Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
AT&T Q1: WarnerMedia revenue was $8.5B, up 9.8% YoY; DTC subscription revenue was $1.8B, up 35.3% YoY; HBO Max/HBO added 2.7M subscribers for a total of 44.2M — As of the end of March, HBO Max/HBO combined had 44.2 million domestic customers, up 2.7 million from 41.5 million at the end of 2020.
Discussion:
Deadline, The Streamable, Fast Company, The Wrap, The Wrap, @loudmouthjulia, Hollywood Reporter and @sherman4949
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Apple's Podcasts Subscriptions is costly but offers a great Apple-controlled customer experience that could reduce subscriber churn and boost conversion rates — There was a bit of a brouhaha a couple of weeks ago when Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee sent a letter to Apple accusing …
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Financial Times:
Sources: Apple plans to expand its ad business and add a second ad slot in the App Store search page even as it introduces privacy rules crippling ads by rivals — New privacy rules deal a huge blow to how the mobile advertising industry works — Apple will expand its advertising business …
Discussion:
9to5Mac, @geradinlaw, @patrickmcgee_, @marietjeschaake, @elinor_carmi, MacRumors and AppleInsider, more at Techmeme »
New York Times:
W.W. Norton stops shipments of a Philip Roth biography after claims the writer, Blake Bailey, groomed his students; two women say he sexually assaulted them — W.W. Norton, citing the accusations that the author, Blake Bailey, faces, said it would stop shipping and promoting his new best-selling book.
Discussion:
New Orleans Times-Picayune, The Time of Monsters, Between Rock and a Hard Place, @gerardaraud, @moiradonegan, @miriamelder, @amandakhurley, @mariskreizman, @therealbradbabs, @chengela, @jamiattenberg, The Guardian, @tinajordannyt, @kmonty, @rosao_hara, @lpolgreen, @briallenhopper, @rachelabramsny, @dcbigjohn, @punkinonwheels, @rachelcleves, @alex_lily, @lmlauramarsh, @profsunnysingh, @alexanderrusso, @paperalphabet, @ennisnyt, The Wrap, Associated Press and Los Angeles Times
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Facebook says there are 2B+ users each month watching videos eligible for in-stream ads and is starting a test of targeting by topic for in-stream video ads — Facebook is announcing some new capabilities for video advertisers on Facebook and Instagram, as well as new numbers about the potential audience that those ads might reach.
Discussion:
Ad Age, more at Techmeme »
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Reuters News Agency:
Reuters has appointed Gina Chua as executive editor, reporting to EIC Alessandra Galloni; Chua has been EIC of the South China Morning Post and The Asian WSJ — Reuters, the world's largest multimedia news provider, announced today that Gina Chua has been appointed executive editor.
Discussion:
@raju, @stephenjadler, @rasmus_kleis, @lawrencehurley, @jerometaylor, @zielina, @ginaskchua, @elanazak, @jeffjarvis and Talking Biz News
Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:
Sling TV is launching DraftKings Basketball, a channel with real-time game scores and betting odds of NBA games, and will expand to baseball and hockey — Sling TV has expanded their partnership with DraftKings. The Live TV Streaming Service launched a new exclusive sports betting channel …
Discussion:
SLING TV, MediaPost and @davidclinchnews
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Disney and Sony Pictures to bring Marvel films and other properties to Disney Plus starting with Sony's 2022 slate; titles go to Netflix, then Disney — Disney has set a massive movie licensing pact with Sony Pictures for the U.S. that promises to bring Spider-Man and other Marvel properties …
Discussion:
@frankpallotta, Deadline, @loudmouthjulia, @variety, @entstrategyguy, @lucas_shaw, @zaib_shaikh, @zeitchikwapo, @eternalsnews, @loudmouthjulia, @richlightshed, @masasoncap, MediaPost, The A.V. Club, /Film, Heroic Hollywood, IndieWire, AIPT, The Wrap, Hollywood Reporter and Cord Cutters News
Ad Age:
Global Alliance for Responsible Media report shows gaps remain in how Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other social media platforms disclose harmful content — TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest and Twitter also submit insights about harmful content in a closely-watched industry study on brand safety
Elizabeth Williamson / New York Times:
A look at Knowledge Fight, a podcast started in 2017 to mock Alex Jones that grew into a profitable enterprise and is now chronicling Jones' downward spiral — Dan Friesen and Jordan Holmes turned their Infowars-skewering podcast into a business. In the post-Trump era, they're documenting Mr. Jones's reckoning.
Discussion:
@egavactip, @jaredlholt, @martyderosa, @jrosenbaum, @freedlander, @jonathanweisman and @lrozen
Robert Channick / Chicago Tribune:
Tribune Publishing sets May 21 date for shareholders to vote on a deal to sell the Chicago-based newspaper chain to hedge fund Alden Global Capital for $633M — Tribune Publishing set a May 21 date for shareholders to vote on its deal to sell the Chicago-based newspaper chain to hedge fund Alden Global Capital for $633 million.
Discussion:
@robertchannick and @opinion_joe
Megan Graham / CNBC:
DoubleVerify, which builds software for digital media advertisers, closed up 33% on its first day of trading after its IPO, giving it a market cap of $5.3B+ — - DoubleVerify, a company that builds software for digital media, began trading Wednesday. — It attempts to help advertisers …
Discussion:
@mjbarash and @megancgraham
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