Top News:
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, EatingWell, Health, Parents, and People en Español will cease printing after April, becoming digital brands and cutting ~200 jobs — The publications, which IAC's Dotdash acquired when it bought Meredith last year, will live on as digital-only brands
Discussion:
The Wrap, Variety, Axios, Ad Age, Daily Front Row, Los Angeles Times, The Hill, WWD, MediaPost, Nieman Lab, New York Times, Too Much TV Newsletter, @ml_boardman, @rgay, @jensantamaria, @jensantamaria, @danpriceseattle, @jensantamaria, @film_girl, @ambernoelle, @kasie, @kod, @marcatracy, @jmrivera02, Al Jazeera, New York Post, TheStreet, @natalieabrams, @jbflint, @benpershing, @thehrh, @sarahjaeleiber, @jessewashington, @mikeroe, Christopher Six's Pick Six, @lmoses, @shanellegenai, @tinajordannyt, @jmdornbush, @richardlnewby, @hiattb, @casey_mink, @tvmojoe, @jeffjarvis, @heykmenz, @froomkin, @daniellenuss, @jaredbkeller, @terri_schwartz, @ericrennerbrown, @markstenberg3, @jowrotethis, The Hollywood Reporter, @chrisvfeil, @azalben, @samontv and Deadline
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Disney beats Q1 estimates with 129.8M Disney+ subscriptions worldwide, up 37% YoY, and $21.82B in revenue, up 34% YoY; stock up 8%+ after hours — Disney Plus powered to a strong year-end finish, with the media giant's flagship streaming business blowing past expectations to hit almost 130 million users.
Discussion:
The Streamable, CNBC, The Wrap, Deadline, Decider, Digital Trends, @scottygb, @xpangler, The Walt Disney Company and Hollywood Reporter
Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
Filing: Discovery says its merger with AT&T's WarnerMedia received US antitrust clearance, following European Commission approval in December — The mega-deal is expected to close in the second quarter.
Discussion:
Axios, Variety, Los Angeles Times, CNN, The Week, New York Post, New York Times, @brianstelter, The Hill, Deadline, @brianstelter, @axios, Media Play News, @alexweprin, @alexweprin, @dcnorg, @roncharles, The Wrap and The Verge
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Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Sources: Discovery sees Zucker's departure as an opportunity for a reset at CNN to make it less opinionated; ratings have declined noticeably in recent months — Ever since Jeff Zucker seized the reins at CNN in early 2013, the cable-news network has been one of loudest voices in media circles.
Discussion:
@jayrosen_nyu, Mediaite, @soledadobrien, @bristei, Poynter, @emilytvproducer, @bristei, @froomkin and @bristei
Andrew Kersley / Press Gazette:
BBC will launch a new live team with 31 journalists to expand coverage beyond COVID-19, after its live pages collectively had 1B+ visits during the pandemic — The pandemic has attached “rocket boosters” to news live blogs and led to more investment from publishers as sites try …
Discussion:
Talking Biz News, @davidclinchnews, @stuartmillar159, @jasminecoleman and @ponniahkevin
Sara Fischer / Axios:
As ABC News, ESPN, Daily Mail, and other outlets amass over 1M TikTok followers, some suggest the surge is reminiscent of their growth on Facebook in 2015 — A handful of news media companies now have more than 1 million followers on TikTok, a testament to how much the viral video platform …
Discussion:
@shannmclellan, @evanmcmurry, @_andersonbecca and @callingcaterina
Nilay Patel / The Verge:
Interview with Capital B co-founder and CEO Lauren Williams on fundraising, the value of social platforms and search, the new Atlanta newsroom, and more — Lauren Williams is the co-founder and CEO of Capital B, a new nonprofit media company dedicated to news for Black audiences.
Discussion:
@reckless, @laurenwilliams, @annalysagayle and NPR Fangirl
Financial Times:
A look at the effect of current and prospective regulations by EU countries on US streamers, including mandatory investments and retention of producer rights — Netflix, Disney and Amazon grapple with national investment targets and a shake-up in who owns rights
Discussion:
@labboudles, more at Techmeme »
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
In a deposition, James Bennet says that he included a direct apology to Sarah Palin in a response to CNN's questions, but the apology didn't make it past NYT PR — “America's Lethal Politics,” the June 14, 2017, editorial at the center of Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit, is cause for apology.
Discussion:
Politico, @erikwemple, Nieman Lab, The Daily Beast, CNN, @davidfolkenflik, @davidfolkenflik, Poynter, @oliverdarcy, @mboorstein and NPR
Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:
Tumblr launches a tip jar, initially in the US, on iOS, Android, and the web; Tumblr will not take a cut and won't use Apple or Google's billing systems — Tumblr is launching its second attempt at a monetization feature today. Rolling out in the U.S. now and soon globally …
Discussion:
Tumblr Staff, Tubefilter and @mattnavarra, more at Techmeme »
Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
James Murdoch and ex-Star India CEO Uday Shankar form Bodhi Tree with $1.5B from Qatar's wealth fund to invest in media and tech in SE Asia, particularly India — The alliance sees the launch of the platform, titled Bodhi Tree, with financial backing from the Qatar Investment Authority.
Discussion:
Variety, TechCrunch, Los Angeles Times, Deadline and @sarafischer
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Moonbug Entertainment acquires Little Angel, a YouTube network with over 88M subscribers that uses 3D animation and original songs to entertain children — The deal is the first for Moonbug since selling itself to Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs' Candle Media. — Moonbug Entertainment …
Discussion:
Tubefilter, Kidscreen, Variety and Bloomberg