DES ABEND NEWS

The American owners of Liverpool FC have said that the club is open for investors to buy, just 12 years after buying the club themselves. Photo: liverpool.com By: Sam Feierabend. The Fenway Sports Group (FSG), who also own baseball team The Boston Red Sox, bought Liverpool in 2010 and have overseen an upturn in the club’s fortunes. Since the appointment of Jurgen Klopp as manager in 2015, the club has become regular challengers for silverware, winning the Premier League in 2019/2020 and The Champions League in 2019. FSG announced on 7 November that they would consider new shareholders if it was in the best interests of Liverpool as a club. They have however, reiterated the fact that in the meantime, the group remains committed to the club both on and off the field until a suitable buyer comes forward. The group have invested heavily in the club, mainly in the redevelopment of their famous Anfield stadium with £190m being spent on new stands. They have taken the capacity of th...

Streaming platform Netflix has announced an updated tiered membership system in an attempt to combat falling subscriber numbers over the last year. Credit: chromegeek.com. By:  Sam Feierabend. The company claim that the main reason driving a loss of memberships is the ability to share account details with multiple people and devices. This means families and couples can split the cost of a monthly subscription. Currently, people are paying £6.99 a month for the service, and within that each person that holds the account details can create their own profile. Within this you can create your own watchlists and recommendations. As people move away from families, or even break up as a couple, a lot are seeing their accounts stay with them with no worry of having to shell out for a separate membership. This is what Netflix are aiming to clamp down on. Starting in November, a whole new membership structure will be in place. The initiative has been trialled in South America over the...

Gaming giants Sony PlayStation are being sued £5 billion for ‘ripping off customers’ with game prices and in-game purchases. Photo: barkingdrum.com. By: Sam Feierabend.   The legal action, led by consumer rights champion Alex Neill, could see millions of everyday gamers owed money should the lawsuit be accepted by courts. The case claims that Sony PlayStation’s actions have driven up prices for consumers, resulting in customers being overcharged for digital gaming purchases over the past six years. This would be a complete abuse of the company’s position as market leader to impose terms and conditions on games’ developers and publishers, including a 30% commission on evert digital purchase on the PlayStation Store. The estimated damages per individual in the claim is said to be between £67 and £562. This applies to any customer who has purchased digital games or add-on content on their console since August 2016. As many as nine million claimants could benefit from this lawsuit. M...

The world’s second largest cinema chain, Cineworld, has announced that it is considering filing for bankruptcy in the US. Photo: dcm.com. By: Sam Feierabend. The move comes after the company accumulated up to $4 billion in debts over the coronavirus pandemic. They have assured cinemagoers and staff that, for the meantime, cinemas will be operating as normal and staff will still be employed while attempts are made to balance the books. They employ 45,000 people globally, including 5,000 in the UK. The chain has struggled with not experiencing a quick enough recovery since lockdown easings, this being coupled with a failed takeover of Canadian chain Cineplex leaves $1 billion owed to the company. Their debts may also be attributed to the decline in the cinema industry on the whole. People are being priced out of watching movies at the cinema, with companies such as Odeon charging upwards of £12 for a single adult ticket. In comparison, streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ a...

A new docuseries Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons , which aired on Hulu on July 14, looks into the misconduct of the fashion brand, delving into horror stories of sex, power, and money. Credit: The New Yorker. By: Derry Salter. The multibillion-dollar lingerie company first became a phenomenon in the 80s and has carried on its reign for nearly four decades. It’s known for its glitz, glamour, and gorgeous models. Behind the beauty lies harassment allegations, bullying and undesirable connections as well as misogyny, transphobia and body shaming. Controversies first came apparent in 2019, when some models began rebelling against the brand on social media and it has only been downhill from there. Most interestingly the docuseries sheds light on Lex Wexner, former billionaire CEO who stepped down last year, and his close ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Wexner enabled Epstein’s access to both wealth and women, by giving him power over his finances and private life, e...

Greenwashing is a widespread practice across businesses and government as is impacting people’s reality of the climate emergency by giving a false impression of their business efforts. Buzzwords like 'eco-conscious' and 'going green' are key perpetrators in pushing the false environmentally friendly narrative. Credit: Reuters. By: Derry Salter. Brands continue to sell products claiming a start towards a sustainable future, but the reality is that these marketed commodities are unrecyclable or have little impact. Plastic packaging in the UK makes up nearly 70% of the country’s plastic waste, but only 10% of this gets recycled. Growing concerns about the environment has seen an increased awareness of green-washing. In a 2015 poll, 72% of consumers argued they are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products. But what is the real truth behind this faux sustainability? Many big brands are guilty of greenwashing, predominantly those who claim their plastic p...