From video apps to sports matches, here are your top entertainment headlines.
Triller Debts
Video-sharing app Triller has agreed to pay Sony Music Entertainment a $4.57 million settlement for breaching the terms of an agreement it reached with the platform.
Last summer, Sony sued Triller for non-payment of music licensing fees after March 2022. The record label ended up canceling its agreement after the payments stopped, but Triller apparently continued to utilize music from Sony's catalog.
The lawsuit was just one of the high-profile cases thrown at the video-sharing and social networking platform. Universal Music Group also sued Triller for non-payment in January. UMG also pulled its entire catalog from the platform in 2021, citing that Triller refused artist payouts. That same year the two sides struck up a new licensing deal.
Triller also was sued in the summer of 2022 by producers Swizz Beats and Timbaland for allegedly holding out on a $28 million payment for the acquisition of their webcast series, Verzuz. The two sides settled for an undisclosed amount last September.
Lamar Jackson's Jackpot
It's been a long time coming for the Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson, but he's finally inked a deal to cement his spot in Charm City.
Jackson and the Ravens front office agreed to a five-year $260 million deal — with $185 million guaranteed. That's enough to be counted as the highest-paid contract in NFL history. But he wasn't able to secure that bag without drama.
Jackson bet on himself and negotiated the historic deal without an agent — a move many sports analysts said would hurt his future prospects in the league. The negotiation period since the end of the season was riddled with rumors and speculation about possible collusion between teams after Jackson expressed the desire to be traded and didn't receive interest from any other franchise.
However, the payday comes with great expectations. With the signing of veterans like Odell Beckham Junior, there is a lot for the QB to prove with the purple birds.
Spring Sports Showdown
And continuing down the path of sports, what are you watching this weekend? The slate is packed and can be a little overwhelming. Here's a guide to tune into the competition(s) that piques your interest the most.
Tonight, a pair of Game 6's are going down in California. The reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors look to even up its series with the Sacramento Kings. The splash brothers and company have home court advantage where they are 33-8 on the season. Just down the Pacific Coast Highway, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are looking to close out the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies to move on to the Western Conference Semifinals.
Elsewhere, the NHL is also amid its playoffs for the Stanley Cup championship. Every series aside from one is going to a Game 6 this weekend between the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers, the Colorado Avalanche and the Seattle Kraken, the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning, the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings, and the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild.
Finally, the annual Penn Relays, the oldest and largest track and field competition in the U.S., will air from Philadelphia on NBC this Saturday.
Emmanuel Acho joined Cheddar News to talk about his new book "Illogical: Saying Yes to a Life Without Limits." The former NFL player, current broadcaster, and host is on a mission to help people see beyond the goals that they have set for themselves. “People say 'what is being illogical?'" he said. "To me, it's believing it is so even when it's not so — so that it can be so."
Adidas is now the first major sports brand to create a program for paying college athletes. The new "name, image and likeness" network will allow more than 50,000 students across NCAA Division 1 schools to become paid spokespeople for the brand. Thilo Kunkel, Associate Professor and Director of Sport Industry Research Center at Temple University, tells us why this new program is only the beginning of an exciting time for student athletes.
Sports betting has boomed over the past year; but at the same time, sports betting stocks have not been so hot. Now, some sports betting brands are starting to rethink how to spend their money, especially when it comes to ads. It will come after online sports betting brands spent more than $320 million on advertising in 2021, up 38% from 2020, per MediaRadar. Brendan Coffey, sports finance reporter for Sportico, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Rowing-machine maker, Hydrow, raised $55 million in Series D funding round, led by Constitution Capital. Hyrdow offers a connected rowing machine that costs $2,495. The company's funding round comes as the at-home fitness industry is facing some challenges, due to many consumers returning to gyms after working out at home during the pandemic. Bruce Smith, founder & CEO of Hydrow, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
WNBA star Sue Bird is back with the Seattle Storm after announcing her retirement last year and spoke to Cheddar about taking a pay cut to help her team win, issues around gender equity in sports, and partnering with beer brand Corona on sweepstakes that will allow fans to win a limited edition Corona fridge with space to display sneakers. "I love whenever you can partner with a company that you A) enjoy," she said. "It's not that ridiculous to see me with a Corona in my hand. You're not supposed to say that as an athlete, but it's true."
Turkish media reports say a second superyacht belonging to Chelsea soccer club owner and sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich has docked in a resort in southwestern Turkey.
Ben Strauss, sports and media reporter at the Washington Post, joins Cheddar News to recap round two of the NCAA Men's Tournament and what we can expect heading into the Sweet 16.
March Madness kicked off this month as more and more states are legalizing sports betting — and some major upsets almost immediately busting many a bracket. Jay Croucher, the director of trading at the sportsbook PointsBet, joined Cheddar News to talk about the tournament and the current top picks. "There's not too much difference in terms of the busiest days of the year between the Super Bowl and the first day of March Madness," he said.
The NCAA tournament kicks off this week, so it's about that time to finalize your march madness brackets if you haven't already, and decide where to call the upsets. Iain MacMillan, senior editor at MacMillan, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
March Nadness is officially underway, and betting on this year's tournament has the potential to reach record levels. About 45 million Americans are expected to wager a total of $3.1 billion on just the men's tournament alone, according to a new survey from the American Gaming Association. Prince Grimes, Senior Writer for USA Today's sports betting media property, BetFTW, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss how betting could play into this year's tournament and other storylines surrounding March Madness.
