Comcast’s NBCUniversal is investing $200 million in Web publisher BuzzFeed as the two plan to explore partnerships across the organizations. One possibility, referenced in the press release, involves working together on Olympics coverage, although details have yet to be revealed. Last week, NBCU also put $200 million into BuzzFeed competitor Vox Media. The investments could be part of Comcast’s efforts to attract a younger audience that is drifting from traditional TV. “More than half of BuzzFeed’s 82.4 million unique visitors in July were between the ages of 18 and 34,” reports The Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, more than 40 percent of the 54.4 million visitors to Vox websites last month were between 18 and 34.

Google’s next major update to its wireless operating system, slated for a fall release, will be officially dubbed Marshmallow (previously referred to as Android M). Key features of the follow-up to Lollipop (Android L) will include a new mobile payments system, support for fingerprint scanning, and updated functionality for digital assistant Google Now. Google also released the final development tools for the software. According to CNET, “The software powers more than 80 percent of the world’s smartphones, from manufacturers including Samsung, HTC and Motorola. The software is also a gateway for Google to get people to use the company’s services — like search, maps and video site YouTube — on their phones.”

Last night, hackers made good on their promise to release data involving 37 million users of cheating site AshleyMadison.com. “A data dump, 9.7 gigabytes in size, was posted on Tuesday to the dark web using an Onion address accessible only through the Tor browser,” reports Wired. The sensitive data includes names, contact info and seven years worth of credit card and payment transactions (but not full credit card numbers). “This event is not an act of hacktivism, it is an act of criminality,” said parent company Avid Life Media in a statement. “It is an illegal action against the individual members of AshleyMadison.com, as well as any freethinking people who choose to engage in fully lawful online activities.”

Hollywood studios are withdrawing their request for a preliminary injunction against streaming service MovieTube, since it has already shut down. “The studios will still seek a permanent injunction, but they are expected to drop their request that search engines, Web hosts, social-networking services and other third parties cease any ties to MovieTube,” according to Variety. “Earlier this month, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Yahoo weighed in with an amicus brief that called the studios’ original request overly broad, subjecting them to court-ordered action even though they are a neutral party.” Since the fight against online piracy often results in new sites popping up to replace those that have shut down, “there’s a good chance that studios will seek this type of injunction in another case.”

In addition to the new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus, Apple is expected to unveil the long-awaited next-gen Apple TV at its September 9th event. While some have reported that the set-top box has been delayed by a lack of content deals (the company had originally announced a June WWDC launch), 9to5Mac says “the delay was internally attributed to a concern over compromising iOS 9 engineering resources.” In addition to a new hardware design and UI, the device is expected to feature Siri support, improved search, more storage and a faster processor. “According to sources, this new Apple TV model, codenamed J34, will be the first model to run a full-blown iOS core,” notes 9to5Mac. “Specifically, the new Apple TV operating system will be a TV-optimized version of iOS 9.”

Cable TV ratings have declined by double digits for cable channels this summer as viewers are turning to broadcast networks, binge-viewing on streaming services, and using DVRs and VOD to catch up on series from the previous season. “In July, 21 of the top 30 most-watched cable channels saw significant declines in prime-time ratings, according to Nielsen,” The Wall Street Journal reports. Ratings for some top cable networks dropped 18-24 percent during July, with similar declines among viewers age 18 to 49. While summer months have traditionally been good for cable, “network broadcasters have become more aggressive … with big-budget scripted shows [and] lower-cost reality programming.”

Sprint announced that it plans to abandon its two-year contract model in favor of allowing customers to lease their smartphones. Verizon made a similar announcement earlier this month, and T-Mobile dropped its contracts more than two years ago, while AT&T remains the only major carrier that subsidizes phone purchases. “Two-year contracts had been the norm for years, in which customers signed the agreement in exchange for a discounted price on a phone,” reports The Wall Street Journal. “Now, carriers primarily offer cheaper monthly plans without contracts, but require customers to pay full price for their devices, typically in monthly installments spread out over two years.”

While Twitter’s 140-character limit may have become a defining characteristic of the social platform, the company has decided to address the growing popularity of messaging apps by making a change to its private messaging feature. Last week, Twitter opened up its private chat function to allow users to send messages to each other using unlimited characters. It is unclear whether Twitter is considering a similar change to the character constraint on public tweets. “Twitter’s move is yet another admission that it needs to make the service more useful and easier to navigate,” suggests The Wall Street Journal.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that developers would be given access to the company’s augmented reality HoloLens headset within the next year. In a recent BBC interview, he noted that the HoloLens is on a “five-year journey” that will include a developer release and enterprise applications prior to arriving on the consumer market. Microsoft has been generating early interest in HoloLens with compelling demonstrations involving architecture, gaming, videoconferencing and more. “We are looking forward to getting a V1 out, which is more around developers and enterprises,” said Nadella. “It’s in the Windows 10 time frame, which means that it is within the next year.”

Samsung has shelved its ambitious plan to reinvent the remote control, a project known internally as “Perfect Experience.” Samsung acquired set-top box startup Boxee for $30 million in 2013, and recruited the Boxee team to build a tablet that would double as a media guide for TV viewers. “The tablet was supposed to give users access to a unified guide with listings of live TV and streaming content with a custom-built user interface that looked unlike any traditional multi-purpose mobile device,” reports Variety. In addition to making the device available with high-end TVs, Samsung was hoping to partner with streaming services and pay TV operators to include their apps and content.

Chinese electronics-maker Hisense is looking to ramp up its TV business in the Americas with the $23.7 million purchase of a Sharp manufacturing plant in Mexico. Sharp is exiting the business after struggling to compete with TV leaders such as LG and Samsung, and will lease rights to its brand name to Hisense. “Once Hisense picks up production, it’ll be the real name behind Sharp TVs, as well as the Aquos and Quattron branding,” reports The Verge. Sharp plans to continue offering other consumer electronics — such as ovens, photocopiers, and solar cells — in the Americas. However, the company is getting out of the TV game.

The MxR Studio at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts will host a presentation of new content for Birdly on Thursday, August 6, 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM (following a workshop in collaboration with SOMNIACS and Max Rheiner from Zurich University of Art and Design). Birdly is an award-winning full-body immersive VR flying simulator, which has been deemed among the most exciting VR experiences worldwide. You can experience Birdly and learn more about the innovative VR projects taking place at the MxR Studio at Thursday’s open house. For more information or to RSVP, contact Vangelis Lympouridis (vangelis@lympouridis.gr) or Wasef El-Kharouf (wasefe@gmail.com).

Apple reportedly plans to unveil its next-gen Apple TV this September at the company’s annual fall event. The device has not had a significant upgrade since 2012. “Expect a refreshed and slimmer chassis and new innards,” notes BuzzFeed, in addition to “Apple’s A8 system on chip; a new remote that sources say has been ‘drastically improved’ by a touch-pad input; an increase in on-board storage; and an improved operating system that will support Siri voice control.” The debut is expected to coincide with “a long-awaited App Store and the software development kit developers need to populate it.”

Sources say NBCUniversal is close to investing $250 million in digital publisher BuzzFeed, in a deal that would place BuzzFeed’s value at $1.5 billion. Comcast’s film and television unit is also looking to invest in Vox Media, in a deal that would push Vox to $850 million in value. Those familiar with the deals suggest they are part of CEO Steve Burke’s efforts to reach millennial audiences. “The idea is that NBCU can get a crash course on digital content and distribution from its new investments — and that those companies may want to distribute some of NBCU’s content as well,” reports Re/code.

After investing $1 million to acquire Aereo’s customer lists and trademarks, TiVo has begun pitching former subscribers of the defunct streaming service. TiVo is marketing its Roamio over-the-air DVR (via email bearing Aereo’s logo) as a service “conceived, developed and introduced for people just like you.” The current offer is $19.99 per month with a two-year commitment — $5 more per month than TiVo’s usual offer (and $12 more than the original Aereo service), but the hardware is being offered for free. “The devices together allow customers to record live antenna TV and watch on multiple devices — that is, if you already own an antenna,” notes The Wall Street Journal.