Top News:
Michael O'Connell / Hollywood Reporter:
Memo: HBO CEO and Chairman Richard Plepler tells staff he is leaving the company, nine months after AT&T's acquisition of HBO parent Time Warner — It's the end of an era. — One of the most storied runs in TV is coming to an end. Richard Plepler is leaving HBO after 27 years with the cable giant …
Discussion:
The Guardian, @joehagansays, New York Times, Bloomberg, Broadcasting & Cable, The Wrap, Quartz, The Verge, CNBC, @brianstelter, Vanity Fair, Wall Street Journal, @lucas_shaw, Variety, @jbflint, @sherman4949, @reckless, @murrelldan, @kerrymflynn, @lucas_shaw, The Wrap, @thr, @bristei, @grynbaum, @richarddeitsch, @buzzfeedben, @jimwindolf, @lucas_shaw, @asharma, Gizmodo, Ad Age, Fast Company, Awful Announcing, Fortune, TechCrunch, Variety and TV Tattle
RELATED:
Peter Kafka / Recode:
Plepler and Levy's exits indicate that AT&T plans to combine HBO and Turner into one entity, contrary to previous comments, which will be run by Bob Greenblatt — HBO's famous boss is going because the TV business is changing. Warner Bros.' boss is staying because the movies aren't going anywhere.
Discussion:
@jadande
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Turner Broadcasting President David Levy confirms he is leaving WarnerMedia in about two months — David Levy is getting ready for what is likely to be his last insider's view of the NCAA Final Four. — In 2010, Levy was one of the principals in a surprising sports deal that brought …
Discussion:
CNN, TVWeek.com, CNN, Business Insider and @bristei
James Walker / Press Gazette:
EU commissioners say Facebook's, Google's, and Twitter's reports on their fight against disinformation don't give enough information on their results — European Union commissioners have accused three tech giants of providing “too little information” in reports on their efforts …
Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
Sources say Instagram is paying some IGTV creators, but some big influencers stay away due to obstacles like discoverability, monetization, and vertical format — Unlike the wildly popular Insta Stories, the social media juggernaut's new extended video service has struggled to capture the zeitgeist …
Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
LinkedIn will launch a weekly podcast, Hello Monday, on March 4, hosted by Jessi Hempel, formerly a senior writer at Wired — The show will be hosted by LinkedIn senior editor-at-large Jessi Hempel, and each episode will feature an interview with someone who has found success in their field.
Discussion:
@jessiwrites and Talking Biz News, Thanks:@steverubel
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Twitter says in the coming months it will test a Hide Tweet feature that allows users to hide replies to their tweets that others can view through a menu option — Twitter today confirmed it's developing a new “Hide Tweet” feature, which it says will give users another option to protect their conversations.
Times Higher Education:
Times Higher Education has been sold to private equity firm Inflexion; partner publication Tes has been sold to private equity firm Providence Equity Partners — Inflexion acquires company from TPG Capital — Times Higher Education has been sold to private equity firm Inflexion, becoming a stand-alone business for the first time.
Discussion:
@lizmorrish
Samantha Conti / WWD:
Holly Shackleton has been named editor-in-chief of Vogue International, replacing Justine Bellavita — Shackleton will join Vogue International in April from i-D magazine, where she is currently global editor in chief.
Calum Muirhead / Proactiveinvestors United …:
Media group Future, owner of Tom's Hardware, Techradar, and others, acquires Mobile Nations, which owns Android Central, Windows Central, and others, for $120M — The media group it would pay US$55mln in cash and US$5mln in shares for Mobile Nations, adding that there was also a deferred payment …
Discussion:
@backlon, @rafat and @backlon, Thanks:@desireathow
Jem Aswad / Variety:
RIAA: US revenue for recorded music grew 12% in 2018 to $9.8B largely due to a 30% surge in streaming revenue; subscriptions to services like Spotify topped 50M — The U.S. music industry posted its third consecutive year of double-digit growth, according to the RIAA's year-end revenue report issued today.
Discussion:
RAIN News, MediaPost, CNET, Billboard, Music Business Worldwide, Recode, Engadget, @cnet, RIAA, @jank0, MacRumors and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »
Peter Kafka / Recode:
Warner Music's lawsuit against Spotify in India underscores music labels' worry over music streaming services doing more direct deals with artists in the future — Big Tech and Big Music are used to being frenemies. Now things are getting feistier. — The music business is booming, for real.
Discussion:
The Verge and Music Business Worldwide