All posts tagged: doubles

Netflix doubles down on original storytelling in 2026

Netflix doubles down on original storytelling in 2026

Published by Sam Flores

Rather than chasing sequels and reboots, Netflix is betting its 2026 film strategy on a massive investment in original storytelling and a renewed focus on the theatrical comedy. The streaming giant’s need for original content is one of the main reasons Netflix fought fiercely to acquire Warner Bros. But even after losing the bid to Paramount earlier this month, the priority remains. “We’re zigging where legacy studios are zagging,” Dan Lin, Netflix’s film chairman, said Wednesday at Netflix’s slate event in Hollywood. Last year, 18 of the top 20 theatrical films were based on already established intellectual property, like with sequels and remakes. The only two original ideas to break through were Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” and Zach Cregger’s “Weapons.” Both of these films were received well by audiences and earned golden statues at this year’s Oscars. Lin said that at Netflix, 2025’s slate was the “exact opposite,” where half of the films it released last year were based on original storytelling. “We have a very healthy content budget. So if there’s a great movie out …

Spotify doubles down on -billion music industry payout

Spotify doubles down on $11-billion music industry payout

Published by Sam Flores

Back in the early 2010s, the music industry was at a low point. Piracy was rampant. Compact disc sales were on a steady decline. And the then-new audio streaming services, like Spotify, were taking hits from creators for paying low royalty rates. Today, Spotify has grown into the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service and the highest-paying retailer globally — paying the music industry over $11 billion last year, up from $10 billion in 2024. Nearly 14,000 artists earned $100,000 from Spotify royalties alone last year, the Swedish company said in a post Wednesday, adding that independent artists and labels accounted for about half of all payments. “A decade ago, a lot of the questions were really fair. Spotify had to be able to prove out if it could scale as an economic engine. People didn’t know if streaming would scale as a model,” said Sam Duboff, Spotify’s global head of marketing and policy of music business, in an interview. Duboff said Spotify’s payouts aren’t “plateauing — we’re still growing that royalty pool on …

The Iranian Regime Doubles Down

The Iranian Regime Doubles Down

Published by José Betancourt

Less than two weeks into the American and Israeli bombardment of Iran, the war is both a success and a failure. Militarily, the campaign has effectively degraded the Islamic Republic’s warmaking capacities. But politically, thus far, it has only strengthened the regime’s cohesion. President Trump may have hoped the elimination of the Islamic Republic’s longtime supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would produce an Iranian Delcy Rodríguez—a pragmatic insider who would capitulate to American pressure—but it has instead spawned a budding Iranian Kim Jong Un. Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, will succeed his father, making the Islamic Republic a hereditary dictatorship poised to double down on ideology and repression. Mojtaba inherits one of the most difficult jobs in the world. Reportedly injured and in hiding, he will lead a government that is simultaneously fighting full-blown wars against the United States and Israel and against much of its own population. He survived the missile strike that killed his father, wife, and mother only because he was in an adjacent room. The attack that nearly killed him catapulted him to …

VinFast doubles down with TWO Rolls-Royce level luxe models

VinFast doubles down with TWO Rolls-Royce level luxe models

Published by skeptic

Vietnamese EV brand VinFast has been struggling to find a foothold in the US market, but that hasn’t throttled the company’s world-beating, global ambitions. To that end, the company has unveiled not one, but two new flagship ultra-luxury models meant to take on the very best ultra-luxe brands in the world. This week, VinFast announced a strategic restructuring of its electric vehicle lineup into three distinct automotive brands. The company’s new flagship make, Lac Hong, debuts with two ultra-luxury models: the 800S and 900S – and VinFast seemd pretty proud of them: Inspired by Vietnam’s cultural heritage and embodying the courage, intellect and stature of the nation, the new models deliver design and craftsmanship on par with the world’s most prestigious ultra-luxury vehicles. The Lac Hong 800S [SUV] projects a bold, powerful and refined aesthetic, while the Lac Hong 900S [sedan] reflects timeless, classical values expressed through enduring elegance. VINFAST Both new Lac Hong vehicles will reportedly feature a three motor, all-wheel-drive electric powertrain offering a combined 460 kW (~615 hp). All that power gets put …

Renpho Eyeris Zen review: This eye massager doubles as my meditation tool

Renpho Eyeris Zen review: This eye massager doubles as my meditation tool

Published by skeptic

Renpho Eyeris Zen Eye Massager ZDNET’s key takeaways The Renpho Eyeris Zen Eye Massager retails for $130. The quiet and thin device provides pain relief using heat and massage while also having built-in meditation tracks. The controls aren’t as intuitive to use as they could be. Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. As someone who suffers from headaches and migraines, I have an arsenal of devices I use when one strikes. I have a massage gun, a shoulder massager, a foam roller, posture correctors, and more, but the one device I keep coming back to is the Renpho Eye Massager.  That’s why, when Renpho debuted a new, upgraded version of its basic eye massager, the Renpho Eyeris Zen, with built-in meditations, I jumped at the opportunity to give it a try.  Also: These 7 tech products helped us find inner peace The Renpho Eyeris Zen Massager is thinner, quieter, and lasts longer on a single charge than my older Renpho Eyeris 1 device. It has three massage modes (temples only, eyes …

Von der Leyen doubles down in face of energy crisis criticism – POLITICO

Von der Leyen doubles down in face of energy crisis criticism – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“There is criticism and concerns coming from member states, but at the leaders’ retreat [last month in the Belgian countryside] they asked the Commission to come up with solutions on energy,” said one EU official with knowledge of the talks, granted anonymity to speak frankly, as were others quoted in this piece. Described as an orientation debate, the meeting was a chance for commissioners to “exchange ideas on these topics and propose concrete actions,” said the EU official, “particularly in this case, as the president is expected by the member states to present on energy prices at the next EUCO [European Council]. They’re important to member states so it’s important to the Commission.” According to an internal note drafted by EU competition chief Teresa Ribera, a Spanish socialist, and Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen, a Danish social democrat, “the recent escalation in the Middle East and the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz have had an immediate effect on global energy prices and market volatility.” Oil and gas prices have jumped sharply in the wake of …

From luxury ‘dupes’ to literary doubles: why doppelgangers are everywhere right now | Books

From luxury ‘dupes’ to literary doubles: why doppelgangers are everywhere right now | Books

Published by Sam Flores

‘He was after me. Always had been. Why else would he target me months ago? Infiltrate my flat, my supposed safe space? Question was, what did he want from me. Who, for that matter, did I mean by me?” Isabel Waidner’s fifth novel, As If, opens with the meeting of two bedraggled strangers, Aubrey and Lindsey. Lindsey has materialised on Aubrey’s doorstep and Aubrey has asked him in, noting with pained curiosity how alike they look. “He had dark brown hair not unlike mine,” Aubrey tells us. “My unremarkable eyes they were looking back at me.” With this unsettling opener, the tone is set for a disquieting read, one that I found all the more uncanny as it overlaps so unnervingly with my own new book, Lean Cat, Savage Cat. Both books draw their protagonists from the lower rungs of showbiz, both utilise the language of fashion in deliberately off-putting ways, both bring the sybaritic myths of artistic life into direct conflict with the realities of housing insecurity and wage instability. Both novels look at …

Zara Larsson Doubles Down After Abortion Joke Sparks Backlash

Zara Larsson Doubles Down After Abortion Joke Sparks Backlash

Published by Sam Flores

Zara Larsson is standing by a joke she recently made about abortion after sparking debate on social media. Last week, the Stateside singer commented on a TikTok from a fan who shared a video of the Swedish star performing live alongside the message: “I didn’t know I was pregnant here but at least my baby got to hear midnight sun before I aborted it.” “I killed the performance and then you killed it after the performance,” Zara replied. “Purrrrrr.” Zara Larsson responds to a fan revealing they had an abortion after attending her show: “I killed the performance and then you killed it after the performance purrrrrr” pic.twitter.com/t2lBf1Qo3T — Buzzing Pop (@BuzzingPop) March 3, 2026 Over the following days, Zara received a mixed response to this comment, which she addressed in a TikTok of her own on Thursday night, doubling down on the joke. “Sorry, that’s funny!” she began. “Like, I don’t know what to say. That’s funny. Sorry if you don’t have humour.” The Grammy nominee said: “I’m not really here to argue with …

Flutter doubles down on prediction markets despite investor worries about growth

Flutter doubles down on prediction markets despite investor worries about growth

Published by skeptic

Flutter Entertainment is leaning harder into prediction markets, even as some investors question how much upside the move will really deliver. In its fourth quarter earnings letter to shareholders, the parent company of FanDuel made clear that it plans to step up spending on its new prediction markets product this year. The company said: “We believe this new product enables us to harness a significant and incremental expansion of the US addressable market ahead of further state regulation – a space where our scale and experience give us a natural advantage It expects an increase in prediction markets investment with adjusted EBITDA loss expected to be toward the top of previously guided range of $200 million to $300 million. In other words, profits will take a near-term hit as Flutter builds out the business. Flutter essentially confirms an affiliated prediction market trading arm is on the way. pic.twitter.com/2W3DfFIDwd — Dan Bernstein (@dan_bernstein_) February 26, 2026 Management framed that spending as deliberate. The company is positioning prediction markets as a long range growth driver, not a …

Peak XV raises .3B, doubles down on AI as global VC rivalry in India heats up

Peak XV raises $1.3B, doubles down on AI as global VC rivalry in India heats up

Published by skeptic

Peak XV announced on Friday that it has raised $1.3 billion across new India and Asia-focused funds. The firm, which now manages more than $10 billion in assets, is sharpening its focus on artificial intelligence and cross-border bets amid intensifying competition for deals in the region. The capital will be deployed across its India seed and venture funds as well as its APAC vehicle. A majority is earmarked for India, with the firm expecting to invest the pool over the next two to three years, managing director Shailendra Singh said in an interview on Friday. Peak XV split from Sequoia Capital in 2023, in an effort to separate the India-focused portions of Sequoia’s portfolio. The firm now counts more than 450 portfolio companies across fintech, software, and consumer internet, spanning seed to growth stages. The firm’s new fundraise comes as New Delhi hosts the AI Impact Summit, drawing major technology players including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. At the event, General Catalyst outlined plans to invest $5 billion in the country over the next five years, …