subscriber growth blows past targets

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Nintendo's Switch is better than ever, but it's still missing 7 huge features that the competition has had for years

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With a huge new Super Mario game on the verge of launching, there's never been a better time to own a Nintendo Switch

Super Mario Odyssey

Between "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" back in March, and the upcoming "Super Mario Odyssey," 2017 is a pretty incredible year for Nintendo's newest system.

At the same time, for a console that launched in 2017, there are some glaring holes in what the Switch offers. No Netflix? No online voice chat or cloud saves? Some stuff that's become standardized in gaming, whether you're playing on a PlayStation 4 or an iPhone, simply doesn't exist on Nintendo's console. 

Here are the biggest missing features on Nintendo's otherwise excellent little console.

SEE ALSO: 11 reasons why now is the perfect time to buy a Nintendo Switch

1. A unified profile that tracks your game library and saved data.

The main point of the Switch is its ability to bring your games anywhere. You can literally pick up the console and bring it with you, or plop it into the Nintendo Switch Dock and play on your TV (seen above). 

That's why it's especially baffling that the same concept isn't applied to your Nintendo Switch profile data. Yes, you can sign in with your Nintendo Account on another Switch and it'll allow you to download your purchased games. Unfortunately, all the saved data on your profile for anything you've played is locked — physically — to your Switch.

There's a new method for transferring that data in the latest Switch firmware update, but it's limited in use. You have connect both of the Switch consoles to the same WiFi network, for instance. On the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, you can simply upload your game saved data to their respective cloud services and re-download them whenever you want. It's a great fail-safe back-up if, say, your console breaks.

It's a little thing, no doubt, but one that makes a huge difference.



2. The ability to easily chat with friends online.

The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 — consoles that have been outright replaced by subsequent generations in the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, respectively — had system-level voice chat functionality.

What that means in English is that you could group up with friends, online, and chat in a private room while playing whatever game together. Maybe you weren't even playing games together! Think of it like group Skype on game consoles.

The same goes for general voice chat: If you're so inclined, you can put on a chat headset and speak with random strangers in online games on the Xbox and PlayStation platforms. 

Not so with the Switch: The only solution is the convoluted madness you see above, which involves plugging the Switch and your phone into a dongle. This also doesn't work on a system level — you can't jump from game-to-game with friends while chatting. It's the kind of thing that's now expected as standard on all other gaming platforms, and it's bizarrely missing from the Nintendo Switch.



3. Video recording on the system level.

Nintendo just added video recording to the Switch in a recent update ("Version 4.0"). You can record gameplay by holding down the capture button. But there are some huge caveats:

-The maximum recording is the last 30 seconds of gameplay.

-You can't record video at any time.

-You can only record video of supported games, and the list of games thus far is short ("Breath of the Wild," "Splatoon 2," "Arms," and "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe." The upcoming "Super Mario Odyssey will also allow it.)

On both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, you can record gameplay of any game — and your maximum length is far longer. The PS4 automatically records the last 15 minutes of gameplay at any given time, for instance. The built-in editing software on both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 is also far more substantial; on the Switch, you can edit length, but nothing else.



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Here's everything leaving Netflix in November that you need to watch right now

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Netflix has announced the titles that will be leaving its streaming service in November, so make sure to catch a few of these movies and TV shows before they're gone.

Departing titles to check out include "The Matrix" trilogy and all nine seasons of the CBS show "How I Met Your Mother."

If you've never seen Martin Scorsese's "Hugo," that's another fan favorite worth watching.

Here's everything that's leaving Netflix in November (we've highlighted the titles we think you should watch in bold):

SEE ALSO: Netflix's 28 original drama films, ranked

Leaving November 1

"Back to the Secret Garden"
"Black Books: Series 1-3"
"Christmas with the Kranks"
"Get Rich or Die Tryin’"
"Hard Candy"
"Hugo"
"Ravenous"
"The Brothers"
"The Legend of Hell House"
"The Matrix"
"The Matrix Reloaded"
"The Matrix Revolutions"
"The Newton Boys"
"Thomas & Friends: A Very Thomas Christmas"
"Thomas & Friends: Holiday Express"
"Thomas & Friends: Merry Winter Wish"
"Thomas & Friends: The Christmas Engines"
"Thomas & Friends: Ultimate Christmas"
"Twilight"
"V for Vendetta"



Leaving November 3

"Do I Sound Gay?"



Leaving November 5

"Hannah Montana: The Movie"
"Heavyweights"
"Sky High"



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Nintendo's about to debut a huge new Mario game — here's everything we know

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Mario's been to a lot of weird places, and he's done a lot of strange things, but nothing compares to the surreal and bizarre world of "Super Mario Odyssey." 

"Super Mario Odyssey" is the next major flagship game in the classic franchise, from Nintendo's world-class internal teams — and it's nearly here.

Super Mario OdysseyWith the launch of "Odyssey" coming up so soon on October 27, it's time to get up to speed on Mario's next big adventure. Here's a look:

SEE ALSO: Nintendo is about to release a miniature version of the original SNES — here's everything we know about it

1. "Super Mario Odyssey" is an open-world, 3D Mario game.

"Super Mario Odyssey" is a 3D Mario game, along the lines of "Super Mario 64" and "Super Mario Sunshine." That means it's a sandbox-style game. The world is segmented into levels, but the levels are massive and open-ended.

Forget about flagpoles — in "Super Mario Odyssey," you're given free rein to go wherever you want within a world. There are no "beginning" and "end" points in "Odyssey," in that sense. There is an overall story arc and a progression to the game, of course, but each world is open-ended in how you approach it.



2. "Odyssey" is still very much a Mario game.

If you've ever played a 3D Mario game before, you're familiar with "Super Mario Odyssey." I've spent a few hours playing the game at preview events in 2017, and I was able to directly apply previously learned Mario skills. The double jump, and the long jump, and the backflip, and whatever else you're expecting? It's in there. 

In the long tradition of Mario games, "Odyssey" builds on the already existing framework of Mario gameplay and control. 



3. The world of "Odyssey" is divided into "Kingdoms."

It's not clear how many kingdoms in total there are for Mario to explore — remember, these are large areas that are full of stuff to collect, puzzles to solve, and enemies to tackle — but Nintendo has thus far shown nine.

Here are all nine areas Nintendo detailed in its most recent video:

-New Donk City, Metro Kingdom

-Tostarena, Sand Kingdom

-Mount Volbono, Luncheon Kingdom

-Steam Gardens, Wooded Kingdom

-Bonneton, Cap Kingdom

-Fossil Falls, Cascade Kingdom

-Shiveria, Snow Kingdom

-Bubblaine, Seaside Kingdom

-Tropical island, Unknown kingdom



See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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