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Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Verizon Communications is exploring a sale of its media assets, including Yahoo and AOL, which could yield a price of $4B-$5B — Private-equity firms including Apollo are among possible bidders for Verizon media assets, sources say — Verizon Communications Inc. is exploring …
Discussion:
The Desk, FierceVideo, AppleInsider, @raju, @sarahintampa, @harrymccracken, @samthielman, @timkarr, @reckless, @karlbode, @aripap, @kerrymflynn, @readdanwrite, @alex, @gorditamedia, @mims, @nichcarlson, Awful Announcing, Bloomberg, The Hill, The Wrap, Talking Biz News and Insider, Thanks:@thekenyeung
Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:
Apple says it has 660M subscriptions for music, TV, and other services on its platform; Apple Q2 Services revenue hit a record $16.9B, up from $13.3B a year ago — The tech giant's overall revenue hit $89.6 billion, up 54 percent from a year prior. — Apple's services business is off to a hot start in 2021.
Discussion:
Apple, Variety, @xpangler, John @Furrier Newsletter, AppleInsider, iMore and CNBC, more at Techmeme »
Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:
A look at the implosion of NewsNation, as Nielsen data shows it averaged 27,000 viewers in prime time during April, compared to 2.2M for Fox News and 1M for CNN — In 2020, there was nothing hotter on TV than cable news. — A bruising presidential campaign and a historic pandemic brought …
Discussion:
@rpetty, Los Angeles Times, @latimes, @rachelbitecofer, @joanespositochi, @jbenton and @rriproarin
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
WarnerMedia will charge $9.99/month for its ad-supported tier of HBO Max debuting in June; it now charges $14.99 for the ad-free tier, same as its pay-TV add-on — - HBO Max will charge $9.99 per month for its advertising-supported streaming service, which will launch in June, sources say.
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/Film, The Desk, MediaPost, 9to5Google, Digital TV Europe, @stevekovach, Media Play News, Gizmodo, The Streamable, The Wrap, Insider, The Verge, Engadget and Cord Cutters News
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
Comcast Q1: Peacock has 42M signups, up from 33M in Q4 2020 with addition of The Office and WWE; NBCU income fell ~12% YoY to $1.5B, revenue down 9% YoY to $7B — NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock had 42 million signups in the first quarter — up from the 33 million it reported three months ago …
Discussion:
The Streamable, MediaPost, The Wrap, @kbuenneke, New York Times, The Streamable, The Desk, Hollywood Reporter, CNBC, The Wrap, @loudmouthjulia, The Verge, Comcast Corporation, @edmundlee and @aagave
Sheila Dang / Reuters:
Facebook says it is giving $5M to support local journalists using its new newsletter service; candidates covering communities of color will be given priority — Facebook Inc said Thursday it will give $5 million to pay local journalists in multi-year deals as part of its new publishing platform …
Discussion:
@emilybell, Talking Biz News, @sheila_dang, Facebook Journalism Project and @craigsilverman, more at Techmeme »
Laura Spinney / Columbia Journalism Review:
Some publications are increasingly passing the legal risk of investigative work to freelancers with contracts requiring them to cover potential court costs — Two years before reporting on Harvey Weinstein's serial abuse spawned the global #MeToo movement, Michael Balter, a science journalist …
Discussion:
@wudanyan, @revkin, @liorphillips, @cgseife, @lfspinney, @gwill29, @thekimkavin, @lfspinney and @lfspinney
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
The Association of National Advertisers begins search for consultants to help it better understand the flow of marketers' money in automated digital ad buying — The study will focus on billions of dollars that marketers say are unaccounted for in the automated ad-buying process, as well as other transparency concerns
Discussion:
MediaPost, @anamarketers, @profcarroll and @jason_kint
PR Newswire:
Meredith Q3: adjusted earnings of $111M on revenue of $664.5M, down 5% YoY; digital ad revenue grew 21% YoY, licensing revenue grew 31% driven by Apple News+ — Continued Strong Double Digit Growth in Digital Advertising, Digital Consumer, and Licensing Revenues
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Spotify says podcast listening hit an all-time high in Q1, crediting The Joe Rogan Experience; Spotify had 2.6M podcasts at end of Q1, up from 2.2M in Q4 2020 — Spotify reported results for the first quarter of 2021 in line with expectations, with total revenue up 16% — helped by 46% uptick in ad sales.
Discussion:
@alexpattyy, Garbage Day, @alantudyk, @pastemagazine, @nliddle16, @mercola, PolitiFact, CNN, @ericboehlert, Media Matters for America, VICE, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @ketanj0, @aweiss, @donie, @ashleyrcarman, @dcseifert, @amy_siskind, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, Hollywood Reporter, RAIN News, The Hill, The Week, Axios, Fast Company, New York Post, Variety and Wall Street Journal
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Shoshana Wodinsky / Gizmodo:
An Oracle EVP, Ken Glueck, was suspended by Twitter for 12 hours after tweeting contact information for an Intercept reporter covering Oracle's ties to China — A tweet from Oracle Executive VP Ken Glueck goading his followers into harassing a female reporter was found to violate Twitter's policies …
Discussion:
@marahvistendahl, @a_greenberg, @tonyromm, @pathedger18, @mmasnick, @howelloneill, @rachelmetz, @bing_chris, @thephreck, @yoda, @alyssam_infosec, @swodinsky, @motherboard, @robpegoraro, @michellemanafy, @annemariebridy, @zackwhittaker, @arawnsley, @juanandres_gs, @jose_pagliery, @gossithedog, @emilydreyfuss, @katerinareports, @moltke, @ashannstew, @ashannstew, @marahvistendahl, @dortetoft, TechCrunch, Bloomberg, VICE, Insider and Protocol
Laura Italiano / @italiano_laura:
[Thread] NY Post reporter resigns, saying she was ordered to write an incorrect story that claimed a book by Kamala Harris was included in migrant welcome kits — An announcement: Today I handed in my resignation to my editors at the New York Post.
Discussion:
@italiano_laura, Media Nation, @zeynep, @grynbaum, New York Times, @ddale8, @ddale8, CNN, @wolfe321, @benyt, @mollyjongfast, @sahilkapur, @ilvestoomas, @tomwatson, Forbes, MSNBC, @joncoopertweets, Media Matters for America, @amy_siskind, @goangelo, The Daily Beast, @italiano_laura, @karaswisher, @daveweigel, @isaacdovere, @michaelharriot, @lynnv378, Boing Boing, @glennkesslerwp, @juliancastro, @steveschale, @ktumulty, theslot.jezebel.com, @transscribe, @edlavacnn, @sarah_boxer, @peterjukes, @dangillmor, @jayrosen_nyu, @keitholbermann, @j0ncampbell, @bradmossesq, @markjacob16, @rizzotk, @keitholbermann, @richazzopardi, Poynter, NewsOne, The Full Belmonte, @scarylawyerguy, @alkapdc, Newser, @jaredlholt, @daveweigel, @fpwellman, The Guardian, Insider and The Wrap
Rick Edmonds / Poynter:
USA Today has quietly started putting some of its stories behind a paywall with a $4.99/month digital-only subscription — Gannett's flagship national paper quietly started to put some of its premium stories behind a paywall. A subscription costs $4.99 a month.
Discussion:
American Press Institute, Columbia Journalism Review, Digiday, @jbenton, @bradydale, @rickedmonds, @raju and @poynter
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