Mediagazer: Filing: in Q1 2022, Berkshire Hathaway bought a $2.6B Paramount stake and boosted its Activision Blizzard and Apple positions; Paramount stock closes up 15.35% (Jill Goldsmith/Deadline)

9:10 AM ET, May 18, 2022

Top News:

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Sources: Disney will not accept ads about alcohol, politics, or rival studios on its cheaper ad-supported Disney+ tier, and will not show ads to young children — Not every marketer is likely to get its commercials on a new ad-supported version of Disney+.

Discussion: Digital TV Europe, Fast Company, Digiday, The Desk, Too Much TV Newsletter, New York Post, @annehummert, Protocol, SlashFilm, IndieWire, The Wrap, CNET, Ad Age and MediaPost

Wall Street Journal:

Disney plans to carry four minutes of commercials per hour on Disney+'s ad-supported tier; Hulu has nearly eight, Peacock has five, and HBO Max will have four — Total ad load to be limited to four minutes an hour; preschool children won't see any ads — Walt Disney Co. DIS 2.69%▲ …

Discussion: @patiencehaggin, The Verge, ScreenRant, Hollywood Reporter, Ad Age, Engadget, @mulvihill79, @richlightshed, @tsoh_investing, TechCrunch, TVLine and The Streamable

Nellie Andreeva / Deadline:

Netflix cuts 150 jobs out of 11K across departments in a new round of layoffs, mostly in the US, as the company reins in costs amid slowing revenue growth — EXCLUSIVE: Layoffs are underway at Netflix today. About 150 positions out of the streamer's workforce of 11,000 are being eliminated amid …

Nicholas Confessore / New York Times:

Senator Chuck Schumer urges Rupert Murdoch to stop amplifying “replacement theory” on Fox News; Lachlan Murdoch said Tucker Carlson “decried” the theory in 2021 — Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, urged Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch …

Todd Spangler / Variety:

At its Brandcast presentation, YouTube unveils ad frequency limits across YouTube and connected TV apps, letting marketers using Google Ads to set weekly caps — The TV upfronts are usually a dog-and-pony show where networks unveil their new content slates.

Discussion: Ad Age, MediaPost, Tubefilter and @xpangler

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

Apple debuts Apple Music Live, a concert livestreaming series for Apple Music subscribers starting with Harry Styles on May 20, but doesn't share other events — Apple is launching a new concert livestreaming series called “Apple Music Live” that will showcase performances from …

Discussion: iMore, Music Ally, 9to5Mac, Engadget, MacRumors, Billboard and AppleInsider

J. Clara Chan / Hollywood Reporter:

An interview with Audible's Rachel Ghiazza and Zola Mashariki, who lead its original content business, on eyeing the long game with top Hollywood talent — The subscription platform, now powered by Amazon, is bolstering stars' production shingles and boasts a greater degree of creative freedom …

Discussion: @nwquah and @jclarachan

Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:

Filing: in Q1 2022, Berkshire Hathaway bought a $2.6B Paramount stake and boosted its Activision Blizzard and Apple positions; Paramount stock closes up 15.35% — UPDATED with closing price: Shares of Paramount Global shot up more than 15% to close at $32.32 Tuesday after Berkshire Hathaway …

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

An analysis of nine US local TV stations' top Facebook posts: 9.9% had a video, community stories were popular, sports posts performed below average, and more — In a typical American city, the local daily newspaper is the outlet producing the most news day after day.

Discussion: @kimwilson, @niemanfdn, @adriana_lacy, @spj_tweets and @mattnavarra

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Kevin Mayer's and Tom Staggs' Candle Media acquires ATTN:, a profitable digital content publisher focused on social change content, sources say for ~$150M — It gives Candle access to a brand that has expertise in reaching a younger, socially-active audience.

Discussion: @sarafischer, The Wrap, @candlemedia, @kevinmayer, @tomstaggs, Variety, @ashkan, @jtoonkel, @richlightshed, @mikehadgis, TechCrunch, Tubefilter, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter and Realscreen

Murray Stassen / Music Business Worldwide:

LimeWire, the music sharing service that relaunched as an NFT music marketplace, strikes a deal to launch NFT projects with Universal Music Group's artists — LimeWire, a former file-sharing platform recently relaunched as a digital collectibles marketplace, has struck its first major label partnership …

Discussion: Digital Music News, Billboard, Music Ally and City A.M.

Naman Ramachandran / Variety:

India announces a 30% reimbursement scheme for international productions shooting in India, capped at $260K — At the Cannes Film Market on Wednesday, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur revealed a 30% reimbursement scheme for international productions shooting in India.

Discussion: @rafat and Variety

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More News:

Leichtman Research Group:
Research: the largest US pay TV providers lost ~1.95M net video subscribers in Q1 2022 and have ~74.1M subscribers; the top seven cable companies have ~40.5M

Discussion: The Streamable and Light Reading

Darlene Superville / Associated Press:
A profile of White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, the daughter of Haitian immigrants who worked for city council members, Obama, the ACLU, and MoveOn

Discussion: @scrowder, @quinncy, @ananavarro, @dsupervilleap, The Guardian and WGN-TV

Tracey Tully / New York Times:
Great Point Studios is building a $100M studio in Newark with six large soundstages, another sign of New Jersey's emerging relevance in the film and TV industry

Discussion: @timsullivan510, @traceytully and Media Play News

Eater:
Eater names Stephanie Wu as editor-in-chief, replacing founding editor Amanda Kludt, who in March became the publisher of Eater, Popsugar, Punch, and Thrillist

Discussion: @bystephwu, @kludt and @voxmedia

Dave Boucher / Detroit Free Press:
Michigan enacts laws requiring newspapers to post public notices online in a manner that is free for everyone; local governments must pay for notices in print

John Revill / Reuters:
Over 58% of Swiss voters back a law mandating that streaming services invest 4% of the revenue they make in Switzerland into domestic film production

Discussion: @dada_drummer, DW.COM, Pasaporte Electoral and Light Reading

Earlier Picks:

Alexander Lee / Digiday:
Current and former staff detail how Enthusiast Gaming laid off 11 of 26 full-time staff from esports news site Upcomer in March 2022 after acquiring it in 2020

Discussion: @apzonerunner, @owoathkeeper, @amandatnstevens, @goopyknoopy, @alexleewastaken and @jacobwolf

Ezra Marcus / New York Times:
An in-depth look at OnlyFans agencies, which manage hundreds of models' accounts and use teams of ghostwriters to privately message subscribers who pay to chat

Discussion: @gustavoturnerx, @adrierising, @lolaruin, @mistressmatisse, @sophiefkemp, @andyboxall, @angel_isab3lle, @liamstack, @nytimes, @tophcus, @pornoqueer, @kevinbaker, @justinhendrix, @veenadubal, @ashleylatke, @mikestabile and @ezra_marc

Bill Curry / Globe and Mail:
Google says Canada's proposed Online News Act amounts to a “link tax” that would “break” its search engine; Google made similar claims against Australia's bill

Antoinette Siu / The Wrap:
BuzzFeed, which bought Complex Networks and HuffPost in 2021, reports Q1 revenue up 26% YoY to $91.6M and a net loss up 295% YoY to $44.6M; stock falls 10%+

Discussion: Digiday, TechCrunch, Hollywood Reporter, @katie_robertson, Benzinga, Dow Jones Newswires and BuzzFeed

Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
Two fact-checking organizations, Argentina's Chequeado and Spain's Maldita.es, launch Factchequeado to address misinformation in Spanish-speaking US communities

Discussion: @marcela_elisa, @factchequeado, @spj_tweets, @nicolemfoy and @mallarytenore

New York Times:
Paradise Media sells literary magazine The Believer to its original owner McSweeney's at a “meaningful” loss, after a fan backlash over clickbait content

From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a smart doorbell system with advanced facial recognition that can wirelessly connect and unlock third-party smart locks

Wall Street Journal:
Gina Raimondo says holding back China in the chips race is a “fool's errand”, and investment, more than export controls, will keep US ahead of Beijing

Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
The US NHTSA suggests easing rules allowing for fully driverless cars and urges companies operating driverless cars to share more data for greater transparency

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