Mediagazer: LiveControl, which sells a plug and play package for venues to livestream events, raises $30M Series A, bringing its total raised to $33M (Brian Heater/TechCrunch)

Andrew Marchand / New York Post:

Maria Taylor leaves ESPN, weeks after the Rachel Nichols controversy; sources: Taylor is headed to NBC and is expected to be part of its Olympics coverage — Maria Taylor and ESPN are divorcing - and she is expected to end up with NBC and at the Olympics, The Post has learned.

Discussion: ESPN Press Room U.S., TVNewser, @espnpr, Awful Announcing, Variety, Sports Illustrated, The Wrap, New York Times, Insider, TVLine, @bykimberleya, @nfl_dovkleiman, @travonne, @andrewmarchand, @andrewmarchand, @andrewmarchand and @phil_lewis_

Katie Deighton / Wall Street Journal:

Tumblr starts testing Post+, which allows users to charge their followers a monthly fee in exchange for access to exclusive content, with Tumblr taking a 5% cut — Social platform is the latest to let users earn money from posting — Microblogging stalwart Tumblr on Wednesday began …

Discussion: TechCrunch, @thestefansmith, @dollydeighton, @sub8u, @martinsfp, @anthony and @anthony, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

YouTube says it will test a new feature that will allow viewers to shop for products directly from livestream videos, starting with a few creators and brands — YouTube will begin pilot testing a new feature that will allow viewers to shop for products directly from livestream videos.

Discussion: MediaPost and The Keyword, more at Techmeme »

Discussion: YouTube Official Blog, @coil, @fwiz, musically.com, @adam22, Adweek and Variety

South China Morning Post:

Hong Kong police arrest executive EIC of now-defunct Apple Daily, the eighth senior newspaper figure to be arrested, and detain two senior employees — Lam Man-chung is the eighth senior executive from the now-defunct newspaper to have been arrested since sweeping operation …

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller, @jodixu, Reuters, Associated Press, @hkchrislau and @shefaly

Kim Masters / Hollywood Reporter:

Looking back at the tough tactics of Disney's top comms officer, Zenia Mucha, who took an effective scorched-earth approach to PR and plans to retire in 2022 — Bob Iger's top communications officer, retiring after 20 years in the role, was by far the most powerful female player over the years …

Discussion: @kimmasters, @kheller, @nekesamumbi, @hankstuever, @dawnc331, @sethabramovitch, @edmundlee, @sulliview and @claireatki

Geoff Mayfield / Variety:

TikTok touts two studies that show around 75% of its users discover artists on the service and around 67% seek out songs from TikTok on music streaming services — Unless you've been sleeping as long as Rip Van Winkle, you know TikTok has become the new big man on music's campus and a catalyst for pop culture.

Discussion: Ad Age and TikTok, more at Techmeme »

Brian Heater / TechCrunch:

LiveControl, which sells a plug and play package for venues to livestream events, raises $30M Series A, bringing its total raised to $33M — One thing seems certain: The past year-and-a-half has fundamentally transformed the world of live events. The pandemic left plenty of venues scrambling …

Jim Waterson / The Guardian:

Ofcom launches a formal investigation into BBC's plan to bring back BBC Three to broadcast TV over concerns that it might damage commercial rivals — Corporation aims to attract younger viewers by bringing back channel, but plan has been challenged — The BBC's plan to bring back BBC Three …

Paul Takahashi / Houston Chronicle:

Maria Reeve has been named executive editor of the Houston Chronicle, the first journalist of color to lead the paper; she has been a managing editor since 2019 — Maria Douglas Reeve, managing editor of the Houston Chronicle since November 2019, has been named the newspaper's top editor.

Discussion: American Press Institute, @demianbulwa, @joysewing and @jenzchang

Isabell Hülsen / Spiegel Online:

Interview with FT Editor Roula Khalaf on attracting more female readers, how page views grew 42% YoY in 2020, and FT's reputation as a bible of capitalism — Former foreign correspondent Roula Khalaf has served as the top editor of the Financial Times since 2020.

Discussion: @raju, @elbarbie, @naomi_rovnick, @ftbrussels, @stevenowottny, @valentinapop, @brookbaypirate and @ftpressoffice

Sam Stanton / Sacramento Bee:

Matthew Keys sent back to prison for 6 months after judge finds he deleted Comstock's mag's YouTube account after quitting his job with the pub in January '20 — Solano County journalist Matthew Keys was sentenced Monday to another six months in prison following a Sacramento judge's finding …

Discussion: @sacbee_news and @kevincollier

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Verizon Media reports Q2 revenue of $2.1B, up 50% YoY and 13% from Q2 2019, its third consecutive quarter of double-digit growth; FiOS TV lost 62,000 subs — Verizon Media is getting ready to fly out of the Verizon nest as a private company — and CEO Guru Gowrappan says the digital-media group …

Discussion: @xpangler, @xpangler and Hollywood Reporter

Jessica Bursztynsky / CNBC:

Netflix reports Q2 revenue of $7.34B vs. $7.32B est., up 19% YoY, global paid net additions of 1.54M vs. 1.19M expected; US and Canada region lost 433K subs QoQ — - Netflix reported earnings that missed on the bottom line. — The company's revenue and global paid net subscriber additions beat estimates.

Discussion: Variety, Insider, The Wrap, New York Times, Light Reading, Gotrade Daily, @rfaughnder, The Bamboo Splinter, @xpangler, @davidlaz, @stockmktnewz, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, @lucas_shaw, ScreenRant and IndieWire, more at Techmeme »

Discussion: The Daily Dot, axios.com, @jaypeters, @starfire2258, PC Gamer, 9to5Mac, Polygon, Daily Herald, AppleInsider, Nerdist and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »