Mediagazer: As the flow of new content dries up, studios are capitalizing on demand from streamers by licensing films for shorter, one to three month runs (Variety)

9:10 AM ET, August 19, 2020

Top News:

Sources: NBCU's Ron Meyer had reached a settlement with actress Charlotte Kirk, who was linked to the resignation of Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara in 2019 — NBCUniversal Vice Chairman Ron Meyer was involved in an affair with actress Charlotte Kirk that ultimately led to his ouster …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, MediaPost, Hollywood Reporter, @mattbelloni, Hollywood Reporter, @thedreaclark, @jaxxonhoward, The Wrap, Mediaite, Page Six, Deadline and The Wrap

Brent Lang / Variety:

NBCU vice chairman Ron Meyer steps down after disclosing that he was being extorted over his affair with a woman who threatened to also “falsely implicate” NBCU — Ron Meyer is stepping down as vice chairman of NBCUniversal after disclosing that he reached a private settlement …

Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:

WPP has hired AT&T's Kirk McDonald as chief executive of North America for its GroupM ad-buying unit; McDonald had been interim head of Xandr — Executive move is the latest exit from Warner Media's advertising-technology unit Xandr — WPP PLC has hired AT&T Inc.'s Kirk McDonald …

Discussion: Variety, Ad Age, Adweek, @tkawaja, @aripap, @beet_tv, AdExchanger, MediaPost and Business Insider

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

Belarusian Association of Journalists: at least 69 journalists were detained since 9 August, the day of the election, with 36 of those beaten and injured — Almost 70 journalists were detained in Belarus and half were beaten and injured after pro-democracy protests began against the contested re-election …

Discussion: Committee to Protect …, The Times and @zidanism

DW.COM:
After initially failing to cover protests, employees of Belarus state broadcaster went on strike Monday and demanded an end to media censorship

Discussion: @pressfreedom, @lisang, @demianvonosten, @kenroth and The Guardian

Aaron Gordon / The Mail:

Motherboard launches an email newsletter about the US Postal Service and a printed zine on the subject delivered monthly by mail, to run through end of November — For years, Motherboard has cared deeply about election security. We were the first to talk to Guccifer 2.0 …

Discussion: @lainnafader, @sahilkapur, @timmarchman, @_danielsinclair, @plitter, @a_w_gordon, @ylichterman, @nixops, @dlberes, @derektmead, @richarddeitsch, @timmarchman, @a_w_gordon and @josephfcox

Peter Weber / The Week:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticizes NBC News for its “totally false and divisive” tweet saying she did not endorse Joe Biden in her DNC speech — The Democratic National Convention formally nominated Joe Biden as its presidential candidate on Tuesday night …

Discussion: The Hill, Mediaite, @nbcnews, @aoc, CBS News and @aoc

Variety:

As the flow of new content dries up, studios are capitalizing on demand from streamers by licensing films for shorter, one to three month runs — When HBO Max debuted in late May, it made a surprise announcement: The eight original “Harry Potter” films — among the biggest-ever movie franchises …

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Netflix says it's testing Shuffle Play, which will randomly play a show you're watching, something you've put on a list, or a title similar to stuff you watched — Don't know what you're in the mood to watch? Netflix's new “Shuffle” feature could help. The company confirms it's currently testing …

Discussion: Variety, Engadget, The Independent, @baekdal, @deliacabe, Deadline, The Verge and The Streamable, more at Techmeme »

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: ViacomCBS is in talks to sell CNET for ~$500M to Red Ventures, which runs consumer sites Bankrate and Reviews.com, as it looks to shed noncore assets — Discussions value CNET at about $500 million; media company has been looking to shed noncore assets after last year's merger

Discussion: Variety, Digital TV Europe, @gpingersoll, AdExchanger, @aaronwall, @austindlight, @shortformernie, @joshsternberg, @thekenyeung, @pkafka, @benmullin, Radio & Television …, The Wrap and Talking Biz News, more at Techmeme »

Nicholas Quah / Nieman Lab:

Vice's VP of audio discusses Vice's audio expansion with 11 hires and the upcoming launch of four podcasts, including the flagship Vice News Reports — Welcome to Hot Pod, a newsletter about podcasts. This is issue 270, dated August 18, 2020. — Hmm... Spotify appears to be hiring …

Discussion: @shaunagh and @vicecomms

Iris Deng / South China Morning Post:

Taiwan to ban Chinese streaming giants iQiyi and Tencent from September, will prohibit Taiwanese individuals and organizations from working with the companies — Taiwan is planning to ban mainland Chinese streaming giants iQiyi and Tencent Holdings from operating services on the island …

Discussion: @therealjoshye and Variety

Laura Wagner / VICE:

A proposed Vox Media settlement of three lawsuits would split $2.5M among 450+ bloggers who managed or wrote for SB Nation; $1.5M would go to legal fees — Hundreds of unpaid and lowly paid bloggers who worked for SB Nation will split $2.5 million. — Laura Wagner

Discussion: @alexwatl, @timmarchman, @davidleoni, @seth_rosenthal, @jackie_peanuts and Awful Announcing

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More News:

Charlie Warzel / New York Times:
The White House flood of EOs and pronouncements is meant to be exhausting for media and consumers, requiring careful news coverage and mindful readers

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, @cwarzel, @sashalyutse, @edzitron, @staceynycdc, The Distancer, @edzitron, @emilycrockett, @joesudbay, @slickrockweb, @edzitron, @grahamwjenkins, @ethanz, @jayrosen_nyu, @brianstelter and @cwarzel

Stephanie Sengwe / The Streamable:
Disney+ is launching in Latin America on November 17

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Group Nine's NowThis is launching NowThis Kids aimed at children aged 6 to 11, starting with a YouTube channel, podcast, and newsletter

Discussion: The Wrap, @thewrap, @niemanlab, @naomiwadler, @naomiwadler, @mralexalba, @sarafischer and MediaPost

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Snap is testing a feature that would allow users to share Snapchat content, like original shows and content from its Discover partners, off of the platform

Discussion: @simonowens, @richlightshed and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review:
To avoid airing a Democratic infomercial and lacking breaks in the virtual convention, news shows talked over the DNC production, creating an unwatchable result

Discussion: TVNewser, Deadline, The Wrap, NBC News, @madebyhistory, @thedarrach, Associated Press, @michaelsocolow and Washington Post

Earlier Picks:

Brian Bumbery / Apple:
Apple renames Beats 1, its streaming radio station, Apple Music 1 and launches two new radio stations: Apple Music Hits and Apple Music Country

Discussion: The Verge, Variety, Engadget, @etcanada, @thewomenofcoun, @nixcraft, TidBITS, @vyyyper, @ashleyrcarman, @jake_k, @stevemoser, @richlightshed, CNBC, UPROXX, TechCrunch, Music Business Worldwide and 9to5Mac

Seb Joseph / Digiday:
To make up for lost ticket sales, sports clubs are using Facebook's Fan Subscription Pages to sell content like streams of games and interviews with players

Megan Janetsky / Poynter:
The pandemic is throwing international reporting into a crisis, mostly affecting freelancers' work and turning large swaths of the world into news deserts

Discussion: @penamerica, @pauseinlight, @dylanbaddour, @poynter, @jatingandhi, @vgstunt, @poynter, bookforum.com, @janebsinger, @ligaze, @kerrymflynn, @dartcenter, @meganjanetsky and @poynter

Andrew Bucholtz / Awful Announcing:
Former Sports Illustrated owner Meredith is suing its current owner TheMaven for alleged breach of contract, claiming over $1M in unpaid fees

Discussion: Des Moines Register, Barrett Sports Media, @awfulannouncing, @jeffheckelman, @bkoo, @tyschalter, @sportsrapport, @maxwelltani, @bmorrissey, @ckrewson and WWD

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

Lee-Anne Mulholland / The Keyword:
Google files its proposed remedies in the DOJ's search antitrust lawsuit, including letting browser companies have multiple default agreements across platforms

Wall Street Journal:
Gina Raimondo says holding back China in the chips race is a “fool's errand”, and investment, more than export controls, will keep US ahead of Beijing

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