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First Click: Super Bowl records, Beyoncé's record, and a preview of the week ahead

February 8th, 2016

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You did it, you survived to tell the story of another Super Bowl. You, and more than 100 million other viewers across the globe. It’s not quite the FIFA World Cup as far as global spectacles go, but the Superb Owl still attracted a “record audience” of streaming viewers despite a few early glitches on CBS’ service. We’re still waiting for the detailed numbers, but re/code’s Peter Kafka helps contextualize things by noting that NBC’s record-setting stream from last year’s game attracted an audience of 1.3 million concurrent users measuring 800,000 average viewers per minute for a total of 213 million minutes. We’ll soon know how Super Bowl 50 compares.

Looking ahead, we’ve got quarterly financials from Twitter and Tesla coming up on Wednesday as earnings season finally comes to a close.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey will try to convince investors that he has a plan to turn Twitter around after a tumultuous 2015. A year that saw the stock price slide by 55 percent and witnessed the exit of its fifth head of product in addition to several other key executives who found (or were shown) the exit door. Last quarter, Twitter added just 4 million users for a total of 320 million monthly active users (MAUs). That puts it behind Instagram’s 400 million MAUs, WhatsApp’s 450 million MAUs, and Facebook’s 1.59 billion MAUs. Analysts will be looking for signs that Twitter’s user growth has pulled out of its stall.

Tesla meanwhile, has already reported quarterly deliveries so everyone will be focused on CEO Elon Musk’s forward-looking statements. Of primary interest will be some positive news regarding the Model X production ramp-up. Tesla is scheduled to be at full production of the Model X before April, making between 1,600 and 1,800 Model S and Model X vehicles per week. Any progress towards clearing the Model X backorder of more than 25,000 SUVs will be seen as a positive sign. We hope to also hear more about progress on the Gigafactory, in addition to more details on the Model 3 set for reveal at an event in March. Output from the Gigafactory (scheduled to begin producing batteries in 2017) will be crucial for getting the Model 3 price down to its $35,000 target.

As usual, we’ll end the week with a couple of new movie premieres. Friday sees the return of Ben Stiller as Derek Zoolander in Zoolander 2, while Ryan Reynolds makes his return as Wade Wilson in Deadpool (read our review).

But that’s all to come. First let’s get you caught up by taking a look back at the top stories of the weekend.

  1. The Pirate Bay now lets you stream torrents from your browser

    The best-known torrent site in the world now streams pirated content too. The Pirate Bay has added support for Torrents Time, a plugin that lets users stream torrents directly inside their browser....

  2. Beyoncé released a surprise new single just in time for the Super Bowl

    The Super Bowl halftime show just got a little more interesting. Beyoncé, who is scheduled to perform tomorrow alongside Coldplay and Bruno Mars, just released a mesmerizing new single. "Formation,...

  3. People are being super mean to Tim Cook about his blurry Super Bowl photo

    Tim Cook, who runs one of the world's most important companies and does not need this crap from any of you, is getting roasted after posting a wild, out-of-focus shot on Twitter tonight at the end...

  4. Here's how Twitter's new algorithmic timeline is going to work

    Twitter went into an uproar Friday after a BuzzFeed report that the social network was on the brink introducing an algorithmic, more Facebook-style feed. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tried to calm fears...

  5. Watch the first trailer for Jason Bourne: "I remember everything"

    It's been nearly 10 years since Matt Damon last showed up on screen as amnesiac superspy Jason Bourne — and in that time, it seems, Damon has been working out quite a bit. The first trailer for the...

  6. The future is here, some assembly required

    Technology moves fast. So fast, in fact, that it’s easy to take it for granted. Smartphones, which have been around for a decade or more, are so ubiquitous and such an integral part of our daily...

  7. Watch the X-Men: Apocalypse Super Bowl trailer

    The first X-Men: Apocalypse trailer served to introduce the titular new baddie (played by Oscar Isaac). In contrast, the Super Bowl spot is way more focused on teasing the summer blockbuster's big...

  8. How to be human: how much should I sacrifice to make a relationship work?

    Leah Reich was one of the first internet advice columnists. Her column "Ask Leah" ran on IGN, where she gave advice to gamers for two and a half years. During the day, Leah is Slack’s user...

  9. Listen to astronaut Sally Ride discuss all the sexist questions she was asked by the press

    In 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman to travel to space. Her accomplishment came two decades after Russia had sent the first woman to space in 1963. It was a progressive step for...

  10. This is what a Rascal looks like going 100 miles per hour

    The "Rascal" was never a great name for an electric scooter designed to be a slow, excruciatingly safe means of transport for the mobility-challenged. But this mobility scooter here, you see......

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