Top News:
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
In a wide-ranging interview, Reed Hastings says Netflix's spending on content will grow and defends cutting an episode of Hasan Minhaj's show in Saudi Arabia — Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings tackled a wide array of issues surrounding the streaming giant during a packed 30-minute keynote session …
Discussion:
CNBC, MediaPost, The Wrap, Variety, Vanity Fair, Engadget, Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Bloomberg, HuffPost and Mediaite, more at Techmeme »
Paul Bond / Hollywood Reporter:
Glenn Beck's The Blaze to shut down its cable channel at the end of the year to focus on its radio, SVOD service, podcasts, and website — The media company will continue operating its subscription VOD service, its website, podcasts and radio presence. — The Blaze, a multimedia firm founded …
Discussion:
The Wrap
Bloomberg:
Nielsen to split into two companies, one focused on global media, the other on tracking consumer preferences, after pressure from investor Elliott Management — - Nielsen will split into two: global media and global connect — Company completes strategic review following activist pressure
Discussion:
CNBC, Radio & Television …, Broadcasting & Cable, The Wrap, @baekdal and @cnbc
CNN:
So far, mainstream media including Fox News avoid publishing the alleged whistleblower's name in the Trump impeachment probe, amid pressure from Trump allies — New York (CNN Business)Fox News hosts and personalities have been instructed over the last several days not to identify …
Discussion:
Poynter, The Daily Caller, BuzzFeed News, @yashar, Politico, NBC News, Politico, @yashar, @chuckrossdc, @afp, @oliverdarcy, @existentialfish, @mlcalderone, @mlcalderone, @brianstelter, @oliverdarcy, @markszaidesq, Vox, @yashar, @mlcalderone, @mlcalderone, @mlcalderone, @mlcalderone, Vanity Fair, Agence France-Presse, Talking Points Memo, Vanity Fair, Breitbart, The Week, Associated Press, Mediaite and Raw Story
Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
Dish adds ~214K Sling TV subscribers in Q3 for a total of 2.686M+ and loses ~66K pay TV subscribers for a total of ~9.49M — Charlie Ergen's company posts its first quarterly net subscriber gain since the fourth quarter of 2017. — Charlie Ergen's Dish Network on Thursday …
Discussion:
The Streamable, Variety, MediaPost and Wall Street Journal
Casey Newton / The Verge:
Twitter announces Topics, which lets users follow 300+ subjects in their timeline, rolling out from Thursday; topics include sports and gaming but not politics — Starting with more than 300 subjects across sports, gaming, and entertainment — Recently, a friend told me he wanted to spend …
Discussion:
@rsarver, Social Media Today, @caseynewton, @kayvz, @enunge, @ynobeturner, @airlineflyer, @kantrowitz, Mashable, The Next Web, Engadget, CNET and 9to5Mac
Chris O'Brien / VentureBeat:
Avaaz: false stories on Facebook had 158M views in 2019, greater than before the 2016 election, with 86M views in the last 3 months, up 3x over the prior 3 — Facebook has already powered 158 million views of fake U.S. political news in 2019 and is poised to see an explosion of disinformation next year …
Discussion:
Variety, VICE, Nieman Lab, @avaaz, @green_footballs, @wajahatali, @brianstelter, @scclemons, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, ABC17NEWS and Politico
Tony Maglio / The Wrap:
Fox Corporation beats estimates with Q1 revenue of $2.67B, up 5% YoY, net income of $513M, down from $615M YoY, and announces a $2B stock buyback program — Fox reported its first-quarter fiscal 2020 financial results on Wednesday afternoon, when the evolving company also revealed a $2 billion stock repurchase program.
MediaPost:
Conviva: streaming video quality is improving, with PCs seeing the most consistent quality improvements, but 39% of streaming video ad attempts fail — As the streaming wars commence, the good news is that the general streaming video experience is improving — no doubt in part …
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Discovery Q3: net income rose to $262M from $117M in Q3 2018 on revenue of $2.68B, up 3% YoY; ad pricing increases offset subscriber losses — Discovery Inc. saw third quarter profit rise as revenue from advertising as well as cable and satellite distribution rose even as the company's various TV products lost viewers overall.
Discussion:
Broadcasting & Cable, MediaPost and Reuters
Sara Jerde / Adweek:
McClatchy launches Impact2020, a $50/year subscription for political news with an outside-the-beltway approach, via journalists in TX, FL, PA, NC, SC, CA, more — New subscription service Impact 2020 will cost $129 per year — As media organizations ramp up their coverage of the 2020 presidential race …
Washington Post Newspaper Guild / Washington Post Newspaper Guild:
Washington Post Guild newsroom pay study: median salary for women of color is $30K less than white men; men receive a higher rate of merit pay raises than women — By members of the Washington Post Newspaper Guild — Washington Post employees work hard every day to ensure that our company is a leader in the journalism industry.
Discussion:
@vikkie, @myhlee, @mattdpearce, @macrodesiac_, @hcwoodward, @ejbeals, @byaliceli, @blrshepherd, @leahmcelrath, @dataeditor, @ericawerner, @melanielisa, @schmidtsam7, @dataeditor, @stephaniemlee, @brandonetc, @hcjewell, @postguild, @postguild, @postguild, @postguild, @postguild, The Daily Caller, The Wrap and Washingtonian