Top News:
Peter Kafka / Vox:
Q&A with WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar on the logic behind simultaneous release of movies to HBO Max and theaters, economic fallout for talent, and Roku progress — You can see all of Warner Bros.' movies on HBO Max next year — on the same day they come to theaters.
Discussion:
CNBC, Deadline, CNET, Decider, @tvgrimreaper, Hollywood Reporter, @loudmouthjulia, Polygon, The Ringer, @jimmaiella, @arlolikesmovies, @keithcalder, @sherman4949, @pkafka, Context is King, ScreenRant and The Wrap
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Jessica Toonkel / The Information:
Sources: WarnerMedia execs are weighing 2 new streaming services: a subscription offering based on CNN content in 2021 and a free entertainment service in 2022 — AT&T's WarnerMedia, long a giant in cable TV, was a late arrival to streaming video. Under its new CEO, Jason Kilar, Warner is trying to make up for lost time.
Discussion:
@jtoonkel, @brianlring and @benmullin, more at Techmeme »
Julia Alexander / The Verge:
Warner Bros. says it will release every single movie in 2021 simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max in the US and stream them for one month
Discussion:
Forbes, @brooksbarnesnyt, Pressroom, Mediaite, IndieWire, Hollywood Reporter, @jasonkilar, Landing & Rolling, Hollywood Reporter, @indiewire, @variety, CNN, Deadline, @brianstelter, ВІС …, @malwarejake, @clarisselou, @winter, @arune, @benparr, @krolljvar, @davidlsims, @davemcclure, @mattbelloni, @gregnibler, @geekvibesnation, @pkafka, @pkafka, @pkafka, @kiywii, @thestalwart, @fb_bmb, @banditloaf, @mgsiegler, @chrisfralic, @hesherman, @reckless, @skrishna, @zsharf, @lexialex, @richlightshed, @karlbode, @karlbode, @anildash, @pkafka, @petersterne, @parazoner, @bradwestness, @pkafka, @pkafka, @rupertmyers, @mg, @franmirabella, @margari_aziza, @raminsetoodeh, @angelique814, @lons, @angrybiackgiri, @thisisntflying, @kyleorl, @tomwarren, @richardrushfield, @sokane1, @samesmail, @oliverdarcy, @petersterne, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, @brianstelter, @loudmouthjulia, @getfandom, @susanlitv, CNBC, The Wrap, ScreenRant, The Week, The Streamable, The A.V. Club, Gizmodo, Collider, The Playlist, Reuters and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Stephanie Sengwe / The Streamable:
HBO Max removes its free trial option ahead of the release of Wonder Woman 1984 on Dec. 25, mirroring a step Netflix and Disney+ have taken before big releases
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, Deadline, Screen Time, @deadline, @carlquintanilla, @deadline, Hollywood Reporter, MediaPost, Mediaite, Adweek, TechCrunch, Ad Age, CINEMABLEND and Streaming
Emily Bell / Columbia Journalism Review:
Facebook's Oversight Board can't review cases that would result in legal sanctions, highlighting its powerlessness in actually hard cases like media censorship — This week saw the long-awaited public debut of Facebook's Oversight Board, a group of 20 eminent lawyers, human-rights experts …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @cjr, VentureBeat, Oversight Board, Foreign Policy, Business Insider and Media Matters for America, more at Techmeme »
Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
~100 Meredith staff working for Entertainment Weekly, Martha Stewart Living, Shape, and PeopleTV have announced their intention to form a joint editorial union — The move among at least 100 staffers at the Iowa-based publishing giant is partially seen as a bulwark against Meredith's pandemic-related cuts.
Discussion:
@jackdickey, @esile1 and @maxwelltani
Robert D. McFadden / New York Times:
Betsy Wade, the first woman to edit news copy for the NYT and the lead plaintiff in a landmark sex discrimination lawsuit against the newspaper, has died at 91 — In a 45-year Times career, she also became the first woman to lead the Newspaper Guild of New York and fought a sex discrimination case against the paper.
Discussion:
@susanchira, @saramorrison, @rblumenstein, @juliaccarpenter, @emarvelous, @kateconger, @kubremner, @lindseyboylan, @paulgoldberger, @juliebosman, @kseelye, @alexvadukul, @maragay, @tomjolly, @joannelipman, @s_m_i, @clydehaberman, @jialynnyang, @mehpatrol, @ennisnyt, @alisha__g, @harrispolitico, @laura_nelson, @joumana_khatib, @avitalrachel, @sulliview, @sulliview, @sulliview, @marclacey and @andrewlavallee
Alex Norcia / Columbia Journalism Review:
Profile of Enrique Abeyta, a metalhead former hedge fund manager who has bought Revolver, Inked, and The Hard Times, expanding e-commerce with long-term goals — Enrique Abeyta, a former hedge-funder, goes all in on metalhead media — Matt Saincome was used to ignoring people.
Discussion:
@betsymorais, @enriqueabeyta and @alex_norcia
Matt Negrin / Washington Post:
TV news networks, which have been slow to adapt to an era filled with bad faith, should use a litmus test for Republican guests: ask them whether Joe Biden won — Time for a rapid test for the voter fraud delusion — Almost a month has passed since Joe Biden won the election …
Hollywood Reporter:
Activision sues Netflix for poaching its CFO, says Netflix induced him to breach his contract; Fox and Viacom also have said Netflix illegally poached staff — The gaming giant alleges “Netflix's tortious and unethical conduct is intentional and a directive ‘from the top.’”
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap and Axios, more at Techmeme »
Kayleigh Barber / Digiday:
Wired says 30% of revenue now comes via subscriptions and affiliate revenue, up from 20% earlier in 2020, as Black Friday and Cyber Monday boosted subscriptions — Black Friday and Cyber Monday (which has been stretched into a Cyber Week this year) were expected to be bountiful for Wired's affiliate e-commerce business.
Discussion:
The Agency Side
Sarvesh Mathi / Marker:
A look at Hotstar, Disney's streamer in India, which has 18M paying subscribers, an ad-supported tier estimated to bring in $114M this year, half from cricket — One in four subscribers to Disney+ is from Hotstar, India's largest streaming platform — Like so many other companies …
Discussion:
@medium
Brooks DuBose / Capital Gazette:
Congress passes the Fallen Journalists Memorial Act, authorizing planning and fundraising for a Washington memorial to honor those who died reporting the news — An effort to honor slain journalists with a national memorial took a significant step forward Wednesday as Congress passed …
Discussion:
@baltimoresun and The Rural Blog
Kathryn Hopkins / WWD:
Condé Nast names Natalia Gamero del Castillo managing director of Condé Nast Europe, a newly created position — She's a Condé Nast veteran, having spent almost two decades at the company. — More corporate changes are afoot at Condé Nast's European operations.
Discussion:
@sarahmarshall and @bmorrissey
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