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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., @espnpr, CNN, TVNewser, New York Times, NPR, @andrewmarchand, UPROXX, Mediaite, @bobbymarks42, @nfl_dovkleiman, @andrewmarchand, Ad Age, Forbes, @mrernestowens, @bykimberleya, The Comeback, @katierosman, @travonne, @andrewmarchand, @phil_lewis_, The Sun, @sportney_lyle, @molllymack, Fox News, TVLine, Awful Announcing, Variety, Insider, Sports Illustrated, The Hill and The Wrap


Bustle owner BDG Media is buying Some Spider Studios, which owns parent sites Scary Mommy, Fatherly, and The Dad, in an all-stock deal valuing Spider at ~$150M — All-stock deal values owner of parenting websites Scary Mommy and Fatherly at about $150 million
Discussion:
Digiday, @benmullin, Variety, @emmarosenblum, @benmullin, @rajivpant, @kerrymflynn and axios.com


Clubhouse is no longer invite-only as it exits beta and says the 10M people on its waitlist will be added to the app over time — The app goes wide — Clubhouse is going wide. Co-founders Paul Davison and Rohan Seth announced today that the app is no longer invite-only.


The Dallas Morning News names Katrice Hardy of The Indianapolis Star as executive editor; she's the first woman and Black journalist to lead the newsroom — Fresh off a Pulitzer Prize winning project in Indianapolis, Katrice Hardy will take over the Dallas newsroom Aug. 12.
Discussion:
@dallasnews, The Indianapolis Star, @bycindiandrews, @ajcorchado, @mo_unique_, @markstenberg3, @charlesornstein, @marklamster, @nicole_carroll, @diannahunt, @nstockdale, @colinallredtx, @audreyhasnews, @sorayamcdonald, @sewellchan, @cassandrajar, @robcurley, @obedmanuel, @kmtorralva, @indystar, @zahiratorres, @ryanmartin, @nataliereporter, @carolynryan, @sjeanwrites and The Hill
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Profile of Call Her Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper, who left Barstool Sports for an exclusive Spotify deal that reportedly pays $60M over three years — In the third episode of what would become the fifth most popular podcas t in the United States, Alex Cooper announced that she had scored the big invite.


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, TikTok, @ttayl0r, @mrochabrun, @mattnavarra and Music Business Worldwide, more at Techmeme »


Profile of Rhett and Link, creators of YouTube daily series Good Mythical Morning who earned $20M in 2020, as they launch a $5M fund to invest in other creators — YouTube fame tends to be counted in hours, days, weeks or, possibly, months if all goes really right.
Discussion:
@rhettmc, @linkneal and Tubefilter


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:
@nichcarlson, @anthony, @mattzeitlin, @thestefansmith, @dollydeighton, @sub8u, Gizmodo, @arilevine, @anthony, @martinsfp, Adweek and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »


The Video Advertising Bureau, including Fox, ViacomCBS, and others, demands that the Media Rating Council suspend accreditation of Nielsen's ratings service — Companies have battled for months over ratings accuracy
Discussion:
MediaPost, The Wrap, @annkspencer, Variety and Ad Age


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:
The Keyword, @glenngabe, @lanceulanoff, @dottotech and MediaPost, more at Techmeme »
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Sean Hannity drew praise after urging people to “please take COVID seriously”, but Fox News' broader messaging on vaccines remains contradictory and sows doubt — That effort to sow doubt was on full display Monday night — It was a sentiment that has been heard only rarely …


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 …