Top News:
Brian Stelter / CNN:
AT&T to spin off WarnerMedia and combine it with Discovery in a $43B deal; the new company will be run by Discovery CEO David Zaslav — New York (CNN Business)The streaming TV race is about to get even more competitive. — On Monday morning AT&T (T) and Discovery, Inc. (DISCA) …
Discussion:
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Discussion:
Sean Burch / The Wrap: The Brief Rise and Fall of Jason Kilar, WarnerMedia's $15 Million Soon-To-Be-Ex-CEO
Washington Post: WarnerMedia merger with Discovery Inc. will form a streaming behemoth that includes HBO, CNN, TBS, and TNT
Los Angeles Times: AT&T to spin off HBO, other WarnerMedia assets in a huge deal with Discovery. What went wrong?
Brian Steinberg / Variety: David Zaslav to Lead Combined WarnerMedia-Discovery as Landmark Deal is Confirmed
Charles Riley / CNN: The next phase of the streaming wars is all about scale
Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap: Discovery CEO David Zaslav Commits to CNN After WarnerMedia Merger, Vows to ‘Lean Into’ News
Los Angeles Times: He ran Animal Planet and HGTV. Now he will oversee WarnerMedia. Who is David Zaslav?
Alex Sherman / @sherman4949: David Zaslav officially will run the combined company. AT&T will nominate 7 members of the board including a chairperson TBD. Discovery will nominate 6, one of which will be Zaslav.
Frank Pallotta / @frankpallotta: Zaslav says of CNN that “not only are we going to keep it” but now the new mission is “to take everything we have in news, combine it with CNN, and be a world leader in news.”
Claire Atkinson / @claireatki: AT&T CEO John Stankey has the demeanor of a man who just had a great weight lifted off his shoulders.
Wayne Friedman / MediaPost: AT&T Readies WarnerMedia-Discovery Inc. Merger
Discovery, Inc.: AT&T's WARNERMEDIA AND DISCOVERY, INC. CREATING STANDALONE COMPANY BY COMBINING OPERATIONS TO FORM NEW GLOBAL LEADER IN ENTERTAINMENT
Steven Perlberg / Insider: Inside CNN, where staffers are mostly relieved its parent company is merging with Discovery and are now speculating about Jeff Zucker's future there
Jason Gurwin / The Streamable: OFFICIAL: Discovery to Merge with AT&T's WarnerMedia, with Discovery's Zaslav as CEO
Dawn Chmielewski / Forbes: WarnerMedia Deal Lands Another AT&T Win For Cable Billionaire John Malone
Alex Sherman / @sherman4949: HUGE irony in Zaslav stressing building a creative culture — this was Richard Plepler's calling card, and yet, Plepler left HBO because he felt John Stankey was never on the same page with him.
Alex Sherman / @sherman4949: Here's what we're expecting this morning: An announcement AT&T has merged WarnerMedia into Discovery. https://www.cnbc.com/... Things to look for upon announcement: *Leadership/executive departures (expect Zaslav to run co) *Name of newco *What eventually happens to Discovery+
Rich Greenfield / @richlightshed: of mentions of WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar in the Discovery WarnerMedia press release $DISCA $T https://twitter.com/...
Alex Sherman / @sherman4949: My first take of the day — with some details about how Elliott's investment in AT&T may have been the first catalyst for John Stankey's rejection of the decisions he helped make. https://www.cnbc.com/...
Jared Newman / Fast Company: AT&T's WarnerMedia merger with Discovery could mean higher prices for you
Brent Lang / Variety: AT&T Chief John Stankey, WarnerMedia Head Jason Kilar Address Discovery Merger in Staff Memo
Richard Blumenthal / @senblumenthal: This mega-merger combining two of the country's largest media conglomerates demands close scrutiny to protect consumers' pocket books instead of accelerating further concentration among corporate behemoths. https://www.cnn.com/...
Alex Sherman / @sherman4949: Another major plot point to this story will be the follow-on copycat deals. NBCU ViacomCBS AMC Lionsgate MGM Sony Media bankers going to be busy tomorrow. https://www.cnbc.com/...
Alec Bojalad / Den of Geek: The Warner-Discovery Merger Proves That Big Is Never Big Enough in the Streaming World
@kerrymflynn: Nothing says “broadly appealing content” better than DDD and GGG https://twitter.com/...
Nicholas Carlson / @nichcarlson: The weekend started very differently for Jason Kilar (with this fancy WSJ profile) than it ended (with a new boss and king of WarnerMedia, David Zaslav). https://www.wsj.com/...
Mike Shields / @digitalshields: Considering all that is going on now, is Hulu the biggest lost media opportunity of all time? https://mikeshields.substack.com/ ...
Alex Sherman / @sherman4949: ViacomCBS and NBCUniversal, come on down! You're the next contestants on Media M&A Match Game! https://www.cnbc.com/...
Lucas Shaw / @lucas_shaw: I just got this text from a friend. Feels appropriate: “How does Stankey get to retain his position when he made the initial acquisition and now has to sell it off cause it didn't work exactly how everyone said it wouldn't work?”
Kara Swisher / @karaswisher: Yes John Stankey is as bad as we all knew at media strategery via @NYTimes https://www.nytimes.com/...
Karl Bode / @karlbode: AT&T owned CNN's coverage of the Discovery move doesn't mention the 50k layoffs, the absolute chaos, the butchering of loved brands (Mad Magazine, DC's Vertigo imprint), nothing. Not a single mention of AT&T hubris or mistakes. Amazing: https://www.cnn.com/...
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: “AT&T would receive $43 billion (subject to adjustment) in a combination of cash, debt securities, and WarnerMedia's retention of certain debt, and AT&T's shareholders would receive stock representing 71% of the new company.” AT&T paid $85 billion for Time Warner in 2018.
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: It's official: AT&T and Discovery, Inc. have announced a deal under which AT&T's WarnerMedia will be spun off and combined with Discovery in a new standalone media company. Here's my full story... https://www.cnn.com/...
Peter Kafka / @pkafka: Reminder that @Caseybloys was the guy who made all the HBO shows you liked before AT&T showed up, and he's still there. For now.
Micah Gelman / @mbgelman: Zaslav FTW. A big deal. When Zaslav came to Discovery it was a provincial private company owned by John Hendricks and headquartered in Silver Spring, Md. He took it public, moved to NY, eased out Hendricks, bought Scripps, Eurosport, SBS and more. https://twitter.com/...
Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers: not all that far off https://twitter.com/...
Erik Davis / @erikdavis: Big entertainment news to start the week! For anyone who's ever wanted to see the Justice League compete against one another on an episode of Guy's Grocery Games, we're getting closer to that becoming reality! https://twitter.com/...
Alex Sherman / CNBC: Now that WarnerMedia and Discovery have tied the knot, the pressure's on ViacomCBS and NBCUniversal
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: 25 years ago, David Zaslav was instrumental in getting the brand-new cable news channel MSNBC into homes, sparking a new era of cable competition. Now Zaslav is in line to run a portfolio of media properties including CNN, the cable news pioneer... https://www.cnn.com/...
Adam Bentz / ScreenRant: AT&T Officially Set To Merge WarnerMedia With Discovery In $43 Billion Deal
Dave Itzkoff / @ditzkoff: A unified mega-library of content dedicated to a single objective: cast Jean Smart in everything https://twitter.com/...
Lucas Shaw / @lucas_shaw: The best part of everyone writing takes on this AT&T/Discovery business is we all get to do it again soon.
Frank Pallotta / @frankpallotta: .@brianstelter asks Zaslav if CNN will be spun off. Zaslav says “We love CNN... We think one of the true differentiators of the future is live news, live sports.”
Tim Peterson / Digiday: Cheat Sheet: WarnerMedia and Discovery bundle up
Charles Gasparino / @cgasparino: Its amazing that Zaslav will run the combined biz given the economic involved. Reminds me of Chase buying the smaller Bank One to get its CEO, Jamie Dimon, to run the whole thing—AT&T, in Abrupt Turn, Will Shed Media Business in Deal With Discovery https://www.nytimes.com/...
Matt Draper / @mattdraperyt: Huge but kind of inevitable. AT&T seemed to never know what to do with all the media it had bought, which isn't surprising because they have no experience in it. Now Warner Bros, DC Comics and more are about to undergo huge changes AGAIN https://twitter.com/...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: The deal came together very quickly. In February, Mr. Zaslav sent an email to Mr. Stankey to discuss a possible deal. He added some emoji flair to his signoff with several 🏌🏻and one 😎. $t $disca https://www.nytimes.com/...
Tyler Hersko / IndieWire: Discovery and WarnerMedia Upfronts Take on Added Urgency After Proposed Merger
Dieter Bohn / @backlon: Well, the entire “AT&T decides to be a media company for awhile” saga was a very expensive nothingburger that turned out to be a big waste of everbody's time. ...just like most of the new shows it had planned for HBO Max heyoooooo https://www.theverge.com/...
Alex Sherman / @sherman4949: Also — Zaslav says his number one priority will be relationship building, which he's known for and which Jason Kilar struggled with re: HBO Max's decision to put all 2021 films straight to HBO Max.
Peter Kafka / @pkafka: Since AT&T didn't have the money to make WarnerMedia work, where will the newco - which starts off with a ton of debt - find the money for that investment? https://twitter.com/...
Lucas Shaw / @lucas_shaw: A brief addendum to yesterday's newsletter.... HBO has now been sold twice in 8 years. The timing of each deal couldn't have been worse for its efforts to figure out tis future.
Josh Barro / @jbarro: Seems like a pretty good rule of thumb that deals where a boring company buys a fun company tend to involve the boring company overpaying. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Jack Mirkinson / @jackmirkinson: i'm shocked, simply shocked https://twitter.com/...
Brian Winter / @brazilbrian: I still think we're headed for a world with just 3-6 subscription mega-content services, with everything (TV, newspapers, premium delivery, etc) bundled together https://www.google.com/...
Brendan Foley / @thetruebrendanf: The history of Hollywood is written in the blood of companies that think they can buy a movie studio and will know how to spin the chaos of cinema into gold, and failing. https://twitter.com/...
Pdraig Belton / Light Reading: AT&T exits content big time in tie-up with Discovery
Zaki Hasan / @zakiscorner: No idea what this means in the long term, but I do feel comfortable saying the folks who think this is because of WB's handling of certain superhero properties should probably get out more. https://www.cnbc.com/...
Charles Gasparino / @cgasparino: One issue that hasn't been discussed is the future of Jeff Zucker at @CNN. Before the deal talks, he was on the way out but he and David Zaslav are close so dont be surprised if he stays https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
Southpaw / @nycsouthpaw: Warner Brothers studios, HBO, CNN, etc. all being bought by... the Discovery Channel. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Henry Blodget / @hblodget: Cheap AT&T phone plans for CNN staff... Probably not the transformational vertically integrated M&A synergies the deal-models were based on... ;-) https://twitter.com/...
Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair: WarnerMedia-Discovery Merger Shows the Streaming Wars Are About to Go Nuclear
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: I'm told that CNN will be having a town hall for employees tomorrow at which the impact of the merger will be discussed: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: Is Discovery+ rolling into HBO Max? Will NBA games air on TLC? What happens to NetherRealm Studios? Your biggest questions about WarnerMedia/Discovery answered, for people who care about what it means for their monthly bills, not the companies involved. https://www.ign.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@cnbc: Discovery CEO David Zaslav tells @davidfaber he thinks the combined Discovery, WarnerMedia company can reach up to 400 million streaming subscribers across the world, up from the 100 million subscribers the 2 separate companies have today. https://www.cnbc.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: Stankey: Expect the transaction to close in 2022. Plans for AT&T include focusing on mobile and broadband. More than double current fiber footprint. Tighter focus on the greater demand for connectivity. It's almost like AT&T realized it's a telecom company, not a media giant.
Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life: Verizon spins out Yahoo/AOL and now AT&T spins out WarnerMedia. These mergers never made sense since only synergy they brought was anti-competitive (i.e charging users less for HBO traffic vs Netflix) Highlights the importance of having an actual strategy https://www.cnn.com/...
Keith Boykin / @keithboykin: Just three years after AT&T acquired Time Warner, it's now spinning off Warner Media to create a new company with Discovery. The new company will be bigger than Netflix or NBCUniversal and become the second-largest media company in the US, behind Disney. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Lucas Shaw / @lucas_shaw: The AT&T deal led to the departure of most of Time Warner's leadership, and destroyed morale at the company. That deal also took so long to complete that HBO Max - a far more ambitious venture — was then one of the last major new streaming services to debut.
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: Re: some of the questions I got about WarnerMedia & Discovery. 1) The sale includes some of Warner Bros. Interactive/Warner Bros. Games, but not all. 2) The sale does include DC Comics. So yes Discovery now owns DC Comics. 3) Rooster Teeth is part of the sale, yes.
Alex Weprin / @alexweprin: In a press conference, David Zaslav confirms a detail in this story from @kimmasters and I last night: He approached John Stankey about an HBO merger a few years ago: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Shannon McCormick / @sadogre: These people pay me some pocket change now and again given how they've bought places I work for. All I can say is, what a bunch of dumbshits. https://twitter.com/...
Sam Rutherford / Gizmodo: AT&T's Spinning Off WarnerMedia in Merger With Discovery in $43 Billion Deal
Matthew Panzarino / @panzer: The chaotic good move would have been for Disney to buy DC
Mike Shields / I have some questions: Is Hulu the biggest media lost opportunity of all time? Or was it destined to be what it is?
Dr. Siva Vaidhyanathan / @sivavaid: If you follow the long story of media ownership over the past 40 years you see a constant churn of consolidation and spinning off, debt and more debt, with no discernible pattern and general failure all around. No model works better than any other. https://twitter.com/...
Grace Randolph / @gracerandolph: It's official. AT&T is going to spin-off Warner Media into a new company with Discovery. Discovery lead David Zaslov will run things, looks like Jason Kilar might be out after one year. I have a very busy day today with outside appts so might have to break this down tomorrow. https://twitter.com/...
Christopher Mims / @mims: The eternal cycle of media acquisitions by “tech” companies: 1. Company that makes money in unrelated way notices media companies growing 2. Buys them, messes them up or realizes not a fit 3. Spins them out, they die or start growing again Repeat. https://www.wsj.com/...
Jim Waterson / @jimwaterson: One of the tiny side effects of this mega US media merger on the UK would be that CNN and GB News end up with the same corporate backers. https://twitter.com/...
Joe Flint / @jbflint: As WSJ reported in last night's story, Discovery CEO David Zaslav met with John Stankey and WarnerMedia execs two years about a joint-venture but talks didn't go anywhere. https://www.wsj.com/...
@kerrymflynn: HBO Max is $14.99 per month. That's not cheap, so many consumers may ask themselves: Is it really worth paying for when I already pay for Netflix? Enter Guy Fieri. I mean, Discovery https://www.cnn.com/... — a collab with @frankpallotta
Andrew Wallenstein / @awallenstein: No better new name for WarnerMedia-Discovery than: WMD Now there's an acronym with some oomph to it, no? 😉 https://twitter.com/...
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: Big takeaways: —Major course correction by AT&T, fully leaving content —Zaslav ascends to big new role —Doesn't look very promising for Jason Kilar —Company will be live sports, news, movies, lifestyle —$20B combined content spend —Rushed announcement https://www.axios.com/...
Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers: Winners: - David Zaslav - Jeff Zucker - Disney/Netflix (better outcome for them than an NBCU-WarnerMedia tie up) Losers: - John Stankey - Jason Kilar - The Discovery/WarnerMedia staffers who will fall victim to layoffs ($3b in cost-cutting measures is... a lot)
Rakesh Agrawal / @rakeshlobster: Let's have Disney buy CenturyLink now. Bankers, sign painters and business card printers need to get paid!
Rich Greenfield / @richlightshed: “Secretly architecting this deal for several months from my brownstone in NYC” says $DISCA David Zaslav to $T's John Stankey makes us think this deal has been in process since before Discovery launched @discoveryplus — very telling about the need for scale in the #streamingwars https://twitter.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: NYT: “The new company would create a new kind of media behemoth, one that is still living off the fat profits of old-school cable, while spending those profits (and more) on streaming.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Magdalene Visaggio / @magsvisaggs: this feels like a good thing. i dont think AT&T has been a healthy influence. https://twitter.com/...
Gady Epstein / @gadyepstein: Easily the funniest thing about the AT&T-Time Warner deal was watching Jeff Bewkes pretend to see the business logic of AT&T buying his company for more than $100bn
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: AT&T CEO John Stankey's note to staff: “We are now in a world where relevance and future success will be tied to greater scale and growth globally,” he says, explaining the decision to spin off WarnerMedia and combine it with Discovery https://twitter.com/...
Steve Herman / @w7voa: No sale of @CNN, according to Zaslav who vows to make it “a world leader in news.”
Jake Cole / @thatjakepc: No one knows anything but the same 60 idiots will just keep absorbing fired employees' salaries into their own as they trade the country's dwindling content reservoirs back and forth for tax reasons https://twitter.com/...
Andrea Rene / @andrearene: But will @iamjohnoliver still do his “business daddy” bit on @LastWeekTonight??? I'm curious what services will be combined into a mega streaming subscription. I'd love to not have a dozen different apps to use. https://twitter.com/...
Lucas Shaw / @lucas_shaw: Just a few months into executing that vision, AT&T pulled the rug out from underneath the company. Again. Now it's looking at 2 more years of restructuring. And right as HBO Max expands overseas, a lot of the people working on it aren't sure about their future.
Jason Lynch / @jasonlynch: AT&T will retain Xandr, which had moved over to WarnerMedia, following the merger, AT&T CEO John Stankey told investors.
Scott Porch / @scottporch: “Now sources believe NBCU will turn its sights on ViacomCBS.” — @kimmasters https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Alex Sherman / @sherman4949: A quick note here: what a win for David Zaslav, who goes from running an after-thought media company to one of the biggest media companies.
Hoai-Tran Bui / /Film: AT&T to Spin Off WarnerMedia, Including HBO Max, in $43 Billion Deal with Discovery
Oliver Darcy / @oliverdarcy: @pkafka: “Adding TimeWarner to AT&T didn't help AT&T sell more wireless or broadband plans. And it didn't help TimeWarner compete against Netflix and the rest of the internet...” https://www.vox.com/...
Harold Maass / The Week: The daily business briefing: May 17, 2021
Joe Mandese / MediaPost: Discovery To Merge With Warner Media, As AT&T Cashes Out Of Operational Role
David Pierce / Protocol: Bill Gates under the microscope
RELATED:
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Sources: Jason Kilar is negotiating his departure as CEO of WarnerMedia, after being kept in the dark about the deal with Discovery until recent days — Jason Kilar has hired a legal team to negotiate his departure as chief executive of WarnerMedia, according to two people briefed on the matter.
Discussion:
@rebeccaarubin, Vox, ScreenRant, @brooksbarnesnyt, CNN, CNN, @jbenton, @borys_kit, @brianstelter, The Streamable, @theericgoldman, @film_girl, @richardlnewby, @mchenryjd, @karaswisher, @mattbelloni, @mattzeitlin, @rolandsmartin, @panzer, The Week, @parryravi, @sherman4949, @_christopherm, The Verge, @danprimack, @sherman4949, @katierosman, @davidpoland, @grynbaum, nexttv.com, @jbflint, @richlightshed, Collider, Heroic Hollywood, Digital TV Europe, C21Media, Mediaite, The Desk, Bloomberg and Financial Times
Discussion:
Rebecca Rubin / @rebeccaarubin: WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar's compensation reached $52 million in 2020, which is nearly as much as #Tenet made at the U.S. box office https://variety.com/...
Peter Kafka / Vox: It never made sense for AT&T to buy WarnerMedia. Now it's undoing its $100 billion deal.
Richard Fink / ScreenRant: WarnerMedia Head Reportedly Negotiating Exit After Merger
Brooks Barnes / @brooksbarnesnyt: Jason Kilar, the WarnerMedia chief, is said to be negotiating his exit. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Brian Stelter / CNN: AT&T's WarnerMedia and Discovery are in talks about combining
Joshua Benton / @jbenton: May 14: Jason Kilar “has led one of the most radical overhauls in the entertainment industry, undoing centurylong business practices” https://www.wsj.com/... May 17: “Kilar has hired a legal team to negotiate his departure as chief executive” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Borys Kit / @borys_kit: A development that could be of interest to DC fans and observers. https://twitter.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: “Jason Kilar has hired a legal team to negotiate his departure as chief executive of WarnerMedia,” @brooksbarnesNYT reports, citing “two people briefed on the matter.” He says “Kilar was kept in the dark about the deal until recent days...” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ben Bowman / The Streamable: WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar Reportedly Eyeing Exit After Discovery Deal
Eric Goldman / @theericgoldman: Man, WarnerMedia's executive change ups have been crazy. Can only hope the merger with Discovery will bring stability. https://twitter.com/...
Christina Warren / @film_girl: I cannot wait for the WarnerMedia book. What a fucking ridiculous 4 years. Stankey is such a clown. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Richard Newby / @richardlnewby: Turnover rate like a warehouse temp job, lol. https://twitter.com/...
Jackson McHenry / @mchenryjd: [succession theme music] https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Kara Swisher / @karaswisher: Not a surprise given new deal that elevated David Zaslav. Assume they are celebrating the Polo Lounge, given how pissed Hollywood was at @jasonkilar for telling the truth about the future: Kilar, WarnerMedia Chief, Is Said to Be Negotiating Exit https://www.nytimes.com/...
Matthew Belloni / @mattbelloni: An absolutely savage kicker on this story... https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Zeitlin / @mattzeitlin: WSJ May 14 (Friday): “Jason Kilar might have a career as a tour guide if this WarnerMedia chief executive gig doesn't work out for him” https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@rolandsmartin: Wow. @jasonkilar about to bounce from @WarnerMedia. Who is smiling? Jeff Zucker. Don't be shocked if he tries to be Zaslav's #2. “Jason Kilar, the WarnerMedia chief, is said to be negotiating his exit” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Matthew Panzarino / @panzer: my application is open. my only qualification is that I promise not to piss off every influential director in hollywood in one announcement https://twitter.com/...
Brendan Morrow / The Week: WarnerMedia CEO was reportedly ‘kept in the dark’ about $43 billion Discovery merger
Parry Ravindranathan / @parryravi: Finally! Your phone company no longer wants to own your media company. https://www.vox.com/...
Alex Sherman / @sherman4949: To be fair, Kilar lasted longer than the last ... (checks notes) ... 463 other WarnerMedia leaders over the last two years https://twitter.com/...
Christopher Marc / @_christopherm: This is wild...Stankey got Kilar to butcher the film studio and give away high-budget films for free on HBO Max then goes behind his back to have him removed. Stankey is one cold-blooded motherfucker. Then again, Kilar was making more than Stankey. lol https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Jay Peters / The Verge: WarnerMedia CEO reportedly negotiating departure after being left out of AT&T-Discovery deal
Dan Primack / @danprimack: This is another reason that the whole “today's announcement was always scheduled to be today” defies common sense. https://twitter.com/...
Alex Sherman / @sherman4949: And we can now soon add Jason Kilar's name to the section of recently departed WarnerMedia executives https://twitter.com/...
Katie Rosman / @katierosman: Privately, Jason Kilar hired a team of lawyers. Publicly he sent the company staff a rallying email punctuated by “a smiley face emoticon.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
David Poland / @davidpoland: Didn't even make it to the summer. Jason Kilar, the WarnerMedia Chief, Is Said to Be Negotiating His Exit https://www.nytimes.com/...
Michael M. Grynbaum / @grynbaum: WSJ, 3 days ago: “Jason Kilar might have a career as a tour guide if this WarnerMedia chief executive gig doesn't work out for him.” Today: “Jason Kilar has hired a legal team to negotiate his departure as chief executive of WarnerMedia” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Mike Farrell / nexttv.com: Eureka, AT&T is a Phone Company Again
Joe Flint / @jbflint: “Jason's still the CEO of WarnerMedia,” says AT&T CEO John Stankey. And I'm still the guy who did a massive profile of him two days before this deal was announced. Hopefully my future is still relatively safe.
Rich Greenfield / @richlightshed: Not shocking after being left out of today's merger news @jasonkilar negotiating his exit from @warnermedia ahead of Discovery merger $DISCA $T https://www.nytimes.com/...
Adam Chitwood / Collider: WarnerMedia to Merge With Discovery, Creating a New Company
Ryden Scarnato / Heroic Hollywood: WarnerMedia Chief Jason Kilar Negotiating Exit After Discovery Merger
Jonathan Easton / Digital TV Europe: AT&T to spin off media assets including HBO Max to standalone business with Discovery
Nico Franks / C21Media: Warner, Discovery in shock merger talks
Ken Meyer / Mediaite: CNN's John Berman Calls AT&T Spinning Off Media Assets — Including CNN — a ‘Stunning Retreat’
Matthew Keys / The Desk: AT&T looks to merge media assets with Discovery
Tara Lachapelle / Bloomberg: Is AT&T Giving Up on HBO Max?
Hollywood Reporter:
John Stankey and David Zaslav discuss their vision for the WarnerMedia deal, saying the company will have a content spend that exceeds most competitors at $20B — AT&T chief John Stankey and Zaslav, who will lead the new venture, also addressed the status of WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar and the future of CNN.
Discussion:
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: Stankey reiterating it became clear they were hitting an escape velocity. Again, Stankey orchestrated a massive $150 billion purchase of DirecTV and Time Warner, only to sell both for a fraction of the cost and lean back into being a broadband and mobile company.
@thr: “The story of the Warner Brothers, is the story of everyone in our industry, success is about creative talent in front of the screen and behind the screen, and fighting for the culture that creates that vision,” he said of the impact of the four brothers https://thr.cm/HmEIa9V
Joe Flint / @jbflint: Discovery CEO David Zaslav on need to combine with WarnerMedia during investor call: “You gotta have content people love so much they would run home and pay for it before they pay for dinner or a roof over their head.”
@thr: Zaslav said that his “number one priority” will be building “relationships with the creative community,” adding that “we want our company to be the place where people that want creativity, they want flexibility, they want stories, they will come to us” https://thr.cm/4zPzEXL
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: Zaslav says they plan to invest heavily in CNN's DTC offering, which is something that Kilar spoke to in the past. So looks like CNN+ (CNN Go?) is absolutely going to happen.
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: Zaslav says the HBO Max AVOD product is still happening. Reiterates that bundling has worked very well for some competitors (Disney) and one super product has worked for others, so what happens with the platforms is TBD, basically.
Steve Kovach / @stevekovach: David Zaslav tells CNBC he wants his new company to reach 400 million streaming subsribers https://www.cnbc.com/...
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: Zaslav, when asked if he plans to keep CNN or spinoff CNN, basically skirting around the question. He loves CNN, but no obvious, “yes, we're keeping CNN.” Stelter follows up with will Discovery allow CNN to run independently. Zaslav says yes.
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: Zaslov: “We're probably the greatest entertainment company in the world.” Notes very specific IP: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Sex and the City, Entourage. This is how poorly Harry Potter was handled. When you think WarnerMedia IP you think Entourage before Harry Potter.
Ceren / @thejannissary: We will see. They said that diversity and representation remain key drivers of the DC universe moving forward and look how they mistreat Ray Fisher. Hollywood is full with bigshittalkers so I won't believe a “hopeful” word having to do with the future of DC/WB for now. https://twitter.com/...
Felix Salmon / @felixsalmon: 🤔 “We had the right strategy, we just didn't have the right shareholders” https://twitter.com/...
Alex Weprin / @alexweprin: What will a Discovery-WarnerMedia streaming service look like? What will happen to Jason Kilar? What about CNN? The CEOs of AT&T and Discovery convened reporters on Zoom this morning to discuss: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: Zaslov: “By 2023, we'll be generating over $14 billion in EBITA and over $12 billion in cash. This company is going to be a cash generating machine [I think he said.]...We're going to execute on that synergy, and we're going to spend more [more than $20b] on content.”
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: Zaslov: “Netflix is a great company, Disney is a great company....we think we can be in 400 million homes.” CNBC: “You think you can hit 400 million homes?” Zaslov: “There's billions of people in the world!”
Charles Barfield / The Playlist: WarnerMedia Is Merging With Discovery But The Big Questions Still Don't Have Answers
Ian Casselberry / Awful Announcing: AT&T to combine WarnerMedia assets with Discovery in blockbuster merger
Zack Sharf / IndieWire: AT&T Spins Off WarnerMedia and Merges It with Discovery: First Reactions to the Megadeal
John Johnson / Newser: AT&T Joins With Discovery to Create New Media Titan
Lillian Rizzo / Wall Street Journal:
WarnerMedia-Discovery merger puts pressure on rivals without enough scale, like NBCUniversal, which sources say viewed WarnerMedia as a possible target — Deal to combine media businesses comes as competitors race to bulk up streaming content to lure viewers fleeing pay TV
Discussion:
Amol Sharma / @asharma: NBCUniversal viewed WarnerMedia as a potential merger partner, eyeing a pairing of HBO Max and Peacock. Now that it's off the table, ViacomCBS could be a backup plan down the road, reports @Lilliannnn https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
@rasmussen_poll: So, word is a whole bunch of legacy media stuff is getting sold to John Malone (Discovery) as early as tomorrow. Including CNN. https://www.wsj.com/...
@mediumbuying: AT&T Is in Talks to Combine Content Assets With Discovery — Through its WarnerMedia unit, AT&T owns CNN, HBO, Cartoon Network, TBS, TNT and the Warner Bros. studio. Discovery controls cable channels including HGTV, TLC and Animal Planet https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Claire Atkinson / Insider: AT&T is in deal talks to create a new streaming giant with Discovery
The Information:
Source: Amazon is in talks to acquire MGM for between $7B and $10B, in what would be its biggest move to expand into entertainment — Amazon is in discussions to acquire MGM, said a person familiar with the situation, in what would be the ecommerce giant's biggest move yet to expand in entertainment.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Forbes, Variety, @nickwingfield, New York Times, The Wrap, Insider, MarketWatch, Reuters, @ericjhonsa, CBR, Deadline, IndieWire, Front Office Sports, The Verge, @cinesnark, @daniel_toloko, Bloomberg, @mossanimation, @awallenstein, @richlightshed, @loudmouthjulia, @pkafka, @great_katzby and AppleInsider, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Ryan Faughnder / Los Angeles Times: Amazon in talks to buy ‘James Bond’ movie studio MGM
Nick Wingfield / @nickwingfield: Scoop by @jtoonkel and me. An MGM-Amazon deal, if it happens, might explain why Jeff Blackburn was keen to come back to run Amazon entertainment https://thein.fo/...
Tim Baysinger / The Wrap: Amazon in Talks to Buy MGM for as Much as $10 Billion
Mike Murphy / MarketWatch: Amazon reportedly in talks to buy MGM, the movie studio behind James Bond
Eric Jhonsa / @ericjhonsa: Looks like $AMZN might have a use for the $18.5B in debt it just raised besides buybacks. Worth noting that Prime Video's licensed movie library is already arguably a competitive strength relative to $NFLX. https://variety.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Cass Clarke / CBR: Amazon in Talks to Buy MGM For $9 Billion
Anthony D'Alessandro / Deadline: Amazon At Altar With MGM?
Chris Lindahl / IndieWire: Amazon Wants to Buy MGM for Its 4,000-Film Library
Abigail Gentrup / Front Office Sports: Media Deals Reinforce Streaming As Future of Sports
Sean Hollister / The Verge: Amazon is in talks to buy MGM for $9 billion
Sarah Marrs / @cinesnark: What did @Ceilidhann and I say for literal years on The Hollywood Read? Amazon was bound to buy a studio eventually. Apple's next. https://twitter.com/...
Daniel Toloko / @daniel_toloko: $AMZN understands that its all about the content... https://www.theinformation.com/ ...
Charles Moss / @mossanimation: For five minutes, can you conglomerates not assimilate each other... FOR FIVE MINUTES!?!?!? https://twitter.com/...
Andrew Wallenstein / @awallenstein: Sounds like Amazon's entertainment portfolio could be expanding. If only Jeff Bezos could tap someone he used to work with to oversee it all. Someone with considerable experience working with streaming and studios. Someone looking for a new job... ...and vengeance! https://twitter.com/...
Rich Greenfield / @richlightshed: streamingwars heating up 🔥🔥🔥 https://twitter.com/...
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: I always assumed it would be Amazon or Apple if any company was going to do it. A) They have the money, b) they could use the catalog of Bond movies, and Epix's library + pay 1 opportunity isn't a bad get for Amazon, and c) can brag about Bond. https://www.theinformation.com/ ...
Peter Kafka / @pkafka: Con: Big Tech buying a big media asset is like waving a flag in front of @amyklobuchar @SenWarren et al. Pro: Actually just a studio that makes James Bond movies and Shark Tank. No news or sports to take away/hold hostage. https://twitter.com/...
Brandon Katz / @great_katzby: Figured it would be Apple as well. Amazon has always seemed to be content to be half-half out on its steaming endeavors. It'll spend $8.5B on annual content and $400M+ on a season of LOTR, but won't update its awful UI/UX or provide any tangible Prime Video growth data. https://twitter.com/...
Mike Peterson / AppleInsider: Amazon mulling MGM acquisition to boost media footprint
Tyler Falk / Current:
After an outside investigation, New York Public Radio has fired On the Media host Bob Garfield for violating its anti-bullying policy — New York Public Radio has fired On the Media host Bob Garfield for violating its anti-bullying policy, the organization said Monday.
Discussion:
New York Times, @benyt, @bobosphere, The Wrap, Washington Post, @lyzl, @katie_robertson, @pareene, @themorrancave, @annehelen, @weareyourfek, @jbenton and New York Post
Discussion:
Ben Smith / @benyt: NY Public Radio has fired Bob Garfield, the host of On the Media, for violating its “anti-bullying policy”, according to an email from Andrew Golis to staff.
Bob Garfield / @bobosphere: I was fired not for “bullying” per se, but for yelling in 5 meetings over 20 years. Anger mismanagement, sorry to say. But in all cases, the provocations were just shocking. In time, the story will emerge...and it is tragic. On the Media was the pride and joy of my career. https://twitter.com/...
Daniel Goldblatt / The Wrap: ‘On the Media’ Co-Host Bob Garfield Fired Over Accusations of Bullying
Lyz Lenz / @lyzl: in my experience “insubordination” usually just means “asked bosses not to be horrible” https://twitter.com/...
Katie Robertson / @katie_robertson: Bob Garfield, the longtime co-host of “On the Media,” says he was fired for yelling at two meetings: “In both cases, as will be clear eventually, the provocation was extraordinary and simply shocking.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@pareene: “On the Media” is one of the best shows on public radio, largely thanks to the work of people whose voices fans don't hear every week. Don't know any details here, including how the staff feels about how this was handled, but I support them. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Chris Morran / @themorrancave: I'll always remember the time Bob Garfield spent a week trying to get me fired after I made an offhanded, mildly critical comment about him in a Consumerist story. Who'd have guessed he'd a be a bully to his coworkers? https://www.nytimes.com/...
Anne Helen Petersen / @annehelen: “In an email on Monday, Mr. Garfield said he was not yet able to speak fully about the circumstances surrounding his firing but defended his behavior as yelling.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Foster Kamer / @weareyourfek: don't know about bullying but many people have a “bob garfield is a dick!” story https://twitter.com/...
Joshua Benton / @jbenton: unshocking, tbh https://twitter.com/...
Zack Zwiezen / Kotaku:
In a letter to management, 66 IGN staffers demand a post listing Palestinian charities be reinstated after its removal, saying editorial integrity was subverted — Today, the IGN editorial staff published an open letter decrying Sunday's removal of an IGN article and its associated tweet …
Discussion:
Medium, @satchelldrakes, @the_katbot, @tanumb_, @agentbizzle, @gameapologist, @adequateemily and A. Khaled's Blog
Discussion:
Kat Bailey / @the_katbot: An open letter to J2, Ziff Davis, and IGN concerning the unilateral take down of a post with charitable resources for Palestinian civilians Link: https://ignemployees.medium.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@tanumb_: Editorial putting their livelihoods on the line to do what's right, and fighting back when ownership undermines it. That's solidarity. https://twitter.com/...
Brian Altano / @agentbizzle: Immensely proud of our team at IGN for fighting for our voice today & our editorial freedom in the future. Wish things hadn't happened like this today but sometimes that's the only way to build a better tomorrow. An open letter to corporate leadership: https://ignemployees.medium.com/ ...
RELATED:
Zack Zwiezen / Kotaku:
After publishing and removing an article listing Palestinian charities, IGN says it didn't mean to make it seem “we were politically aligned with one side”
Discussion:
Washington Post, VICE, @heyrowanellis, @inkydojikko, @jasonschreier, @hollywood_labor, @tha_rami, @tropicalmaku, @duckvalentine, @tha_rami, @stephentotilo, @austin_walker, @iyagovos, @armanddoma, @dannyodwyer, @scully1888, @andyplaytonic, @papapishu, @mattbinder, @charalanahzard, @ajenglish and Axios
Discussion:
Mikhail Klimentov / Washington Post: IGN staff pen letter to management following quiet removal of Palestine charity article
Patrick Klepek / VICE: IGN Staff ‘Pissed’ After Meeting About Deleted Palestine Charity Post
Rowan Ellis / @heyrowanellis: i've seen a lot of people question “what is so “complex” about what's happening in palestine??” - so i think stuff like what's happening at ign is important to note - it's not that people see the reality of what's happening and *then* think it's complex... https://twitter.com/...
Kallie Plagge / @inkydojikko: Very proud of all my friends at IGN who signed this letter standing up to cowardly upper management, and for using their platforms to raise awareness for Palestine in the first place https://ignemployees.medium.com/ ...
Jason Schreier / @jasonschreier: No matter one's feelings on Israel and Palestine, it's hard to see this as anything but corporate censorship of an editorial outlet. Solidarity with the staff of IGN as they band together to take on executive interference: https://ignemployees.medium.com/ ...
DSA-LA Hollywood Labor / @hollywood_labor: Case in point, let's look at what happened to a non-union website: https://twitter.com/...
Rami Ismail / @tha_rami: “IGN Israel upset to learn IGN tries to raise money for Palestinian children harmed by Israeli bombs” is so cartoonesquely evil that I don't even know what to say https://twitter.com/...
Maku / @tropicalmaku: If it wasn't transparent enough how evil and cruel the world can be. This is IGN Israel's response to the main IGN acknowledging Palestinian people's suffering and doing what they can to help support those people. https://twitter.com/...
Rebekah Valentine / @duckvalentine: An open letter to the leadership at IGN, Ziff Davis, and J2 Global: https://ignemployees.medium.com/ ...
Rami Ismail / @tha_rami: This is heartbreaking. Not a single fiber of me believes that anyone in editorial at @IGN supports this text. I believe this is a corporate statement in IGN's voice by corporate @ziffdavis or @j2global. I can't see any alternative sequence of events leading to this statement. https://twitter.com/...
Stephen Totilo / @stephentotilo: More than 60 IGN staff have signed an open letter to corporate leadership, calling the deletion of an article about Palestinian relief as “a clear instance of corporate overreach.” They blame upper management for its removal; call for it to be republished https://www.axios.com/...
Austin Walker / @austin_walker: Would really love to know who the “we” is that's speaking here, because my bet is that it isn't the people who fought to make the post in the first place. https://twitter.com/...
James Bartholomeou / @iyagovos: IGN's Support Palestine page is down, but GameSpot also have an incredibly helpful page with important links. Please do not harass IGN editorial staff for this. They risked their livelihoods making that page, and need support now too. #FreePalestine https://www.gamespot.com/...
Armand Domalewski / @armanddoma: weird how none of the Gamergaters furious about censorship in games journalism spoke up about this https://twitter.com/...
Danny O'Dwyer / @dannyodwyer: [update from IGN quoted] My thoughts; The false equivalence surrounding The Question of Palestine is what enables the right-wing government of Israel to get away with apartheid and state-sanctioned terrorism. Thanks to posts like this, it will continue. https://twitter.com/...
Chris Scullion / @scully1888: Despite IGN management (because I can't see the editorial staff doing this) seemingly bottling it with a “we support both sides” argument, the IGN Israel Facebook post saying “we support the Israel state and the IDF soldiers keeping us safe” is still up. Draw your own conclusions https://twitter.com/...
Andy Robinson / @andyplaytonic: IGN's Israel edition here, condemning IGN's support for charities aiding Palestinian civilians (source: Instagram) https://twitter.com/...
Chris Person / @papapishu: I'm just gonna say that I really don't think that whoever made them do this is going to accomplish what they sought out to accomplish. https://twitter.com/...
Matt Binder / @mattbinder: i have no idea what happened here as i have nothing to do with IGN, but i am employed by the same parent company. Israel is an apartheid state. the Netanyahu government is a fascist regime. stand with the people of Palestine. https://twitter.com/...
Alanah Pearce / @charalanahzard: IGN didn't take this down. Their parent companies, @j2global and/or @ziffdavis did. Note that they also haven't removed any of IGN's other articles supporting international humanitarian aid. Just this one. https://twitter.com/...
Al Jazeera English / @ajenglish: ⭕ LIVE footage of the moment an Israeli air raid bombed the offices of Al Jazeera and The Associated Press in Gaza City ⬇️ 🔴 LIVE updates: https://www.aljazeera.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Stephen Totilo / Axios: U.S. gaming outlets remove posts supporting Palestinians
Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap:
Vice News names its news director Michael Learmonth as new EIC, filling a role that has been vacant since 2019 — Michael Learmonth was named Vice News' new editor in chief Monday, filling a role that has been vacant since 2019. He was promoted from news director, a job he held since 2016.
Discussion:
Katie Drummond / @katiedrumm: Everybody congratulate @learmonth who is now Editor-in-Chief of @VICENews ! https://www.thewrap.com/...
Jason Del Rey / @delrey: Mike is one of the good good guys https://twitter.com/...
Michael Learmonth / @learmonth: Personal news: Thank you to @katiedrumm for nice quotes and all the support!! https://twitter.com/...
Ryan McCarthy / @mccarthyryanj: The best news! Learmonth is one of the best editors / humans out there. I was lucky to get to work with him. https://twitter.com/...
Kenneth Li / @kenli729: Best news of the week. @learmonth is the bomb. He once (more than once) finished my story while i went out for a smoke. Who DOES THAT?! https://twitter.com/...
Fern Siegel / MediaPost: ‘Vice News’ Taps Learmonth As Editor In Chief
Jeremy Fuster / The Wrap:
Former Hollywood Reporter editor Matthew Belloni has become a founding member of a new media company that has raised $7M and aims to launch this summer — Matthew Belloni, former Editorial Director at The Hollywood Reporter, has joined as a founding partner for a new media company that will cover politics …
Discussion:
Deadline, Hollywood Reporter, @jimmaiella, @sonnybunch, @mattbelloni, @benyt and Variety
Discussion:
Nellie Andreeva / Deadline: Former Hollywood Reporter Editor Matthew Belloni Joins New Digital Media Startup Co-Founded By Jon Kelly
Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter: Former Hollywood Reporter Editor Matthew Belloni Named Partner of Digital Media Startup
Jim Maiella / @jimmaiella: One of the first things I did after moving from cable to content 8 years ago was fly across the country to have a introductory drink with @MattBelloni. Excited to see what he builds here. Velvet rope email newsletter is very smart, very Studio 54. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Matthew Belloni / @mattbelloni: Personal news! I've joined a great group to launch a creator-first media company. More to come! https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Apple:
Apple says it will bring lossless audio to all Apple Music subscribers at no added cost and will support Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, available from June — The next generation of sound on Apple Music is coming to subscribers June 2021 at no additional cost
Discussion:
Business Wire, ZDNet, TNW, MacRumors, @snazzyq, @wongmjane, 9to5Mac, @richontech, @chriswelch, @talkaboutdesign, @bzamayo, @tldtoday, @film_girl, @quinnypig, @ianfogg42, @rsgnl, @micahsingleton, @micahsingleton, @caseynewton, @caseynewton, @micahsingleton, New York Post, @hugorifkind, The Register, @micahsingleton, @journeydan, @chrisbhoffman, @film_girl, @rayredacted, @reneritchie, Going against the grain, @viticci, @tomwarren, @reckless, @alexhern, @maxbalzer_, @reneritchie, T3, @stijndv, BGR India, @brandonbutch, The Verge, @bzamayo, ScreenRant, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Variety, AppleInsider, Engadget, TechCrunch, The Verge, 9to5Mac and MacRumors, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols / ZDNet: Apple, lossless audio, and the state of high-end audio
Juli Clover / MacRumors: AirPods, AirPods Max and AirPods Pro Don't Support Apple Music Lossless Audio
Quinn Nelson / @snazzyq: This is friggin' awesome. The catalog going lossless is the cherry on top. And at no added cost! Same price. Apple Music just became the streaming service value king. https://twitter.com/...
Jane Manchun Wong / @wongmjane: Here it is — Apple introduces Lossless Audio in Apple Music https://www.apple.com/...
Michael Potuck / 9to5Mac: Apple Music pricing: Individual, family, and student plans, and how to save
Rich DeMuro / @richontech: Now Apple Music announces spatial audio, coming in June for free to subscribers will make music sound like it's coming from various directions... https://www.apple.com/...
Chris Welch / @chriswelch: Apple just confirmed to me that lossless audio is *exclusive to Apple Music.* Subscription required. There won't be an option to purchase tracks or albums in that quality, nor will it be offered with iTunes Match. https://www.theverge.com/...
Maksim Petriv / @talkaboutdesign: “At no additional cost...” is the best part of this announcement. https://twitter.com/...
Benjamin Mayo / @bzamayo: Apple press release says they will send Dolby Atmos music to any W1 / H1 headphones, so we'll have to see how good the ‘spatial audio’ effect is. Currently, “Spatial Audio” is only supported on AirPods Pro and AirPods Max.
@tldtoday: damn Tim apple :o lossless audio for no extra $$ AirPods Max just leveled up https://www.apple.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Christina Warren / @film_girl: Are you fucking kidding me? https://twitter.com/...
Corey Quinn / @quinnypig: So nothing Apple sells supports the format, and they killed the headphone jack making it really hard to bring your own. Courage! https://twitter.com/...
Ian Fogg / @ianfogg42: Apple offers lossless audio to Music subscribers, but it's the spatial audio that is a more strategic move because of its synergy with AirPods Pro/Max today & likely future #AR products https://www.apple.com/...
Joe Rossignol / @rsgnl: Apple Music with Spatial Audio + Lossless Audio is available in iOS 14.6, iPadOS 14.6, macOS 11.4, or tvOS 14.6 or later, according to Apple.
Micah Singleton / @micahsingleton: More importantly, the price decrease is a blow to Spotify's goal to raise its average revenue per user (ARPU). Launching its upcoming Hi-Fi service at $15/month could've helped move the needle on its ARPU, which has been in decline since 2017. $10/month will not.
Micah Singleton / @micahsingleton: Apple is taking the stance that lossless music can't be played over Bluetooth, which means AirPods (in all form factors) will not officially support lossless playback. Can you open settings, turn on lossless streaming and it'll play? Yes, but Apple officially won't recommend it.
Casey Newton / @caseynewton: Apple and Amazon using their unlimited cash flow to subsidize ‘free’ lossless audio to music customers has big ‘Google offering free photo storage just long enough to starve its independent competitors to death before starting to charge’ energy
Casey Newton / @caseynewton: @tylernol lossless audio has typically been a $10/month add-on. so either record labels approved a price decrease or Apple/Amazon are just eating the extra cost
Micah Singleton / @micahsingleton: Lurking in the background in both of these announcements is Dolby Atmos, which powers spatial audio from Apple and 3D audio (along with Sony 360 Reality Audio) from Amazon. Surround sound audio will be a major focus for both (and likely Spotify) moving forward.
Hugo Rifkind / @hugorifkind: Quite proud to have just caught London's summer. It lasted from 13.15 to 13.42 and I went out in the garden and ate a sandwich. Thunder now. Hope next year is nice.
Richard Speed / The Register: Apple announces lossless HD audio at no extra cost, then Amazon Music does too. The ball is now in Spotify's court
Micah Singleton / @micahsingleton: AirPods Max also won't support lossless over the lightning cable, the company tells me. No Sonos support for lossless streaming just yet either.
Daniel Bader / @journeydan: Wow, Apple isn't fucking around, will start offering up to 24-bit/48 kHz lossless for its entire Apple Music catalog starting next month without raising the $9.99 price https://www.apple.com/...
Chris Hoffman / @chrisbhoffman: So when will us YouTube Music subscribers get lossless audio? Probably... never? https://twitter.com/...
Christina Warren / @film_girl: Don't give me the wireless doesn't have the bandwidth bullshit. First, it could. Apple just has a lousy codec. Second, the $40 cable I bought to use these with a headphone jack still isn't enough? Are you kidding me?
@rayredacted: This is going to sell ALOT of airpods and airpods Max, but audiophiles will be quick to report that it isn't truly lossless if it is running on apple's implementation of BlueTooth. https://twitter.com/...
Federico Viticci / @viticci: Apple Music with Spatial Audio and lossless quality is official: - Spatial Audio powered by Dolby Atmos on all headphones with W1/H1 chip - Growing catalog of Spatial Audio music - Lossless quality (at 16 bit 44.1 kHz or 24 bit at 48 kHz) https://www.apple.com/...
Tom Warren / @tomwarren: Apple has officially announced lossless audio for Apple Music. It's arriving in June, and it tops out at 24-bit/192kHz https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Nilay Patel / @reckless: Very cool of Apple for offering three tiers - including a higher quality tier than its devices can even support - instead of pretending the CD was the pinnacle of audio quality https://www.theverge.com/...
Alex Hern / @alexhern: my most basic opinion is that I simply do not understand the point of any audio better than a 128kbps spotify stream https://www.apple.com/...
Max Balzer / @maxbalzer_: “Apple Music announces Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos; will bring Lossless Audio to entire catalog.” Also coming at no additional cost to subscribers. https://www.apple.com/...
Rene Ritchie / @reneritchie: Apple Music Lossless: 🍎ALAC format 💿 Starts at CD-quality 16 bit 44.1 kHz 📡 Goes to 24 bit 48 kHz 📱 Plays natively on Apple devices Hi-Res Lossless: 🤯 Up to 24 bit 192 kHz 🎛 Requires external USB DAC, etc. https://twitter.com/...
Stijn de Vries / @stijndv: Hmm look at what I found in the Apple Music website.... https://twitter.com/...
Vanshika Malhotra / BGR India: Apple Music officially gets Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos support for high-quality music experience
Brandon Butch / @brandonbutch: Apple just announced lossless & spatial audio! Coming next month at no additional cost. 🎵 https://www.apple.com/...
Chris Welch / The Verge: Apple's $549 AirPods Max can't play lossless Apple Music — even when plugged in
Benjamin Mayo / @bzamayo: “Lossless” and “Hi Res Lossless” coming to Apple Music https://9to5mac.com/...
Victoria Song / Gizmodo: It's Official—Apple Music's Getting Hifi Streaming
Jem Aswad / Variety: Apple Music Unveils High-Quality Audio Option; Amazon Expands Its High-Def Plan
William Gallagher / AppleInsider: How to listen to Apple Music Lossless Audio and what you need
Billy Steele / Engadget: Apple Music will offer Dolby Atmos and lossless streaming starting next month
RELATED:
Micah Singleton / Billboard:
Amazon Music HD is now available to Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers for free, effectively cutting the Hi-Fi service's price from $14.99 to $9.99 per month
Discussion:
@amazonmusic: Our highest quality audio. Now at no extra cost. Discover over 70 million songs in HD. Tag the artist you're most excited to listen to in HD 👇 https://www.amazon.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Rich DeMuro / @richontech: OK, so if you subscribe to Amazon Music (as in, pay a monthly fee each month to listen), you can tap the button on this page to upgrade your streaming to HD quality for free (I subscribed over the weekend, so I'll be testing this out soon) https://www.amazon.com/...
Chris Davies / @c_davies: Meanwhile, Amazon is also adding lossless audio to its Music Unlimited package. Previously you'd have had to pay $5/mo extra for Music HD. Amazon also includes both Dolby Atmos (like Apple will) and Sony 360 Reality Audio spatial sound https://www.slashgear.com/...
Rich DeMuro / @richontech: I like how the Amazon Music App shows you the features offered on each song https://twitter.com/...
Kintan Brahmbhatt / @kintan: Starting today, all Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers will get access to HD at no additional cost. That's BIG news! https://twitter.com/...
Music Business Worldwide: The music industry just took a backwards step on streaming pricing... in glorious HD
Rich DeMuro / @richontech: Oh wow. And Amazon Music HD plays nicely with Sonos. Will have to listen to this later this morning to see if I can discern a difference in audio quality! https://twitter.com/...
John MacFarlane / @johnlmacfarlane: Apple and Amazon are clearly eating the incremental cost for the lossless, or higher bitrate streams. It's a good opportunity to learn if people, in any large numbers, actually prefer the formats (I would bet not). Hopefully it stays this easy to choose. https://www.billboard.com/...
Aaron Pressman / @ampressman: Monkey see, monkey do: Amazon Music drops HD tier surcharge, shaking up hi-fi streaming market after Apple announces lossless service at no extra charge https://www.billboard.com/...
Micah Singleton / @micahsingleton: NEW: Amazon Music HD is now available to Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers for free, the company tells @billboard. Amazon is the first streaming service to make high-fidelity music streaming available at $9.99 a month ($7.99 a month for Prime members) https://www.billboard.com/...
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
NBCUniversal is acting as a power broker between stars and advertisers as part of its upfronts, hoping its pull with talent will help it strike bigger deals — Comcast unit is pitching broad partnerships with stars during this year's TV-ad-buying ritual, hoping its pull with talent helps it strike bigger deals
Discussion:
Jeanine Poggi / Ad Age: AT&T-Discovery deal steals upfronts spotlight: Upfronts Download
Linda Yaccarino / @lindayacc: THIS. Is. Partnership. Thank you @kellyclarkson and @Wayfair for showing us how it's done. https://www.wsj.com/...
Eric Deggans At Npr / @deggans: Watching NBCUniversal's upfront, where Will Smith appears, in what looks like shorts and long johns (?) to plug dramatic version of Fresh Prince of Bel Air he's exec producing for Peacock. Even though Fresh Prince reruns on HBO Max. Which is joining a new company with Discovery. https://twitter.com/...
Washington Post:
Researchers detail a sprawling disinformation network in the US, including media websites such as GTV, that's pushing falsehoods about COVID-19 and the election — Guo Wengui, living in self-exile in New York City, is at the center of a digital web pushing election and covid falsehoods, according to Graphika research
Discussion:
@bostonjoan, @farrukhkpitafi, Gizmodo, @nicpwall, @froomkin, @zachweinberg, @jorge_guajardo, @camillefrancois, @oliverdarcy, @joshuahol and @scout_finch
Discussion:
Joan Donovan, PhD / @bostonjoan: For everyone in the thick of this research on disinformation, we see more and more clearly the harms of disinformation campaigns when they manifest in physical violence. There is more work to do to assess the scale and impact of these G NWS disinfo networks. https://twitter.com/...
Farrukh K. Pitafi / @farrukhkpitafi: Dig deeper. You are looking at symptoms, neither the disease nor the source or even the patient zero. https://twitter.com/...
Tom McKay / Gizmodo: Report Highlights Exiled Chinese Billionaire Tied to Steve Bannon as Center of Misinformation Network
Nic Wall / @nicpwall: This (bonkers) Washington Post article about a US disinformation network run by a Steve Bannon ally features a node (called a “Himalaya farm” by the network) based here in Toronto: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: Nothing to see here. Move along. https://twitter.com/...
Zach Weinberg / @zachweinberg: Seems like Guo is likely a Chinese asset, posing as a dissident, but actually funneling money to Bannon and others to promote disinformation across America. That's the most likely setup right? Everything would make sense. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Jorge Guajardo / @jorge_guajardo: The other day a friend from China texted to ask if I was OK, as he sent images of Washington under siege, with sharpshooters on roofs, targeting protectors of Hunter's laptop. It took a little scratching to see it was part of Guo's disinformation. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Camille Franois / @camillefrancois: 🆕 Our latest dive into a network that had previously surfaced in many of our analyses on US2020 disinfo and COVID19 misinfo: the complicated, coordinated, authentic and sprawling Guo Wengui online universe. Thread below and @washingtonpost story here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Oliver Darcy / @oliverdarcy: “A sprawling online network tied to Chinese businessman Guo Wengui has become a potent platform for disinformation ... attacking the safety of coronavirus vaccines, promoting false election-fraud claims and spreading baseless QAnon conspiracies...” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Reuters:
Axel Springer and Facebook strike a global deal, allowing content from Bild, Welt, Insider, and others to be distributed in Facebook News at its German launch — Axel Springer and Facebook said on Monday that they had agreed on a global cooperation deal under which content from the German publisher …
Discussion:
Fabio Chiusi / @fabiochiusi: “The agreement explicitly excludes the future ancillary copyright for press publishers” https://www.axelspringer.com/ ...
@pressgazette: Axel Springer (owner of Insider) has agreed a “joint global cooperation” with Facebook. Its content will now appear on the Facebook News tab. Axel Springer previously refused to sign up to a Facebook News deal, citing “inappropriately low remuneration” https://www.reuters.com/...
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