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10:05 PM ET, May 26, 2021

Mediagazer

 Top News: 
Annie Palmer / CNBC:
Amazon says it will acquire MGM Studios for $8.45B  —  - Amazon is buying MGM Studios, the companies announced, marking Amazon's most ambitious move yet into the entertainment business.  — The acquisition is Amazon's second-largest acquisition since it paid $13.7 billion for Whole Foods in 2017.
RELATED:
New York Times:
Amazon paid a premium over other potential MGM buyers, including Apple and Comcast, to bolster Prime when old-line studios are less willing to license libraries  —  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, while diminished, commanded a premium price, with Amazon seeking to bolster its crucial Prime membership offering.
Peter Kafka / Vox:
With its MGM acquisition, Amazon doesn't want to compete with streamers like Netflix but reduce Prime subscriber churn by providing enough blockbuster content  —  Amazon isn't competing with Netflix, but it is spending billions trying to figure out Hollywood.  Maybe 007 can help.
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik:
[Thread] Union members at multiple Tribune newspapers say they have been told that Alden Global Capital intends to seek voluntary buyouts company-wide  —  News: Union members at multiple Tribune newspapers say they're told Alden Global Capital intends to seek voluntary buyouts company-wide. Note: Alden just loaded Tribune w $278MM in debt for its $630+ acquisition of newspaper chain. Imagine layoffs ensue if buyout goals not met.
RELATED:
Robert Channick / Chicago Tribune:
SEC filing: Alden took out two loans, totaling $278M, in the Tribune Publishing deal and removed CEO Terry Jimenez; Tribune was debt-free  —  It didn't take long for Alden Global Capital to put its imprint — and significant debt — on Tribune Publishing, after closing its $633 million acquisition …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Facebook and Instagram now give users options to hide Like counts across all posts and to hide their own public Like counts from others  —  Facebook this week will begin to publicly roll out the option to hide Likes on posts across both Facebook and Instagram, following earlier tests beginning in 2019.
Steven Strom / Fanbyte:
Sources: IGN staffers say morale is at an all-time low after Ziff Davis' president characterized a dispute over a post takedown as purely an editorial issue  —  “Our morale has never been this low,” IGN employees say a week after confronting their parent company.  At stake: editorial independence.
John Hopewell / Variety:
HBO Max shares details of its June 29 launch in Latin America and the Caribbean, at a starting price of $3/month, including UEFA Champions League soccer games  —  Presenting its plans for Latin America on Wednesday at an online pre-launch presentation, HBO Max may have just given an inkling …
Discussion: ScreenRant
Brian Armstrong / The Coinbase Blog:
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announces Fact Check, a section of the Coinbase blog to combat misinformation and mischaracterizations about Coinbase or crypto  —  Every tech company should go direct to their audience, and become a media company.  —  As Coinbase and the cryptoeconomy grow …
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
Amazon partners with UK's National Theatre to stream four high-profile stage shows, including Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag, available in the UK and Ireland  —  Cumberbatch and McKellen among big names to appears in live-recorded stage shows to feature on Prime
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Instagram launches a new shopping section called Drops, helping users find limited supply products, and will temporarily waive fees due to COVID-19  —  Instagram today announced it's adding a new feature to help connect online shoppers to product drops through its app.
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Axios says its Local program now has 350,000+ subscribers and is on pace to generate between $4M and $5M by the end of 2021  —  Led by Axios, local is going national.  The “smart brevity” news publisher announced Monday that it planned to expand the number of cities it serves as part …
 
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 More News: 
Jake Rudnitsky / Bloomberg:
Ivi.ru, Russia's most popular video streaming service, raises $250M from VTB Group, Roman Abramovich, and others, after pausing IPO plans earlier this year
Bloomberg:
Chinese gaming company NetEase's music streaming arm files for an IPO in Hong Kong, that source says could raise ~$1B; filing shows it had 180M+ MAUs in 2020
Ray Schultz / MediaPost:
The Economist launches its first online course, on politics, business, and tech, for £1,475, or $2,087, with experts including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt
Discussion: Journalism.co.uk
Sarah Rappaport / Bloomberg:
How London theaters have adapted to lockdowns, quickly expanding streaming offerings; over 100,000 people in 90 countries paid up to $90 for an Old Vic show
 Earlier Picks: 
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Over 200 academics, journalists, and sports figures including UNC alumni sign a letter criticizing UNC's failure to give Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
Emily Wilder was wronged by AP editors, who were less concerned with work product than about “appearances”, defined by groups like Stanford College Republicans
Canadian Press:
Facebook has signed deals with 14 Canadian publishers to pay for the ability to link to their news stories that are not already posted on its platform
Sara Fischer / Axios:
AP and FanDuel sign an agreement to make FanDuel the exclusive provider of sports odds across the AP's global sports report
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sources: NYT is looking into a full acquisition of The Athletic, not a merger or a joint venture