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, Observer, The Verge, Los Angeles Times, @mattgarrahan, @pkafka, Engadget, @loudmouthjulia, Collider, @reckless, The Streamable, The Wrap and CNET
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:
The Atlantic and MediaPost
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, CNN and @annemariebridy, more at Techmeme »
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:
@mollymargraf, What's New in Publishing, Observer, @entstrategyguy and @thr, more at Techmeme »
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 and @techdirt
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
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:
@bowyerjane, @freedarko, @doberah, Jezebel, @lourdesgnavarro, Fortune, @nytimesbusiness, @amandamarcotte and Ad Age
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, Fast Company, The Streamable, Deadline, Ad Age, GeekWire, @mgsiegler and MediaPost
The Paris Review:
Susannah Hunnewell, publisher of The Paris Review since 2015, is dead at 52 — The Paris Review mourns the loss of publisher Susannah Hunnewell, friend, colleague, and luminous presence at the magazine for three decades, who passed away on June 15 at her home in New York. She was 52.
Discussion:
New York Times, @andevers, @parisreview, @emilynemens and Publishers Weekly
Taylor Lorenz / The Atlantic:
Some Instagram accounts claiming to donate meals to Sudan are actually exploiting the crisis and spreading misinformation in a bid to gain followers — As the political crisis in Sudan deepens, Instagram users are flocking to accounts that claim to be helping.
Discussion:
@taylorlorenz, The Week, @mathewi, @taylorlorenz and @adriennelaf