Top News:
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
Jeffrey Katzenberg blames COVID-19 for Quibi's paltry downloads as execs lower projections from 7M users and $250M subscriber revenue estimated for first year — Downloads of the $1.8 billion short-form streaming app, meant for phones, are paltry. “I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus,” Mr. Katzenberg said.
Discussion:
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Elizabeth Culliford / Reuters:
Twitter says it will add labels and warning messages to tweets about COVID-19 with misleading or disputed content and plans to expand the labels to other topics — (Reuters) - Twitter Inc will add labels and warning messages on some tweets with disputed or misleading information about COVID-19 …
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Twitter, @twittersupport, CNN, MediaPost, Reason, NPR, Ad Age, @anthony, @lisackaplan, MediaNama, The Independent, @ericboehlert, The Verge, @digiphile, @parkermolloy, @tyadkisson, @twittertogether, @metaviv, @billprady, @marklittlenews, @jeffstone500, @yoyoel and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Emily Ramshaw says The 19th still plans to launch late this summer despite the pandemic, to explore how women are disproportionately affected by the crisis — Emily Ramshaw and Amanda Zamora had not planned to launch The 19th during a pandemic. Their national nonprofit news site …
Discussion:
@laurahazardowen, @eramshaw, @niemanreports, @kerrymflynn, @elanazak, bookforum.com, @lenfestinst, @amzam and The Idea
Des Moines Register:
Meredith delays its quarterly earnings report to Thursday, citing an “extremely challenging business environment” — Saying it is facing “an extremely challenging business environment” because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Meredith Corp. informed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Spotify Kids now allows parents to view kids' listening history and block individual tracks and expands to Germany and Japan — Spotify is expanding the capabilities of its parental controls on its Spotify Kids app, aimed at children ages 3 and up on a parent's Spotify Premium Family plan.
RELATED:
Frank Pallotta / CNN:
Interview with SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt about leading ESPN's flagship show at a time when there are no sports — New York (CNN Business)SportsCenter has been ESPN's go-to broadcast for sports highlights, news and analysis since the cable network launched in 1979. But what is SportsCenter without sports?
Discussion:
@frankpallotta, @spj_tweets and Awful Announcing
Tony Maglio / The Wrap:
Disney has raised $11B in debt, according to a Tuesday filing with the SEC — Disney has raised $11 billion dollars in new debt, according to a Tuesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). — “The company intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the notes …
Discussion:
Variety, Multichannel News, Deadline and Hollywood Reporter
William Turvill / Press Gazette:
Politico EIC says it is “cautiously optimistic” as more than half its business is premium subscription contracts and it doesn't have a lot of retail advertising — Matthew Kaminski must be one of the very few bosses in journalism still thinking about expansion.
Discussion:
Talking Biz News and @pressgazette
Alex Bhattacharji / Los Angeles Magazine:
As Valence Media seeks to soften and kill coverage of controversial subjects, THR is fighting to maintain its reputation for independence and propriety — As its parent company seeks to soften and kill coverage of controversial subjects, ‘The Hollywood Reporter’ is fighting to maintain its journalistic integrity
Discussion:
@highsierraman, @lamag and @lamag
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
With Hollywood productions on hold, documentary filmmakers, who don't need film sets, have managed to keep going while adapting to the new reality — Ron Howard has been overseeing a nonfiction film from afar, while other documentarians have gone into the coronavirus epicenter.
Discussion:
@kylemunson, @jimwindolf and @nicsperling
CNN:
Some OAN staff say they were embarrassed by a Friday report from the channel promoting a fringe conspiracy theory, and the segment was pulled out of TV rotation — It pains me to lead this newsletter with un-reliable sources, but sometimes it's necessary. Right now is one of those times.
Discussion:
@brianstelter, @oliverdarcy, @cahnemily, @oliverdarcy, @holden, CBS News, @marshallcohen, @mattortega, @oliverdarcy and @brianstelter
Reuters:
Tencent Music misses estimates with Q1 revenue of $891M, of which $170M was from music subscribers, up 70% YoY; paying music subscribers up 50.4% YoY to 42.7M — (Reuters) - China's Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME.N) missed Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue on Monday …
Discussion:
PR Newswire, Music Business Worldwide, TheStreet and Investor's Business Daily