Top News:
Leah Finnegan / Gawker:
Gawker, now owned by Bustle, relaunches with Leah Finnegan as editor-in-chief — When Bustle Digital Group first approached me to revive Gawker last year, I said absolutely no way in hell. Who in God's name would want to edit a website that was cratered by an evil tech lord and sullied by a botched relaunch?
Discussion:
Gawker, New York Times, Gawker, @gawker, @joseiswriting, @lgbtqfc, @mathewi, @edbott, @smashdawg, @thescibabe, @kerrymflynn, New York Post, @michaelroston, After School, @lwoodhouse, @jeremymonjo, @parkerortolani, @leahfinnegan, @joshuatopolsky, @rmac18, @e_alexjung, @rmac18, @sarah_sloat_, @mariebardi, @kottke, @kantrowitz, @jeremypgordon, @ceciliakang, @ricsanchez, @juliaioffe, @ryanvailbrown, @tcarmody, @rmac18, @viajoshhunt, @sarafischer, @nataliekitro, @dpd_, @brandyljensen, @auntcontent, @benyt, @jennygzhang, @thegoodolddais, @ashihipar, @mathewi, @dnvolz, @joshsternberg, @dkaszor, @kindahagi, The Wrap and Boing Boing
CBSSports.com:
College Big 12 conference commissioner says ESPN is luring member colleges to other conferences, demands ESPN cease and desist; ESPN says claims have no merit — Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby alleges conference media rights partner ESPN conspired to damage the league by luring Texas …
Discussion:
@rossdellenger, Sportico, The Wrap, Awful Announcing, @petethamel, Associated Press, NewsNation Now, @slmandel, @jtlinder, @averygwilks, @byjoelanderson, @silversteinadam, @ksuwindbreaker, @bypatforde, @andy_staples, @rossdellenger, Bleacher Report, @rossdellenger, @rossdellenger, @max_olson, @petethamel and @petethamel
Michael Barthel / Pew Research Center:
State of US news media in 2020: newspapers made more money from circulation than from ads for the first time, cable news saw explosive audience growth, and more — Every two years, Pew Research Center updates its series of fact sheets on the U.S. news media industry, tracking key audience …
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
NBA partners with iHeartMedia to develop a slate of daily and weekly podcasts using NBA's audio archives — - Basketball league will mine its archive for rare audio clips — Radio giant will handle sales, distribution and production — The National Basketball Association is developing …
Discussion:
Variety, SlashGear, Awful Announcing, insideradio.com, @lucas_shaw and AllAccess.com
Max Willens / Digiday:
Sources: LinkedIn is testing LinkedIn Premium News, which gives Premium members access to paywalled content published by sites that use Piano's paywall tech — LinkedIn would like to broaden the base of people shelling out money for its premium membership, and it's hoping that access …
Discussion:
@jeremarketer, @dmitryshishkin and @maxwillens
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Spotify Q2: revenue of €2.3B, up 23% YoY, ad revenue up 110% YoY to €275M; paying subscribers reached 165M, up 20% YoY, total MAUs reached 365M; stock down 6%+ — Spotify, citing ongoing headwinds from the COVID pandemic, fell short of its total monthly user growth goal in the second quarter of 2021.
Nellie Andreeva / Deadline:
Netflix will now require COVID-19 vaccinations for the casts of all US productions and for those who come into contact with the casts, with rare exceptions — EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has become the first major Hollywood studio to implement a blanket policy mandating vaccinations for the casts …
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Verge, Hollywood Reporter, Collider, Breitbart, Politico and CNBC, more at Techmeme »
Andrew Marantz / New Yorker:
A look at “dirtbag-left” podcasts like Chapo Trap House, that pair socialist ideas with the rhetorical style of social media, as some pivot away from politics — For years, “Chapo Trap House” and other podcasts have paired anti-capitalist ideas with the rhetorical style of social media.
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
AT&T is selling Vrio Corp., its DirecTV business unit in Latin America, to Grupo Werthein, after taking a $4.6B impairment charge — AT&T has sold 100% of Vrio Corp. business in Latin America to Grupo Werthhein. — Vrio provides live and on-demand video services via DirecTV Latin America …
Discussion:
Business Wire, The Fast Mode and Reuters
Jake Dean / Slate:
NBC promoted Peacock's Olympics coverage before the games, but finding free live sports there has been confusing; some sports are only available via paid tiers — Ahead of the Olympics, NBC heralded its streaming app Peacock as a new outlet for sports coverage where users could watch live events and commentary for free.
Discussion:
@michaelsocolow, Fox News, NBC Sports Pressbox, Los Angeles Times, @michaelsocolow and New York Times
Stephanie Condon / ZDNet:
Facebook says Q2 ad revenue was $28.58B, up 56% YoY, with average price per ad up 47% YoY and a 6% YoY increase in ads delivered — The rising price for ads delivered strong top and bottom-line results for Facebook, even as the social media giant continued to warn of “increased ad targeting headwinds.”
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Ad Age, Hollywood Reporter, Forbes, @carnage4life, @benedictevans and @froomkin, more at Techmeme »
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Fox News partners with Warner Bros. to offer six classic Clint Eastwood films on Fox Nation, as the streaming service expands beyond news and politics — Fox Nation has enlisted a new face to help it navigate TV's streaming wars. — As part of a licensing pact with WarnerMedia's Warner Bros. studio …
Discussion:
@brandyljensen and @bristei