Top News:
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Hulu to launch banner ads, which will appear after viewers pause video, in Q2 2019; hopes all non-disruptive ads will comprise 50% of ad revenue within 3 years — Just to get this out of the way: Yes, Hulu is introducing an ad unit that will show up when you pause a video. But no, the ad won't be a video.
Discussion:
Digiday, /Film, AdExchanger, Hulu, Fast Company, The Verge, 9to5Mac, Adweek and Gizmodo
Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
Penske Media has bought the 49% of Rolling Stone that it didn't already own, from minority owner BandLab Technologies — Last week, Penske Media Corporation signed a deal to purchase the rest of the magazine, following a majority takeover in 2017. — Over the past few years …
Jeremy Littau / Wired:
Monopolistic thinking and lack of attention to the internet's role in distribution has decimated media, but foundation journalism, subs, and community can help — LAST WEEK, LAYOFFS at BuzzFeed, HuffPost, and Gannett landed like consecutive punches. The news signaled a difficult year ahead …
Discussion:
@jeremylittau, @wired, @lenfestinst, @mayerjoy, @benwhitelaw, @tomrosenstiel, @ash_detroit and @jeremylittau
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Evgeny Lebedev has sold ~20% of Lebedev Holdings, which has a ~90% stake in the Evening Standard, to a company in the Caymans; a Saudi investor may be the buyer — London newspaper refuses to reveal identity of new financial backer — An anonymous offshore investor has taken a 20% stake …
Discussion:
Financial Times, Press Gazette, Jon Slattery, @adambienkov, @professorshaw and @michaelpmdavis
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: CBS board wants company to grow, first through a merger with Viacom, possibly followed by Discovery acquisition; CBS hoping to find CEO by end of March — The CBS board has decided the company needs to get bigger, but merging with Viacom is not enough for Shari Redstone …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times and Variety
Owen Bowcott / The Guardian:
US district court rules that Syria is liable for the killing of Sunday Times correspondent Marie Colvin, awards $300M+ in damages — Syria ordered to pay $300m over death of Sunday Times journalist in ‘targeted’ shelling in 2012 — The Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad has been held liable …
Jared Newman / Fast Company:
Free ad-supported streaming services are on the rise as consumers reach subscription overload and premium services move away from licensed video — People who pooh-pooh the cord-cutting phenomenon love to argue that the cost of streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu really adds up …
Discussion:
Forbes, Light Reading, TechCrunch, MediaPost, Multichannel News and Tubefilter
James Walker / Press Gazette:
NewsGuard, whose trustworthiness ratings are available on Chrome and Edge, improves its rating of the Daily Mail from red to green to indicate its accuracy — US news website rating tool Newsguard has changed its verdict on Mail Online after originally declaring the UK's most-read news website failed …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @niemanlab and @markdistef
Janko Roettgers / Variety:
Ultraviolet, the cloud movie locker that launched in 2011 with support from major Hollywood studios, is shutting down on July 31 — Ultraviolet, a cloud movie locker once hailed as Hollywood's best bet to get consumers hooked on digital movies, is shuttering.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Variety, Multichannel News, The Wrap, /Film, Engadget, @jank0, @robtrench, The Verge, PCMag India, ScreenRant, @jank0, @awallenstein, MacRumors, @jank0 and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:
New York Media recognizes the New York Magazine Union, with about 180 full-time and part-time staff across Vulture, Intelligencer, the Cut, and more — New York magazine's editorial employees have unionized amid stalled talks to sell the iconic title and its popular web sites.
Discussion:
@nyguild and @nymagunion
Khaoula Ghanem / Vogue Arabia:
Wired Middle East, licensed to Vogue Arabia-publisher Nervora, to launch as a dual-language site in the spring, with print special issues starting in fall 2019 — Today, Condé Nast International and Nervora, the Dubai-based publisher of Vogue Arabia, announced that they are extending …
The Bulwark:
Two writers for conservative RedState, owned by Salem Media, say they are quitting because of the site's pro-Trump stance and stifling of any Trump criticism — For more than a decade, RedState was a solid voice in the world of online conservative commentary.
Discussion:
@southernkeeks, @jerryiannelli, @jayrosen_nyu, The Daily Beast, @oliverdarcy, @bkerogers, @bulwarkonline, Contemptor, @bkerogers, @radiofreetom and @sarahmquinlan
Todd Spangler / Variety:
The Criterion Collection says it will launch Criterion Channel, a new streaming service, on April 8 in US and Canada for $10.99/month or $99.99/year — Movie buffs left out in the cold by FilmStruck's demise will soon get a new streaming service stocked with over 1,000 classic …
Discussion:
MacRumors, The Wrap, Engadget, TechCrunch and Vanity Fair, more at Techmeme »
Athena Jones / CNN:
New York AG finds selling fake followers and likes or using stolen IDs on social media is illegal in case against Devumi, which served actors, musicians, others — New York (CNN Business)A company that brought in millions of dollars in revenue by creating fake social media posts and comments …
Max Willens / Digiday:
How BuzzFeed is reorganizing and charting a path to a sustainable business, according to sources and a memo CEO Jonah Peretti sent to employees Tuesday night — The next version of BuzzFeed is being whittled into focus. — Over the past week, the venture-backed publisher has been gripped by a very public multi-day round of layoffs.
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