Top News:
Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:
Authentic Brands licenses SI's digital and print rights to The Maven, which prepaid $45M for royalties over 10 years; Ross Levinsohn to be CEO of SI media line — Sports Illustrated's media operations are getting a new operator. — Authentic Brands Group — a licensing firm headed …
Lesley Goldberg / Hollywood Reporter:
Sources: AT&T's WarnerMedia nears a deal with production company Bad Robot, run by J.J. Abrams and Katie McGrath, estimated to be valued at $500M — Bad Robot, the famed production company Abrams runs with his wife and co-CEO Katie McGrath, had been fielding offers from pretty …
Discussion:
New York Times, @edmundlee, Digital TV Europe, Observer, The Verge, Los Angeles Times, @mattgarrahan, @pkafka, Engadget, @loudmouthjulia, @reckless, The Streamable, Collider, The Wrap and CNET
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Internet companies that call themselves “platforms” instead of publishers have no special legal protections or obligations under the Communications Decency Act — Alexis Madrigal, over at the Atlantic has a mostly interesting piece recounting the history of how the big internet …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, @techdirt and @tarletong
Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:
BuzzFeed News staffers walked out of all four US bureaus Monday, citing mismanagement, pay disparities and job cuts as they push for recognition of their union — - Journalists in four cities leaving the newsroom in protest — Staff cites concerns over pay disparities and job losses
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
The Atlantic launches Daily Idea, a smart speaker skill that delivers a one-to-two minute summary of a recent or archived article — The Atlantic is launching a new skill for Amazon Echo and Google Home: A “single, illuminating idea” every weekday. From the release:
Discussion:
MediaPost and The Atlantic
Andrew Blustein / The Drum:
Spotify rolls out podcast listener targeting in some countries, segmenting users based on podcasts they stream — Already building out its podcast business with a slew of acquisitions, Spotify is now segmenting users based on podcasts they stream. — Up until now, Spotify has only broken …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, The Verge and @ashleyrcarman
Bloomberg:
YouTube Kids, intended as a haven from the dangers of the main YouTube site, is used by just 20M+ people a week, compared to the main site's 2B+ monthly users — There's a safer version of YouTube, but the company knows most children don't watch it — In late May, the advocacy group …
Discussion:
@gerryfsmith, @zeynep, @mollymckew, @mcewanincomm, @annemariebridy and CNN, more at Techmeme »
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
Federal jury orders VidAngel, a streaming service that filters out offensive material, to pay $62.4M to Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. for copyright infringement — A jury on Monday ordered VidAngel to pay $62.4 million to Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. for streaming hundreds of movies on its service without permission.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, MediaPost, KSL-TV, The Wrap, Law360, Deseret News, Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and New York Post
Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
Over the last year, time spent watching Snapchat Original shows every day has more than tripled with audiences of more than 14M for some shows — ‘Endless Summer,’ which returns for a second season June 15, drew 28 million viewers during its fall debut. “Serialized content is working,” …
Discussion:
Observer, @entstrategyguy, @mollymargraf, @thr and What's New in Publishing, more at Techmeme »
Valeriya Safronova / New York Times:
A ban on ads depicting gender stereotypes, like men unable to change diapers or women having trouble with parking, is now in effect in the UK — No more commercials showing men struggling to do a load of laundry, or asking women if they are “beach body ready.”
Discussion:
American Press Institute, @freedarko, @doberah, @bowyerjane, @lourdesgnavarro, Jezebel, @nytimesbusiness, @amandamarcotte, Fortune and Ad Age
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
Reuters report: 32% of global respondents, including 41% in US, actively avoid news mainly as it negatively affects their mood, not because they don't trust it — The modern digitally connected human (Homo smartphonicus, identifiable by its trademark slumped shoulders and bleary eyes) …
Discussion:
@jbenton, @rozmurph, @niemanlab and @chanders
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Amazon's IMDb renames its ad-supported streaming service Freedive to IMDb TV, says it plans to launch in Europe later this year — Amazon's IMDb is upping the ante in the free, ad-supported premium video game. — IMDb has dumped Freedive as the name for the service it launched in January …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, @mgsiegler, Ad Age, MediaPost, GeekWire, The Streamable, Fast Company and Deadline