Top News:
Nic Christensen / mUmBRELLA:
Toronto Star scrapped digital paywall as it was ‘expensive’ and had a ‘high churn’ rate — Julie Murtha speaking at the INMA World Congress in New York — Executives from the Toronto Star have admitted paywalls did not work for them and said promoting stories inside the newspaper is a waste of time …
Discussion:
@mathewi, @jbenton, @pottsmark, @jeffjarvis and INMA
New York Times:
Facing competition from digital outlets, TV viewing drops 9% this season, with Netflix accounting for 43% of the decline — Networks Fret as Ad Dollars Flow to Digital Media — Beginning Monday, television networks will roll out the red carpet for marketers during the annual bazaar known as the upfronts …
Discussion:
Bloomberg Business, The Huffington Post, Adweek, @lucas_shaw, @infoarbitrage and @lucas_shaw
RELATED:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
For the first time, pay TV subs declined in Q1, industry contracting at rate of 0.5% per year — Cord-Cutting Alert: Pay-TV Business Declines for First Time During Q1 — The U.S. pay-TV business keeps shrinking, albeit slowly — but for the first time ever, the sector dropped a net number …
AFP:
Al-Jazeera reporter Mohamed Fahmy sues network for $100m in Canadian court over Egypt detention, says network was negligent, supported blacklisted Islamists — Al-Jazeera reporter sues network for $100m over Egypt detention — Canadian Mohamed Fahmy, awaiting a retrial for allegedly supporting …
Discussion:
Reuters, Toronto Star, Reuters, Globe and Mail and Guardian
RELATED:
Chris Ariens / TVNewser:
New Al Jazeera CEO Al Anstey sends memo to employees, says it's critical they uphold integrity at Al Jazeera America — AJAM's New Boss Aims to ‘Bring the Team Together’ — Al Anstey, the newly-installed CEO of Al Jazeera America will be arriving in America tonight to take on his next challenge.
Discussion:
Mercury News, The Wrap and Politico
Zachary M. Seward / Quartz:
Reed Hastings predicts linear TV will decline yearly for next 20 years, says Netflix wants to pioneer virtual reality — Netflix's Reed Hastings predicts the future of TV over the next 20 years — Close followers of Netflix should watch the speech that Reed Hastings, its founder and chief executive, delivered in Berlin last week.
Discussion:
@digidave, @jeffjarvis, @rickcordella, @zseward and @zseward
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Dish Drops 134,000 Satellite-TV Subscribers in Q1, Blaming Programming Disputes — Dish Network dropped a net 134,000 satellite-TV customers in the first three months of 2015 — with the satcaster blaming ongoing programming spats for the sizable loss. — The company, in a regulatory filing Monday …
Discussion:
Home Media Magazine
RELATED:
Jordan Chariton / The Wrap:
Dish Network earnings beat expectations, reports $3.7B revenue, profit doubles to $351M
Dish Network earnings beat expectations, reports $3.7B revenue, profit doubles to $351M
Discussion:
Dakota Financial News, Mideast Time and GuruFocus
Margaret Sullivan / New York Times:
‘More Like a Book Launch’ — The Times's Push to Build Buzz for Its Nail Salon Series — The Times's series of stories on the abused and underpaid young women who are the employees of New York City's omnipresent nail salons has hit big since it appeared online Thursday.
Maya Kosoff / Business Insider:
The Guardian's Exec Editor Jo Confino joins Huffington Post in joint role as Exec Editor of Impact & Innovation department, Editorial Director of What's Working — The Huffington Post just poached a top editor at The Guardian — Jo Confino, who has worked as The Guardian's Executive Editor …
Discussion:
FishbowlNY, @alexiskleinman, @digiphile, @bobbymacreports and @joepompeo
Lucia Moses / Digiday:
Meredith Levien's plan to save (or at least make money for) The New York Times — On Feb. 13, The New York Times news staff gathered to remember one of its most beloved writers, the media columnist David Carr, who had died suddenly at his desk the day before.
Discussion:
@digiday, @choire, @lmoses, @laura_nelson and Digiday
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
News Digest App “NYT Now” Drops Subscription Pricing, Offers Brand Sponsorships Instead — The New York Times said today it's ditching the paid subscription model for its mobile app NYT Now, after failing to convert a significant number of mobile users to subscribers.
Discussion:
The Verge, The Next Web, Nieman Lab, @robinsloan, FishbowlNY and MacStories
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Comcast Hires Carlyle Group's Michael Cavanagh as CFO — Comcast on Monday named Michael Cavanagh, previously a top exec at asset-management firm Carlyle Group, as the cable and programming conglomerate's chief financial officer. — His appointment comes after the company said in March …
Discussion:
Forbes, New York Times, Deadline, MarketWatch, Philly.com, Bloomberg Business, Reuters, Business Insider, CNBC, Fox Business and FierceCable