Top News:
Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:
Sources: Rupert Murdoch reasserts control over Fox News, Roger Ailes threatened to quit over promotion of Murdoch's sons, network lacks Trump coverage strategy — With Roger Ailes Absent, Fox News Is Drifting — There Isn't Even a ‘Trump Strategy’ — For the past two decades …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Media Wire Daily, @laobserved, @joepompeo, @jyarow, @gabrielsherman, @nymagpr and @mlcalderone
Jason Lynch / Adweek:
NBC research executive Alan Wurtzel: network shows compare well with Netflix and Amazon hits based on cross-platform ratings tool from Symphony Advanced Media — Why NBC Says Netflix Does Not Yet Pose a ‘Consistent’ Threat to Broadcasters — ‘Reports of our death have been greatly exaggerated’
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, @mathewi, Guardian, Tubefilter, BGR, Techaeris, Paste, Tech Times, Comicbook.com, Variety, Ars Technica, TV By The Numbers …, Benzinga, @oldmanwall, TIME, Business Insider, EW.com, Deadline, London Evening Standard, The Independent, Forbes, The Wrap, The A.V. Club, Latino-Review.com, @stevekovach, Digital Spy, Mashable, IGN, @johnolilly, @sterlewine, Vox, @iamjoonlee, @bomani_jones, @mikegianella, @eleven8, @reagangomez, @owillis, @davewiner, @nycjim and Broadcasting & Cable
Paresh Dave / Los Angeles Times:
ESPN.com rolls out e-sports section, says its daily coverage will have the same rigor it has for other sports — ESPN.com to cover e-sports with same ‘rigor’ as it does the big leagues — An ESPN The Magazine last year focused on e-sports. Emboldened by the response, ESPN.com plans to aggressively cover video game competitions.
Discussion:
Broadcasting & Cable, The Wrap, Variety, VentureBeat, Kotaku, Multichannel News, SlashGear, LaughingPlace.com, Shacknews, Tech Times, ESPN, USA Today and ESPN
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix says it will block proxy and VPN access, used to bypass country restrictions, in the coming weeks citing content-licensing restrictions — Netflix Vows to Shut Down Proxy Users Who Bypass Country Restrictions — Netflix, which now offers streaming service in some 190 nations …
Discussion:
Netflix Media Center, VentureBeat, The Verge, CNNMoney, PCMag UK, TechRadar.com, Computerworld, The Independent, Ubergizmo, Motherboard, @kobak, Business Insider, The Next Web, Gizmodo, Reuters, SlashGear and @octaeder
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
President of Herring Broadcasting, the parent of One America News Network, says he's hired a bank to explore buying assets of Al Jazeera America — Al Jazeera America Already Has A Suitor: Herring Broadcasting — The news that Al Jazeera America will cease operations as of April 30 is just hours old …
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, The Atlantic, @rafat, brandchannel, New Republic, CBS News, Associated Press, Financial Times, Multichannel News, Broadcasting & Cable, Editor & Publisher, @matthewkeyslive, The Desk, Politico, @reformedbroker, Fortune, Radio & Television …, @justinpeligri, Fast Company, Agence France-Presse, @indiabtl, @rosental and Bleacher Report
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Jordan Weissmann / Slate:
Al Jazeera America failed by offering viewers coverage based on survey findings, not what audiences are proven to watch — Why Al Jazeera America Was Destined to Fail — Al Jazeera America never had a chance. Having struggled in vain to attract an audience since it launched in 2013 …
Kara Swisher / Re/code:
GoPro entertainment head Zander Lurie to become SurveyMonkey CEO, replacing Bill Veghte, who was there for six months — Lurie Departs GoPro to Take CEO Job at SurveyMonkey — Zander Lurie has left GoPro, where he headed its entertainment efforts, to become CEO of survey startup SurveyMonkey.
Paul Revoir / Guardian:
BBC risks excluding viewers by prioritising online content — BBC3 move to online-only, fears over future of traditional broadcasting and corporation being too ‘overtly political’ among public's concerns, study finds — Older, poorer and rural viewers could all be excluded by the BBC's plans …
Discussion:
Digital TV Europe, RadioTimes, The Independent and Daily Mail
RELATED:
Paul Revoir / Guardian:
Public ‘support BBC cost-savings but do not want services to be axed’
Public ‘support BBC cost-savings but do not want services to be axed’
Discussion:
@rjdmc
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
The Internet Archive's new project preserves political TV ads so journalists can see who's lying — The Internet Archive has already been documenting the evolution of the Web for two decades, and now it's teaming up with a handful of media organizations to launch a project specifically designed …
Discussion:
Engadget and The Next Web
Jasper Jackson / Guardian:
Sun faces phone-hacking claims from five high court claimants — A bid to establish whether the Sun was involved in phone hacking has been launched at at a hearing dealing with allegations from 16 celebrities and public figures against the newspaper's publisher, News Group Newspapers.
Discussion:
The Independent, RT, TWTD.co.uk News …, BT.com, Press Gazette and The Drum
Ahmed Aboulenein / Reuters:
Egypt arrests Facebook page administrators ahead of revolt anniversary — Egyptian security forces have arrested two people for managing multiple Facebook pages they said were used to support the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and encourage protest, the Interior Ministry said.
Discussion:
@jmalsin, The Verge, Gizmodo and english.ahram.org.eg
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Reuters TV finds value not just in making its content free, but in giving it away to other publishers — In a little less than a year, Reuters has completely changed the strategy around its news video product, Reuters TV. It's gone from charging for its iOS app to not just giving …
Discussion:
@laurahazardowen, @randyabramson, @clarkstream and AdExchanger
Farhad Manjoo / New York Times:
Netflix's growth and strategy should be seen as a threat by TV industry insiders — Why Media Titans Need to Worry About Netflix — Imagine you run a global media conglomerate. Say you're Robert A. Iger, the chief executive of Disney, or Brian L. Roberts, of Comcast …
Discussion:
@bluegrasscap, @jeffjohnroberts, @sub8u and @fmanjoo