Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
HBO is offering 500+ hours of free programming, including The Sopranos and Succession, starting Friday, for a limited time via HBO Now and HBO Go — HBO is unlocking its biggest trove of free programming ever — in a goodwill gesture as people look for a diversion during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tatiana Siegel / Hollywood Reporter:
Amazon Prime Video teams up with SXSW to offer free streaming of films that were to be screened at the canceled festival, likely in late April for 10 days — The films will stream for free on the streaming platform over 10 days, likely in late April. — South by Southwest 2020 …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Variety, @immyyoume, The Hill, Lifewire, @thr, @kimmasters, The Verge, @texasfilmcomm, @primevideo, @sxsw, Adweek and /Film
New York Times:
How Modi has become more blatant in efforts to control Indian media amid the pandemic, after years of pressure on advertisers, licensing restrictions, more — India's government has pressured advertisers and even shut down channels to shape the information that 1.3 billion Indians receive.
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Memo: Google will begin letting some advertisers run COVID-19 related ads, prioritizing government entities, hospitals, and others working directly on the issue — Democrats had criticized Google for refusing to run attack ads targeting Trump's coronavirus response.
Discussion:
Ad Age, The Verge, Forbes, @protocol, @ewarren, @esreif, Reason, @scottmaustin, @issielapowsky, The Hill, Protocol, MediaPost, Fox News and Protocol, more at Techmeme »
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
An OANN correspondent returned to the White House briefing room despite a WHCA vote to bar the outlet; WHCA president says she should sit with WH press aides — A cable news correspondent who has been barred from White House briefings by a journalists' organization said Thursday …
Discussion:
@lukeobrien, Washington Post, The Wrap, @therockyfiles, @farhip, @oliverdarcy and Breitbart
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Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
WaPo, NYT, CNBC, and others have stopped sending reporters to Trump's daily COVID-19 briefings, concerned about health risks and the lack of new information
Eli Stokols / Los Angeles Times:
WHCA board votes to remove One America News from the rotation for WH briefing room seats for violating social distancing rules, citing public safety
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, @chanelrion, @chrismegerian, @jonlemire, @paulareidcbs, Politico, Politico, @deanobeidallah, @atrupar, Washington Post, Breitbart, Mediaite, @davidnakamura, The Wrap, @elistokols, @elistokols, @w7voa, @isaacdovere, @farhip, @farhip, @jycefisher, @farhip, @celestekatznyc, @chrismegerian, @evanvucci, @weijia, @brianstelter, @oliverdarcy, CNN, HuffPost, New York Post and Washington Post
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
A deep dive into the deal between Apple and Amazon which lets the retail giant process some payments in Prime Video app, and the motivations of both companies — Benjamin Mayo, writing for 9to5Mac yesterday: … I've been digging into this since the news broke, and I think it's even more significant than Mayo suggests.
Discussion:
9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
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Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple now lets some video streaming apps, like Amazon Prime Video, use their own payment methods for in-app purchases on Apple devices, avoiding Apple's 30% cut
Discussion:
/Film, Gizmodo, @tigesavage, @harrymccracken, CNBC, @markgurman, ZDNet, The Streamable, Business Insider, @whatthebit, @markgurman, @pierce, @jeffjohnroberts, @brianb, @markgurman, @jlantunez, @bzamayo, @backlon, @nickstatt, Variety, The Verge, The Mac Observer, The Mac Observer, TechCrunch, CNET and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Sarah Whitten / CNBC:
Disney plans to furlough some non-union employees in its parks, experiences, and products unit starting April 19, will pay for health insurance during furlough — - Disney will furlough its non-union park employees starting on April 19. — During the furlough, employees …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, The Hill, Deadline, Variety, @markwillard85, @callmenapkins, @zachhayesyt, @scottgustin, @scottgustin, @scottgustin and @scottgustin
Scott Nover / Adweek:
Sources: 20-30 people have been laid off from CQ Roll Call, mostly from the editorial department; the news outlet was bought by FiscalNote for $180M in 2018 — It's the latest in a series of layoffs afflicting the media industry this month — Key insights:
Discussion:
@fawnjohnson, @scottnover, @jackietothdc, @cahnemily, @joshtpm, @ericmgarcia and @alexclearfield
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Ofcom warns broadcasters of sanctions if they air false COVID-19 health advice after a radio station aired a baseless suggestion that the virus is linked to 5G — Broadcasters warned they face sanctions if they give airtime to false Covid-19 health advice — British broadcasters …
Discussion:
Press Gazette, @karlbode, @jimwaterson and @alistaircoleman
Kerry Flynn / CNN:
As media companies enact drastic cost cutting amid COVID-19, labor unions like NewsGuild-CWA are putting the power of collective bargaining to the test — New York (CNN Business)Since joining at The Arizona Republic in 2008, reporter Rebekah Sanders has seen many rounds of layoffs, buyouts and furloughs at the Gannett-owned newspaper.
Discussion:
WWD, @anastasiakeeley, @ty_olsen, @indystartony and @newsladykatie
Jennifer Maas / The Wrap:
T-Mobile is offering a free subscription to short-form video service Quibi for one year, for customers of its unlimited wireless family plan — Jeffrey Katzenberg's short-form content streaming service launches April 6 — T-Mobile is giving away one year of Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman's upcoming …
Discussion:
Business Wire, /Film, Adweek, Broadcasting & Cable, The Streamable, TechCrunch and CNET
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Source: Comcast's NBCUniversal and Sky to delay the launch of NBC Sky World News, a news service aimed at global English-speaking audiences, due to the pandemic — NBC Sky World News, the ambitious news service aimed at English-speaking audiences around the world that was expected to launch this summer, is on hold.
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