Technologies

Peacock Hopes an Andy Cohen Avatar Will Keep You Hooked on Reality TV

The streaming app unveils new AI-powered features, including live NBA games in vertical format.

Peacock is adding an AI feather to its flock. The NBCUniversal property said Friday it will launch several new features to its mobile app, most notably a TikTok-like vertical video experience narrated by an AI version of TV personality Andy Cohen.

The feature, called «Your Bravoverse,» will enable app users to swipe endlessly — if they want — through a playlist of clips from their favorite Bravo shows, all narrated by the Cohen AI. The app will also stream live NBA games in a 9:16 vertical format and introduce two new mobile games.

Peacock said there will be a section for vertical video on the mobile app starting this summer, replacing the current download button in the main bottom navigation.

The new Peacock features capitalize on the AI frenzy and join the bandwagon of mobile users who have become accustomed to the vertical, swipeable nature of consuming content, such as on TikTok and Instagram.

Your host, an AI Andy Cohen

Launching this summer, Your Bravoverse will play videos in vertical format on your phone. The content library will be comprised of Bravo shows past and present, including Vanderpump Rules and the Real Housewives franchise.

AI will create playlists of clips from more than 5,000 hours of footage across the entire Bravo catalog of shows and extract stories from those shows using computer vision. The company says the goal is to «weave together complex storylines across seasons and franchises that help fans relive memorable moments or uncover new connections they may have never seen before.»

Computer vision, in concert with generative AI, is tech that can analyze thousands of hours of Peacock shows, pick out key moments and create video feeds.

Matt Strauss, Chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, called the feature a «first-of-its-kind experience» for the company — «pairing our deep Bravo library with agentic and gen AI to create a personalized experience.»

The narrator for each playlist will be an AI avatar of Andy Cohen, host of the talk show Watch What Happens Live and creator of the Real Housewives franchise. The avatar will be trained to have Cohen’s «distinctive style and voice.»

Cohen said the Bravoverse experience will be «intuitive» and «interactive.»

«If there’s one thing Bravo fans love, it’s being part of the conversation,» Cohen said in a statement. «It’s the best of AI and the best of Bravo, helping fans discover shows, dive deeper into their favorite moments, and connect with the Bravo universe like never before — all guided by me. Well, not exactly me, but a version of me!»

To create playlists, Your Bravoverse consumers will first choose their top shows and moments, then receive their own personal playlist. NBCUniversal says each playlist can have more than 600 billion possible variations. Just as on TikTok and Instagram, Bravoverse viewers will be able to swipe through videos endlessly. NBCUniversal says the playlists will be constantly refreshed.

NBCUniversal is counting on what it calls its Bravo «loyal superfans.» The company said Bravo viewers watch an average of 24 hours each month, and some people watch up to 75 episodes of shows each month.

The Your Bravoverse feature will be accessible through a dedicated Vertical Video space on the app’s home page.

Live Vertical NBA games

It seems counterintuitive to watch a sport played on a horizontal court in a vertical format on your phone. Peacock actually already unveiled the feature before, during the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 15.

During live NBA game broadcasts, AI will enable Peacock app viewers to watch the main broadcast and additional camera angles. This vertical video viewing option will reside within the Courtside Live feature, which Peacock launched during the All-Star Game.

Peacock has shown vertical video clips for sporting events since early 2025 — «a first for a streaming platform,» the company said — for NBA, NHL and the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Peacock will launch the feature this spring.

New mobile games

Peacock is also launching two new mobile games, as part of NBCUniversal’s collaboration with Wolf Games, announced in October — Law & Order: Clue Hunter and Public Eye, both mystery-solving games. The games are being created with Wolf Games’ Gen-AI gaming engine and will be launched this spring.

Peacock said it will also be introducing a new Jeopardy! mini‑game, with daily trivia rounds written by the Jeopardy!
team, which can be played in the Peacock mobile app.

In its 2025 fourth-quarter earnings report, Comcast — owner of NBCUniversal — said Peacock’s paid subscribers increased 22% year over year to 44 million, while revenue grew 23% to $1.6 billion.

Technologies

Roblox Will Pay $12 Million to Settle Nevada Child Safety Lawsuit

The deal with the Nevada attorney general will require Roblox to have stricter safeguards to protect children online.

Popular gaming platform Roblox agreed to pay more than $12 million and implement new safety features as part of a settlement with the state of Nevada. This settlement comes amid several lawsuits accusing the company of an alleged lack of protection of children on the platform.

The agreement resolves potential litigation over allegations that Roblox failed to adequately safeguard children while they played the online game, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said in a press release on Wednesday.

As part of the deal, Roblox will spend $10 million over three years to encourage children to engage in non-digital activities, as well as institute age verification for all users. This will include «facial age estimation technology and government-issued ID for age assurance, and will use behavioral monitoring to identify users who may have been aged incorrectly,» according to the press release.

«The injunctive relief that Roblox has agreed to will give parents the tools they need to protect their children on the platform; institute default protections to block predators from engaging with children; and ensure that messages involving minors are not encrypted,» Ford said in the press release.

Roblox also committed to spending $1 million over two years on a campaign to educate minors and adults about online safety and another $1.5 million to develop a law enforcement liaison position to work with state law enforcement agencies over concerns about the platform.

Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman said it’s part of the company’s «work to establish a new standard for digital safety.»

«This resolution creates a blueprint for how industry and regulators can work together to protect the next generation of digital citizens,» Kaufman said Thursday. «We have no finish line when it comes to safety.»

Roblox is under significant legal pressure amid more than 140 lawsuits, according to Reuters. The suits, filed in 2025, allege the company knowingly created a gaming platform that allowed child predators to target minors.

The company also faces lawsuits from state attorneys general in Texas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and Florida over similar accusations.

Age-based accounts coming soon

Two days before the settlement announcement, Roblox CEO and founder David Baszucki revealed new accounts for younger Roblox users.

Roblox Kids will be available for children between the ages of 5 and 8, and Roblox Select is for those ages 9 to 15. Roblox is reportedly used by nearly half of US children under 16. Children who are older than 16 will be in their own age group, simply called «Roblox.»

Kids and Select accounts would be available in those age groups as determined by Roblox’s age-check technology or by a verified parent.

Unmonitored chat in the game has been a point of criticism for the platform, as it allows predators to chat with children. Kids’ accounts will have chat turned off by default, with limited access to Minimal or Mild games as determined by the platform. Select accounts will have chat with safeguards and access to games with Moderate content, which is described by the platforms as having «moderate violence, light realistic blood, moderate crude humor, unplayable gambling content, and/or moderate fear.»

These new age-based accounts will roll out sometime in early June.

Technologies

Opera Adds Browser Connector Feature to Integrate AI Chatbots Into Browsers

New feature will allow users to include the AI tools of their choice.

Opera announced Thursday the launch of a new tool that allows users of its browsers to include more AI chatbots in their browsing experience.

Browser Connector is a free feature for Opera One and Opera GX browsers that allows users to integrate AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude into their live browsing sessions via Model Context Protocol. MCP is an open standard developed by Anthropic that allows for a secure two-way connection between AI models, external data sources and tools such as search engines.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Last month, Opera introduced MCP compatibility to Opera Neon, its subscription-based agentic AI browser. Opera says the new feature willallow a user’s AI of choice to provide real-time context of open tabs and active content.

«With Browser Connector, Opera ensures users aren’t bound to a single company’s ecosystem, but are instead free to combine the best tools for their specific needs,» Mohamed Salah, senior director of product at Opera, said in a statement.

To enable the feature, which is now available in Early Bird mode, users need to go to Settings in the browser, search for «AI Services» and install the Browser Connector feature. They then have to connect ChatGPT or Claude to the feature.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 17, #571

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for April 17 No. 571.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tricky one, especially the purple category. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: «Yer out!»

Green group hint: They score goals.

Blue group hint: Daddy dearest.

Purple group hint: Home, home on the…