Top News:
BBC:
Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko, widely reported to have been assassinated in Kiev on Tuesday, appeared at a Ukrainian press conference on Wednesday — Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko, widely reported to have been assassinated in Kiev on Tuesday, is alive and well.
Discussion:
The Wrap, BuzzFeed, Mediaite, @ap, Slate, @christogrozev, @christogrozev, @maxboot, @christogrozev, @buzzfeednews, @maxseddon, @olivianuzzi, @liamstack, @asluhn, @paleofuture, @polina__ivanova, @maxseddon, @joelmgunter, @maxseddon, @pptsapper and @perlberg
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Edmund Lee / Recode:
James Murdoch says ~50% of Hulu's 20M subscribers opt for the $11.99/month ad-free plan, instead of the $7.99/month plan with commercials — But does he think Facebook could one day offer an ads-free version? Maybe not. — Hulu has three principal owners at the moment, including 21st Century Fox …
Discussion:
Ad Age, FierceCable, Decider and Variety, more at Techmeme »
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Recode:
Interview with James Murdoch at Code Conference on Disney agreement, Comcast bid, Hulu's subscribers, the future of advertising, and the future of Fox — “You look at all of this crazy stuff in the news industry, news and entertainment industry but I mean, it looks like nobody can keep their pants on."
Discussion:
Business Insider, The Wrap, Multichannel News, Broadcasting & Cable, MacRumors and @refsrc
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
Martin Sorrell has purchased a 75% stake in Derriston Capital, to be renamed S4 Capital, with the aim of building a next-generation WPP — Former boss of world's biggest advertising group reveals he is already in takeover talks — Sir Martin Sorrell has revealed he is in takeover talks …
Discussion:
Sky News, Wall Street Journal, Ad Age and Fortune
Terri Walter / Chartbeat Blog:
Direct mobile traffic to publisher sites surpasses referral traffic from Facebook, including desktop and mobile, for the first time — We've gotten a number of questions from this post about how we define direct traffic, and just to clarify, Chartbeat's definition of direct traffic does not include dark social.
Discussion:
Digiday, @vivian, Nieman Lab, @lpolgreen, @agolis, Beyond Search and @charliebeckett, more at Techmeme », Thanks:@steverubel
Didit:
Gawker selects marketing and communications firm Didit as its stalking horse bidder, with a bid of $1,131,600 — Didit (www.didit.com), a fully integrated marketing and communications firm, headquartered in Mineola, New York, announced that it has been selected by the Gawker Media estate as the …
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Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:
Bankruptcy judge accepts $1M opening bid for Gawker from ad agency Didit, which plans a “good gossip” site: “We'll cover celebrity babies and dating”, not DWIs
Discussion:
@galenmoore, Wall Street Journal, @pkafka, @jimwaterson, @srabil, @benmullin, O'Dwyer's and @pkafka
Ben Detrick / The Ringer:
Philadelphia 76ers exec Bryan Colangelo has been secretly using five Twitter accounts to criticize players, disclose sensitive info, and share team strategy — A collection of Twitter accounts that has criticized Joel Embiid and Markelle Fultz, disclosed sensitive information …
Discussion:
@dmorey, @joelembiid, @shawnking, @fins0905, Fortune, Deadspin, USA Today, Miami New Times, The Guardian, @wojespn, @alexkennedynba, @natalieegenolf, @phlsixersnation, @mcuban, @mcuban, @lockedonsports and @hanc247
Joseph Otterson / Variety:
ABC cancels hit sitcom Roseanne after racist tweet from star Roseanne Barr; ABC says tweet was “abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values” — ABC has pulled the plug on “Roseanne.” — “Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values …
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@sanofius, The Wrap, Deadline, Fast Company, Adweek, Financial Times, Business Insider, @kateaurthur, VICE News, Variety, Mediaite, @goldietaylor, @chucktodd, @davidmuir, Hollywood Reporter, Variety, National Review, Crikey, Variety, @robertiger, @maggiejordanacn, @iamwandasykes, Boing Boing, ten daily, Variety, Washington Post, @thesaragilbert, @jackposobiec, Ad Age, NBC News, New York Times, The Guardian, Business Insider, @thedailybeast, @brianstelter, The New York Observer, CNNMoney, @robferdman, Broadcasting & Cable, Deadline, BuzzFeed, New York Times, @cnnmoney, @kathygriffin, @yashar, Matthew Rettenmund, @kylegriffin1, Tim Page, The FADER, @jennpozner, @jennpozner, @aliceollstein, @msignorile, @michaelsocolow, @cwarzel, Financial Times, @sulliview and The Grapevine
Lucia Moses / Digiday:
The Washington Post offers a $90/year “premium EU subscription” with no ads and no data tracking to EU visitors in the wake of GDPR; a basic sub costs $60/year — Some U.S. publishers have blocked visitors from the E.U. to their sites rather than comply with the wide-ranging …
Discussion:
New York Times
Brent Lang / Variety:
MoviePass parent company CEO says it has acquired the exclusive option to purchase production company Emmett Furla Oasis Films — Helios and Matheson Analytics, the parent company of MoviePass, has acquired the exclusive option to buy Emmett Furla Oasis Films, the producers of “Lone Survivor” and “End of Watch,” Variety has learned.
Discussion:
/Film, TechCrunch and The Playlist
Lucas Matney / TechCrunch:
Oculus rolls out Oculus Venues, its platform for watching live sporting events, concerts, and other media in VR, with partners including Lionsgate and MLB — Oculus wants VR to bring its users into magical worlds dreamed up by game developers, but the company also needs people to see the headset …
Discussion:
Variety and VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »
Robbie Gonzalez / Wired:
Facebook will give researchers encrypted laptops to access Facebook's data and publish findings without pre-approval, in push to prevent abuse during elections — FACEBOOK IS KEEPING a close eye on misinformation in the lead-up to 2018's elections. Which elections, exactly?
Tony Maglio / The Wrap:
Lionsgate acquires a majority stake in 3 Arts Entertainment, the TV and film production company behind hits like “30 Rock” and “Silicon Valley” — “Always Sunny,” “The Office,” “Parks and Rec” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” stand out among 3 Arts TV series
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Variety
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