Mediagazer: Discovery announces plans to launch a broad, new DTC streaming service that encompasses all its brands and characters, with more details coming soon (Jill Goldsmith/Deadline)

10:55 AM ET, August 5, 2020

Top News:

NYT says it has added 669K new digital subscribers in Q2 and its digital revenue, at $185.5M, exceeded print revenue, at $175.4M, for the first time — The pandemic squeezed advertising for the web as well as print, but subscription growth was the best ever for a quarter.

Discussion: Axios, @sarafischer, @jodikantor, @marcatracy, @mattzeitlin, @jimwaterson, @ericcrawford and @juliehdavis

Business Wire:

NYT reports Q2 net income of $23.7M, down 6% YoY, revenue of $403.8M, down 7.5% YoY, with ad revenues down 43.9%, and has a total of 6.5M subscribers — NEW YORK—(BUSINESS WIRE)—The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) announced today second-quarter 2020 diluted earnings per share …

Discussion: CNN, @gerryfsmith, @justin_b_smith, @them_l_g, @andybcampbell, @sarthakgh, @aexm, @dicktofel, @yousefmunayyer, @bgrueskin, @mattyglesias, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @thestalwart, @boydhilton and @gerryfsmith

Robert D. McFadden / New York Times:

Pete Hamill, the celebrated reporter who worked as a columnist and the top editor of The New York Post and The Daily News, and authored many books, dies at 85 — He was, among other things, a celebrated reporter, columnist and the top editor of The New York Post and The Daily News and the author of numerous books.

Discussion: New York Daily News, @danbarrynyt, The Wrap, New York Post, Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone, @devlinbarrett, @cliffordlevy, @nytimesbooks, @sarahhepola, @nytmedia, @craigtimes, @dgisserious, abc7NY and @howardkurtz

Julia Alexander / The Verge:

Disney says it plans to launch a general entertainment streaming platform internationally in 2021 under its Star brand, would include content from ABC, FX, more — The big question now is what it means for Hulu — Disney plans to launch a new general entertainment streaming platform overseas …

Discussion: IGN, @theericgoldman and @loudmouthjulia

CNBC:
Disney reports $11.78B in Q3 revenue vs. $12.37B est., down 42% YoY, says it has 100M+ paid subs for streaming services including Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+

Julia Alexander / The Verge:
Disney's Mulan, originally to be released in March but delayed due to COVID-19, will be released on Disney+ on Sept. 4 as a premium on-demand offering for $30

Joan E. Solsman / CNET:
Disney says Disney+ grew to 57.5M subs as of June 27, up from 54.5M three months ago

Discussion: Variety, TechCrunch, @vijayshekhar, Engadget, Awful Announcing and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Sara Fischer / Axios:

TikTok tightens policies against manipulated content, expands fact-checking partnerships, and is working with DHS's Countering Foreign Influence Task Force — TikTok announced new rules for its users on Wednesday to curb misinformation and manipulation ahead of the 2020 election.

Discussion: @mosseri, Electronic Frontier Foundation, @mattnavarra and @sarafischer, more at Techmeme »

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Discovery reports Q2 earnings of $271M, down 71% YoY, on revenue of $2.54B, down 12% YoY; US ad revenues were down 14% and distribution revenues were down 2% — Discovery said it planned to unveil a new direct-to-consumer streaming service even as its said its second-quarter net income fell 71% …

Discussion: The Streamable, The Wrap, @xpangler, @bristei, @thr and Hollywood Reporter

Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:

Discovery announces plans to launch a broad, new DTC streaming service that encompasses all its brands and characters, with more details coming soon — Discovery Inc. CEO said the company is close to announcing a broad, new direct-to-consumer service that encompass all its brands and characters …

CBS News:

Biden campaign announces what it says is the largest TV ad buy ever by a presidential candidate, with $220M for TV ads in 15 states and $60M for digital ads — Pretty soon it'll be hard to escape Joe Biden on your television. Or your radio. Or your phone.

Discussion: @michaeljgwin, @davidlarter and @jeffjarvis

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Facebook launches Instagram Reels, its TikTok competitor that lets users create and publish 15-second videos, in 50+ countries, including the US, UK, and Japan — Instagram Reels, the company's significant effort in challenging TikTok on short-form creative content, is launching globally, starting today.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Engadget, 9to5Mac and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Los Angeles Times:

Changes at the USAGM undermine the credibility of US worldwide broadcasting by threatening the firewall that has insulated broadcasters from political pressure — Today a global battle of ideas is raging between representative democracy and authoritarianism.

Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica:

Google says Google Play Music shutdown starts this month, global streaming will shut down in October, and music collections will be deleted in December — August begins the four-month Google Music shutdown. — Google Play Music has been given the death sentence by Google …

Discussion: NME and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Julia Alexander / The Verge:

Quibi seems to be testing a free ad-supported tier in Australia and New Zealand — Sounds like a testing phase — Quibi is beginning to offer a completely free tier to subscribers in Australia and New Zealand as the struggling streaming company tries to build its subscriber base.

Discussion: @loudmouthjulia

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 10:55 AM ET, August 5, 2020.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Deputy Ed. - Gen. Assignment Desk, DC — WaPo

EU Technology Reporter, Brussels — Bloomberg

Breaking News Reporter, NY — Guardian US

Harrisburg Reporter, PA — PCBC

Senior Editor - Styles, NY — NYT

Part-time Editor, Remote — Techmeme

Home & Travel Reporter, Ireland — Newsweek

Assistant Digital Editor, MA — Boston Globe

Senior Editor - Visuals (Temporary), DC — NPR

Copy Editor, Remote US — ProPublica

Markets Reporter, NY/CA — Sherwood Media

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Food Reporter, CA — SF Standard

Staff Writer, NV — Las Vegas Weekly

Pharma Editor, Remote — Endpoints

Higher Ed. Reporter, Remote CA — EdSource

Politics Reporter, Brussels — Politico

Investigations & Enterprise Ed., WI — Cap Times

Social Strategy Editor, NY — WSJ

Senior Narrative Editor, CA — Cloud Chamber

Editor-in-Chief, NY (flexible) — The 74

Housing Reporter, OK — The Frontier

Writer/AI Content Reviewer, CA — Outlier

Writer/Editor, Remote — Mediaite

Multi Media Reporter, NC — Cardinal & Pine

Afternoon/Night Editor, NH — Keene Sentinel

Education Lab Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Senior Editor, Remote US — PCWorld

State Worker Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Executive Editor, NM — Searchlight

News Assistant, NY — Quanta Magazine

Local Editor, NJ (Remote) — Patch

News Writer, CA — Hollywood Reporter

News Editor/Reporter, KS — Blade-Empire

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Standard Media Index: Q2'2020 US TV ad spend fell 19% YoY and in June it fell 9% YoY to $3.2B, with CNN's ad revenue growing 86% YoY and Fox News' 55% YoY

Discussion: Radio & Television …, @bristei, @bristei, Multichannel News and The Verge

Russell Brandom / The Verge:
Trump has withdrawn the renomination of FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly after a senator's objection and O'Rielly's skepticism about Trump's Section 230 order

Discussion: @reckless, @katyonthehill, Business Insider, Light Reading, CNET, Reuters and Engadget

Kevin G. Hall / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
A bankruptcy judge has approved the $312M sale of McClatchy to Chatham Asset Management; Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation will assume McClatchy pension plan

Discussion: New York Post, New York Times, @kdoctor, @bok_bok_ba_gok, @kdoctor and @kerrymflynn

Bhat Burhan / VICE:
Journalists in Kashmir say this year has been most disheartening for them as India's new media policy for Kashmir seeks to prosecute reporters for “fake news”

Discussion: @standwkashmir, @viceindia and @michaelkugelman

i24:
Patreon fails to stop arbitration suits in California by fans of a comedian removed for hate speech, making suits from fans of other banned accounts possible

Discussion: @tracybeanz

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
YouGov: ~14% of all in the UK subscribe to a print and/or online news source; of those, 50% are over 55, 12% are under 25, and 21% are between 25 and 39

Discussion: @spignal, @janebsinger and @andrewnoakes

Earlier Picks:

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
Neil Young sues Trump's campaign for copyright infringement for playing two of Young's songs at rallies, testing rules set by performance rights organizations

Discussion: @bergmayer, @eriqgardner, @eriqgardner, @eriqgardner, news.avclub.com, NPR, Breitbart and The Week

Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: NBCU begins layoffs across its portfolio, expected to be less than 10% of staff, and WarnerMedia will start layoffs as early as next week

Discussion: New York Post, MediaPost, NBC News, CNN, @jbflint, @alexsalvinews, Multichannel News, Forbes and The Wrap

Kelsey Sutton / Adweek:
EyeQ, ViacomCBS' video advertising service, will unify digital video buying across CBS Interactive, Pluto TV, and Viacom video

Discussion: @viacomcbs, Ad Age and MediaPost

Knight Foundation:
49% of Americans see “a great deal” of political bias in news; 82% worry that inaccuracies are intentional; 19% of people under 30 view the media favorably

Discussion: CNN, Poynter, Reason, 1A, @thesamgill, @phil_sanchez, @hotlinejosh, @jonzgreenberg, @jeffjarvis, Trust, Media and Democracy, @rishikadugyala, @w7voa, @sykescharlie, @johnfund, Tangle, The Hill and Axios

Max Tani / @maxwelltani:
Business Insider told staff on Friday that the company will not require employees to return to the offices until July 2021

Discussion: @alexjamesfitz, @kathryncasteel, @rainesford, @melissadahl, @jnaftulin, @benjamingoggin, @lainnafader, @grace_panetta, @rainesford, @mcpli, @katzish, @kevloria, @pdavis_llc, @aaronmehta, @scottnover and @maxwelltani

From Techmeme:

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
Sources: EU may accept Apple's proposal to open its NFC payments tech to rivals, and may close its antitrust probe in May, letting Apple avoid hefty fines

George Steer / Financial Times:
Nvidia closed down 10% on Friday, falling the most since March 2020 and losing more than $200B of its market value, as investors pull back from AI bets

Gaby Del Valle / The Verge:
The US Senate reauthorizes FISA's Section 702; some communication service providers had threatened to stop cooperating with the US government in case of a lapse

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page