For decades, Sean “Diddy” Combs presented the image of a wealthy, Black music mogul, one who broke business barriers, threw lavish parties and even created iconic TV moments. But behind the scenes, prosecutors say, was a more sinister picture, with allegations of violence, sex trafficking and severe abuses of power. 

Throughout his career, Combs’ dominated music, television and fashion, amassing a fortune worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In public, he was a shrewd music producer, generating hip-hop hits under his Bad Boy Records label, which he founded in 1993 and helped establish him as a cultural magnate. Combs was at the center of one of rap’s most notorious — and deadly — beefs between the east and west coasts culminating in the deaths of Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. He capitalized on hip-hop’s shift into mainstream culture at the dawn of a new millennium. His “All About the Benjamins” was parodied by “Weird” Al Yankovich. He famously dated Jennifer Lopez when she made a splash on the red carpet at the 2000 Grammy awards in an iconic Versace gown. On the surface, Combs presented himself as the fun-loving producer who danced in music videos and the tough business mogul developing fresh talent. 

But in private, prosecutors allege in an indictment unsealed Tuesday, Combs, now 54, and his associates “wielded” his “power and prestige” to orchestrate sexual, emotional and physical abuse against the people around him. While Combs’ explosive temper was an open secret and rumors long swirled about his sex life, his power and influence, experts say, has shielded him from accountability for years of alleged illegal activity.

Combs was arrested Monday and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. It came after months of lawsuits and several allegations of sexual assault, gender violence, misconduct and other “serious illegal activity” that took place over several years. He pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, and a judge denied him bail after U.S. Attorney Damian Williams argued Combs is a flight risk and a danger to the community. Combs is currently being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York, and is on “procedural” suicide watch, as is typical with with high profile clients.

“We’ve seen this pattern before — someone in a position of power and influence chooses to exploit others for their own gain, using fear, manipulation and violence to maintain control over his victims,” Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, said in a statement.

The charges stem from Combs’ hours- and dayslong sexual performances called “freak offs,” which allegedly included coerced sex acts that Combs is accused of orchestrating and recording. The indictment said Combs sought “to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.”

“Combs relied on the employees, resources, and influence of the multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled — creating a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice,” it reads.

“These allegations reveal not only a gross abuse of personal power but underscore a systemic use of networks and his employees to perpetuate sexual violence,” said Goss Graves, who is also the co-founder of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, which provides legal aid to people who have experienced workplace sexual harassment.

The indictment listed Combs’ security staff, household staff, personal assistants, “high-ranking supervisors” and others among the “associates” who made up a criminal organization, which the indictment calls the “Combs Enterprise.” Combs and these associates allegedly engaged in forced labor, sexual coercion and trafficking, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery and other crimes under Combs’ leadership.

Since late 2023 and as recently as last week, several women and some men have filed lawsuits against Combs alleging everything from abuse to sex trafficking. A flood of lawsuits came after Combs’ former girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura sued him in federal court in November, accusing him of years of physical abuse throughout their 11-year relationship, during which, she said, he exerted complete control over her. Combs and Ventura were first romantically linked in 2007 and split in 2018.

She and Combs settled the suit a day later but did not disclose the terms of the settlement. At the time, Combs denied the allegations. Singer Dawn Richard, Combs’ producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, several unnamed women and a Michigan man have filed lawsuits against Combs accusing him of various forms of abuse and misconduct. Combs has denied the allegations, and a judge halted a $100 judgment in favor of the Michigan man, Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, in order to hold more hearings.

Before Ventura’s allegations last year, Combs’ reputation had remained intact despite all of the accusations, legal troubles and rumors that trailed him over the last three decades. Combs’ behavior had long fueled social media chatter among fans and artists, including rivals and those who had worked with him. But the accumulation of assault charges, filmed outbursts and erratic behavior, capped by Vetura’s allegations in November, finally tipped the scales. That it took so long for Combs to face legal repercussions and public rebuke speaks to the power of his celebrity and the image he had maintained since his ascent, said Oronike Odeleye, activist and co-founder of the #MuteRKelly social media campaign.

“The music industry is built on exploitation,” she said. “Behind all of the sensationalism, the drama and the rumors are actual survivors, people who lived through these experiences. We should keep them in the forefront of our minds.”

The indictment alleges that Combs threatened people with firearms, offered bribes and leveraged his money and influence to both control victims and ensure their silence.

The culture of silence fostered by Combs’ power and celebrity is similar to the protective network that kept singer R. Kelly from being held accountable for his abuse of girls and young women, Odeleye said. Kelly was convicted of sexual exploitation and enticement of a minor in 2022.

“Some of the silence is, ‘I need to be in proximity to this person because they’re powerful and they can make or break my career,'” Odeleye said, adding that she believes unhealthy ideas of masculinity have played a role in Combs’ alleged behavior. For some men, she said, “violence against women, unfortunately, props up your masculinity.”

Combs experienced a rapid rise from unpaid Uptown Records intern to music mogul in just a few years. In the early ’90s, Combs tapped now-legendary artists Notorious B.I.G., Craig Mack, Faith Evans, 112 and Mase to fill the roster of his then-fledgling Bad Boy Entertainment label. He released his own successful albums initially as Puff Daddy, a nickname he said stemmed from his own volatile temper. Through the 1990s and early 2000s, his artists topped the charts.

Combs’ lineup of rappers and singers presented a different sound from the gangsta rap, pop and grunge rock that were popular at the time. The music represented a brand of hip-hop that mixed different sounds that appealed to different demographics but never felt inauthentic.

“They were trendsetters,” Richard, one of the singers who later sued Combs, said of his signature artists back in 2015. “It was due to Puff’s ear and his ability to pick voices that were like no other.”

As the years went on, Combs expanded his empire to include clothing, fragrances, hit MTV shows, alcohol brands and more. As of June, Combs’ estimated net worth was $400 million, according to Forbes, even after losing hundreds of millions as allegations against him have piled on.

He became associated with wealth and power along with music and culture. His ever-growing empire earned him a reputation as a wealthy, business-minded man and the picture of “Black excellence,” with a bootstrapping, rags-to-riches story that served as inspiration especially for young, Black men.

Over the years, the public has gotten glimpses into Combs’ behind-closed-doors demeanor, most notably in interviews, short clips and when he led the MTV reality series “Making the Band.” From 2002 to 2009, Combs developed musical acts on the show with a tough, no-nonsense attitude. From making contestants walk several miles to get him a slice of cheesecake to his verbal altercation with choreographer Laurieann Gibson, Combs bolstered his reputation as a prolific but intimidating figure in the industry.

Combs spoke about his go-getter attitude in a clip he shared to promote the 2017 documentary about his life, “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story.” In the clip, Combs finishes setting up a business deal on the phone before excitedly throwing equipment in his office and yelling, “I’m a savage! Whatever I want I have to get!”

“We see this and we’re like, ‘Diddy has to be demanding.’ You see him being abusive and terrible. There are so many instances of Diddy telling us some version of this dark s— publicly and everybody just ignored it because rappers are expected to use hyperbole to a certain degree,” said A.D. Carson, a professor of hip-hop and the Global South at the University of Virginia.

“So, when rappers are talking about their propensity for violence, or their propensity for assault … in the name of moguldom, we’re like, ‘Oh, that’s just what it takes. He probably doesn’t do that for real.'”

Combs has leaned into this idea of aspirational wealth, most notably with his lavish Labor Day White Parties.

From 1998 to 2009, Combs’ annual party was one of the hottest tickets, with guests like Paris Hilton, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mariah Carey, Jay-Z and Beyoncé attending. Combs said he launched the White Party to associate hip-hop with wealth and the upper echelon. “I wanted to strip away everyone’s image and put us all in the same color, and on the same level,” he said in a 2006 interview with Oprah.

“Rappers kind of operate with this symbolic value to people. That’s the Diddy phenomenon,”  Carson said.

Carson added that Combs’ wealth and influence in Black culture had made him someone whom Black celebrities wanted to associate with, sometimes at the cost of ignoring his alleged misconduct and abuse.

“That kind of power produces all kinds of results, including people organizing themselves in such a way that this seems to be the price of participation,” Carson said. “In the culture, people are concerned with what they stand to gain by” remaining silent.

While Combs regularly smiled for photos with A-listers and happily hosted bashes, behind closed doors, according to the indictment, he was punching, dragging, striking, kicking and throwing objects at people, including women and his employees, and bribing witnesses to ensure their silence.

The recent wave of lawsuits isn’t the first time Combs’ conduct has been called into question. For years, Combs has been criticized for allegedly keeping his artists’ publishing rights, and he’s been linked to shootings, accused of assault, and associated with abusive sexual behavior.

Some of Combs’ past artists have been critical of him in recent decades and accused him of owing them millions of dollars. Mase, one of Combs’ major collaborators in the late ’90s, has often called Combs out over his business practices, including keeping Mase’s publishing rights.

In 2023, Combs announced that he would give Bad Boy artists and songwriters including Mase, the Lox, 112, Faith Evans and other creators their publishing rights. This was welcome news to many except Aubrey O’Day, a member of the now-disbanded all-girl Bad Boy group Danity Kane. O’Day said in an interview that as part of receiving her publishing rights, she would have to agree to sign a nondisclosure agreement that barred her from making any negative comments about Combs publicly.

O’Day has long been critical of Combs and said she was fired from the group in 2008 after refusing to comply with Combs’ commands “not talentwise but in other areas.”

“I never thought I would see this day,” she told TMZ this week. “We all buried this inside of us in order to be able to keep going. And not just me, but victims you don’t even know yet. We are all processing what that type of vindication can actually feel like now. Every conversation I’ve had with victims last night has been beyond moving on all levels.”

Theoretically, contestants on ABC’s “The Bachelor” are looking for love. What they often find are business opportunities.

Mari Pepin, 28, got both.

Pepin was a participant on “The Bachelor” season 25, which aired in 2021, and then returned for “Bachelor in Paradise” season 7 later that year. She went home with Kenny Braasch’s final rose — they’ve now been married for more than a year — and an Instagram base of more than 300,000 followers, up from 50,000 before her reality TV appearances.

That’s when the money started to come in.

After “Bachelor in Paradise” aired and her following jumped, influencer opportunities followed. “Instantly, we were getting huge deals,” she said.

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In most cases, companies send Pepin products, which she then tries at her home in Chicago. If she likes an item, she’ll post about it, hitting the company’s suggested talking points and then earning a fee, she said.

Pepin has worked with Loreal, Factor meal delivery, Ruffino wine and Mermaid hair products, among others. On some account promotions, Pepin and Braasch team up. Braasch also has partnerships, including Apothic wine and gambling site BetUS, which connected Pepin with CNBC.

Brands giving products to celebrities and influencers in return for promotions on their social media feeds is a common marketing strategy, according to a new report from Influencer Marketing Hub.

Alternatively, the businesses will sign deals with influencers to promote the product in their posts for a fee or a share of affiliate revenue, similar to a commission for each sale. The posts alone help drive sales, the survey of more than 3,000 marketing agencies, brands and professionals found.

For the companies, it’s an approach that has proved effective when it comes to building a brand, according to the report.

For many reality television stars, influencing has become a popular side hustle with a low barrier to entry.

Depending on the platform and follower count, along with other factors, content creators can make between $2,500 and $5,000 per month, a 2023 NeoReach survey of more than 2,000 full- and part-time creators found.

Although Pepin earned more than $50,000 last year through influencing and has made as much as $12,500 for a single post, according to records reviewed by CNBC, the number of prospects, and payout, can vary greatly.

“That inconsistency is really scary for me,” she said.

“The larger the following, the more they can make bank,” said Casey Lewis, a social media trend expert and founder of trend newsletter After School. “If they really juice the affiliate, they can make a ton of money.”

In some cases, that can be enough for a supplemental income stream, but few earn a living wage. Most full- and part-time creators earn an annual income of $15,000 or less, according to NeoReach’s survey.

Still, 57% of Gen Zers said they would like to become an influencer if given the chance, according to a 2023 report from Morning Consult. The report was based on a poll of more than 2,200 adults and a separate survey of 1,000 Gen Zers ages 13-26 who use various social media platforms.

“A lot of people aspire to be influencers because they want to be self-employed and to be recognized for their taste and to be someone,” Lewis said.

However, “there’s awareness that it’s not that easy,” she added. “Monetizing your life in that way is exhausting.”

These days, having any sort of side hustle can provide a much-needed income boost to help keep up with a higher cost of living.

As of 2024, 36% of U.S. adults have a second job and make an average of $891 per month in extra cash from that role, up from $810 in 2023, according to a June report by Bankrate that polled more than 2,300 U.S. adults. Among Gen Zers and millennials, the share of adults with a side gig jumps to nearly 50%.

Pepin has a full-time day job as a social media marketing manager. “The influencer stuff is just kind of extra. It’s not really reliable,” she said.

For now, though, Pepin is making the most of her reality TV fame as one half of a successful “Bachelor” couple.

“I think you have to strike while the iron is hot,” Pepin said.

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Apple on Friday greeted customers at its stores around the world for the debuts of the iPhone 16, Apple Watch Series 10 and AirPods 4.

The new products were announced at an event earlier this month and have been available for pre-order since Sept. 13. The company lit up the glass cube at its Fifth Avenue Apple Store in New York City, in a nod to the enhanced Siri, which will light up the borders of the new iPhone’s screen when that feature rolls out next month.

Apple’s fresh iPhones mark the company’s latest move into artificial intelligence, with new Apple Intelligence features that will begin to launch in October. The new features will allow customers to rewrite text, remove objects from photos and speak with an improved Siri. The software advancements will only be available on iPhone 16 and last year’s iPhone 15 Pro devices.

But Apple shares slid on Monday after analyst reports suggested that demand for the latest iPhones was lower than expected. TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a note on Monday that first-weekend sales were down about 12% year over year from the iPhone 15 last year. Barclays, JPMorgan and Bank of America also noted shipping times could translate to lighter demand for the more expensive iPhone Pro models compared with last year.

CNBC’s Steve Kovach spoke with CEO Tim Cook outside Apple’s Fifth Avenue store and asked whether sales looked better or worse than last year. “I don’t know yet. It’s only the first hour, so we’ll see,” Cook said.

On Friday, UBS analysts suggested investors shouldn’t overreact to what appears to be lighter sales because that data is also collected by analyzing the wait times for new iPhone models and that those were longer last year due in part to supply chain disruptions.

“Ahead of the iPhone 16 announcement, our analysis suggested that a lack of a killer app and arguably somewhat half-baked introduction of Apple Intelligence would dampen demand,” the UBS analysts wrote. “While we still argue the collection of iPhone/iOS attributes are more evolutionary than revolutionary, we caution that investors not overreact to data that suggests somewhat initial tepid demand.”

The UBS analysts said supply chain disruptions last year “slightly distorted/extended last year’s data,” which led to longer wait times for customers for Pro models. Last year, UBS wrote, customers had a 41-day wait time for some iPhone 15 Pro Max pre-orders compared with a 26-day wait time for the iPhone 16 Pro Max this year.

“Nevertheless, data across all models and regions roughly a week post launch support our view that a super-cycle is not imminent as US and China data on the margin is disappointing relative to last year,” they wrote.

The Apple Watch Series 10 offers a larger screen than that of earlier models. It will support, along with the earlier Series 9, new Sleep Apnea detection, as well as other fresh features. The AirPods 4 offer a refresh with a smaller charging case and an option with noise cancellation.

CNBC reviewed the new iPhone 16 Pro Max and the Apple Watch Series 10 earlier in the week.

— CNBC’s Michael Bloom and Steve Kovach contributed to this report.

Charter Communications CEO Chris Winfrey said he wants customers to think of reliability and credibility when they think of their cable and broadband provider.

The cable giant told CNBC it is unveiling a series of changes Monday to bolster that goal, including rolling out new bundles and pricing, increasing internet speeds, offering credits for service outages and promising heightened reliability for customers.

Charter — which provides broadband, cable TV and mobile services and is known to customers under the name of Spectrum — said it is also trying to make the company more approachable and remove the longtime negative connotations around cable companies by announcing Spectrum’s new “first-of-its-kind customer commitment,” branded as “Life Unlimited.”

The rollout comes as Charter and its industry peers contend with several trends: slowing broadband customer growth, continued defections from the cable TV bundle, and a young but speedily expanding mobile business.

“It is hard to be loved when you’re providing a critical service to the household that’s a physical infrastructure that charges over $100 a month,” Winfrey said in an interview with CNBC. “And to the extent there’s a problem, sometimes somebody has to enter your home … in the same vein that it is for an electrician or plumber.”

The first step to changing a less-favorable consumer view is with “pricing and packaging that creates more value than you can replicate anywhere else in the marketplace,” he said.

Spectrum said it will charge as low as $30 a month for its 500Mbps internet plan, or $40 a month for 1GB service, when either are bundled with two mobile lines or cable TV. The company is also increasing the baseline internet speed for current customers at no additional cost.

The company also said it’s planning to be upfront about costs. Under its new plan, taxes and fees are baked in, there are no annual contracts and pricing is guaranteed up to three years, it said. Charter even eliminated the 99 cents it had tacked on to most of Spectrum’s pricing in the past.

In addition, Spectrum pledged to give customers credits when the company’s customer service doesn’t live up to its promises, or for internet outages that are out of the customer’s control but are due to an issue on the company’s part and last more than two hours. Service issues such as those caused by weather, natural disasters or power outages don’t count.

Life Unlimited — a new platform for Spectrum’s internet, mobile and TV services — will roll out across its 41-state footprint this week, the company said.

“We wanted to make a bold statement about our commitment and our capabilities,” Winfrey said. “We also wanted to recognize that we’re not perfect and we’re putting ourselves under pressure, concrete pressure, to make sure that we can be a better service operator every month and every year from here on out.”

The announced changes are some of Charter’s biggest moves since Winfrey took the helm as CEO in December 2022.

He followed Tom Rutledge, who held the post for a decade and turned a relatively small cable operator into the second-largest cable company in the U.S. through the takeovers of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks in 2016. Winfrey was CFO at the time and spearheaded the mergers.

Winfrey recalled the various investments and advancements cable companies had made over the years: namely in broadband, but also in the pay TV bundle and the landline and mobile phone businesses.

“For all the value that the industry’s brought over the years, and the service and reliability investments that we’ve made, we haven’t always gotten the full credit that we deserve, and in some cases, we did get the credit we deserve because we could have done things better,” Winfrey said.

He entered the top job at a moment when it was clear growth was unlikely to return to the cable TV bundle.

Winfrey had been a low-key and not widely known executive in the media industry, but he started off swinging.

At an investor day in December 2022, Charter announced an aggressive capital investment plan that included putting $5.5 billion over three years in its broadband infrastructure network. The higher-than-expected spending during a time of growing competition from 5G wireless providers sent alarms through Wall Street, and the stock dropped.

Charter’s stock price has fluctuated greatly in recent years. On Sept. 12, 2021, the stock price was $787.12. It closed at $340.17 on Friday.

That’s in part because broadband customer growth at providers including Charter and Comcast has struggled, according to the companies’ earnings reports. Increased competition from wireless companies such as AT&T and Verizon has also played a role in the stagnation, as has the slowdown in the buying and selling of houses due to high interest rates.

The third quarter was the worst ever for broadband industry subscriber losses, according to MoffettNathanson. Charter lost 149,000 subscribers and had a total of 30.4 million residential and small business broadband customers as of June 30, according to its second-quarter earnings report.

While the losses weren’t as substantial as analysts had feared, Charter’s growth bright spot is now its mobile business, which launched in 2018. Spectrum Mobile has 8.8 million total lines and has grown rapidly due to enticing promotional deals and increased mobile usage on reliable Wi-Fi networks, the company said.

In late 2022, Charter announced its “Spectrum One” plan, the first time it offered broadband, Wi-Fi and mobile in a bundle with promotions that included competitive rates and, in some cases, free mobile lines.

“For wireless, the ‘Spectrum One’ promotion will almost certainly turn out to have been a home run,” analyst Craig Moffett said in a research note in July. “Despite the fact that it was initially viewed as shockingly aggressive, it was, in fact, a rather modest offer.”

Moffett called mobile an “underappreciated growth engine” for Charter, not only because of customer additions but also growth in average revenue per user, or ARPU, which is a metric often used by cable companies.

Winfrey doesn’t expect ARPU to be affected by the new promotions.

“When I think about Wall Street, I think about the customer,” Winfrey said. “If you focus on the customer, provide great customer service, save them money, provide value, then your capital market strategy, your regulatory strategy, all of that just falls into place.”

Customers have been dropping pay TV rapidly across all providers, including Charter. But the company has been vocal about its efforts to preserve the business, especially under Winfrey’s leadership.

The biggest moment came in 2023 when Disney-owned networks went dark for Charter’s customers and Winfrey called the pay TV ecosystem “broken” as he pushed for a revamped deal with Disney.

While these disputes are common — Disney and DirecTV on Saturday ended a roughly two-week blackout fight — this one was different in the age of streaming.

For Charter, the sticking point wasn’t just the fees. The company wanted Disney’s ad-supported streaming options to be part of its TV offering.

Pay TV providers often say the rates that programming companies such as Disney seek from them are too high, especially since the programmers are also funneling much of their content into streaming platforms. Although the cable bundle loses customers, cable providers note it’s still a cash cow while streaming chases profitability.

“Credit to Disney, eventually they were willing to lean in and they understood their role in the industry,” Winfrey said, adding that ESPN is considered the linchpin of the cable TV bundle. “They had to be the leader in the space, and we knew that.”

The deal allowed for ad-supported Disney+ and ESPN+ to be included in “Spectrum TV Select” packages. In addition, when ESPN launches its direct-to-consumer streaming option — which is expected to debut in fall 2025 — these customers will receive access to it, too.

“I give Charter a ton of credit because they walked into the room and they had very specific ideas. They had a vision that they wanted to execute against, and again, it was a hard negotiation,” ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said on CNBC on Sept. 3 when discussing the blackout fight with DirecTV.

Depending on the tier a customer subscribes to, their package can include the ad-supported versions of streamers Disney+, ESPN+, Max, Discovery+, Paramount+, AMC+, BET+ and/or Televisa Univision’s Vix.

The deals have also given Charter the opportunity to sell and market the streaming services to its broadband-only customers — and includes a revenue share agreement.

The most recent deals with Warner Bros. Discovery and AMC Networks were early renewals. That’s relatively uncommon in an industry where carriage negotiations often come down to the wire.

Charter last year also started offering its own streaming devices, known as Xumo, through a joint venture with Comcast. The device gets rid of the cable box and gives consumers a way to access both their cable TV and streaming apps in one place.

“We still have hurdles to get through,” Winfrey said, noting that Charter’s goal is to offer all ad-supported streaming apps owned by the major programmers it negotiates with on the cable TV bundle in the first half of 2025.

NBCUniversal’s Peacock is still not part of that roster, however. A Charter representative said the company doesn’t discuss renewals and declined to comment.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC.

Correction: A chart in this article showing changes in residential internet subscribers has been updated.

When viewers tune in to the 2024 MTV VMAs on Wednesday night, they’ll be able to shop the outfits and designer looks they’re seeing in real time, as legacy media companies look for new ways to monetize content.

As part of a new partnership between Paramount Global — the parent company of cable TV network MTV — and shoppable advertising company Shopsense AI, viewers will be able to shop the outfits they’re seeing on screen using the startup’s new AI-powered lens, which will launch at the start of the awards show, Shopsense told CNBC.

The software will allow viewers to snap photos of their favorite looks as they come up on screen and then browse similar options suggested by Shopsense’s product recognition algorithm, the company said.

The partnership and potential future deals could boost both retailers taking a hit as consumers pull back discretionary spending, and legacy media companies that have tried to maintain profits in a challenging landscape. Each time a person buys something through the new feature, or in some cases even when they just click on an item, some revenue will go back to Paramount, according to Shopsense.

“Everyone’s got their phone or their tablet in their hand while they’re watching TV,” Bryan Quinn, a former Amazon executive and Shopsense’s co-founder and president, told CNBC in an interview. “This allows folks, in a non-disruptive way … to go through that shopping journey without pausing the content.” 

Paramount’s partnership with Shopsense was a key component of its Upfront presentation in May, a time when media companies make their annual pitch to advertisers. The agreement comes as legacy media companies look to generate new revenue streams and find different ways to monetize their content.

While media companies have relied on ad revenue for some time, it’s become more important as they look to make their streaming businesses profitable. Paramount — which recently agreed to a merger with Skydance Media — will air the VMAs on both MTV and its streaming platform, Paramount+. 

Advertisers and media companies have been leaning into generative AI tools, such as shoppable advertising. Disney announced a similar partnership earlier this year with Gateway Shop, and launched a beta program for its first native streaming shoppable ad format.

Across the ad industry, the growth of AI is “revolutionizing how brands reach audiences,” said Natalie Bastian, global chief marketing officer at Teads.

“The integration of AI is driving measurable outcomes, maximizing media effectiveness and improving return on ad spend across the industry,” Bastian said.

Since most celebrities attending the VMAs on Wednesday will likely be wearing custom, couture items, the Shopsense software will suggest so-called dupes at a range of price points. It can recognize more than 1 billion items that are sold off the rack, according to Shopsense.

“For impulse buys, the immediacy of this format is particularly effective, as it capitalizes on the viewer’s spontaneous desires, often triggered by limited-time offers or exclusive deals,” said Laura Taylor, retail media investment lead at Goodway Group.

TV viewership is largely driven by live events, namely sports, news and awards shows such as the VMAs. As it draws the most eyeballs, live content has attracted the most advertising dollars, even as the ad market is in the midst of a rebound from down years. 

The ad market slumped soon after the onset of the pandemic, as companies often pull back on advertising spending during times of economic uncertainty. However, companies have reported this year that the ad market is on the rebound, especially for streaming and digital players. 

While advertising revenue for Paramount’s traditional TV business dropped during its second quarter, Paramount+ turned its first profit, driven by subscriber growth and higher prices. Though a wave of consumers has shifted from the pay TV bundle toward streaming, the majority of viewership still comes from traditional TV viewing, said John Halley, president of Paramount Advertising. 

As Paramount gears up for another major live event, Halley called the Shopsense integration “totally game changing” when it comes to how viewers will experience the VMAs.

“It’s something that provides brands an amazing access point and opportunity to reach consumers … in an environment that is actionable to purchase their products,” said Halley.

“Once you get the consumer into the environment, No. 1, they tend to dwell, so they’ll go through and look at a bunch of stuff, and No. 2, the revenue per user in those environments is extremely high. The conversion rates are high,” he said. “It’s really a matter of bringing the consumer into the second screen experience and the tech does the rest of it.”

Down the line, Shopsense is looking to work with other media companies and their wardrobe teams so viewers can shop the exact products featured on all sorts of television programs, such as the power blazers featured on HBO’s “Industry” or the cookware featured on Fox’s “MasterChef.”

“We’re turning TV into this retail powerhouse, right?” said Glenn Fishback, Shopsense’s CEO and other co-founder. “We’re promoting, enabling and activating and allowing the prospective TV broadcasters to win back the living room and create this curated secondary screen experience. This should be a form of entertainment that not only am I enjoying the shows, I can buy the furniture. I’m a part of it, and that’s what we think the Lens does.”

Quinn declined to say what other broadcasters the retailer is in negotiations with, but did say Shopsense is in “active conversations with all the major media companies.” 

Shopsense has teamed up with over 1,000 retailers, including Macy’s, Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters and Revolve, to feature their products in the platform. The partnership gives retailers a chance to capture customers at the moment they’re inspired by something they’re watching on television. It’s another example of how they’re leveraging artificial intelligence to make online shopping more experiential and engaging — though it’s unclear whether it drive significant sales.

In 2022, Walmart teamed up with Roku to create interactive product ads that allowed viewers to use their remote to click on an item and purchase it. However, the consumer was required to pause the content and use their TV screen to check out, which took them away from what they were watching and wasn’t exactly a seamless shopping experience. 

“The biggest difference here is complete lack of friction. You pull a phone out, you point it at the TV, and here comes the gallery,” said Paramount’s Halley. “What we’ve learned over and over and over again is it has to be a seamless experience. You can’t require a viewer to take a fundamentally different behavior, right? People are typically watching television with their phones and an opportunity to extend the … experience right there to the second screen is incredibly compelling.”

Not only will consumers be able to find the looks they’re seeing on television, Shopsense will also feature curated collections inspired by the content. For example, as the VMAs kick off on Wednesday night, it’ll feature lookalikes from last year’s event and a curated “Get ready with me” selection from Macy’s that includes red carpet looks, fragrances and accessories, Shopsense said.

“We’re often times bringing in similar items that are thematically aligned with the content,” said Quinn. 

For example, a curated selection of winter looks in New York could accompany a season of Disney’s “Only Murders in the Building” or a range of burnt-orange clothing could be offered with a Texas Longhorns game. 

Jessica Ramirez, a senior research analyst at Jane Hali & Associates, said marrying television with retail is a great way to help consumers with product research and reel them in when many are cutting back on discretionary purchases. 

“When you’re watching TV, you’re looking at something. ‘Oh I really like that lipstick, I like that dress, maybe it’s something I want to wear for a wedding’ and if there’s a way for you to easily browse while you’re shopping, it’s another channel,” said Ramirez. “It’s a great idea and it makes sense, but with these kinds of things, execution is crucial.”

More than 200 digital content creators will attend the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week with dedicated “creator credentials” that will grant these influencers special access to the party’s convention.

“Bringing creators to our convention will multiply our reach and ensure that everyone can witness democracy in action,” Cayana Mackey-Nance, director of digital strategy for the Democratic National Convention Committee, said in a statement to CNBC.

Creators are individuals who make money by posting content on the internet that advertisers pay to sponsor. They make no pretense of being politically nonpartisan, and they do not adhere to the traditional code of journalistic ethics.

The decision to formally elevate a dedicated group of creators is a first for a Democratic nominating convention.

It is also a window into the priorities driving the innovative media strategy that Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign has executed in its first month.

About one-third of adults under age 30 say they regularly get their news on TikTok, according to Pew Research Center. These younger adults are a crucial demographic for Democratic candidates, helping the party to offset the GOP’s typical dominance among voters over 65. In 2020, President Joe Biden carried voters under 30 by a whopping 24 percentage points.

The convention committee is providing these creators with exclusive access to the week’s events and guests. It will also have full-time staff working closely with the creators to help facilitate their engagement with the Harris campaign and the DNC’s digital partnerships team.

The DNC has even built a raised platform on the convention floor so that creators will have a dedicated space to engage with the event. Similar to traditional television network platforms, this one is specifically for creators to produce content, take selfies and interview attendees.

“We are just being given a separate opportunity, that respects the professionalism and the skills of journalists, while also acknowledging that content creators do have something to bring to the table, and have their own unique, special skill set,” said Elizabeth Booker Houston, a content creator who is attending the convention.

Houston is a lawyer and comedian with more than half a million followers across various platforms. She creates videos that break down the latest news in law and politics, delivering complex topics in a relatable and easy-to-understand way for her audience.

Creators will not be paid to attend the convention or to produce content while they are there. Like journalists, the content creators will also be responsible for their own transportation and housing expenses.

To offset these costs, some creators are securing sponsorships from advertisers. Houston said she will be producing sponsored content for the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, a political action committee funded by members of Congress who belong to the caucus.

The DNCC is also working with creators who can’t attend in person, to grant them remote access to engage with the convention.

Along with a plum spot on the creator platform, credentialed creators also have an exclusive lounge at the United Center where they can work on their content, record podcast interviews and connect with other creators.

The Republican National Convention also hosted content creators at its event this year, with more than 70 influencers attending the mid-July convention in Milwaukee.

“Social media has the attention of the end consumer at a scale that our society continues, even now, to underestimate,” VaynerX Chairman Gary Vaynerchuk said during an interview Thursday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

He pointed to the role that social media played in two of the most movement-driven presidential elections of the last 40 years, which resulted in victories for former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

“The Obama win and the Trump win, eight years apart, happened because of social media,” said Vaynerchuk. “The 2008 Facebook execution that the Obama campaign did is historic, and a preview to 2016 with Trump on Twitter.”

“Those who know how to create, communicate and execute on it, win” elections, he said.

The party conventions are not the only places where presidential campaigns are trying to interact with content creators this election cycle.

Trump has collaborated with several content creators, including Logan Paul, the Nelk Boys and Adin Ross, and he was interviewed by Elon Musk on X.

Meanwhile, the Harris campaign has embraced its own virality on social media, garnering hundreds of millions of views for content that includes, for example, an unscripted video of Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, ordering Mexican food.

Biden’s White House has also tapped influencers to help share its accomplishments on social media. Last week, Biden hosted 100 digital content creators at the White House for the first-ever Creator Economy Conference.

“You are the new possibilities,” Biden told the creators. “You are the breakthrough in how we communicate.”