Mediagazer: Disney CEO says the company will let consumer behavior guide its decisions on theatrical windowing and that 50%+ of the Disney+ subscribers don't have kids (Elaine Low/Variety)

7:15 PM ET, March 2, 2021

Top News:

Elaine Low / Variety:

Disney CEO says the company will let consumer behavior guide its decisions on theatrical windowing and that 50%+ of the Disney+ subscribers don't have kids — Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference on Monday, Walt Disney Company chief exec Bob Chapek said he's …

Discussion: The Wrap, Axios, Forbes, The Streamable, Reuters, Too Much TV Newsletter, Ad Age, Observer, @great_katzby, Deseret News, MediaPost, Quartz and UPROXX

Jacob Lorinc / Toronto Star:

Major Canadian publisher Torstar is launching an online gambling site to fund its journalism, pending government approval — Torstar is entering the online gaming market. The corporation announced Monday it intends to launch an online casino betting brand in 2021 pending approval from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.

Discussion: NPR, Globe and Mail, The Guardian, CBC News, @wearecanproud, @johnocap, @thetowncrier, @tommytomlinson, @jrhennessy, @gramiq, @harryslaststand, @goldsbie and @standingthegaff

Emily Atkin / HEATED:

Q&A with Emily Holden, whose just-launched climate news organization, Floodlight, partners with local outlets to cover corporate influence on the climate agenda — A little over a year ago, a few months after I launched HEATED, I got invited to speak at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.

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Kerry Flynn / CNN:

Wired names Gideon Lichfield of MIT Technology Review as global editorial director, replacing Nicholas Thompson, recently appointed CEO of The Atlantic — New York (CNN Business)Wired, the preeminent tech magazine, has its new leader: Gideon Lichfield of MIT Technology Review is coming on as its global editorial director.

Dylan Byers / NBC News:

Fox News says former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany will join the network as a contributor — Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany will officially join Fox News, the network announced Tuesday. — The news, which was announced by Fox News host Harris Faulkner …

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Todd Spangler / Variety:

Sony says the PlayStation Store will stop offering movie and TV show purchases and rentals on Aug. 31, citing users' preference for video streaming services — As of Aug. 31, 2021, the PlayStation Store will stop offering movie and TV show purchases and rentals.

Discussion: PlayStation.Blog, /Film, Gizmodo, BetaNews, Fortune, ScreenRant, Kotaku, The Verge, CNET, Engadget, Siliconera, Polygon and @ajci282002, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

eMarketer: Spotify is on track to reach US monthly podcast listenership of 28.2M by the end of this year and surpass Apple's Podcasts for the first time — Investors have been waiting for Spotify's multimillion-dollar bet on podcasting to pay off, in terms of increased paid subscriptions or improved revenues.

Discussion: @ashleyrcarman, MacRumors, @blackamazon, 9to5Mac and eMarketer, more at Techmeme »

Tim Ingham / Music Business Worldwide:

Soundcloud to launch “fan-powered royalties” April 1; revenue from listeners' subscriptions or consumed ads is divided among artists they listen to, not pooled — This model sees streaming royalties paid out based on individual subscriber behavior - with a percentage …

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Elahe Izadi / Washington Post:

Filipino distributors wouldn't air A Thousand Cuts, a documentary on press freedom, so PBS Frontline bought distribution rights and is offering it free online — On the evening before Valentine's Day in 2019, journalist Maria Ressa was arrested by the Philippine government and charged with “cyber-libel.”

Discussion: @elaheizadi, @priyankaboghani, @elaheizadi, @elaheizadi, @akbarth3great, @cleggthis, @elaheizadi, @frontlinepbs and @raneyaronson

Sophia June / The Daily Beast:

How four alt-weeklies, Cleveland Scene, Seven Days, The Stranger, and The Austin Chronicle, have been surviving the pandemic after it crippled events revenue — ‘A WAY FORWARD’ — One year ago, the consensus was that alt-weeklies faced certain extinction amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Discussion: Media Nation, @coreyhutchins, @thedailybeast, American Press Institute, @sophianjune, @eddy_sarah and @shaboom

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Fox News allowed host Pete Hegseth and contributor Dan Bongino to address CPAC this week, after it banned its hosts from speaking at partisan events last year — The network's streaming service laid out $250,000 to sponsor CPAC and some of its personalities gave speeches in an unusual arrangement.

Discussion: @rightwingwatch, @jmartnyt, @thedailybeast, @b52malmet, The Daily Beast, Fox News and Mediaite

Christopher Zara / Fast Company:

MoffettNathanson: cable and satellite TV companies shed 6M subscribing US households in 2020; penetration was around 60% of households vs. ~90% in 2010 — Crank up the Weezer and throw yourself a My So-Called Life watch party tonight, because the cable-TV industry just hit a totally retro milestone.

Discussion: MediaPost

Marc Tracy / New York Times:

Profile of Democracy, a 15-year-old quarterly with 500 subscribers that incubated many of Biden team's policy ideas, publishing essays by six Cabinet officials — Democracy, an unassuming policy journal with an office near the White House, is a place where members of the new administration …

Discussion: @uchicagolaw, @mollyjongfast, @michaelpollan, @rafat, @karenkornbluh, @tomperriello and @ddiamond

Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap:

BBC apologizes and says it fell for a “deliberate hoax” after broadcasting a radio interview with a man claiming to be Sen. Cory Booker last week — The British Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday apologized for a radio interview broadcast last Friday that was presented …

Discussion: Fox News, @psawers, @brianstelter and The Hill

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