Top News:
Dave McNary / Variety:
Cineworld joins AMC Theatres in refusing to show Universal Pictures films after NBCUniversal CEO's promise to open titles simultaneously on PVOD and in theaters — Cineworld, owner of the Regal Entertainment exhibition chain, is joining AMC Theatres in refusing to play any Universal Pictures films …
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Thom Geier / The Wrap:
Universal says Trolls World Tour on-demand release has netted ~5M downloads; source: it's made $77M in revenue from the 80% it retains from digital rental fees
Discussion:
Variety, Wall Street Journal, The Verge, Business Insider, Fox News, The Week, MediaPost, @zeitchikwapo, @zeitchikwapo, @zeitchikwapo, @zeitchikwapo, @mortuaryreport, @bookishplinko, @scrawfish, @scott_tobias, @witneyseibold, @wsj, @frankpallotta, @edmundlee, @awallenstein, @mjsamps, @davidlsims, @cinematicbanter and @dkthomp
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Spotify beats with Q1 revenue of €1.8B and net income of €1M, with MAUs up 31% YoY to 286M, premium users up 31% to 130M, and ad-supported MAUs up 32% to 163M — The coronavirus may be decimating some corners of the economy, but the impact on the digital music …
Discussion:
Spotify, Los Angeles Times, Variety, @ingridlunden, @thr, The Wrap, Ad Age, @philipmorton, @ncsh, Fast Company, VentureBeat and Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »
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Kerry Flynn / CNN:
Spotify says TV and game console usage is up by 50% due to the pandemic, with increased consumption of wellness podcasts and searches for terms like “chill”
Discussion:
@brianstelter and TechCrunch
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Spotify-owned Anchor introduces a feature that will allow creators to turn their video chats and virtual hangouts into podcast-ready audio
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Input, Mobile Marketer, @rfaughnder, @ivan_brussels, MediaPost, @rverrier, @leimer, Engadget, Anchor, Engadget, Marketing Land, The Verge and Hot Pod News
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The Guardian says it had 821,000 readers making monthly contributions at the end of March, up 23% YoY; digital app subscriptions grew by 39% YoY to 265,000 — The Guardian's reader revenues have grown at record rates since the coronavirus crisis began and one of the UK's biggest regional dailies follows …
Discussion:
The Guardian and HoldtheFrontPage
Tim Baysinger / The Wrap:
Amazon renews its NFL deal for 3 more seasons, with Amazon and Twitch getting exclusive global rights to one late-season Saturday game each season — Amazon will stream “Thursday Night Football” for three more seasons and get an additional game all to itself in a new deal with the NFL.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Variety, CNBC, Hollywood Reporter, The Streamable, @pkafka, @carlquintanilla, @awfulannouncing, @sherman4949, Axios, @pkafka, @darrenrovell, Ad Age, @sherman4949, @pkafka, @claireatki and @latimesent
Sam Stanton / Sacramento Bee:
Probation officials allege Matthew Keys violated the conditions of his supervised release from prison by deleting Comstock magazine's YouTube videos and account — Sacramento journalist Matthew Keys first came to notoriety because of his mastery of computers.
Discussion:
@nickmiller510 and @jowens510
Patrick Brzeski / Hollywood Reporter:
Head of China's Film Bureau says cinemas are expected to reopen in early June; Chinese officials estimate lost box office revenue at $4.2B in total so far — Movie theaters in China, the world's second-biggest film market, have been closed since late January, weeks before they shut down in North America.
Discussion:
Variety, /Film, The Playlist, @lucas_shaw, @bicaraboxoffice and IndieWire
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
BBC announces pay and hiring cuts as it predicts £125M lower income this year as revenue from its commercial arm dips and people stop paying the license fee — Boss Tony Hall says licence fee and commercial revenues are being hit by Covid-19 pandemic
Discussion:
@jimwaterson
Matthew Moore / The Times:
Facebook poaches Tony Close, director of content standards at Ofcom, as director of content regulation; Ofcom is preparing to regulate social media companies — A senior official at the watchdog preparing to regulate social media companies has been poached by Facebook to help it respond to the curbs.
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Nielsen: CNN saw an increase of 179% in viewers between the ages of 25 and 54 in April, while Fox News grew 83% and MSNBC grew 54% — Viewership for all three of the nation's main cable-news outlets soared in April as viewers tuned in at all hours for information on the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Discussion:
New York Times, @poynter, The Media Nut, Poynter, The Wrap, TVNewser, Mediaite and Raw Story
Max Willens / Digiday:
As Facebook ad rates nosedive, publishers are using them to drive subscribers; Condé Nast says 50% of its new subscriptions are from paid efforts — Over the past seven weeks, many publishers have welcomed a coronavirus bump in subscribers as news consumption rises.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Oliver Darcy / CNN:
Tucker Carlson hyped a YouTube video of two doctors who incorrectly downplayed the COVID-19 threat, and the Fox host also slammed YouTube for removing the video — (CNN Business)A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. You can sign up for free right here.
Discussion:
VICE, NBC News, @jason_koebler, @jeremymbarr, @jeremymbarr, @jason_koebler, @jason_koebler, @brianstelter, Mediaite and AAEM
Elizabeth Williamson / New York Times:
Profile of Kayleigh McEnany, whose role as Trump's White House press secretary has become indistinguishable from her role as Trump campaign's spokeswoman — Kayleigh McEnany saw Donald J. Trump as her ticket to stardom. She has been fighting for him for much of her adult life, now as the president's fourth press secretary.
Discussion:
@nytpolitics, @mehdirhasan, @tomscocca, @tomscocca, @tomscocca, @dangillmor, @mattgertz, @ericboehlert, @billkristol, @brianstelter, PRESS RUN, New Republic and CNN
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