Mediagazer: BT Vision is fastest-growing pay-TV service (Mark Sweney/Guardian)

8:20 AM ET, November 3, 2011

Top News:

Amazon, Now a Book Lender — Kindle Owners Who Subscribe to Prime Service Will Be Able to Borrow E-Titles — As the e-reader and tablet wars heat up, Amazon.com Inc. is launching a digital-book lending library that will be available only to owners of its Kindle and Kindle Fire devices …

Discussion: Amazon.com, paidContent, Pocket-lint and GeekWire, more at Techmeme »

Mat Honan / Gizmodo:

Amazon Is Letting Publishers Ruin The Kindle (Updated) — I'm reading 1Q84, Haruki Murakami's long-awaited new book. In hardback, it's 944 pages and weighs several pounds. I am a pasty blogger with weak arms and soft hands, so the Kindle version seemed like a no-brainer. — Except the Kindle version is hobbled.

Discussion: The New York Observer, GalleyCat, TeleRead and eBookNewser

Sarah Ellison / Vanity Fair:

Murdoch Clan Met with Family Therapist to Discuss News Corp.'s Future — New York, N.Y.— Vanity Fair contributing editor Sarah Ellison reports that “The [Murdoch] siblings had been in family counseling with a psychologist over the issue of succession” since before last February.

Discussion: The Independent, Jon Slattery, The Huffington Post and New York Magazine

Ingrid Lunden / paidContent:
News Corp.: Net Income Down On $91 Million In Hacking, BSkyB Charges

Discussion: Guardian, Media Money …, Company Town, Multichannel, rbr.com, Adweek, Broadcasting & Cable and MediaPost

Jeff Bercovici / Mixed Media:
News Corp. COO: James Murdoch Has Done a Good Job

Discussion: Capital New York and The Huffington Post

Martin Bryant / The Next Web:

Despite Apple spat, Financial Times digital subscriptions see 30% growth in the last year — The Financial Times has had an interesting few months when it comes to its digital strategy, but it appears to be paying off as the business publication has announced 30% year-on-year growth …

Discussion: paidContent and Financial Times

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

FT Group revenue up 6% — Publisher Pearson also reports doubling of ebook sales at Penguin — Pearson has reported a 6% year-on-year revenue increase at FT Group, the division that publishes the Financial Times, announcing that ebook sales at Penguin have more than doubled in the first nine months.

Julie Moos / Poynter:

ABC News previews exclusive Gabby Giffords, Mark Kelly appearance — When ABC airs its interview with Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly, the country may well hear from the recovering Congresswoman for the first time since she was shot at an Arizona constituent event in January.

Discussion: ABCNEWS

Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:

Yahoo's Product Runway: Are You In or Out? — I am here at Yahoo HQ in Sunnyvale, Calif., to check out “Product Runway,” which is the Silicon Valley Internet giant's attempt to show that it can still innovate. — First and foremost is the launch of Livestand, a personalized news reader …

Discussion: MediaPost, YDN Blog, ZDNet, Forbes, Adweek and mocoNews, more at Techmeme »

Colleen Taylor / GigaOM:
Yahoo's IntoNow comes to the iPad with more social perks

Discussion: MacStories, Lost Remote, Electronista, Future of Journalism, VentureBeat and Forbes, more at Techmeme »

Ben Parr / Mashable!:
HANDS ON: Does Yahoo's Livestand Stand Up to Flipboard? [PICS]

Discussion: Yahoo! Advertising Blog, Epicenter and VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

The One Question You Should Never Ask Chris Matthews — Chris Matthews reading a passage from his new book about John F. Kennedy — Be it known: Chris Matthews does not use a ghostwriter. The “Hardball” host does all his own writing, and he resents the idea that anyone would ever think otherwise.

Discussion: Poynter, Mediaite and TVNewser

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

BT Vision is fastest-growing pay-TV service — Telecoms company adds more customers in a quarter than BSkyB for first time — BT Vision has become the fastest-growing pay-TV service in the UK, adding more customers in a quarter than BSkyB for the first time since launching more than four years ago.

Anthony Crupi / Adweek:

Cable Unit Props Up Ailing NBC — NBCUniversal's cable networks once again saved the day at 30 Rock, as the stable of popular channels took in $803 million in third-quarter ad sales revenue, up 10 percent versus the year-ago period. — The cable programming group, which includes top-rated USA Network …

Discussion: rbr.com, AdAge and The Wrap

Tim Molloy / The Wrap:
Comcast Earnings Up 5% as Fewer Cancel Cable; NBCU Results Mixed

Discussion: GigaOM, Home Media Magazine, WWD Media Headlines, MediaPost, B&C, Forbes and Company Town

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:

Fewer Buyers Than Expected For Philadelphia Newspaper Tablets — In September, the Philadelphia Media Network—parent company of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com—announced a special offer: The first 5,000 subscribers to its new newspaper apps would have the chance to buy a discounted Android tablet.

Discussion: TabTimes

Julie Hoogland / MLive.com:

New company, MLive Media Group, formed to carry Booth Newspapers and MLive.com into next era of news media — One of Michigan's largest media companies is restructuring into a digital-first company that its president says will better serve the needs of consumers and advertisers in Michigan.

Discussion: freefromeditors and Poynter

Alysia Santo / CJR:

Oakland Local Covers Occupy Oakland — Covering the national story in their backyard — When Iraq War veteran Scott Olsen was critically injured last week at Occupy Oakland, the eyes of the news media turned from Wall Street's encampment to Oakland's. A projectile used by police …

Discussion: Guardian

Jeff Sonderman / Poynter:

Will a name change help the St. Pete Times the way it did the South Florida Sun-Sentinel? — The St. Petersburg Times is trading in the name that bears its storied past for a new one targeting the future, Chairman and CEO Paul Tash said in an interview Tuesday.

Discussion: Future of Journalism, bizjournals and Garcia Media

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

‘X Factor’ Gets a 2nd Season on Fox — Fox's new singing competition, “The X Factor,” has won a second season. The network said Wednesday that it would bring the series back next year, potentially extending the scheduling pattern that features “X Factor” in the fall and “American Idol” in the spring.

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, Guardian and Rolling Stone

Dylan Byers / Adweek:

The Observer's Next Target: Chinese Tourists — Since Jared Kushner bought the Observer Media Group in 2006, the business has focused heavily on generating advertorial supplements and ad-heavy verticals—from NYO Magazine, NYO Home, and NYO Tennis to Luxury Rentals, Observer Philanthropy, and The Observer's Hamptons.

Discussion: Future of Journalism

Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:

Indestructible Chucky now No. 2 at Daily News — Arthur “Chucky” Browne moved back into the Daily News newsroom this week as the deputy editor. — Officially, that makes him the No. 2 man, behind just Editor-in-Chief Kevin Convey, the Boston Herald import who has been at the helm for just over a year now.

David Gelles / Financial Times:

AOL chief plays down Yahoo takeover — Tim Armstrong, chief executive of AOL, sought to quell speculation that his company might be bought by Yahoo, again playing down prospects of a long-rumoured tie-up between two troubled internet icons. — “Yahoo has their own business to worry about.