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:
@mattmedeiros, Apple, One Man & His Blog, @ashleyrcarman, Vox, @kantrowitz, @jakeshapiro, Nieman Lab, TechCrunch, @simonowens, @ashleyrcarman, Podnews podcasting news, Castos, 9to5Mac, What's New in Publishing, Los Angeles Times, PRX Official, @nwquah, Supporting Cast, Nathan Gathright, Matt on Audio, Complete Music Update, musically.com, @achangeoftune, @kylekashuv, @chrismessina, @ashleyrcarman, @aexm, @kantrowitz, @alexeheath, @karaswisher, @caseynewton, @kevin_indig, @theshortboxjax, @cheriehu42, @prodanstatev, @lanterncast, Wall Street Journal, @chrismessina, @nprextra, @sidharthajha, @pkafka, @sims, @itstreverr, @ow, @godfree, @simonowens, @ashleyrcarman, @heyheyesj, @simonowens, Mumbrella, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, RAIN News, AppleInsider, ScreenRant, Gizmodo, Variety, 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, Variety, @shakeelhashim, @xpangler, 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:
Variety, @lucas_shaw, Variety, CNBC, MediaNama, @thestalwart, @tvmojoe, @tvmojoe, Digiday, The Week, @charliebilello, @lucas_shaw, @mylesudland, @pkafka, @tvmojoe, @variety, Forbes, Hollywood Reporter, Junghoon's Direct Media …, The Verge, musically.com, Ad Age, ZDNet, IndieWire, Light Reading, MediaPost, Protocol, The Wrap, TechCrunch, Yahoo Finance and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »
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
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
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:
The Wrap
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, Hollywood Reporter and Cord Cutters News
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:
@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, Barron's Online and MarketWatch
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
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:
Company News, more at Techmeme »
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, @tomstaniford, @thattimwalker, @theobuttphilip and @thattimwalker
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
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
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
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Zuckerberg says Facebook is planning a short-form audio product called Soundbites, a podcast discovery tool, and more audio products for the next 3 to 6 months — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday said Facebook was launching a suite of new tools and features designed to help users better connect …
Discussion:
Business of Apps, ВІС …, musically.com, @obrien, @rmac18, @kurtwagner8, About Facebook, @fidjissimo, Hot Pod News, @earleyedition, @lopezlinette, @davewiner, @mosseri, @petecashmore, @yeshacallahan, @matt, @bridgetobarrett, @facebook, @steverandalluk, @mollyjongfast, @wongmjane, @nbashaw, @kerrymflynn, @sarafischer, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @pkafka, @alexeheath, @richlightshed, @mashstartup and @kantrowitz
RELATED:
Casey Newton / Platformer:
In an interview, Mark Zuckerberg says writers on its newsletter service will be able to keep their email lists should they decide to leave
In an interview, Mark Zuckerberg says writers on its newsletter service will be able to keep their email lists should they decide to leave
Discussion:
The Publish Press 💬, @caseynewton, Protocol, Axios, The Muffin por Mauricio …, ZDNet, One Man & His Blog, MediaNama, Matt on Audio and Vox