The women's NCAA final between Louisiana State University and Iowa drew 9.9 million viewers on average across ABC and ESPN on Sunday, making it the most-watched women's college basketball game in history.
Why it matters: The game marked the first time the women's NCAA final aired live on ABC. The viewership success shows there's ample interest in women's sports, especially if they're given a bigger platform.
Tech unicorns are finally adjusting to their valuation buzzcuts. The IPO window is spackled shut. Vested employees who once dreamed of Porsches are now just worried about keeping up with Prius payments.
It's the moment that Ari Stiegler has been waiting for.
WWE and UFC will pursue separate media rights negotiations for linear TV, but there could be an opportunity to pursue a combined streaming deal, WWE CEO Nick Khan told Axios in an interview Monday morning.
Why it matters: WWE's streaming deal with NBCUniversal's Peacock expires in 2026. UFC's media deal with ESPN, which includes giving ESPN+ the exclusive rights to all UFC pay-per-view matches, expires in 2025.
On Sunday, online retailer Boxed became the latest company that's gone public via merging with a special purpose acquisition company to file for bankruptcy.
Why it matters: At least nine such companies have now filed for bankruptcy — a rather dramatic outcome for companies that took part in the pandemic-era market boom.
Endeavor, the sports and entertainment company led by Ari Emanuel, has acquired World Wrestling Entertainment in a deal valuing WWE $9.3 billion, the companies announced Monday.
Why it matters: Endeavor will combine WWE with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts league that Endeavor took control of in 2016, creating a global fighting juggernaut, worth north of $20 billion.
An estimated 5,000 artificial intelligence enthusiasts piled into San Francisco’s Exploratorium Friday evening, eager to mingle over drinks by the Bay and chat with representatives from various AI companies for what was dubbed the “Woodstock of AI.”
Why it matters: AI has been the industry’s buzz word over the last year, but the gathering — hosted by New York-based startup Hugging Face and focusing on open source AI — gave the trend an in-person spotlight.
A series of changes at Twitter has laid bare what the service has become under Elon Musk: a place where speech is anything but free.
What's happening: From its shift to pay-for-play to impulsive policy changes made by Musk, the site more resembles an intrigue-filled palace than the town square that Musk says he seeks to protect.
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