culture

Max Knoblauch7/9/25

Apple, feeling itself on its “F1” hit, puts in a bid for US Formula 1 rights

Apple’s leaning in to the success of its Brad Pitt-led racing flick. “F1: The Movie” has become Apple’s top box office performer, and apparently has inspired Apple to throw in a bid for the US broadcasting rights to Formula 1.

Those rights are currently held by Disney’s ESPN, but the contract is set to expire next year.

ESPN currently pays $85 million annually for US rights to the races. Before Apple’s film took off in theaters, analysts forecast the new deal could rise to more than $120 million per year.

With the success of the film, along with Netflix’s popular “Drive to Survive” docuseries, the bidding war has a chance to take off further. ESPN Formula 1 viewership doubled from 2018 to last year, when races averaged 1.1 million viewers.

Apple bids for Formula 1 rights in US after success of Brad Pitt film

Apple bids for Formula 1 rights in US after success of Brad Pitt film

ESPN currently pays $85 million annually for US rights to the races. Before Apple’s film took off in theaters, analysts forecast the new deal could rise to more than $120 million per year.

With the success of the film, along with Netflix’s popular “Drive to Survive” docuseries, the bidding war has a chance to take off further. ESPN Formula 1 viewership doubled from 2018 to last year, when races averaged 1.1 million viewers.

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Why people are flirting on LinkedIn — and job hunting on Tinder

The job market is tough, and so is dating. Americans are starting to mix the two.

Man Handing Man Box of Roses

newborn ultimatum

Despite the government’s best efforts, China’s birth rate just hit a new low

Deaths in the nation, meanwhile, have never been higher in the 21st century.

Empty baby stroller on stone steps on a sunny day

culture

Millie Giles1/14/26

OpenAI set to air a minute-long Super Bowl ad for a second consecutive year, per WSJ

OpenAI is expected to broadcast a lengthy commercial at Super Bowl LX, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Having aired its first-ever paid ad at last year’s Big Game, the ChatGPT maker is set to take another 60-second ad slot during NBC’s broadcast on February 8, according to people familiar with the matter.

Exclusive | OpenAI Set to Run Another Super Bowl Ad as Chatbot Competition Heats Up

Big winners at the Golden Globes could indicate this week’s Oscar noms

With the Academy’s nominations voting opening today, the results of the Globes might signal the direction of certain Oscars categories (statistically speaking).

Chalamet with award at the Golden Globes

culture

Millie Giles1/9/26

Tamagotchis are making a comeback, 3 decades after first becoming a global toy craze

If you were a ’90s kid, you might remember the craze around little egg-shaped toys with an 8-bit digital screen, displaying an ambiguous pet-thing that demanded food and attention.

Now, on the brand’s 30th anniversary, the Tamagotchi — the Japanese pocket-sized virtual pet that launched a thousand cute and needy tech companions, from Nintendogs to fluffy AI robots — is making a minor comeback.

Tamagotchi Google Search Trends — Sherwood News

Looking at Google Trends data, searches for “tamagotchi” spiked in December in the US, up around 80% from just six months prior, with the most search volume in almost two decades.

While the toys are popular Christmas gifts, with interest volumes often seen ticking up in December each year, the sudden interest might also have something to do with the birthday celebrations that creator and manufacturer Bandai Namco are putting on, including a Tokyo exhibition that opened on Wednesday.

Game, set, hatch

More broadly, modern consumers appear to have a growing obsession with collectibles (see: Labubu mania), as well as a taste for nostalgia (see: the iPod revival, among many other trends).

But, having finally hit 100 million sales in September last year, the brand itself is probably just glad to exist, giving a whole new generation the chance to experience the profound grief of an unexpected Tamagotchi death.

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