Mediagazer: UK's Newsquest launches a metered paywall across all of its daily newspapers, but will keep all COVID-19 content and breaking news stories free to read (Charlotte Tobitt/Press Gazette)

10:55 AM ET, April 22, 2020

Top News:

Lauren Feiner / CNBC:

Netflix reports Q1 revenue of $5.77B, up 27.6% YoY, vs $5.76B est., global paid net subscriber 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 …

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix announces plans to offer $1B in junk bonds to fund operations and potential acquisitions; as of the end of March, Netflix reported $14.17B in debt

Discussion: @clarknova1, more at Techmeme »

Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings' compensation reached $38.6M in 2019, up about 7% YoY, and chief content officer Ted Sarandos received a package worth $34.7M, up 17%

Discussion: The Wrap and Broadcasting & Cable

@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/...

Todd Spangler / Variety:

AT&T misses estimates, loses 138K AT&T Now customers and 897K premium TV subscribers in Q1, reports revenues of $42.78B and pulls its annual forecast — AT&T missed revenue and earnings estimates for the first quarter of 2020, with a 4.6% top-line decline driven by lower revenue …

Discussion: The Streamable, @xpangler, CNBC, The Streamable, @brianstelter, @edmundlee, @alexweprin, The Week, The Playlist and MediaPost

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: Ad Age, HBO Max, The Week, MTV, The Streamable, CNET and The Verge

Hollywood Reporter:
HBO Max to launch on May 27 for $15 per month with 10,000 hours of programming

Discussion: Variety, Deadline, @joan_e, @joan_e, @joan_e, The Week, Nylon, CNET, Variety and Wall Street Journal

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 — Planning document calls for over 300 layoffs, though company says several such proposals are being worked up

Discussion: Axios, The Hill, Fast Company, @alex, @mathewi, @loudmouthjulia, @robenfarzad, @asharma, @kantrowitz, @elanazak, @benmullin, @jherrerx, @keachhagey, @markdistef and @benmullin

Zack Beauchamp / Vox:

Study of Fox News programming from February to early March finds those watching Sean Hannity over Tucker Carlson were less likely to adhere to social distancing — Sophisticated new research links Hannity's coronavirus misinformation to “a greater number of Covid-19 cases and deaths.”

Discussion: BFI, @zeynep, @arunningriot, @voxdotcom, @zackbeauchamp, @zackbeauchamp, @atrupar and @coqui6190

Jim VandeHei / Axios:

Axios says it qualified for a PPP loan “just shy of $5M” as it is both a media company and a small business with a national presence — Axios is among the small businesses that qualified for a PPP loan to protect existing jobs and help weather the coronavirus crisis.

Discussion: CNBC, @megancarpentier, @owillis, @dicktofel and @brianstelter

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Spotify launches Artist Fundraising Pick, letting artists fundraise for themselves, their crews, or verified music relief initiatives — Last month, Spotify announced that as part of its coronavirus relief efforts it would soon add new fundraising features for artists on its platform.

Discussion: Variety, NME and Music Business Worldwide

Shuchi Bansal / Livemint:

BloombergQuint, Bloomberg's joint venture in India with Quintillion, shuts TV division after failing to get a broadcast license; source: BQ is writing off $26M — - It had FIPB nod for a 74:26 joint venture in November 2016 to operate an English language business news channel

Discussion: @kapur_ritu and @rasmus_kleis

Mark Sweney / The Guardian:

Disney co-founder's granddaughter Abigail Disney criticises the company for protecting exec bonuses and dividends of $1.5B+ while cutting pay of 100K+ workers — Abigail Disney hits out at executive payouts while staff weather coronavirus impact — An heir to the Walt Disney fortune …

Discussion: @abigaildisney, Hollywood Reporter, @brett_a_taylor, @davidcorndc, @miafarrow and The Kingdom Insider

Financial Times:

Some of UK's biggest publishers criticize Google for failing to adequately explain its approach to blocking and filtering ads alongside COVID-19-related content — Tech group asked to provide greater clarity over how it filters ads around coverage of pandemic

Discussion: @jason_kint and @markdistef

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

UK's Newsquest launches a metered paywall across all of its daily newspapers, but will keep all COVID-19 content and breaking news stories free to read — Newsquest has introduced a digital subscription model across all of its daily newspaper websites, putting up a paywall to readers …

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, @benjamingoggin, @raywongy and MediaPost

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Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
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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

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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

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%+

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

Earlier Picks:

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

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

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

Discussion: Nieman Lab, @forpodcasters, Spotify, Gizmodo and Android Central

@si_union:
Maven has recognized the Sports Illustrated union, formed in January with support from more than 90% of the staff

Discussion: @grantwahl and bookforum.com

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

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

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

Discussion: American Press Institute, @aliabunimah, @jonahblank, @bobbyallyn, @kindandunblind, @taylakaye, @vwpickard, @mirokorenha, @jimwindolf and The Wrap

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, RAIN News, My Podcast Reviews, TechCrunch, MacRumors and The Verge

From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a smart doorbell system with advanced facial recognition that can wirelessly connect and unlock third-party smart locks

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Donald Trump announces that Sriram Krishnan, until recently a general partner at a16z, will serve as senior policy advisor for AI at the White House OSTP

Financial Times:
Sources: Palantir and Anduril are in talks with OpenAI, SpaceX, and more to form a consortium to bid for US defense contracts and plan to announce it in January

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