Bird poaches Uber executives; Activision Blizzard debuts new title and shares surge 8.7 percent; political podcasts coming to pay TV.

Bird Hires Former Uber Executive

Bird Rides Inc., the dockless e-scooter operator based in Venice, has hired two former Uber Technologies Inc. executives, according to Fortune. Former head of finance for Uber Dennis Cinelli will join Bird as its vice president, while Uber’s past director of corporate development Yibo Ling will now serve Bird as its head of corporate development as well as lead the team’s outpost in China.

Activision Blizzard Releases New Game

The “Call of Duty: Black Ops 4” game was released Oct. 12 by Activision Blizzard Inc. in collaboration with game development studio Treyarch Corp. Since the launch, Bloomberg reports live streams of the game on Twitch Interactive Inc. have surpassed 293,000, more than triple the tally on Friday for Epic Games Inc.’s popular battle royale game “Fortnite.” As a result, Activision shares rose more than 8.7 percent, the most in a day since 2017. More than 10 million copies of the game are expected to sell this weekend.

‘Pod Save America’ Comes to HBO

Beverly Hills-based Crooked Media, which operates a podcast network with 10 politically charged shows, has brought its most popular offering “Pod Save America” to television. Home Box Office Inc. will produce a four-part special series detailing the political climate leading up to the midterm elections on Nov. 6. The show is recorded live, according to the Hollywood Reporter, which also notes its debut is today, Oct. 12.