Top News:
Financial Times:
In an email to advertisers, Twitter insists it will remain a safe place for brands after Elon Musk's takeover, as campaign groups predict rising toxicity — Campaigners and car manufacturers among groups to express concern over Tesla chief's $44bn takeover
Discussion:
New York Post, The Verge, @tim, USA Today, Well, back to Work, Lee's Newsletter, Insider and @biannagolodryga, more at Techmeme »
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Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Twitter reports Q1 revenue of $1.2B, up 16% YoY but below estimates, and $513M net income; mDAUs reached 229M; Twitter will offer no guidance pending Musk's bid — - Twitter reported earnings for the first quarter of 2022. — It could be one of its last as a public company …
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Variety, The Verge, TechCrunch, The Wrap, Forbes, Bloomberg, PR Newswire and Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Twitter has aggressively defended users' privacy and free speech rights, pushing back on unmasking subpoenas; it's unclear if this will continue under Musk
Twitter has aggressively defended users' privacy and free speech rights, pushing back on unmasking subpoenas; it's unclear if this will continue under Musk
Discussion:
@elonmusk, @public_citizen, New York Times, The Guardian, Insider, Protocol, @benedictevans, @adamserwer, @carnage4life, @paraga, @brianrwasik, @ishaantharoor, @blackamazon, @elonmusk, @shaunking, @noahpinion, @carterforva, @svdate, @reckless, @reckless, @tomangell, @mmasnick, @thedextriarchy, @aaschapiro, @jayblackisfunny, @juddlegum, @reckless, @parkermolloy, @johnknefel, @dylanljmartin, @mmasnick and @lldiedrich
Kim Masters / Hollywood Reporter:
What went wrong at Netflix: sources say VP of content Cindy Holland's departure in 2020 let chief content officer Ted Sarandos prioritize quantity over quality — As rivals toggle between schadenfreude and fear, top creators and insiders are increasingly becoming vocal about what's gone wrong with the streaming giant's culture.
Yahoo Finance:
Meta reports Q1 ad revenue of $27B vs. $27.5B est., and says it expects FY 2022 expenses between $87B and $92B, less than the previously announced $90B to $95B — Facebook parent company Meta (FB) reported its Q1 2022 earnings on Wednesday, meeting expectations on revenue but missing on earnings per share.
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Washington Post:
The WHCA turned down an offer to install ultraviolet devices to fight coronavirus transmission at its dinner on April 30, for which it has sold 2,600 tickets — White House correspondents rebuff proposal to install special lights to stop viral spread — More than 2,000 journalists …
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Politico, NBC News, @jreinermd, @ebonyjhilton_md, @mattbc, @ericgeller, @ddiamond, @elivalley, @maxwelltani, @jeffjarvis, @charles_gaba, @drdavidmichaels, @ebonyjhilton_md, @lmlauramarsh, @projectn95, @rachelbianca, @neilsehgal, @budrykzack, @karoli, @dataeditor, @celinegounder, @danaparish, @davidmackau, @greenfield64, @paulkingsley7, @tmprowell, Breitbart and New York Magazine
New York Times:
G/O Media acquires Quartz for an undisclosed price; Quartz CEO and co-founder Zach Seward will stay on at the company as Quartz's EIC and general manager — The deal is the latest in a wave of consolidation among digital publishers. — Give this article- - - Read in app
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@caleweissman and @mcwm
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
ESPN anchor Sage Steele sues the network and parent Disney, alleging ESPN violated her free-speech rights by retaliating for her words on a Jay Cutler podcast — Lawsuit centers on Ms. Steele's comments about Covid-19, ex-President Obama in a podcast interview last year
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The Guardian, New Jersey Online, @jbflint, @sheriffclarke, @jbflint, @jessespector, @jbflint, Sports Illustrated, Awful Announcing and Barrett Media
Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
SiriusXM reports Q1 revenue of $2.19B, up 6% YoY, and net income of $309M; ad revenue, including from podcasts, grew 8% YoY to $336M — The audio giant, led by CEO Jennifer Witz, reports its latest results. — Audio entertainment giant SiriusXM, the home of Howard Stern …
Discussion:
Reuters and Sirius XM Holdings Inc.
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
Comcast reports Q1 revenue rose 14% YoY to $31B; NBCU revenue was $10.3B, up 46.6% YoY, as EBITDA reached $1.6B; Peacock had $472M revenue and a $456M loss — Comcast reports first-quarter results for its entertainment arm, cable systems and European pay TV giant Sky.
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, The Wrap, @sherman4949, Bloomberg and @richlightshed
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Spotify Q1: revenue rose 24% YoY to €2.66B, including €282M from ads, up 31% YoY; paid subs rose 15% YoY to 182M, despite losing 1.5M in Russia; stock down 12%+ — Spotify Technology SA has spent more than a billion dollars in an effort to become the No. 1 name in podcasting …
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TechCrunch, Billboard, @eldsjal, Music Business Worldwide, Financial Times, Investor's Business Daily, @pkafka, @lucas_shaw, @sarthakgh, Transistori, @ashleyrcarman, @sarahintampa, @lucas_shaw, Reuters, Variety, @kerrymflynn, Business Wire, Spotify, @ashleyrcarman, Mediaite, @anthonyc3004, @anthonyc3004, @spotifynews, @jonporty, Axios, Engadget, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, The Verge and Ad Age, more at Techmeme »
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
Comcast and Charter launch a 50:50 joint venture to develop a nationwide streaming platform that will use Comcast's Flex streaming tech and its Xumo content — Comcast will license Flex, its aggregated streaming platform and hardware, and contribute streamer Xumo to the joint venture …
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New York Times, Variety, Ad Age, Comcast, TechCrunch, Deadline, @davidlaz, @benmullin, @comcast, @ajitpai, @alexweprin, MediaPost, Cord Cutters News, Engadget, Light Reading, CNET, The Verge, Media Play News and Next TV
Dell Cameron / Gizmodo:
Twitter confirms banning the promotion of HBO documentary Q: Into the Storm in 2021 via its ad platform, alongside QAnon account removal and content limiting — Twitter told the director of “Q: Into the Storm” it had “made the decision not to allow promotion of this documentary” when he tried to advertise the film.