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:
Deadline, Variety, TechCrunch, Talking Biz News, The Wrap, The Streamable, New York Post, @hshaban, AgencySpy, Hollywood Reporter, Twelve Thirty Six, Gizmodo, @kerrymflynn, The A.V. Club, Cord Cutters News, @caityweaver, Fortune, The Playlist, MediaPost, Numlock News, @arthur_affect, CordCutters, Business Insider, 9to5Mac, C21Media, @jessicalessin, CortaCable, @fmanjoo, @sruhle, @ranimolla, @darren_mooney, @netw3rk, @joshsternberg, @ericnewcomer, @willmcavoyacn, @loudmouthjulia, @karynspencer, @jbillinson, @maura, @tomgara, @jonrosenberg, @tomgara, @thekenyeung, @thekenyeung, @yoda, @azalben, @azalben, @thekenyeung, @thekenyeung, @readdanwrite, @jbenton, @samuelaadams, @dylanbyers, @dylanbyers, Monday Moves, UPROXX, Digital Trends, Decider and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
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:
@megreenwell, @benyt, @highsierraman, @lamag and @lamag
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, @jayrosen_nyu, @eramshaw, @kerrymflynn, @elanazak, @niemanreports, @lenfestinst, @amzam, bookforum.com and The Idea
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 …
Discussion:
Twitter, American Press Institute, @twittersupport, CNN, Breitbart, MediaPost, NPR, Reason, @apolyakova, MediaNama, The Independent, Ad Age, @ericboehlert, The Verge, @anthony, @lisackaplan, @digiphile, @parkermolloy, @tyadkisson, @twittertogether, @metaviv, @billprady, @marklittlenews, @jeffstone500 and @yoyoel, more at Techmeme »
Suzanne Vranica / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: advertisers like GM are looking to exercise an option, available since May 1, to cancel up to 50% of their Q3 TV ad spend, an estimated $1B-$1.5B loss — Companies are seeking to take advantage of options that became available May 1 to cancel up to 50% of third-quarter spending
Discussion:
The Hill, @richlightshed, @anthony, @richlightshed, @asharma and @jbflint
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, Hollywood Reporter and @alexweprin
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 …
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:
New York Post, @frankpallotta, @spj_tweets and Awful Announcing
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.
Discussion:
Spotify Newsletter, more at Techmeme »
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Facebook says it took action on 9.6M pieces of hate speech content in Q1, up by 3.6M, and AI now proactively detects 88.8% of it, up from 80.2% last quarter — Facebook sheds light on its new AI-powered moderation — Facebook on Monday released a new report detailing how it uses a combination …
Discussion:
VentureBeat, CNET, About Facebook, About Facebook and Facebook AI, more at Techmeme »
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
Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:
Interview with MSNBC's Chris Hayes on how his life and show have changed during the pandemic, covering the Tara Reade allegations, and more — Before the coronavirus pandemic reshaped media priorities, along with just about everything else, the MSNBC host Chris Hayes was spending …
Discussion:
@andrewrestuccia, @jbouie, @ichotiner, @ggreenwald, @michaelsocolow and TVNewser