Top News:
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Apple unveils in-app subscriptions for Apple Podcasts; Apple will take 30% of revenue in the first year, and 15% in following years — For ad-free, early access, and bonus content — A monumental change is coming to Apple Podcasts' business: the company is launching subscriptions within the Apple Podcasts app.
Discussion:
Vox, Apple, @mattmedeiros, MediaPost, One Man & His Blog, @ashleyrcarman, @kantrowitz, Los Angeles Times, @jakeshapiro, Nieman Lab, TechCrunch, @simonowens, Podnews podcasting news, @ashleyrcarman, 9to5Mac, Castos, What's New in Publishing, Variety, PRX Official, @nwquah, Supporting Cast, Nathan Gathright, Matt on Audio, Complete Music Update, @kylekashuv, @chrismessina, @ashleyrcarman, @aexm, @kantrowitz, @alexeheath, @karaswisher, @caseynewton, @kevin_indig, @theshortboxjax, @cheriehu42, @prodanstatev, @lanterncast, @achangeoftune, @chrismessina, @nprextra, @sidharthajha, @pkafka, @sims, @itstreverr, @ow, @godfree, @simonowens, @ashleyrcarman, @heyheyesj, @simonowens, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, Wall Street Journal, Mumbrella, RAIN News, AppleInsider, ScreenRant, Gizmodo, The Wrap, CNET, MacRumors and Reuters, more at Techmeme »
Edmund Lee / New York Times:
Competitors like Disney+, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime Video have cut into Netflix's share of viewer attention, but the company is in its best financial shape ever — The streaming service reported the addition of four million new customers for the first quarter, below the six million it had forecast.
Discussion:
Axios, @edmundlee, @shakeelhashim, @xpangler, Variety, Collider, CNBC and New York Times
RELATED:
Netflix:
Netflix reports Q1 revenue of $7.16B, up 24% YoY, and 208M paid memberships, up 14% YoY but below its forecast of 210M; stock down 10%+ after hours — Revenue grew 24% year over year and was in line with our beginning of quarter forecast, while operating profit and margin reached all-time highs.
Discussion:
Financial Times, Digiday, Variety, @lucas_shaw, Variety, FierceVideo, CNBC, MediaNama, The Week, @charliebilello, @variety, @lucas_shaw, @tvmojoe, @tvmojoe, @tvmojoe, @pkafka, @thestalwart, @mylesudland, Forbes, Hollywood Reporter, Junghoon's Direct Media …, The Verge, Ad Age, ZDNet, musically.com, IndieWire, Light Reading, MediaPost, Protocol, The Wrap, TechCrunch, Yahoo Finance and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »
Fern Siegel / The Streamable:
Byron Allen launches Local Now, a free ad-supported streamer that aggregates 300+ hyperlocal channels across 225 markets in the US — Local Now, the free ad-supported streamer, has kicked off on most major platforms. Local Now aggregates and streams local news, weather, sports, traffic and entertainment in real time.
Discussion:
@michellemanafy and The Wrap
Sahil Patel / Wall Street Journal:
NBCUniversal hires Nielsen exec Kelly Abcarian as its first EVP of measurement and impact, and says it is spending $100M+ annually on data and tech initiatives — The media giant is spending more than $100 million annually on data and technology initiatives
Rebecca Davis / Variety:
Reporters Without Borders ranks China fourth to last out of 180 countries on its 2021 World Press Freedom Index, citing “grave threat” to Hong Kong journalism — China ranked 177th in 2019, 2020 and 2021, down from a period at 176th from 2015 to 2018.
Discussion:
TIME, Washington Post and Editor and Publisher
RELATED:
Reporters Without Borders:
RSF's 2021 Press Freedom Index finds journalism is totally blocked or seriously impeded in 73 of 180 countries and constrained in 59 others; US ranks 44th
Discussion:
Washington Post, @lcmporter, @sophia_yan, Associated Press, @cdeloire, @withmeaa, @radiofreeasia, @uspresstracker, @juliemajerczak, @thewire_in, @janebsinger, @rasmus_kleis, Voice of America, Newser, American Press Institute, EURACTIV.com, The Wire, EURACTIV.com, The Hill, Politico, Scroll.in and The Guardian
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Roku rebrands Quibi content as Roku Originals and says those 75+ shows will be available to watch for free on the ad-supported Roku Channel later this year — Roku is officially dropping the Quibi name. … The 75-plus original shows from Quibi will be available to watch for free …
Discussion:
The Streamable, Adweek, The Verge, Hollywood Reporter, @sepinwall, @xpangler, WORLD SCREEN and Cord Cutters News
Sara Fischer / Axios:
AP says StoryShare will expand in the coming months from geographic to topical networks, letting newsrooms share around topics like storms and gun control — “This is about giving customers the capability to launch networks and improve coverage.”
Discussion:
@norgillespie and @sarafischer
Aubrey Allegretti / The Guardian:
UK government drops plans for US-style TV briefings; press secretary Allegra Stratton will become Boris Johnson's spokeswoman on the climate change summit Cop26 — Proposals for White House-style televised presentations shelved as press secretary changes jobs
Discussion:
Press Gazette, @thattimwalker, @theobuttphilip, @tomstaniford and @thattimwalker
Editor and Publisher:
Publishers of 125 US newspapers have filed or announced suits against Google and Facebook, claiming the tech giants illegally monopolized the digital ad market — Publishers of 125 newspapers in 11 states filed or announced lawsuits against Google and Facebook on Monday claiming the tech giants …
Discussion:
@jason_kint, @jason_kint, @dcnorg, @johnpgarrett, @raju, @wvgazettemail, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and @baekdal
Hollywood Reporter:
Verizon Media reports Q1 revenue of $1.9B, up 10.4% YoY, its first quarter of YoY growth since Yahoo acquisition in 2017; FiOS TV lost 82,000 subscribers — The telecom giant also posts latest results for its Verizon Media unit, which includes the likes of Yahoo and AOL.
Discussion:
Variety, FierceVideo, Barron's Online and MarketWatch
Wall Street Journal:
Researchers: fraudsters spoofed an average of 650M online ad placements per day by infecting ~1M mobile devices with software that mimicked streaming apps — Fraudsters mimicked popular apps, siphoned off revenue from unsuspecting advertisers, cybersecurity firm says
Discussion:
@profcarroll, Company News, @newley, @patiencehaggin and @asharma, more at Techmeme »
Connie Bruck / New Yorker:
Profile of Ari Emanuel in his quest to be a mogul, from creating Endeavor to his recent focus on investing in live events businesses — Hollywood's most tenacious agent tries to remake himself as a mogul. — On February 29, 2020, Ari Emanuel, the C.E.O. of the Endeavor company …
Discussion:
@kimmasters, @fightoracle, @heynottheface, @arashmassoudi, Insider, @newyorker, @mattgarrahan, @robnashville, @kevinmdraper, @andrewrsorkin and Page Six
RELATED:
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
SEC filing: entertainment group Endeavor, which owns WME and UFC, aims to raise about $500M with its NYSE IPO, which would value it at about $10B
Discussion:
Deadline, @ashkan, @thezanesimon, @nycj3, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, MarketWatch, The Wrap and Hollywood Reporter
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