An increasing number of independent creators are beginning to license their video content for the training of generative AI models, turning what was once a threat (unauthorized scraping) into a monetization opportunity. While most of the content used for training still comes from production companies and professional distributors, there’s growing interest in high-quality videos created by independent filmmakers or hobbyist videographers. Facilitating these deals are specialized startups and marketplaces (such as Troveo, Avail’s Corpus, and Protege Media), which act as [...]

With rising costs and smaller teams, AI is becoming a hot topic across the entertainment world — gaming included. At the recently concluded Game Developers Conference (GDC), Variety’s VIP+ spoke with several professionals from the video game industry to understand if, and how, AI is truly helping their workS. According to Brian Ward, CEO of Savvy Games Group — the gaming division of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which invests globally in gaming companies and studios — businesses are expected [...]

The Italian Global Series Festival (IGSF) is set to debut from June 21 to 28, 2025, in the picturesque cities of Riccione and Rimini. This inaugural event, organized by the Associazione Produttori Audiovisivi (APA) in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Culture and the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers (SIAE), aims to celebrate and promote both Italian and international television series, highlighting their artistic quality and entertainment value.  The IGSF serves as a modern evolution of the Roma Fiction [...]

The 39th annual Game Developers Conference (GDC) took place from March 17 to 21, 2025, at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, bringing together the brightest minds in the gaming industry. This year's theme, "Connecting the World through Games," reflected the increasingly global nature of game development and the power of interactive entertainment to bridge cultural divides. With over 30,000 attendees from more than 100 countries, GDC 2025 was a melting pot of ideas, innovations, and collaborations. The event [...]

As global demand for Japanese anime and the manga that inspires it continues to rise, two key streaming platforms—Netflix and Crunchyroll—are increasingly dominating the international market. According to a recent Bernstein report, the two companies control over 80% of the global anime streaming market, which generated $3.7 billion in revenue in 2023. Crunchyroll, which has evolved from a niche platform to the leading anime streamer in the U.S., has seen its subscriber base triple in just three years, surpassing 15 [...]

After 18 months of meetings and six months of negotiations, Veronica Vitale—an artist, composer, and music entrepreneur—has signed a $500,000 agreement with Hollywood studios for the production and marketing of her upcoming multimedia project, set for release in mid-2025. The project spans an album, docufilm, music film, and Japanese manga, addressing themes like cyber hate, mental health, injustice, and female entrepreneurship. Described as "liquid cinematic pop," the project has been endorsed by industry figures Jesse Rogg (OCA), Robin DiMaggio (David [...]