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
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
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