Mediagazer: Discovery says it has 18M subscribers, most on Discovery+, reports Q2 net income of $672M on revenue of $3.06B, up 21% YoY; US ad revenue grew 12% YoY to $1.1B (Tony Maglio/The Wrap)

3:35 PM ET, August 3, 2021

Top News:

Tony Maglio / The Wrap:

Discovery says it has 18M subscribers, most on Discovery+, reports Q2 net income of $672M on revenue of $3.06B, up 21% YoY; US ad revenue grew 12% YoY to $1.1B — Discovery surpassed financial expectations in the second quarter of 2021, when advertising sales and growth at Discovery+ made for a solid three-month period.

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, The Streamable, MediaPost, Variety, @kelseymsutton, @loudmouthjulia, @alexweprin, The Wrap, The Streamable, WORLD SCREEN and nexttv.com

K.J. Yossman / Variety:

Discovery says more than 275M viewers in Europe watched the first nine days of the Olympics, of which 100M watched on Discovery channels or digital services — More than 275 million viewers across Europe have watched the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the first nine days of the competition, Discovery has reported.

Discussion: The Wrap and Digital TV Europe

K.J. Yossman / Variety:
Discovery's deal to buy European rights for 2018-2024 Olympics, worth $1.5B, has led to severely limited free-to-air coverage in the UK, Italy, and elsewhere

Discussion: The Guardian, Personanondata, @edcumming, @scottygb, @redditcfb, @adebradley and @eddierobson

Knight Foundation:

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Discussion: @knightfdn, @jimbrady, @raju, @jenniferpreston, @jeffjarvis, @froomkin, @vivian, @ckrewson and @sewellchan

Lauren Easton / Associated Press:

Daisy Veerasingham named president and CEO of The Associated Press, becoming the first woman, person of color, and foreign citizen to lead the outlet — NEW YORK - The Associated Press today named Daisy Veerasingham as its new president and CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2022.

Discussion: New York Times, Associated Press, The Hill, Reuters, Poynter, The Wrap, @sarafischer, @jpacedc and @dsupervilleap

Nilay Patel / The Verge:

Q&A with YouTube chief product officer Neal Mohan on monetizing Shorts, content moderation with Content ID, YouTube TV, competing with TikTok, and more — YouTube chief product officer Neal Mohan joined Decoder this week to discuss YouTube's new $100 million fund to begin paying creators …

Discussion: The Streamable, 9to5Google, @nealmohan, @reckless, @earcos, @reckless, @alexeheath, @reckless and @alexeheath, more at Techmeme »

Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
YouTube will pay creators up to $10K/month for making original videos on YouTube Shorts, starting in 10 regions this month and paid out of its $100M Shorts Fund

Discussion: The Wrap, Variety, TechCrunch, New York Times and Tubefilter, more at Techmeme »

J. Clara Chan / Hollywood Reporter:

On-demand movie and TV service FandangoNow has merged with video streaming service Vudu, which will become Roku's official movie and TV store — The updated Vudu service will have more than 200,000 titles to rent or buy — including features on Disney+ like ‘Black Widow.’

Discussion: TechCrunch, The Streamable, Variety, MediaPost, Gizmodo, ComingSoon.net, The Verge, Cord Cutters News, Decider and FierceVideo

Sara Fischer / Axios:

For the first time, a film distributor will debut a movie on Facebook via a live ticketed event; the documentary “The Outsider” will launch on August 19 — For the first time ever, a film distributor will use Facebook to debut a movie exclusively via a ticketed live event, executives tell Axios.

Discussion: The Wrap, Insider, The Streamable and Variety

Leonard Greene / New York Daily News:

A staffer sues Fox News saying Andrew Napolitano sexually harassed him and Larry Kudlow made racist and sexist remarks; Fox has “parted ways” with Napolitano — Fox Business host Larry Kudlow repeatedly made racist and sexist remarks during staff meetings and even blocked …

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:

Belarusian journalist given 18 months for insulting Lukashenko; human rights org reports 200+ July raids on offices and homes of activists and journalists — A Belarusian journalist has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after being found guilty of insulting the country's authoritarian leader …

Karlene Lukovitz / MediaPost:

ViacomCBS announces a multi-year distribution agreement with Cox Communications, which will now gain access to Paramount+, Showtime OTT, and Pluto TV — ViacomCBS announced a new multi-year distribution agreement with Cox Communications that includes greater access to ViacomCBS's streaming services …

Discussion: Radio & Television …

Mark Stenberg / Adweek:

Condé Nast and Universal Music Group partner to launch CNCV+, which will provide advertisers access to both audiences through one offering — This morning, Cond? Nast announced it has partnered with Universal Music Group to launch Cond? Nast Certified Video Plus (CNCV+) …

Miranda Sawyer / The Guardian:

Some podcasters worry about the impact of huge investment into the industry, led by Spotify and Amazon, especially on indie shows — As big spenders such as Amazon and Spotify fill our ears with more commercial, celebrity-driven fare, can grassroots, diverse shows survive?

Discussion: @julieamcdowall, @edibow, @bobservo, @greg_jenner, hotpodnews.com, @henereyg, @fallingtreeprod, @simonowens, @martinaustwick, @cathycullen, @cameronreilly, @thememorypalace, @msmirandasawyer, @fionasturges, @thecatfilmfan and Podcast Movement

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