Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
AT&T Q2: HBO Max and HBO have 67.5M subscribers, up 12M YoY; HBO Max subscription revenue grew 39% YoY to $2B; WarnerMedia income fell 11.3% YoY to $1.7B — For the second quarter of 2021, the company reported a net gain of 2.8 million total domestic HBO Max and HBO subscribers …
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Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Jason Kilar says Warner Bros. will produce at least 10 movies exclusively for HBO Max in 2022 — Warner Bros. will produce 10 or more movies exclusively for HBO Max in 2022, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said Thursday as he declared “motion pictures matter and will continue to matter.”
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Los Angeles Times:
LA Times names Shani Hilton to a newly created role, managing editor for new initiatives; she'll oversee podcasts and video and foster newsroom experimentation — Shani Hilton has been appointed to the newly created role of managing editor for new initiatives at the Los Angeles Times, effective immediately.
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MediaPost, @latlands, @lisatozzi, @craigsilverman, @acnatta, @niemanlab, @sewellchan, @sorayamcdonald, @emilydreyfuss, @lpolgreen, @sdkstl, @meridak and @kyoshino
Matthew Gault / VICE:
Old stories on news sites including WaPo are displaying embedded porn videos after the domain for the defunct video service Vidme was bought by a porn company — Stories on major news sites like ‘The Washington Post,’ and ‘New York Magazine’ currently have porn embedded in them.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, @motherboard, The Verge, @epro, @caseynewton, @margarita, @davidbix, @motherboard, @annemariebridy, @s_m_i and @taylorlorenz, more at Techmeme »
Chris Krewson / LION Publishers:
As local newspapers like Chicago Tribune die, digital ecosystems that unbundle legacy newsrooms have the potential to truly reflect and serve their communities — Digital newsrooms are having a moment — but they're not “replacing” something. They're creating something new, which could do much more.
Discussion:
@kristenhare, @ckrewson, @kimfox, @ckrewson, @borderless_mag, @pottsmark, @journalismproj and WGN Radio 720
Oliver Darcy / CNN:
WaPo reporter Felicia Sonmez sues WaPo, Marty Baron, and other editors, claiming she faced discrimination after disclosing she was a sexual assault victim — New York (CNN Business)A reporter at The Washington Post filed a lawsuit Thursday against the newspaper, its former top editor …
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New York Times, Washington Post, Mediaite, @irin, The Hill, @zoeschiffer, @nytimes, The Wrap, @irin, @jeffyoung, @patcaldwell, @addysbaird, @mlcarmel, @maxjrosenthal, @emmacarew, @hshaban, @tonyajoriley, @joemfox, @gabemschneider and @kansasalps
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Snap Q2: revenue of $982M, up 116% YoY, DAUs up 23% YoY to 293M, and net loss shrunk 53% YoY to $152M; stock is up 13%+ after hours — - Snap on Thursday reported its second-quarter earnings, beating expectations across the board for earnings, revenue and user growth.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Axios, Ad Age, Variety, @heidi_chung, The Verge, @variety, @roter, @carnage4life, @xpangler and Snap Inc., more at Techmeme »
Sara Guaglione / Digiday:
Future PLC, which owns Tom's Guide, Marie Claire, and more, says it drove nearly $1B in e-commerce revenue for its affiliate partners in 2020 — Future PLC's 2020 e-commerce business boom has carried over into 2021. — The U.K. media company — which owns brands like Tom's Guide …
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@sarahmarshall
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Twitter beats with Q2 revenue of $1.19B, up 74% YoY, vs $1.07B est., ad revenue of $1.05B, up 87% YoY, and mDAUs of 206M, up 11% YoY; stock is up 8%+ — - Twitter's revenue growth accelerated and surpassed analysts' expectations. — The social-media company introduced its first subscription service in the quarter.
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Variety, @joshuagreen, Adweek, Axios, The Wrap, @hedgemind, @xpangler, @thekenyeung, @anthony, @b52malmet, @levynews, Twitter and @brianstelter, more at Techmeme »
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
The Biden administration's promise to “review” Section 230 in response to anti-vax posts on Facebook will fail since being wrong online is protected speech — ‘Reviewing’ Section 230 isn't the answer to anti-vax posts — Last week, the White House declared war …
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Washington Post, Fast Company, @justinamash, @matthewstoller, @zaidjilani, @giladedelman, NPR, @russellbrandom, @russellbrandom, @reckless, Politico and Techdirt, more at Techmeme »
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Former CBS CEO Joe Ianniello has launched a SPAC, called Argus, and hopes to raise $300M+ to pursue an acquisition in media, telecommunications, or technology — SPAC, dubbed Argus, hopes to raise at least $300 million and is hunting for an acquisition in media, telecom or technology
Discussion:
The Wrap, @benmullin and Hollywood Reporter
Reuters:
Filing: Teads, which provides automated buying and selling of online ad space, plans to raise up to $808.5M in its US IPO, at a valuation of about $5B — Advertising technology company Teads BV, owned by French telecom company Altice, said on Wednesday it aims to raise up to $808.5 million through …