The standard of beauty is quickly changing and the lingerie industry is taking notice.

Companies like Adore Me and Aerie have been showcasing a diverse array of body types in their ads in recent years as part of a body positivity movement that emphasizes "real" beauty.

But Victoria's Secret's look hasn't changed much. The lingerie behemoth has famously relied on selling a thin version of sexy, despite mounting pressure from the industry. 

Victoria's Secret was the target of a Change.org petition in 2014 calling on the company to actually show every type of body. Even some of its most prominent Angels said they would want to see plus-size models added to the Victoria's Secret roster.

Here are some plus-size models that Victoria's Secret could consider hiring.

Iskra Lawrence has posed without any Photoshopping for Aerie — and she looks stunning. She's an activist and an ambassador for the National Eating Disorder Association and has been tapped to help launch Runway Riot, a website promoting the acceptance of all body sizes. She's the spokesmodel for American Eagle's teen lingerie brand Aerie, and she has also modeled for Adore Me.

Source: BI

Ashley Graham broke ground when she was on the cover of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition in 2016. She also appeared on the cover of Maxim.

Source: BI; BI

Anita Marshall was named Essence's Curvy Model of the Month in June 2014. She's from Boston and has modeled for Macy's and Nordstrom.

Source: Essence 

Now that the summer of slumps is behind us, it's time to get into the more serious fall movies that will bring powerful performances and, perhaps, some Oscar gold. 

This fall includes anticipated movies like the all-star cast in the reboot of "The Magnificent Seven," Oliver Stone's "Snowden," and Tom Hanks playing the Miracle on the Hudson pilot in the Clint Eastwood movie "Sully."

There are also smaller films that should have your attention like the Sundance hit "The Birth of a Nation," the powerful "The Light Between Oceans," and the Amy Adams sci-fi trip "Arrival."

Here are 27 movies coming out in the coming months that you should not miss:

SEE ALSO: This startup wants to make sure you never wait in line at the movies again

"The Light Between Oceans" - out now

Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander prove they are two of the top actors working today as they play a couple whose lives crumble after rescuing a baby adrift in a rowboat. Based on the M.L. Stedman novel of the same name, the movie is a visually stunning look at sacrifice. 

"Max Rose" - out now

This is Jerry Lewis' first leading movie role since Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy" in the 80s. The now-90-year-old legend delivers an emotionally charged dramatic performance as a jazz musician who struggles with the death of his wife and the possibility that she was unfaithful to him. 

"Morgan" - out now

In this thriller Kate Mara ("Fantastic Four") plays a risk-management consultant who has to determine whether to terminate an artificial being who was created in a lab.

The legendary "Missed Connections" section on Craigslist is a beautiful mixture of absurdity, heartfelt longing, and wistfulness. And this is doubly true of those from Burning Man, the yearly festival in the middle of the desert whose very nature invites an intense nostalgia that keeps people coming back year after year.

And this year's Burning Man missed connections are delightful.

There are people who tossed pineapples back and forth only to have their blue-wigged potential soulmate melt into the desert. And there are those who just wanted to join in on the "snail crossing endeavors."

"You said how chill I was with my West Coast style ..."

Read on for this year's amazing Burning Man missed connections, and some of our favorites from last year as well:

Note: If you've never read a "Missed Connections" post before, Craigslist users often use tags like "m4w" (man looking for woman) to alert people to their own gender and the gender of the person they're looking for. Please also note some of the listings contain obscenities.

SEE ALSO: Here's what the inside of a 'fancy celebrity camp' at Burning Man looks like

'Tibetan Singing Bowls, Burning Man Temple — m4w'

"I gave you a Tibetan singing bowl session, you — girl from Palo Alto with beautiful eyes, at the Temple BM 2016 Saturday afernoon

"You said I 'put you under'

"I was distracted by so many things going on at the time and I could not remember your name, but you said you work with at risk youth and deliver energy healing in Palo Alto, you also mentioned you just bought your first bowl set. I just wanted to make friends.

— Patrick from San Diego"

'Burning Man: Freckled face — m4w'

"We met near 8:00 & G and your rode on my handle bars all the way to the restrooms at E. We sat and talked while I made you smile, you said how chill I was with my West Coast style. With freckles on your face and and my hair standing tall you gave me an address but I forgot to call. You kissed me once but I made you kiss me twice I was digging your body while my tattoos caught your eye. Hit me up when you get a chance I live in Denver now so I can be there in a flash."

'Burning Man: Rob w the voice from Boston via New Jersey via Greenpoint'

"You took care of me when I was sick and I never got to properly thank you. Your voice drew me in, with funny, sweet stories about your travels and your Polish parents. Even though I got sick it was an amazing trip because it brought me to you. You saved me and I wanted to explore the playa and you — but I was too out of it to articulate my true intentions. You're nonjudgmental, kind, with an open mind and hot...well you know — you're a SMF. I'll be in San Francisco next month or if you're still traveling come to Seattle and crash with me. I may have what you've been looking for and there is plenty of Metal in town.

Yours truly,
Oddy"

At a press conference for the movie "The Birth of a Nation" on Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival, director Nate Parker and the cast of his film spoke for over an hour to a room full of press about the movie, which looks at the life of slave Nat Turner, who led a revolt against white slave owners in Virginia in the 1830s.

The movie, which has shown at the festival to standing ovations, is a powerful work that its distributor Fox Searchlight has high hopes come the Oscars.

However, in the past month Parker has had to address a decade-old rape allegation, and a recent revelation that the alleged victim committed suicide in 2012. The story has taken over the success the film has had at festivals since sweeping the major awards at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. 

In the hopes to put the attention back on the movie, Parker refused to address the rape topic at Sunday's press conference.

When New York Times writer Cara Buckley asked Parker if he plans to apologize to his alleged victim and her family, Parker said he didn't want to "hijack" the press conference to talk about his personal life.

“I’ve addressed this a few times,” said Parker. “This [press conference] is a forum for the film and for the other people sitting on this stage. I do not own it. It is not mine."

Mashable's Jeff Sneider then asked Parker if he believes there's a double standard in Hollywood on how white people charged with sexual misconduct are treated versus African-Americans. This stemming from Oscar contender this year, Casey Affleck, receiving little attention for his past harassment allegations.

Parker gave a similar answer he gave Buckley and did not address it.

During the press conference Parker, who along with being the film's writer and director also plays Turner in the movie, and his fellow cast mates spoke about the hopes that the movie will be a bridge to starting a conversation about issues of racism and sexual abuse (the character played by Gabrielle Union in the movie is raped, she has since spoken out about being raped as a teen). Parker also said that he still plans to travel the country with the film to churches and college campuses to talk about social issues leading up to its October 7 release.

However, Sunday's press conference has proven that whatever setting Parker is given to talk about his movie he cannot escape having to address his past.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson makes and spends his millions

Like most directors after they have a hit movie, Shawn Levy started his own production company following the global success of "Night at the Museum" in 2006.

The company, 21 Laps, wasn't just a status symbol proving Levy had made it in Hollywood. It also had a practical purpose — and would eventually lead to Netflix's biggest new hit of the year, "Stranger Things."

Several years ago as 21 Laps got off the ground and Levy came up with his next film, the Steve Carell/Tina Fey comedy "Date Night," he had a home base to immediately make it a reality.

"I had the idea with my wife over dinner, then I had a company that allowed me to go into work the next day, work out the story, hire a writer, package it with actors, and make it," Levy recently told Business Insider.

Levy and 21 Laps have evolved since those early films to a point where Levy has transformed from a go-to director for all-audience family films into the head of a production company behind TV shows and movies that have found huge acclaim.

"Stranger Things" is 21 Laps' most prized effort yet.

Made by virtual unknowns Matt and Ross Duffer, "Stranger Things," in case you haven't watched it, is about a young boy's disappearance and the mother, friends, and police chief who try to find him with the help of a girl with telekinetic powers.

The project was piling up nos around the industry when it caught the attention of 21 Laps executives Dan Levine and Dan Cohen a few years back.

Though the company had modest success with the 2013 indie hit "The Spectacular Now," it was still known in the business as the company for Levy's own directing efforts.

But suddenly Levy needed a change. He had just released the comedies "This Is Where I Leave You" and "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb" back-to-back in 2014 and wanted to take a break from the director's chair.

"I went into 2015 saying, I'm really operating at a slightly unhealthy pace and I want to force myself to have a little more patience," Levy said. "So I started turning down more movies and it allowed me to focus on 21 Laps and literally be in the office with Dan and Dan and our junior executives and just be in the bloodstream of my company in a more engaged way. Then 'Stranger Things' came in the door."

Levy saw how great the "Stranger Things" story was. He and the Duffer brothers built a strong relationship that culminated with Levy standing alongside the Duffers when they walked into Netflix to pitch the show.

But Levy's involvement didn't end when Netflix gave the green light. He took a hands-on producing role, which meant everything from getting on the phone and convincing Lucasfilm to let the series feature the Millennium Falcon in a scene to Levy coming on to direct two episodes at a crucial point in production.

"We only had a certain number of scripts, and it became clear that we did not have scripts ready for the second half of the season," Levy said. "So I went to the Duffers and I said, 'Guys, if you want, I'll buy you some time. I'll do [chapters] three and four, you go bury yourself in the writing.'"

Levy's involvement didn't just help the Duffers in finishing the writing of the season, but his visual style influenced how the Duffers shot the rest of the season.

"I wanted to do episodes in a way that felt consistent with their vision, but I definitely started moving the camera a lot more," Levy said. "[The Duffers] came to me after a week of me shooting and they were like, 'We're watching your dailies, we f---ing love all of this camera movement. So we're going to throw out our rule about static frames and we're going to start emulating that camera movement.' It's why chapters five through eight, you see the evolution of the series."

Now one of the most-watched shows on Netflix, which is getting a second season, has put 21 Laps in the crosshairs of filmmakers who want to make unique content. Levy admits submissions into the office are at an all-time high. But the company currently has a slew of other projects either finished or in production.

One of those is the upcoming award-season contender "Arrival," starring Amy Adams as a linguist who is chosen by the military to assist in communicating with aliens who have just landed on earth.

Levy, along with Dan Levine and Dan Cohen, came across a collection of short stories by sci-fi writer Ted Chiang three years ago and found that the story they liked most, "Story of Your Life," had never been optioned for a movie.

The 21 Laps machine went into motion, and hired screenwriter Eric Heisserer ("Lights Out") and director Denis Villeneuve ("Prisoners," "Sicario").

"Arrival" is now one of the most anticipated movies of the fall (playing this week at the Toronto International Film Festival and then opening in theaters on November 11) and Adams is an early favorite to receive an Oscar nomination.

Levy admits he never considered directing "Arrival," but he's working on getting back to his features. Though he's busy producing a pair of indies, "Kodachrome" and the sci-fi action movie "Kin," he's eyeing his own remake of the 1984 Jeff Bridges sci-fi romance movie "Starman" — or as Levy calls it, a "reimagined remake" (he agrees the term is as annoying as you likely think it is).

He's also got his eye on a biopic on legendary rock promoter Bill Graham. But Levy admits both are far off in the distance. Right now he's enjoying being a producer and expanding 21 Laps' portfolio.

"21 Laps in its first 10 years was largely about finding, developing, and producing the movies that I directed and I think in this next chapter we will spend equal energy producing the movies of other filmmakers," said Levy, who mentioned that he's currently developing the next movie from "Whiplash" and "La La Land" director Damien Chazelle.

"Maybe it's because I'm a little more confident as a director, but I think I know that I can be an effective and happy producer. I really love it and I really love making the thing, but I also really love seeing the outcome. It's a different relationship to the material, but it's one that I now know I really enjoy." 

SEE ALSO: Donald Glover explains why it took 3 years to make his new show "Atlanta": "I like taking my time"

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NOW WATCH: This incredibly detailed Batman costume just set a Guinness World Record

For over three decades, Tom Hanks has been almost every type of character.

Starting his career as a funnyman on the TV series "Bosom Buddies" and then taking his nice-guy style to the big screen in romantic comedies like "Splash" and "The Money Pit," Hanks moved to more dramatic work in 1993 with his Oscar-winning role as an AIDS patient in "Philadelphia."

Since then, Hanks has gone back and forth, showing his diverse talents but often playing characters who, deep down, are upstanding men.

In Hanks' latest role, playing "Miracle on the Hudson" pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger in the Clint Eastwood-directed "Sully" (out Friday), he again shows he's the Jimmy Stewart of our era.

Here are Hanks' 16 best performances ever, ranked:

SEE ALSO: The 12 best Matthew McConaughey performances ever, ranked

16. Rick Gassko in “Bachelor Party” (1984)

In one of his first movie roles, Hanks is great as a soon-to-be-married guy who tries to stay out of trouble after his friends throw a wild bachelor party for him.

15. Walter Fielding Jr. in “The Money Pit” (1986)

Another classic from Hanks' romantic-comedy days, in which he plays opposite Shelley Long as a couple who struggle to repair a broken-down house they've bought. Hanks' physical comedy is at its best here.

14. James B. Donovan in “Bridge of Spies” (2015)

For most actors, a role like this in a Steven Spielberg movie is a highlight in their filmography. For Hanks, it's a strong performance but hard to compare to the others higher on this list.

Even a casual TV fan has seen the word "showrunner" thrown around. But what does it really mean, and what is a showrunner in charge of?

When it comes to the making of a TV show, the showrunner is the top of the food chain.

"It's a weird amalgam of a creative job and a management job that I'm sure exists in other industries, but I haven't yet come across the equivalent of it yet. It's pretty bizarre, I think," Remi Aubuchon, a veteran producer and the showrunner for Playstation Network's recently canceled "Powers," told Business Insider.

"Being a showrunner is basically like babysitting versus parenting," Bravo's "Odd Mom Out" co-showrunner Julie Rottenberg told us, "because suddenly the baby is yours. You can't just leave at six o'clock when it's time. And you're pretty much responsible for every aspect of the show."

Most showrunners start out as writers, and she said she thinks it's a bit of a miracle that anyone fits the job description.

"I find it amazing that writers, who are often not well suited for managerial roles, are the people who wind up running things," Rottenberg said. "I feel like if you find someone who's a great writer and then is also really great at managing people — it feels amazing to me that that happens as often as it does because they're really two very different parts of your brain."

Business Insider talked to several TV showrunners to shed some light on the "bizarre" but essential roles they play in the job:

SEE ALSO: Here are the 10 rising Hollywood stars who are taking over TV in the fall

DON'T MISS: The 10 best and worst TV shows this summer

Showrunners are in charge of making the most of a budget.

"A lot of the showrunner's job is figuring out how to balance the amount of money that you have, the time that you have with which to do it, and try to get the best product that you can out of what you've got available," Aubuchon said. "I think if everybody had $10 million an episode, it probably would be a no-brainer, but that's not how it works that I know of anywhere. If it does, let me know."

A showrunner has to make sure everyone feels valuable.

"A great showrunner isn't a dictator — they're curators," said Martin Gero, the showrunner for NBC's hit drama "Blindspot." "You're working with all these creative people, you don't want to be like, 'Here's what I want. You'll do exactly what I say.' You want it to be a collective, but at the end of the day, somebody's got to have the final word, and the showrunner's the final word."

Rottenberg agrees.

"You have to both be a very clear and strong leader, but also very open to people's ideas and making people feel that they're a part of the process because they are," she said. "This is such a collaborative medium, where everyone I think looks better and does better work when they feel invested in the finished product."

A showrunner protects the show's creative vision.

"A showrunner has to advocate for the creative aspect of the show, and that's harder than it looks sometimes, especially when I have to sign the budget every week," Aubuchon said. "And I have to be responsible and conscious, and 'Powers' is a really great example ... There's lots of elements to that show that could really jack up the cost of the show. And the tendency, especially in the production world, is to want to simplify and go for the easiest and less expensive version of that, and my job is to actually say, 'No, no, no, I want it to be like this, and we need to figure out a way to make it happen.'"

"Odd Mom Out" co-showrunner Elisa Zuritsky, who has known Rottenberg since they were both in elementary school, said, "The toughest balancing act, I think, as a showrunner is knowing what you want and having a clear sense of the show you want to put out there while still allowing for other voices to change your perception or make it better, ultimately. It's one of the most collaborative jobs, I think, a person could have."

The Miss America beauty pageant looks a lot different today than it did 94 years ago when it was called a “popularity contest” across nine East Coast newspapers.

But today’s two-hour TV extravaganza differs from the original in another fascinating way — the winners' body types have gotten much thinner over the years, according to educational website PsychGuides.com (first spotted on the Huffington Post).

PsychGuides.com tracked the evolution of the Miss America winner’s body types since the contest started in 1921 using all the publicly available pictures the team could find. PsychGuides.com then made a morph to show the dramatic shift, which you can really see emerging in the fitness-obsessed 1980s.

The website went further and also charted how the average American woman’s body differed from Miss America’s, tracking down all of the heights and weights of winners available to calculate the women’s body mass indexes.

The graph below shows that as Miss America has gotten thinner, the average American woman in her 20s has gotten heavier.

The only decades when the average U.S. woman and the Miss America winners fell in the same range were in the 1940s and ‘50s, according to PsychGuides.com.

“Miss America represents the highest ideals. She is a real combination of beauty, grace, and intelligence, artistic and refined,” the official Miss America website states. “She is a type which the American girl might well emulate.”

But PsychGuides.com wrote that the contest can have a negative effect on women’s perceptions of themselves if they try to “emulate” these winners.

“The strong focus on beauty and body, combined with the high publicity of the contest, can be difficult for women who don’t consider themselves fitting of this perfect image,” the PsychGuides.com team wrote, adding that these images of women’s bodies “can perpetuate an unrealistic expectation for the average female’s body.”

It’s not the first criticism of the pageant, which was protested in the ‘60s and draws numerous op-eds today questioning why the $50,000 scholarship competition still emphasizes a bikini-focused swimsuit segment where only the contestants’ bodies are judged.

The competition has also waned in popularity in recent years. In 2014, viewership was down to 7.6 million, according to Deadline, which was 25% lower than in 2013.

To read the full PsychGuides.com findings, click here.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here’s the Photoshopped smile everyone is talking about

John Oliver's latest "Last Week Tonight" web exclusive on Sunday featured one of his signature, heated tirades against a peculiar target: birds and their migratory patterns.

"As the weather cools down, birds are going to start their seasonal migration, which is of course when they travel to warmer climates in order to feed, grow, and mate," Oliver said. "It's their version of 'Eat, Pray, Love,' except birds are too dumb to realize that everything they needed was inside them the whole time."

Oliver then proceeded to lay down a harsh mock-rant against the avian species as it prepares for migration.

"I have a brief message for the birds of the Northeast as they begin their journey southward. Are you listening birds? Here it goes: F--- you, birds!"

Calling birds a "sh--ty sequel to the dinosaurs," the "Last Week Tonight" host went on to accost parrots, ostriches, and (most pointedly) geese: "Yes, I'm talking to you, geese. You look like ducks that played football in high school and never stopped going to the gym."

The reason behind Oliver's takedown of all winged creatures seems to lie in his deep-seated resentment of birds' ability to escape the impending cold weather, as he prepares to face the winter months in New York City, where "Last Week Tonight" is filmed.

"I hope all you disgusting sky mice enjoy your tropical getaways while the rest of us face the frigid torment of winter. And I hope each and every one of you flies into a wind turbine on your way north next spring."

HBO's "Last Week Tonight" returns from summer hiatus on September 25. 

Watch the segment below:

SEE ALSO: John Oliver proposes a new list of post-Labor Day rules

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: An aspiring cop went undercover in a jail and says inmates have more power than guards

There were a few big wins and surprises during the weekend's Creative Emmy Awards, including those for Netflix's "Making a Murderer," and famous drag queen RuPaul.

For the most part, the Creative Emmys celebrate the people who make the magic happen behind the scenes. But they also comprise on-screen awards that can't be awarded during the primetime show, which is happening on Sunday.

The Emmys clearly rewarded Netflix's "Making a Murderer" for its ability to captivate audiences with the story of a man and his teen nephew who may be serving time for a murder they didn't commit. "Making a Murderer" won for best docuseries and earned its creators, Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi, Emmys for writing and directing, as well.

That lands in the expected column, though. What wasn't expected by many was RuPaul's win foroutstanding host for a reality program. Not only was it RuPaul's first nomination after eight seasons of drag competition "RuPaul's Drag Race," but the first win for the actor/host and cable network Logo.

"Earlier this year I was quoted saying I’d rather have an enema than an Emmy," RuPaul said during his acceptance speech. "But thanks to the Television Academy, I can have both!"

RuPaul had to beat some major players for the award, including previous winners Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn for "Project Runway," "Dancing With the Stars" host Tom Bergeron, and "Hollywood Game Night" host Jane Lynch. Additionally, RuPaul beat longtime "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest. That means Seacrest won't have an Emmy for the long-running singing competition.

And as long as we're celebrating firsts, Amy Poehler nabbed her first Emmy after 17 nominations when she and Tina Fey won for best comedy series guest actress for hosting the Christmas episode of “Saturday Night Live.” The win also marked the first time two actresses were awarded for an acting trophy by the Emmys.

"Game of Thrones" upped the ante with nine Emmys on Sunday, one more than last year. That's good news for HBO's count this year, currently 11, as the fantasy drama's late-summer debut for the upcoming seventh season will make it ineligible for the 2017 awards.

Another great story from HBO and the Emmys arrives with Peter Scholari's win for guest actor in a comedy for "Girls." Initially, he wasn't even nominated. He replaced Peter MacNicol of "Veep," who was disqualified due to appearing on too many episodes for the guest actor category.

Visit E! Online for the full list of Creative Arts Emmy winners.

SEE ALSO: This 'Veep' favorite is coming back, and has another shot at an Emmy

DON'T MISS: Here are the biggest snubs of the 2016 Emmy nominations

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The defense attorneys from 'Making a Murderer' respond to criticism from Steven Avery’s new lawyer

One of Sony's trump cards for the PlayStation 4 this holiday just got hit with a delay. 

The gorgeous game you see above is named "The Last Guardian." It's a long-in-development game that's exclusive to Sony's PlayStation 4. You can only play the game on Sony's console.

But now, rather than the game launching in the crucial October, pre-holiday time period usually reserved for blockbusters (like "The Last Guardian"), the game is launching on December 6. 

The move doesn't impact fans dramatically, but could certainly impact how well the game sells during the holiday season.

The month of October is stacked with blockbuster games: the latest from "Call of Duty," "Gears of War," "Battlefield" and "Titanfall." There's a good reason for that — October is the month to release your blockbuster game. That's because games tend to see explosive sales at launch, with rapidly-decreasing sales after that. Releasing your blockbuster game in October means you can extend that sales window with — what else? — the holiday sales season. 

On top of that, customers are more inclined to buy your game because of the nature of the holiday season: People buy and give games to friends and family. 

With a December 6 launch date, "The Last Guardian" may get some of that bump, but it's missing the crucial post-Thanksgiving sales week in the US.

SEE ALSO: One game survived 8 years of development hell to become one of the biggest announcements at E3

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's your first look at the newest PlayStations

Pandora is readying the launch of an on-demand music service to compete with the like of Spotify, and is currently trying to lock down deals with the major music labels.

But if the company can't get those deals done, or if the new service is a flop, there will be big pressure on Pandora to sell itself.

Indeed, there was already pressure earlier this year from Pandora's activist shareholder, Corvex, for Pandora to consider a sale, and Liberty Media's CEO reportedly made an informal offer.

In a note on Monday, SunTrust analysts led by Robert S. Peck explored who the potential buyers for Pandora would be. Here's what they came up with:

• Liberty Media/SiriusXM: "Liberty’s CEO (LMCA, $22.74, NR) has been reported by CNBC to have acknowledged the benefits of a P/Sirius merger and was reported by the Wall Street Journal to have made an informal $15 offer for P. Liberty Media is 65% owner of Sirius XM (SIRI, $4.10, NR). Further, P’s activist shareholder has publicly endorsed a tie-up between P and Liberty/SiriusXM."
• Spotify: "A potential merger of Spotify and Pandora has also been discussed in the press, including Forbes. We believe synergies would be substantial as it relates to product development, marketing, salesforce, content delivery, royalty tracking/reporting, back office, demographics, data, local, in-auto, upsell, and programmatic. A reverse merger could provide Spotify an alternative to an IPO and a liquidity event for its investors."
• Others: "The suitors that make most sense to us are mobile-first and acquisitive with an ad business and amenable to an inside plus feet-on-the-street salesforce model. We believe this includes Verizon (VZ, $51.82, NR) and to a lesser extent AT&T (T, $39.71, NR)."

As to a potential valuation for Pandora, SunTrust uses the $15 per share offer from Liberty Media as a benchmark, but notes that Pandora's senior leadership is financially incentivized to push shares over $20.

SEE ALSO: How Pandora could turn a profit where Spotify hasn't been able to

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: If You're Going To Pay For Music — Pay For This

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The Professional eSports Association (PEA) was announced last week, with commitment from seven leading North American eSports organizations at launch, ESPN reports.

PEA aims to be the pre-eminent eSports league worldwide, with a focus on bringing more benefits to pro players – reinforcing eSports' legitimacy and staying power as a spectator sport.

The vision is to grow PEA into an owner-operated league on a scale similar to the NBA. PEA is an association of top eSports teams, running their own league, sharing in the decision-making with players, and splitting the profits. The association kicks off in January, when it will host a tournament for the first-person shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, with a minimum $1 million prize pool for its inaugural year.  

Seven leading eSports teams have already committed to the new league, including Team SoloMid, Cloud9, Team Liquid, Counter Logic Gaming, Immortals, NRG eSports and compLexity Gaming. These teams feature in divisions for numerous games – meaning that they field teams specializing in a range of different game titles. Together, they are the founding team franchises for PEA, much like the Basketball Association of America (the NBA’s antecedent) began with 11 franchises in June 1946.

PEA should alert companies to the opportunities that exist in this still-nascent, but rapidly growing space. This year, the industry is expected to hit $463 million in revenue, up 43% from last year, and is forecasted to pass $1 billion in total revenue by 2019, according to estimates from eSports intelligence company Newzoo. The new organization will is another step to maturity for the budding eSports industry:

• The league adds structure and credibility to the industry. PEA adapts the managerial architecture of established sports leagues, including corporate governance, sport regulation, player care, and more. It establishes the long-term architecture to build a stable and healthy environment for players, fans, media, and sponsors.
• It gives current stakeholders more security. The league sets out to share industry rewards among owners and players, who will receive an equal 50% portion of profits, retirement services, investment planning, health insurance, and more.
• Empowers players with a say in proceedings. Players will be involved in strategic decisions around league operations – like competition format, playing rules and prize distributions – by having representatives on the newly formed Rules and and Grievances committees.  

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In today's streaming age, initial airings of important TV episodes are no longer the cultural events they once were.

According to Nielsen's measurements of the top network telecasts of all time, the top 20 most-watched TV episodes ever all date back at least a decade.

For example, the "Seinfeld" series finale, in 1998 — which had a very mixed reaction — was the most recent episode to crack the top 100.

Decades-old miniseries like "Roots" and "The Thorn Birds" and finale episodes of the most popular shows in TV history dominate the list.

We compiled the data from Nielsen on the most-watched broadcasts ever to create this list of the top episodes of TV.

Note: We've excluded all live broadcasts, including Super Bowls and award shows, as well as movies broadcast on TV, all of which appear prominently in Nielsen's top 100.

Check out the top 20 most-watched episodes of TV ever:

SEE ALSO: Here are the best TV shows of the past year, according to critics

20. "All In The Family" — "Edith's Problem"

Ratings: 25.2 million viewers*

Date aired: January 8, 1972

Plot (from IMDb): "Edith's irritability as of late may be a sign of her going through menopause. Archie is frustrated when he finds out she can't possibly have her 'change of life' in 30 seconds."

*Nielsen's viewer ratings are determined by measuring the average audience in each minute of a program as a representation of the total number of people who watched the show.

19. "The Fugitive" — "The Judgment: Part 2" (Series Finale)

Ratings: 25.7 million viewers

Date aired: August 29, 1967

Plot: "Lt. Gerard agrees to work with Kimble for 24 hours to prove his innocence, because someone who may have been there when his wife was killed, posted bail for the one-armed man."

18. "Roots" — Part 1

Ratings: 28.8 million viewers

Date aired: January 23, 1977

Plot: "A dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation."

Miss America crowned its newest winner, Miss America 2017 Savvy Shields, on Sunday. Shields is just the third Miss America to hail from Arkansas since the pageant began in 1921.

For coming out on top in a competitive field of 52 women, 21-year-old Shields won a $50,000 college scholarship.

The Fayetteville native is a senior at the University of Arkansas and she's a Goodwill Ambassador for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Health is at the top of her concerns, which is reflected in her Miss America platform: "Eat Better, Live Better."

What else does the new Miss America offer? Here are a few more details about Miss America 2017 Savvy Shields:

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She's a sorority girl.

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Shields is a member of the University of Arkansas' chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma.

With her pageant success, she'll no doubt be added to the sorority's list of notable alums. Currently, it includes "One Tree Hill" actress Sophia Bush, former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson, actress Ashley Judd, and designer Kate Spade.

She's a huge Beyoncé fan.

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An accomplished dancer, Shields performed a jazz number from the TV show "SMASH" in the Miss America talent category.

During the competition, Shields admitted she has a burning desire to work with Beyoncé.

"I want to be a backup dancer for Beyoncé," she confessed. "I feel like that's every dancer's secret dream is to be a backup dancer for Beyoncé especially with her new tour."

She once battled with unhealthy eating, and is educating others about nutrition.

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It might be hard to think that Shields ever had a problem with eating healthy foods. But she's only human and said she began to make bad food choices in college, which led to bouts with health problems.

That's part of the reason she chose her "Eat Better, Live Better" Miss America platform. She wants to educate others about healthy eating.

"I think sometimes healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle comes with negative connotations and scary connotations,” she told Fayetteville's KSFM. "So my thing in learning about this process, the only thing I need to learn is tactical and tangible ways to do so."

There are very few people who can match Stephen Colbert's talent for swiftly identifying people with just a few pointed references.

In celebration of his first year hosting CBS's "Late Show," the show has put together some his best roasts, in particular his needling of politicians.

Colbert has elevated calling it as he sees it to an art form. He can describe a person in just a few words or tie together phrases cleverly and spout them off at light speed, each time capturing the essence of his subject.

One of his favorite roast subjects over the year has been Donald Trump, for obvious reasons. He has described the GOP presidential candidate, who pops up repeatedly in the video, in genius and pithy ways that he clearly relishes.

For example, one time Colbert said, "Speaking of honest insanity, Donald Trump."

But Colbert has spread the love around. The objects of Colbert's biting humor have included Joe Lieberman aka "leaking bean bag chair"; Anderson Cooper, or "the Legolas of cable news"; "half-melted G.I. Joe" Ted Cruz; "rooftop beekeeper" Bernie Sanders; "current tired person" Ben Carson; and "future star fleet captain" Carly Fiorina.

The list goes on and on.

Watch a roundup of Colbert's political roasts from the past year below:

SEE ALSO: Trevor Noah totally rips apart Matt Lauer over his presidential forum: 'He was terrible'

DON'T MISS: Stephen Colbert makes the perfect comparison between Donald Trump and 'Karate Kid'

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Van Halen demanded all the brown M&M's be removed from the group's candy bowl. Turns out that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to music stars' backstage demands.

Outlets like The Smoking Gun and Defamer have reported on a variety of leaked backstage documents known as tour riders. A tour rider sets the terms that a venue must fulfill for an artist's performance. We sifted through 20 such riders to see what major musicians want in their dressing rooms. It can get pretty weird.

Some requests may confirm diva suspicions — as with Kanye West's various requests for a barber's chair and a Coke and Hennessy slushy machine. But we were more surprised by other requests, like one rap star who demanded Lunchables.

From specific scented candles to organic honey bans, see what the biggest artists ask for backstage:

Beyoncé

Beyoncé demands her dressing room be kept at 78 degrees and asks for chicken legs "HEAVILY SEASONED" with cayenne pepper and rose-scented candles. And don't have Coca-Cola products anywhere near her — Beyoncé can only be seen with Pepsi products due to a contractual agreement.

The Demands:

1 Large table for catering dressed with white tablecloths.
Dressing room should be 78 degrees
4 Brand New White Towels in bathroom (2 face & 2 body)

Hot Food: 
Juicy Baked Chicken: Legs, Wings & Breast only (Please season with fresh garlic, season salt, black pepper, and Cayenne pepper HEAVILY SEASONED!!)
Steamed Garlic Broccoli
Lightly Seasoned Green Beans
Lightly Seasoned Steamed Spinach 

Beyoncé can only have Pepsi products.
1 Case of Aquafina water (half cold, half room temperature)
1 Hot Tea Set up (Please have NEW Coffee Pot)
Sliced Lemons Wedges
Rose scented candles
Lighter for candles
CD player 

Adele

Adele's many requests include chicken salad sandwiches, Marlboro Lights, the "best quality" red wine, and six metal teaspoons in her dressing room. She also bans organic honey.

The Demands: 

12 Small bottles still (non-carbonated) spring water (at room temperature)
1 Electric kettle for BOILING water
6 Large mugs for tea. All mugs should be new, washed and dried.
6 metal teaspoons
2 "Squeezy" bottles clear honey (not organic) 
1 Bottle very best quality red wine (Italian, French or Spanish)
1 Assortment of chewing gum
1 Pack Marlboro Light plus 1 disposable cigarette lighter
1 Small selection fresh fruit, to include bananas, apples, grapes, fresh berries NO CITRUS FRUIT!
1 Small plate of assorted freshly made, individually wrapped sandwiches, to include chicken salad. Sandwiches must NOT contain tomatoes, vinegar, chili or citrus fruit 

Kanye West

Among Kanye's previous requests are a barber's chair, Carmex lip balm, shower shoes, and a lot of alcohol. On his most recent "Saint Pablo" tour, West demanded a slushy machine with mixes of Coke and Hennessy and Grey Goose and lemonade.

The Demands:

1 Tub Plain Yogurt for dipping
4 small Yoplait Yogurt 
1 Bowl of assorted nuts
1 Bowl of Sunkist Salted Pistachio Nuts (No Red Coloring)
2 Packs of Extra Chewing Gum
1 Bottle of Hot Sauce (Tabasco, Caribbean Type)
1 Box of Toothpicks
1 750 ml bottle of Hennessey Liquor
1 750 ml bottle of SKY or Absolut Vodka
1 Bottle of Patron Silver Tequila
4 Six Packs of Heineken Beer

There are many big questions in the Edward Snowden saga, and unfortunately, the new film "Snowden" leaves a number of them unanswered.

The film is not supposed to be a documentary or a definitive look at Snowden's story, but things like how he grabbed the secret NSA files or what he was doing in Hong Kong before he met with journalists are not addressed or glossed over.

Still, his supporters see the film's release as an opening to a possible presidential pardon. But before (or if) that happens, a number of events on the Snowden timeline need to be sorted out.

SEE ALSO: Here's what the real Edward Snowden says at the end of the new 'Snowden' movie

When did he actually start stealing the files?

The climax of the film shows Snowden downloading his cache of top secret files to an SD card in just minutes, but the reality is far more murky.

Snowden has never actually said how he grabbed the files, so his use of a Rubik's Cube to get them past security seems to be just for the film.

Instead of grabbing all the files in one day, Snowden apparently started downloading the cache more than a year before he met with journalists in Hong Kong, according to a report from Mark Hosenball in Reuters. In 2014, the New York Times reported that he had used a "quite automated" tool to scrape files off NSA servers while he went about his daily routine.

And he apparently took his final posting as a contractor for NSA with Booz Allen Hamilton so he could access even more, Wired reported.

How many documents did Snowden actually steal from the NSA?

Does the Snowden archive number in the tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions of documents? That's an open question.

Snowden has never said exactly how many files he grabbed, which has led to speculation that he took many more files that revealed military secrets unrelated to concerns that would fall within the "whistle blowing" category. Snowden denies this is the case.

Regardless, some estimates say that Snowden stole tens of or hundreds of thousands of documents, while the DoD believes the number is closer to 1.7 million.

Knowing the number of what was taken is important, since it puts into context what may be left to learn about NSA and others: As noted by the website Cryptome (which has been critical of the slow drip of leaks), it's likely we've seen less than 1% of the full archive.

What was he doing for 11 days in Hong Kong before he met with journalists?

One of the biggest questions in the saga has been one that Snowden has frequently avoided: What he was doing for 11 days before he met with journalists Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras in Hong Kong?

Most people know he met with the pair in early June 2013 at the Mira Hotel, with the first release published to The Guardian on June 6. But Snowden actually arrived in Hong Kong on May 20, and what he was doing is still unknown.

There is an 11-day gap between Snowden being in Hawaii and his meeting with journalists, as the Wall Street Journal's Jay Epstein reported.

Epstein further reported Russian President Vladimir Putin saying that his country's diplomats had been in contact with Snowden in Hong Kong, and surveillance footage captured him entering the "skyscraper that housed the Russian consulate on three occasions," though this happened in early June.

So, we know Snowden was in Hong Kong on May 20, but not in the Mira Hotel. Where he was, who he was meeting with, or what he was up to — he won't really say. But if he was in the Russian embassy at that time, it throws some cold water on the storyline that he ended up "stranded" in Moscow.

Chris Metzen, the senior vice president of story and franchise development at Blizzard Entertainment who was the legendary cocreator of hit games including "Diablo," "Warcraft," and "StarCraft," is retiring at age 42.

Metzen's retirement was announced internally to Blizzard employees late Monday afternoon, Business Insider has learned.

Metzen confirmed the move in a post on Blizzard's forums later on Monday, saying he wanted to spend more time with his wife, children, and their newborn baby.

"Being home with them all, having time and space to really live…to love my wife with all my strength…that's my career now," Metzen wrote.

He was with the company for 22 years, seeing it go from a small startup to a global juggernaut in video games.

Metzen is best known to fans of Blizzard's games, which recently expanded to include the smash-hit shooter "Overwatch," as the man in charge of each game's overall story.

In 1996, Metzen cocreated the universe of the smash-hit "Diablo" with Bill Roper, the former Blizzard executive. He also contributed to the setting and design of games including "Warcraft" and its first sequel. In 1998, Roper was the lead designer of the smash-hit space strategy game "StarCraft."

Since 2002, Metzen served as creative director on many of Blizzard's games, and he contributed writing and artwork to "World of Warcraft." Metzen also consulted with director Duncan Jones on the "Warcraft" movie, released just this summer. He also made a cameo in that film.

Over the years, Metzen has also contributed art design and voice-acting work to Blizzard's games.

Blizzard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Netflix hates data caps, which make it harder for people to watch Netflix.

Last week, Netflix submitted a filing to the Federal Communications Commission urging it to say data caps are unreasonable, according to Ars Technica.

In Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act, Congress instructs the FCC to decide whether "advanced telecommunications ability" is being extended to all Americans in a "reasonable" and "timely" manner. As Ars Technica points out, historically this has meant a focus on the availability and speed of internet.

But Netflix wants the FCC to take aim at data caps, too.

"Data caps (especially low data caps) and usage-based pricing ('UBP') discourage a consumer's consumption of broadband, and may impede the ability of some households to watch Internet television in a manner and amount that they would like," Netflix wrote. "For this reason, the Commission should hold that data caps on fixed-­line networks ­­and low data caps on mobile networks­­ may unreasonably limit Internet television viewing and are inconsistent with Section 706."

Basically, Netflix thinks data caps are getting in the way of your watching Netflix as much as you want to. If the FCC agrees with Netflix, it could put pressure on internet service providers to get rid of data caps, or raise them, though it wouldn't strictly require them to kill them, according to Ars Technica.

Zero Rating

A big aspect of data caps that seems to irk Netflix is their "pay for play" nature, by which some video services can pay to have their traffic not count against data caps.

"Because of a low data cap, an online service may need to pay an ISP to zero-rate its traffic to enable that ISP's customers to access the online service," Netflix wrote. "Such arrangements create an incentive for ISPs to maintain artificially low caps."

And exactly how much internet does the average household need each month?

Netflix said the average American needed 300 GB a month of just internet TV (like Netflix) — not to mention everything else you want to do on the internet.

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