Netflix is staffing up an apparent AI animation studio called INKubator
According to several public job listings, streaming giant Netflix appears to be building a GenAI animation studio called INKubator.
First reported by journalist Janko Roettgers in the Lowpass newsletter, INKubator seems to have launched in March and aims to “develop feature-quality content in a creator-led environment.”
As Lowpass reports, INKubator appears focused on AI-generated short-form animation, but listings imply ambitions toward longer-form content. Netflix didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
INKubator wouldn’t be Netflix’s first foray into AI. Back in March, it acquired Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking startup InterPositive — which trains on individual films’ already-shot footage — for as much as $600 million depending on certain targets.
Netflix’s potential future AI-generated animations could be served to an increasingly ad-packed streaming service. At Netflix’s Upfront presentation on Wednesday, the company said its ad-supported tier has now reached 250 million subscribers globally, up 31% from November.
As Lowpass reports, INKubator appears focused on AI-generated short-form animation, but listings imply ambitions toward longer-form content. Netflix didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
INKubator wouldn’t be Netflix’s first foray into AI. Back in March, it acquired Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking startup InterPositive — which trains on individual films’ already-shot footage — for as much as $600 million depending on certain targets.
Netflix’s potential future AI-generated animations could be served to an increasingly ad-packed streaming service. At Netflix’s Upfront presentation on Wednesday, the company said its ad-supported tier has now reached 250 million subscribers globally, up 31% from November.
Netflix confirms a “KPop Demon Hunters” world concert tour is on the way
Netflix has a “Golden” mine and it's digging deeper.
At its fourth annual TV Upfront presentation on Wednesday, Netflix President of Advertising Amy Reinhard announced a partnership with AEG Presents to create a “KPop Demon Hunters” world tour that will bring the phenomenon to life.
In March, Bloomberg previously reported Netflix was planning a global world tour sometime next year ahead of the sequel in arenas that would hold 10,000 to 20,000 fans, though the news had not been confirmed by the company nor had a partner been in place at the time.
“KPop Demon Hunters” is Netflix’s most watched film of all time, racking up 481.6 million views globally during the second half of 2025. Since its release, the HUNTR/X trio of Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami has appeared and performed at several major events including late-night talk shows, award ceremonies, and most recently at Coachella, where they were a surprise guest for Katseye. It hasn’t been confirmed whether the trio will be on the tour.
The announcement of the tour comes after Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos shared in a recent blog post that the company spent $135 billion on licensing and original film and TV over the last 10 years.
This year, Netflix has a projected content spend of $20 billion, up 10% year over year, while its annual revenue forecast is between $50.7 billion and $51.7 billion. The streaming giant has brought in more than $46 billion in profit over the past decade.
Netflix said more details around cities and tickets for the concert tour are expected to come out later this year.
Netflix on Tuesday announced that it has spent more than $135 billion on licensing and original film and TV over the past decade.
“While other entertainment companies pull back, we’re leaning in — spending tens of billions of dollars on content every year, investing in production facilities from Spain to New Jersey,” co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in a blog post accompanying a new interactive site called “The Netflix Effect.”
According to Netflix, the company has contributed $325 billion to the global economy in that time, creating more than 425,000 jobs.
As Sherwood News has previously reported, Netflix continues to increase its content spend, but that investment has notably slowed in recent years when weighed against revenue, dropping from a content spend ratio of $0.72 per $1 of revenue in December 2019 to $0.40 per $1 in March. This year, the company has projected a content spend of $20 billion, up 10% year over year. The company’s annual revenue forecast is between $50.7 billion and $51.7 billion.
All that spending has paid off for Netflix, too: the streamer has pulled in more than $46 billion in profit over the past decade.
Disney is no longer considering spinning off ESPN, reports Business Insider
Disney’s new CEO, Josh D’Amaro, is said to have decided against spinning off sports giant ESPN, according to reporting by Business Insider.
The House of Mouse may still seek other partners to take minority stakes in ESPN, per the report. The NFL gained a 10% stake in the company last year in a deal that saw ESPN acquire NFL Network.
There’s been an ongoing push for several years to spin off ESPN, both inside Disney and from analysts and activist investors. Earlier this year, ESPN Chair Jimmy Pitaro downplayed rumors that emerged amid D’Amaro’s takeover, saying he’s heard the rumor since “the day [he] started at ESPN eight years ago.”
Disney shares were essentially flat in after-hours trading following the report.
There’s been an ongoing push for several years to spin off ESPN, both inside Disney and from analysts and activist investors. Earlier this year, ESPN Chair Jimmy Pitaro downplayed rumors that emerged amid D’Amaro’s takeover, saying he’s heard the rumor since “the day [he] started at ESPN eight years ago.”
Disney shares were essentially flat in after-hours trading following the report.
“The Devil Wears Prada 2” strutting toward a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Gird your loins. “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” the highly anticipated sequel from Disney and 20th Century Studios starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci, comes out this week.
Over the past few months, the studio ramped up its marketing, so you may have seen the fictional Runway magazine with Blunt’s Emily Charlton on the cover at a newsstand pop-up, or come across brand partnerships with L’Oréal Paris, TRESemmé, Tweezerman, or Diet Coke — the list goes on. The global press tour has also taken over social media, with the main cast — and their outfits — traveling across Mexico City, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, New York City, and London to promote the movie. Hathaway and Tucci even appeared throughout a “Jeopardy!” category on Monday night.
But what do critics think of the movie? While the embargo for formal reviews lifts on Wednesday, April 29, at 12 p.m. ET, the embargo for social media reactions has already lifted, and according to critics from The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, AwardsWatch, and other publications, the general consensus seems mostly positive.
AwardsWatch Editor-in-Chief Erik Anderson posted on X that the sequel “has no right to be as good as it is.” He added, “Just the right kind and number of callbacks and earned nostalgia, Anne Hathaway continues to be our most vibrant star.”
Meanwhile, THR Senior Editor Alex Weprin referred to it as “a biting media parody wrapped up in high fashion,” while Variety Senior Artisans Editor Jazz Tangcay called it “the perfect sequel that exceeded all expectations.”
To be considered “fresh,” movies have to receive at least 60% on Rotten Tomatoes. And while “The Devil Wears Prada 2” hits theaters in only a few days, prediction markets are currently pricing in odds that the movie will score above 65% on the site. That’s all.
(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)
But what do critics think of the movie? While the embargo for formal reviews lifts on Wednesday, April 29, at 12 p.m. ET, the embargo for social media reactions has already lifted, and according to critics from The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, AwardsWatch, and other publications, the general consensus seems mostly positive.
AwardsWatch Editor-in-Chief Erik Anderson posted on X that the sequel “has no right to be as good as it is.” He added, “Just the right kind and number of callbacks and earned nostalgia, Anne Hathaway continues to be our most vibrant star.”
Meanwhile, THR Senior Editor Alex Weprin referred to it as “a biting media parody wrapped up in high fashion,” while Variety Senior Artisans Editor Jazz Tangcay called it “the perfect sequel that exceeded all expectations.”
To be considered “fresh,” movies have to receive at least 60% on Rotten Tomatoes. And while “The Devil Wears Prada 2” hits theaters in only a few days, prediction markets are currently pricing in odds that the movie will score above 65% on the site. That’s all.
(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)
Justin Bieber’s music keeps surging on streaming after Coachella
You better belieb it. After Justin Bieber headlined the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California, Billboard reports the pop star is experiencing the biggest non-Super Bowl catalog bump this year, with his music tripling in streams just days after his first set on April 11.
Following Bieber’s performance on Weekend 2 at Coachella on April 18 (which included appearances from Billie Eilish and SZA), his streams climbed even higher.
On Monday (April 20), Bieber’s streams reached a new high for the year, amassing 32.4 million official on-demand US streams, according to Luminate, which is a 12% increase from his total the previous Monday (just over 29 million) and a 5% gain from the previous Tuesday (30.9 million), his previous high-water mark for 2026.
(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)
Since the Coachella bump, he’s had a total of six days with at least 30 million streams, compared with only four days in all of 2025, when he released his “Swag” album.
Spotify reported that following Bieber’s first Coachella set, the pop star reached No. 1 on Spotify’s Global Top Artist chart, with his catalog surpassing 77 million streams in a single day, which marked his biggest streaming day of the year.
While prediction markets currently show that Bruno Mars is in the lead at 74% for the artist with the most monthly Spotify listeners at the end of April, Bieber could slowly catch up with a week left in the month. The “Baby” singer is currently in second place, with his odds at 27%.
On Monday (April 20), Bieber’s streams reached a new high for the year, amassing 32.4 million official on-demand US streams, according to Luminate, which is a 12% increase from his total the previous Monday (just over 29 million) and a 5% gain from the previous Tuesday (30.9 million), his previous high-water mark for 2026.
(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)
Since the Coachella bump, he’s had a total of six days with at least 30 million streams, compared with only four days in all of 2025, when he released his “Swag” album.
Spotify reported that following Bieber’s first Coachella set, the pop star reached No. 1 on Spotify’s Global Top Artist chart, with his catalog surpassing 77 million streams in a single day, which marked his biggest streaming day of the year.
While prediction markets currently show that Bruno Mars is in the lead at 74% for the artist with the most monthly Spotify listeners at the end of April, Bieber could slowly catch up with a week left in the month. The “Baby” singer is currently in second place, with his odds at 27%.
Xbox cuts price of its Game Pass subscription by 23%, removes new “Call of Duty” games
A Halley’s Comet-level event in the world of subscriptions is occurring at Microsoft: the company announced it will lower the price of its Game Pass Ultimate from $29.99 to $22.99.
The move comes a little over a week after reports revealed an internal memo from new Xbox head Asha Sharma in which the exec told employees that Game Pass has “become too expensive.” Back in October, before Sharma’s tenure began, Xbox hiked its Game Pass subscription by 50%.
With the price drop, Game Pass will also see a major shift: new “Call of Duty” titles will no longer be added to the service at launch, instead joining the library about a year later during the following holiday season. The subscription will still cost a bit more than it did before the popular titles were added in 2024.
According to estimates reported by Bloomberg, the decision to put “Call of Duty” on Game Pass cost Xbox more than $300 million.
The most popular male and female names in the US, according to the latest Census
New data published Tuesday by the US Census Bureau has revealed the most common names provided in the 2020 Census, in the first release to include forename data since 1990.
As described in the brief, Michael was the most popular name for males in the US, with roughly 3.5 million American men reporting having this name or a close variant. This is up from fourth place in the 1990 Census, when the top US male name was James — though there were still 3 million Jameses in 2020’s tally.
Despite a three-decade gap, Mary remained the top name for American females in both censuses, with the 2020 survey counting almost 1.8 million females with this given name. Interestingly, Mary was one of just two predominantly female names that broke the top 10 given names in the US, with the overall list dominated mostly by male monikers.
In all, American females had far more first-name diversity than male counterparts: 16% of US males had one of the top 10 most frequent names among men, compared with 7.8% of women. Zooming out, almost 3x as many given names were needed to cover a quarter of the US female population than that of males.
6 months after hiking Game Pass prices by 50%, Xbox determines it may be too expensive
Microsoft’s new Xbox chief, Asha Sharma, thinks the division’s recent price hikes have been a mistake, per an internal memo to employees seen by The Verge.
“Short term, Game Pass has become too expensive for players, so we need a better value equation,” Sharma’s memo reportedly read.
It’s an interesting take, given that Xbox hiked the price of its Game Pass subscription by 50% in October, before Sharma took over. The memo is a signal that Sharma’s tenure — which began in February, taking the industry by surprise — will include some big changes for Microsoft’s gaming strategy.
Whether Game Pass prices will drop is not yet clear. Last month, The Information reported that Sharma and Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters have “kicked around ideas” about potential bundles. That would fit with Netflix’s renewed gaming ambitions.
It’s an interesting take, given that Xbox hiked the price of its Game Pass subscription by 50% in October, before Sharma took over. The memo is a signal that Sharma’s tenure — which began in February, taking the industry by surprise — will include some big changes for Microsoft’s gaming strategy.
Whether Game Pass prices will drop is not yet clear. Last month, The Information reported that Sharma and Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters have “kicked around ideas” about potential bundles. That would fit with Netflix’s renewed gaming ambitions.
