Mediagazer: eMarketer forecasts TV networks will collect between $24B and $26.3B in ad spending in H1 2020, compared to $33.9B collected in H1 2019, due to sports shutdown (Meg James/Los Angeles Times)

9:25 PM ET, April 21, 2020

Top News:

Lauren Feiner / CNBC:

Netflix reports Q1 revenue of $5.77B, up 27.6% YoY, vs $5.76B est., global streaming paid net additions of 15.77M, now totaling 182.86M accounts, up 22.8% YoY — - Netflix reported its Q1 2020 earnings after the bell on Tuesday. — Netflix has ranked among analysts' favorite “stay at home” …

@kerrymflynn:

[Thread] Internal memos: Politico lays off 13 at Protocol as it cancels live events through at least Sept. 1, including its presence at political conventions — Didn't want to break this media news earlier because of my major conflict of interest. But I'm really sad to see another round of harsh cuts at a media company (and a new one at that!). 13 people, incl editors + reporters, lost their jobs at Protocol today https://twitter.com/...

Hollywood Reporter:

HBO Max to launch on May 27 for $15 per month with 10,000 hours of programming — The streaming service is set to debut amid the shutdown brought about by the novel coronavirus outbreaking, bringing with it 10,000 hours of library programming from across the WarnerMedia catalog.

Discussion: Variety, @joan_e, @joan_e, The Week, The Playlist, CNET, Nylon, @joan_e, MediaPost and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »

Dade Hayes / Deadline:
AT&T offers free HBO Max to “tens of millions” of customers, including wireless and internet subscribers, as it aims for 75M to 90M HBO Max subscribers by 2025

Discussion: The Streamable, CNET, The Verge, The Week, Ad Age and The Streamable

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Spotify launches a set of 17 editorially curated podcast playlists, akin to its RapCaviar music playlist, in the US and five other countries — Spotify is continuing its investment in the podcast streaming side of business with the launch of a suite of editorially-curated podcast playlists …

Discussion: Nieman Lab, Spotify, Spotify for Podcasters, Android Central and @forpodcasters

Mandy Jenkins / The Compass Experiment:

The Compass Experiment, McClatchy and Google's digital local news initiative, plans to launch the Longmont Leader in Colorado in May with a team of five — We're launching The Longmont Leader to provide critical news and information during this time of crisis — and beyond.

Discussion: Nieman Lab, Axios, The Keyword, MediaPost, @fishnette, @mattsebastian, @mjenkins, @rubinojc, @mcclatchy, PR Newswire, Longmont Observer, @benfischersbj and Free Press

Kathryn Hopkins / WWD:

Bustle relaunches Nylon's digital edition but delays a promised print edition to fall 2021 and postpones a monthly live music series, Nylon Nights — Nylon's first digital issue under BDG's ownership features cover star Maya Hawke. — After acquiring fashion, music and cultural site Nylon last summer …

Discussion: Nylon, MediaPost, @benjamingoggin and @raywongy

Variety:

Georgia to let movie theaters reopen April 27, but hiring staff, safety protocols, a lack of new releases, and limits on crowd sizes pose significant challenges — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will allow movie theaters to reopen starting April 27, but exhibition insiders stress …

Discussion: Mediaite, Deadline, /Film, @brycezabel, The Playlist, @srdtv, @cinestate, Comic Book Movie, The Wrap, Variety, The A.V. Club and Vanity Fair

Marc Tracy / New York Times:

NPR cuts CEO pay 25% and reduces other executives' salaries between 10% and 15%, but CEO says there are no layoffs planned at the moment — The Washington headquarters of NPR, which has taken measures to avoid layoffs.Credit...Ting Shen for The New York Times Marc Tracy By Marc Tracy April 20 …

Discussion: @kindandunblind, @bobbyallyn, @taylakaye, @vwpickard, @jimwindolf, @mirokorenha, @jonahblank and The Wrap

Snap Inc.:

Snap reports in Q1 DAUs increased 20% YoY to 229M, revenue increased 44% YoY to $462M, time spent watching Discover content rose 35%+; stock up 19%+ after hours — Daily Active Users increased 20% year-over-year to 229 million First quarter revenue increased 44% year-over-year to $462 million …

Discussion: The Wrap, VentureBeat, Variety, Mashable, The Verge, @tiffkhsu, @peterhamby and @joshelman, more at Techmeme »

Seb Joseph / Digiday:

YouTube says it's working on letting advertisers use keyword or contextual targeting to decide what posts their ads will appear on before running them — YouTube is making it easier for advertisers to block videos that are risky to their reputations, but in doing so could inadvertently push targeting without any proper context.

Allison Schiff / AdExchanger:
Report: YouTube ad auditor OpenSlate refused to sign a contract with Google limiting info it can share with clients, like when ads run against sensitive videos

Discussion: @keachhagey, @jason_kint, @lopezgovlaw, Wall Street Journal, Beyond Search and MediaPost

@si_union:

Maven has recognized the Sports Illustrated union, formed in January with support from more than 90% of the staff — We are now a recognized union. Our statement: https://twitter.com/...

Discussion: @grantwahl and bookforum.com

Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:

A behind-the-scenes look at the Facebook News team's early response to COVID-19, including a push to make news more prominent in the Information Center — Anne Kornblut was working from home when the crushing headache set in. It was early March, and she had a battery of calls to get through …

Discussion: @jason_kint and @kerrymflynn

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More News:

Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
eMarketer forecasts TV networks will collect between $24B and $26.3B in ad spending in H1 2020, compared to $33.9B collected in H1 2019, due to sports shutdown

Wall Street Journal:
Internal planning document for Vice Media Group lays out the possibility of layoffs of 300+ in digital operations, including cuts at Vice News and Refinery29

Discussion: @benmullin, @keachhagey and @benmullin

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Jewish News to continue publishing after the collapse of the merger with the Jewish Chronicle, which was acquired by a consortium and will go into liquidation

Discussion: The Times of Israel

Chris Welch / The Verge:
Sonos launches Sonos Radio, a free streaming radio service preloaded in the Sonos app, with 60K+ stations from multiple partners alongside original programming

Discussion: TechCrunch, @dcseifert, @backlon, @chriswelch, @maddox, Mashable, @reckless, @journeydan and Fortune, more at Techmeme »

Reporters Without Borders:
RSF's 2020 World Press Freedom Index shows correlation between COVID-19 news suppression and ranking; global indicator rose 0.9% YoY, but is down 12% since 2013

Discussion: Press Gazette, Reporters Without Borders, @johnobrennan2, @rasmus_kleis, @kenroth, @rsf_inter, @michalboni, IJR, Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, RAPPLER and The Guardian

Tim Dams / Variety:
Apple Music expands to 52 new countries, for a total of 167 countries, while Spotify operates in 79; Apple Podcasts becomes available in 20 more countries

Discussion: Apple, My Podcast Reviews, RAIN News, TechCrunch, MacRumors and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Columbia Journalism Review:
Journalists should extract lessons from the COVID-19 crisis that they can apply to covering climate change, which has eerily similar dynamics

Discussion: @thenation, @sulliview, @gijn, @cjr, @cjr and The Nation

New York Times:
As movie production isn't expected to resume until August, a look at how Hollywood's creatives, many of them freelance, are handling the pandemic

Discussion: @ennisnyt

Earlier Picks:

Jay Rosen / PressThink:
Five suggestions to US media to improve COVID-19 coverage: end duplication, collaborate, and publish at the same time, dislodge Trump as “protagonist”, and more

Discussion: @froomkin, @steve_katz, @piscitelli, @michaelsocolow and @jayrosen_nyu

Frederic Filloux / Monday Note:
The media outlets that will emerge from the COVID-19 crisis will be lightweight, decentralized, less reliant on ads, and will bring more expertise to the table

Discussion: @mariaramirezny and @raju

Kerry Flynn / CNN:
In a letter to Trump, 240 House members urge him to direct federal spending to ads in local media and encourage the same for businesses receiving stimulus money

Discussion: Press Gazette, American Press Institute, @kerrymflynn, Congress of the United States, @nikkiusher, @cnnbusiness, @kerrymflynn and @kerrymflynn

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Michael Jordan docuseries “The Last Dance” debuts to an average 6.1M viewers across ESPN and ESPN 2, the most-viewed original content on the network since 2004

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
NBCUniversal's movie ticketing company Fandango has agreed to buy Walmart's on-demand video streaming service Vudu for an undisclosed sum

Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Meredith cuts pay for ~2,000 employees by 15% and moves them to four-day weeks from May 4 to Sept. 4; 750 staff, including top execs, to take cuts of 20% to 40%

Discussion: @gregdool, New York Post, Broadcasting & Cable, TVSpy, @kerrymflynn, @sherman4949, @kerrymflynn, The Wrap, Adweek, Folio, MediaPost and PR Newswire

Etan Vlessing / Hollywood Reporter:
Charter Communications says it plans no employee layoffs or furloughs for two months and has permanently increased its minimum wage to $20 per hour

Discussion: @ashkan, @chartergov, @brianstelter, Multichannel News, Charter Communications and Light Reading

From Techmeme:

Mishaal Rahman / Android Police:
Google ships the first Android 16 developer preview, far ahead of schedule vs. the past decade, hoping to lower fragmentation by giving manufacturers more time

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft unveils the $349 Windows 365 Link, a mini PC for its Windows 365 cloud service running a “super hardened version of Windows”, shipping in April 2025

Jay Peters / The Verge:
Sony launches cloud streaming on the PlayStation Portal in beta, letting PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers in some countries stream select PS5 games

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