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  • Saturday, Apr. 6, 2024
Iowa-UConn women's Final Four match was most-watched hoops game in ESPN history; 14.2M avg. viewers
Iowa guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts with head coach Lisa Bluder during the second half of a Final Four college basketball game against UConn in the women's NCAA Tournament, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) -- 

Iowa's 71-69 victory over UConn at the women's Final Four on Friday night averaged 14.2 million viewers on ESPN, making it the most-viewed women's basketball game on record and the largest audience for an ESPN basketball broadcast.

The previous women's hoops mark was 12.3 million for last Monday's Iowa-LSU game in the Elite Eight. Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference finals between Cleveland and Boston was ESPN's most-watched basketball game at 13.51 million.

That also makes it one of the most-viewed games in any sport other than college football and the NFL over the past couple years. Last year's NCAA men's title game between San Diego State and UConn averaged 14.79 million.

The Hawkeyes game, which saw the audience peak at 17 million, will likely go down as one of the top 50 primetime telecasts of 2024. It would have finished 32nd on last year's list.

It is also ESPN's second-highest audience for a non-football broadcast. More

  • Thursday, Apr. 4, 2024
Conan O'Brien will be a guest on "The Tonight Show," 14 years after his acrimonious exit
Conan O'Brien performs at the 8th annual Love Rocks NYC concert benefiting God's Love We Deliver at the Beacon Theatre, Thursday, March 7, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
By Alicia Rancilio

Does time — and a new host — heal all wounds? Fourteen years after Conan O'Brien was messily ousted from NBC's "The Tonight Show" to make way for the return of Jay Leno — the comedian is finally back.

O'Brien will appear on the April 9 show to promote his new travel series "Conan O'Brien Must Go" for Max in conversation with Jimmy Fallon, who took over from Leno in 2014.

After more than 15 years of hosting "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" on NBC, O'Brien was promoted to lead the network's flagship late-night show in 2009, after it was announced Leno would be given a new prime-time show, also on NBC.

After seven months of slipping "Tonight Show" ratings and and pressure from affiliates who said "The Jay Leno Show" wasn't a strong enough lead-in to their nightly newscasts, NBC made a plan to shorten Leno's show to a half-hour and give it a 11:35 p.m. timeslot, which would have bumped "The Tonight Show" to 12:05 a.m.

"It was my More

  • Thursday, Apr. 4, 2024
Free blue checks are back for some accounts on Elon Musk's X. Not everyone is happy about it
The X logo is shown on a computer screen in Belgrade, Serbia, July 24, 2023. X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has started restoring complimentary blue checks to some "influential" users. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)
By Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- 

Elon Musk's X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has begun restoring complimentary blue checks for some of its users, the latest unexpected shift to cause a lot of confusion on the platform.

For years, Twitter's blue checks mirrored verification badges that are common on social media, largely reserved for celebrities, politicians and other influential accounts. That changed months after Musk bought the platform for $44 billion in October 2022.

Last year, X began issuing verification checks only to those who paid the starting price of $8 per month for it, and stripping verification badges from many celebrities and other prominent accounts. That also led to confusion, complaints, and a large number of fake accounts pretending to be someone else, blue check included.

But late Wednesday night and early Thursday, numerous users reported seeing the blue checks return to their accounts, or appear for the first time, despite the fact More

  • Thursday, Apr. 4, 2024
While skies dim, marketing initiatives shine with total solar eclipse
In this photo taken Friday, Aug. 18, 2017, Poureal Long, a fourth grader at Clardy Elementary School in Kansas City, Mo., practices the proper use of eclipse glasses in anticipation of Monday's solar eclipse. More and more businesses are taking advantage of the total solar eclipse set to dim skies across North America on Monday, April 8, 2024. In the snacks department alone, Krispy Kreme is teaming up with Oreo to sell a limited doughnut-cookie creation. Sonic Drive-In is selling a “Blackout Slush Float.” (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
NEW YORK (AP) -- 

More and more businesses are taking advantage of the total solar eclipse set to dim skies across North America on Monday.

In the snacks department alone, Krispy Kreme is teaming up with Oreo to sell a limited doughnut-cookie creation. Sonic Drive-In is selling a "Blackout Slush Float." And Frito-Lay's SunChips has unveiled a new flavor that will only be available during the celestial event's nearly 4 and a half minutes of totality.

MoonPie also kicked off a "Sun vs. Moon" smackdown-themed campaign as the chocolate snack maker promotes its "eclipse survival kit," made up of four mini MoonPies and two pairs of eclipse glasses.

Meanwhile, airlines like Southwest and Delta have advertised eclipse-viewing flight paths. And beyond promotions from big-name brands, small businesses along the 115 mile (185 kilometer)-wide prime path are leading the charge to meet the incoming tourist demand.

Some towns and local vendors have been More

  • Wednesday, Apr. 3, 2024
Disney shareholders back CEO Iger, rebuff activist shareholders who wanted to shake up the company
Disney chief executive Bob Iger arrives at the 96th Academy Awards Oscar nominees luncheon on Feb. 12, 2024, in Beverly Hills, Calif. During the company's annual shareholder meeting Wednesday, April 3, 2024, investors will decide whether to back Iger, or grant two board seats to activist investor Nelson Peltz and his Trian Partners. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
BURBANK, Calif. (AP) -- 

Disney shareholders have rallied behind longtime CEO Robert Iger, voting Wednesday to rebuff activist investor Nelson Peltz and his ally, former Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo, who had sought seats on the company's board.

The company had recommended a slate of directors that did not include Peltz or Rasulo.

The dissident shareholders had said in a preliminary proxy filing that they wanted to complete a "successful CEO transition" at Disney and align management pay with performance. Despite their loss, they declared a victory of sorts following the vote, noting that since Peltz's company, Trian Partners, started pushing Disney in late 2023, the entertainment giant has engaged in a flurry of activity, adding new directors and announcing new operating initiatives and capital improvement plans for its theme parks.

"Over the last six months, Disney's stock is up approximately 50% and is the Dow Jones Industrial Average's best More

  • Wednesday, Apr. 3, 2024
Elon Musk's X appoints a new global safety leader, and a head of advertiser solutions
Computer monitors and a laptop display the X, formerly known as Twitter, sign-in page, July 24, 2023, in Belgrade, Serbia. Elon Musk’s X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, announced Tuesday, April 2, 2024, that it has named company veteran Kylie McRoberts as new head of safety nine months after the last executive to hold the position departed from the social media company. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)
NEW YORK (AP) -- 

Elon Musk's X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has named a new head of safety nine months after the last executive to hold the position departed from the social media company.

X said that company veteran Kylie McRoberts will oversee the global safety team. The platform also announced that Yale Cohen, who previously worked for media firm Publicis Media, would become head of brand safety and advertiser solutions.

The last executive heading what was formerly called the trust and safety team, Ella Irwin, left the company in June 2023. While Irwin did not point to specific reasoning at the time, her resignation arrived just days after Musk publicly complained about the platform's handling of posts about transgender topics.

Since Musk's $44 billion purchase of the platform in October 2022, X has seen several leadership shakeups.

The appointments, first announced Tuesday, arrive amid ongoing concerns about content moderation More

  • Wednesday, Apr. 3, 2024
PUMA Studio to open In L.A. to create products and campaigns for the U.S. market
PUMA will open the PUMA Studio in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles in early 2025 (Photo: Business Wire)
HERZOGENAURACH, Germany -- 

Sports company PUMA will open the PUMA Studio in the Hollywood, Calif., in early 2025, a creative space that brings its design and marketing teams closer to the most influential communities and celebrities to inspire products and campaigns for the strategically important U.S. market.

By tapping into the rich ecosystem of creative and innovative professionals in Los Angeles, the new PUMA Studio will play an important part in creating products and marketing activations that resonate with U.S. consumers.

“Opening our PUMA Studio in L.A. is an important strategic move for us, as we seek to elevate our business in the United States,” said PUMA CEO Arne Freundt. “Our new home will allow us to attract the best talent in one of the most vibrant and creative cities globally to create great product propositions for the U.S. market.”

The PUMA Studio will offer an exciting environment which allows the company’s product, design and marketing More

  • Tuesday, Apr. 2, 2024
"SCTV" star and comedian Joe Flaherty dies at 82
Former cast members of SCTV, from left, Dave Thomas, Joe Flaherty, Catherine O'Hara, Andrea Martin, foreground, Harold Ramis, Eugene Levy and Martin Short, pose at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival on March 6, 1999, in Aspen, Colo. Flaherty, a founding member of the Canadian sketch series “SCTV,” died Monday, April 1, 2024 at age 82. (AP Photo/E Pablo Kosmicki, File)
TORONTO (AP) -- 

Comedian Joe Flaherty, a founding member of the Canadian sketch series "SCTV," has died. He was 82.

His daughter Gudrun said Tuesday that Flaherty died Monday following a brief illness.

Flaherty, who was born in Pittsburgh, spent seven years at The Second City in Chicago before moving north of the border to help establish the theater's Toronto outpost.

He went on to star alongside John Candy and Catherine O'Hara in "SCTV," about a fictional TV station known as Second City Television that was stacked with buffoons in front of and behind the cameras. Flaherty's characters included network boss Guy Caballero and the vampiric TV host Count Floyd.

He won Emmys in 1982 and 1983 for his writing on "SCTV" and continued to work in TV and film for decades.

He was introduced to later generations through memorable turns as a jeering heckler in the 1996 film "Happy Gilmore" and as an old-fashioned dad in the TV comedy "Freaks and More

  • Tuesday, Apr. 2, 2024
March Madness: Tournament ratings up after most-watched Elite Eight Sunday in 5 years
North Carolina State's Michael O'Connell (12) reacts after a basket by DJ Burns Jr. (30) against Duke during the second half of an Elite Eight college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament in Dallas, Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
NEW YORK -- 

The Elite Eight game between NC State and Duke produced the largest audience for an Easter Sunday telecast on any network in 11 years.

The Wolfpack's 76-64 victory over the Blue Devils in the South Region final averaged 15.1 million viewers on CBS, according to Nielsen. The 2013 Elite Eight game between Duke and Louisville averaged 15.6 million.

Overall, the NCAA Tournament is averaging 9.4 million viewers on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV, a 4% increase over last year.

Sunday's first game between Purdue and Tennessee averaged 10.4 million, making it the most-watched early regional final in five years.

Sunday's viewer average of 12.8 million is a 30% increase over last year, and the most-watched Elite Eight doubleheader since 2019.

Thursday and Friday's Sweet 16 games on CBS, TBS and truTV averaged 10.3 million, up 5% from 2023.

Alabama's victory over North Carolina on Thursday night on CBS was the most-watched More

  • Monday, Apr. 1, 2024
Google to purge billions of files containing personal data in settlement of Chrome privacy case
The Google building is seen in New York, Feb. 26, 2024. Google has agreed to purge billions of records containing personal information collected from more than 136 million people in the U.S. surfing the internet through its Chrome web browser as part of settlement in a lawsuit accusing it of illegal surveillance. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
By Michael Liedtke, Technology Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- 

Google has agreed to purge billions of records containing personal information collected from more than 136 million people in the U.S. surfing the internet through its Chrome web browser.

The records purge comes as part of a settlement in a lawsuit accusing the search giant of illegal surveillance.

The details of the deal emerged in a court filing Monday, more than three months after Google and the attorneys handling the class-action case disclosed they had resolved a June 2020 lawsuit targeting Chrome's privacy controls.

Among other allegations, the lawsuit accused Google of tracking Chrome users' internet activity even when they had switched the browser to the "Incognito" setting that is supposed to shield them from being shadowed by the Mountain View, California, company.

Google vigorously fought the lawsuit until U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected a request to dismiss the case last August, setting up a More

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