Millions Tune In Daily For ABC's Special Coverage Of ‘Diddy' Trial
Since its launch in May, ABC's daily show on the trial of music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Burden of Proof: The Case Against Diddy, has drawn an impressive audience of 16 million viewers, based on video starts across YouTube and ABC's streaming platform, ABC News Live.
Streaming daily from opening statements through the jury's verdict, the program, hosted by GMA3 co-anchor and senior national correspondent Eva Pilgrim, provides a deep dive into what happens each day in the courtroom--and what it may mean to both the prosecution and the defense. Pilgrim is joined daily by ABC News chief investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky and legal contributor and attorney Brian Buckmire, who has been inside the courtroom.
'Our goal is to keep audiences informed, and the response we've seen proves they're looking for real-time coverage that's clear, accurate and thoughtful," Pilgrim said. 'As we break down each development, we stay grounded in the experiences of the victims and survivors and approach their stories with the sensitivity they deserve.'
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 26: Sean "Diddy" Combs attends Day 1 of 2023 Invest Fest at Georgia World ... More Congress Center on August 26, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by)
Combs is on trial in federal court on charges including racketeering and sex trafficking, and has featured searing testimony from witnesses, including women who have taken the stand to describe graphic sexual encounters with Combs that they said were not consensual.
Three women have testified using pseudonyms, but others have not, including Cassie Ventura, an R&B singer and former girlfriend of Combs, who testified for four days about their relationship. Prosecutors say Ventura was sex trafficked and subject to physical abuse, including an assault captured in a surveillance video recorded at a Los Angeles hotel.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Cassie Ventura attend the 'Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic ... More Imagination' Costume Institute Gala 2018 at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, New York on Monday, May 7, 2018. (Laura Thompson / New York Daily News via Getty Images)
Ventura's final day of testimony on May 15 drew the largest audience for Burden of Proof: 1.8 million views, followed by the first day she took the stand on May 12 (1.7 million views).
"The strong engagement we've seen around our reporting of the case underscores the public's deep interest,' said Seni Tienabeso, vice president of ABC News Live and Specialized Units. 'We are committed to approaching this story with care, recognizing the seriousness of the allegations and the courage of those who have come forward, and our team remains focused on reporting with integrity and respect for all involved.'
ABC News' multi-platform approach to covering the trial also includes the podcast Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy, special episodes of Impact x Nightline, and a weekly series on Hulu, Diddy on Trial: As It Happened, which debuted May 25. Hosted by The View co-host and former federal prosecutor Sunny Hostin, the docuseries features a weekly roundtable discussion and re-enactments of testimony and moments inside the courtroom.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
I'm a second wife. My husband's grandkids aren't a problem — but their flirty grandma is. What do I do?
Welcome back to "Ask Amy & T.J." This week, they take on some grandma drama. Whether they're building an audio empire like Taylor and Travis or throwing the wedding of the year like the Bezoses, power couples inspire awe and envy. But mixing business and romance isn't always sunshine and roses. If you need advice on how to keep your relationship and your business afloat, send your question to askamyandtj@ If you want to hear more from Amy and T.J., check out their podcast. Amy & T.J., My husband has grandchildren from a previous marriage, which isn't a problem. However, their grandmother, Betty (the ex-wife), is always around. I've told him I can tolerate her being there for things like their grandkids' graduation, but not every time we get invited somewhere. For example, last weekend we were at a birthday party for someone on his side of the family (her ex-in-laws). Why is she there? And every time they meet, Betty is hugging and kissing on my husband. She can't just say hi and move along. I've asked him over and over to set boundaries but he acts like he doesn't know what that means. I told him I'm not comfortable going to our next event if she'll be there and he said 'OK, I'm going anyway.' Really? What do I do? — Gut reaction T.J. Holmes: Yes, this is partly about grandparents and grandchildren. But this is just a plain old 'Why is the ex always around' story. Amy Robach: This is about respect. It doesn't seem like your husband respects you, and certainly, the ex-wife doesn't. On further thought... TJH: We get very few no-brainer questions, but I think this is one. I'm trying to see your husband's perspective, but I just can't. I can't see why the ex-wife is of such value to him that it's worth upsetting you, the woman that he's declared he wants to spend the rest of his life with. Now, I don't know how long he and the ex-wife were married, or how close she is to the family and to the kids and grandkids. Maybe it was 25 or 30 years or more. But I still don't think that it's ever OK for any partner to treat their spouse the way he's treating you, constantly. This should be a simple conversation, ending with him saying, 'Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you felt that way, I respect that,' and then you can move on. But I don't know why you don't insist that this stop. AR: Yes, it's about respect. Ask him to reverse the situation: How would he feel in your shoes? And it's not simply that Betty is there; you're saying that she is effusive and touching your husband. That would be an issue for any second wife. I think the reason your husband is continuing to allow this has to be his ego. It feels really good when you've got two women who are both fighting for you. Maybe he thinks he can placate everyone. But by letting this go on, he's saying he doesn't care what you think or what your feelings are. And how could you possibly have a relationship that way? If you don't respect or care what your partner thinks, you don't have a marriage. TJH: Another possibility: He's a guy. He's an idiot. Sometimes we can be clueless about such things. It doesn't seem like much of an excuse, but could he just be unaware? AR: If that's the case, you need to just make a decision. You're either going to have to accept this and let it go — which is really hard — or do something, which could mean leaving the marriage. The worst thing you could do is nothing. TJH: Yes, and tell your husband, 'This is what I need from you. Are you able to provide it?' We're grown folks. You look directly at him and tell him what you want. We don't do ultimatums, but you have to confront this. And at some point, you have to stop blaming him if you continue to stay. If he's not willing to work on it, that's a red flag that he doesn't care. Meanwhile, your husband, Betty and even you are not keeping your eyes on what's important: making sure there isn't tension for the family. What do the grandkids want? Do they love Betty being around? Are they uncomfortable seeing how she is around your husband? Amy and I have dealt with tension in our blended families before. You have to put that first. Figure out what you, as the adults, need to do to ensure the kids and grandkids are OK. AR: For certain special events, it's important for the grandkids to have all the people in their lives there. But it doesn't mean that Betty needs to be all up on and all over your husband. There can be clear boundaries of no touching. The final word TJH: Well, it's hugging and kissing. Maybe this is just a hug when Betty and the husband see each other, and that's it? AR: Then do a fist bump instead. TJH: The grandparents need to ... dab up? AR: Dab up! I don't think that's unreasonable. I don't want anybody kissing on you! Solve the daily Crossword
Fast Company
11 minutes ago
- Fast Company
Spotify just redesigned the way you'll ‘listen' to audiobooks
When you consume a book, you're always making compromises. Print means no animation and no outbound links to enhance the reading experience. E-ink often yields potato-quality images and muted colors. An iPad's LED-backlit display strains the eyes. Audiobooks, meanwhile, generally rely solely on the theater of the mind. But what if they didn't have to? Blending the audiobook experience with sight and sound might seem like fertile, if not obvious ground for innovation—but it's not happening within a traditional publishing house. Rather, it's happening at Spotify. While the majority of Spotify's audiobooks are currently just that—audio—for Bruce Holsinger's summer hit Culpability and some 100 other books, Spotify has crafted something more. Through its new Follow Along feature, the company is bringing bespoke visuals and music to the mix, and nudges the form of the audiobook forward in the process. Spotify sounds off The feature, currently being tested, follows years of increased focus on the audiobook segment by the music streamer. Spotify launched an à la carte audiobook offering in 2022, and then followed it with its Audiobooks in Premium program in 2023, granting premium subscribers 15 hours of books per month. The company currently has some 400,000 books under its belt, and is licensing, producing, and publishing more than 150 titles a year, and just last week launched a new $11.99 per month Audiobooks+ add-on, which grants 15 hours of listening on top of whatever plan one has. (It's a business expansion that perhaps comes at an ideal time for Spotify, which just reported a 12% year-over-year rise in subscribers to 276 million—but also a Q2 net loss of around $100 million.) 'No shade on PDFs' The Follow Along initiative spawned from the supplementary PDF files publishers provide with audiobooks, according to Niamh Parsley, Spotify's director of product design for audiobooks. Now, 'no shade on PDFs,' Parsley says, 'I love a good PDF,' but Spotify users weren't engaging with those files much, even though they often contained rich imagery or tools to assist with the retention of complex topics. Follow Along emerged from a thought experiment about how Spotify could get more value out of its existing content. 'It really stemmed from real experiences,' says Parsley. 'Wouldn't it be cool if this cookbook that we have the audio for showed us the recipes so I can be inspired by it and be more likely to actually make the recipe?' Rather than start with a wireframe filled with dummy text, she says the Spotify team led with the book's actual content to create solutions organic to each book. When Follow Along first launched as a test last November, users discovered visual assets like photos and diagrams synced to the narration in real time in the Spotify app. But with the launch of the AI techno-thriller family drama Culpability last month, the team has taken the model to new levels. New, custom visuals Even before Culpability became an Oprah's Book Club pick, the Spotify team knew it'd be a hit, according to Associate Director of Audiobook Publishing Colleen Prendergast. Spotify's producer and casting director worked directly with author Bruce Holsinger to bring the experience to life, and hearing the narrator's early recordings prompted the team to consider adding custom visuals to the mix for the first time. 'Her performance was so multifaceted, it inspired us to explore ways to make the listener experience on Spotify even more dynamic,' recalls Prendergast. advertisement With publisher Spiegel & Grau on board, the team began identifying moments in the manuscript that lent themselves to visual storytelling. Rodrigo Corral Design Studio had created the book's cover, so they brought Corral and his crew into the project as well. Ultimately, the team created more than 100 custom assets for the audiobook, from section headers to chat logs and conceptual images that echo the vibe of the cover. 'We frequently create interior illustrations for printed books, but seeing these visuals integrated into the digital and audio space is genuinely new and exciting,' says Anna Corral, partner at Rodgiro Corral. Of the process itself, she added, 'We worked to distill the emotional undercurrents into images that guide the listener without overexplaining, allowing the reader to reflect and make it their own.' Of course, like anything new, you've got to figure out the best way to use it—and while listening to Culpability, I likely no doubt missed certain visuals by virtue of not staring at my phone for the duration of the book, waiting to see what might pop up. Interfaces like Apple CarPlay also don't generally display visuals like these so as not to distract drivers—so in lieu of something like an audible chime to check your phone or tablet for a given image, you may need to hop over to the 'Extras' section of the audiobook to find what you missed. The tune of the tomes In May, Spotify partnered with 33 ⅓, Bloomsbury's cult-favorite line of books about popular albums, to add another Follow Along element that seems like a no-brainer for the streaming service: music. Now, when the audio books are probing an album or discussing a certain song, a link to it will appear in the app so users can save it to their library or listen in the moment. Currently, Follow Along is still a test feature. While Spotify declined to provide more robust usage metrics, Parsley noted that users actively engaging with the initial slate of titles' supplementary material within the app increased by 245% over their former PDF counterparts. Publishers have been requesting the feature, according to Parsley. Spotify has also observed an increase in listeners per title, with 'the hypothesis there being that providing more visual-forward experiences can entice more listening,' she says. Ultimately, Parsley sees opportunity for not just a new visual spin on an old form, but for the types of books associated with audiobooks at large. For instance, Billie Eilish released an audio component to her eponymous photo book, and Spotify created a Follow Along experience merging both. And therein lies perhaps the next unexpected frontier for audiobooks, which Parsley enthusiastically endorses: the humble coffee table tome. 'There's a lot of untapped potential there [with] content that is visually based, and how we can create this multimodal experience around it,' she says. 'The door is wide open right now because it is so early—so it's very exciting.' The early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, September 5, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.
Forbes
12 minutes ago
- Forbes
Whitney Houston Posthumously Makes It To A Huge Milestone
Whitney Houston's music lives on every week on the Billboard charts, as one of her compilations moves enough equivalent units every frame in America to ensure that the superstar's name appears on at least one or two tallies. Interest in the work she left behind remains incredibly high, and as one of her greatest hits sets climbs, it brings her to a milestone that she never reached during her lifetime. I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston has become the go-to catch-all for Americans looking to listen to the singer's most familiar tracks. It's a common practice for one album or compilation to rack up the majority of sales and especially streams for late stars, as most people are usually only interested in some of the biggest singles, which can all be gathered together on one project. Whitney Houston's Album Reaches 250 Weeks This week, I Will Always Love You returns to the top 20 on the Top R&B Albums chart and jumps five spaces north to No. 187 on the Billboard 200 – and it's on the latter tally that the landmark is reached. Houston's compilation has now lived on the Billboard 200 — the chart company's list of the most consumed albums, compilations, and EPs in the United States — for 250 weeks. Houston has never seen a title spend so much time on one list. Whitney Houston and The Bodyguard Soundtrack Follow Houston's self-titled project, which arrived in early 1985, collected 176 stays on the Billboard 200. The Bodyguard soundtrack, which accompanied the movie of the same name, is just one frame shy of three full years. I Will Always Love You Never Reached the Top 10 While I Will Always Love You is easily Houston's longest-running title on the Billboard 200, it is far from her highest-rising. The compilation has never cracked the top 10, though it did reach No. 14 in December of 2012, following its release just months after her tragic passing. Eight Top 10s and Four No. 1s Houston has sent eight projects into the top 10 on the Billboard 200, and half of those have spent time at No. 1. That roundup includes The Bodyguard, Whitney Houston, Whitney, and I Look to You – and the first three managed double-digit stays at the summit. Whitney Houston Has Spent Even More Time on the R&B List As I Will Always Love You reaches 250 weeks on the Billboard 200, the compilation extends its stay on the Top R&B Albums list, where it has lived for an additional year. The compilation is up to 317 turns somewhere on the R&B-specific roster.
