Mediagazer: A look at “old media” publishing giants that have invested in e-commerce, digital markets, and new media startups globally (Eric Peckham/TechCrunch)

Top News:

Shalini Ramachandran / Wall Street Journal:

ESPN says it has signed up more than 1M paying subscribers for ESPN+, its $4.99 a month streaming service launched in April — For $4.99 per month, ESPN+ offers a range of sports programming; doesn't offer live ESPN channels — ESPN said it has signed up more than one million paying subscribers …

Discussion: Recode, The Wrap, ESPN MediaZone U.S., Awful Announcing, Multichannel News, MediaPost, FierceVideo and @davidamoyal, more at Techmeme »

Matthew Belloni / Hollywood Reporter:

Interview with Disney CEO Bob Iger about Disney's upcoming streaming service, ESPN's politics problem, and how #MeToo changed the company — The Disney CEO and most powerful person in entertainment opens up about his plan for a Netflix rival, ESPN's politics problem and how #MeToo has changed his company

Discussion: /Film, Business Insider, Gizmodo, Vanity Fair, The A.V. Club, Polygon, The Week, @thrmattbelloni, @joeovies, @markwillard85, The Playlist and Just Jared

Charles Riley / CNNMoney:

The UK's takeover regulator says it will hold an auction for Sky on Saturday between Comcast and 21st Century Fox if there's no resolution by end of Friday — Sky's fate is likely to be decided in a one-day auction between Comcast and 21st Century Fox. — The UK Takeover Panel announced Thursday …

Discussion: Press Gazette, Wall Street Journal, Broadcasting & Cable and FierceVideo

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Spotify says it will now allow indie artists to directly upload their music to the service; the upload feature is debuting in beta on an invite-only basis in US — Spotify today is taking another step that may make record labels uncomfortable. Fresh off reports that the streaming service …

Discussion: artists.spotify.com, The Wrap, RAIN News, Fast Company, The Verge, @mmasnick, @joshconstine, @pkafka, @danideahl, @lucas_shaw, @bluechoochoo and @edmundlee, more at Techmeme »

Kevin Loker / American Press Institute:

Study: only 43% of people can easily sort news from opinion in online-only media, and just 55% can easily distinguish news from opinion in news media in general — People often don't know whether the content they see is news or opinion, according to our recent pair of Media Insight Project surveys.

Discussion: Nieman Lab

Anne Davies / The Guardian:

How Rupert Murdoch's News Corp steers politics in Australia to a more conservative approach, with two former prime ministers blaming Murdoch for their falls — In his farewell speech as prime minister last month, Malcolm Turnbull pointed to “an insurgency” in his own party and …

Discussion: @epeckham, @raymoynihan, @stegersaurus, @margokingston1 and The Guardian

Cara Buckley / New York Times:

Ian Buruma, editor of NYRB, has left his position amid an uproar over publication of an essay by Jian Ghomeshi, a former broadcaster accused of sexual assault — Ian Buruma, the editor of The New York Review of Books, left his position on Wednesday amid an uproar over the magazine's publication …

Kristen Hare / Poynter:

Google launches real-time hub on Google Trends ahead of midterms that includes state and county-level data on candidates and election issues — With close to 500 House and Senate seats in play with the midterm elections, Google News Lab started thinking about how local reporters might use local data in their work.

Discussion: @grove and The Keyword

Eric Peckham / TechCrunch:

A look at “old media” publishing giants that have invested in e-commerce, digital markets, and new media startups globally — From marketplaces to VR, media giants seek relevance through startup investing — The Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 eras weren't kind to the world's largest media conglomerates …

Discussion: @markscott82

Alex Weprin / MediaPost:

Cheddar will provide 20-second news clips on topics like tech and entrepreneurship to GSTV, which programs screens at 18K+ gas stations across the US — Cheddar, the “post-cable” news network, is making the jump to the gas pump. The company will now provide content to GSTV …

Discussion: @reshmanuel, @tomgara, @mattrosoff, @danielpmcdermot and @someday_deane

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

Study: online ad sales will increase 16% this year to $106.6B accounting for more than half of all US ad sales — - With new video services, their next phase of growth targets TV — Politics bolster local, national TV, Magna Global report says — Online advertising will account …

more at Techmeme »

Amy Beth Hanson / Associated Press:

Lee Enterprises to fold Montana Magazine after nearly 50 years of publishing — HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana Magazine is folding after nearly 50 years of publishing stories and stunning images of the state's people, geography, history and culture, owner Lee Enterprises announced.