Top News:
Johnny Oleksinski / New York Post:
Source: Warner Bros. Discovery will not release Batgirl, on HBO Max nor in theaters, after poor test screenings results; Batgirl had a budget of at least $70M — Holy millions down the drain, Batman! — The new DC Comics film “Batgirl,” which still has no release date, will be completely …
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Forbes, @xpangler, ScreenRant, Deadline, The Guardian, Geek Cultured, @lacymb, The Week, Collider, @sonnybunch, @jowrotethis, @francisco_apino, @greg_jenner, @thecartooncrave, @adambvary, @loudmouthjulia, @gellertdepp, @cevangelista413, @richardlnewby, @somebadideas, @_julianhilliard, @loudmouthjulia, TVLine, @levidu99, @bearmccreary, The Comeback, @xpangler, @becketadams, Gizmodo, IndieWire, @gerrymcbride, @thr, @ewangibbs, @franklinleonard, SlashFilm, @loudmouthjulia, UPROXX, Den of Geek, @markharrisnyc, @drjasonjohnson, The A.V. Club, @jimvejvoda, @ascottreid, @bigscreenleaks, The Playlist, @stevendeknight, @garettsloane, TechRadar, Inverse, @variety, @seitz_unseen, UPI, @williambibbiani, al.com, @andylevy, @murrelldan, @paultassi, The Verge, @drawin_casscain, Looper, @philnobilejr, @theericgoldman and Decider
Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
Q&A with Sisi Wei, the OpenNews co-executive director who The Markup named its new editor-in-chief, on her coverage plans, work experience, challenges, and more — “What we often don't think about is how tech accountability is also so many other types of coverage.
Discussion:
@themarkup, @sisiwei, The Markup, @nabihasyed, @pilhofer, @msanchezmia, @mtdukes, @benwerd, @mattderienzo, @iwmf, @blackamazon, @mitrakalita, @mharrisperry, @s_m_i, @objectivejrn, @juliachanb, @ryanpitts, @nicolewong, @versharma, @wendi_c_thomas, @vivian, @pkerkstra, @nabihasyed, @pcheung630, @gingerthomp1 and OpenNews
New York Times:
Forbes taps Citigroup to explore a sale, sources say for $630M+, after its SPAC deal failed; offering doc: Forbes had $200M+ in revenue and $40M+ profit in 2021 — Forbes has tapped Citigroup to sell at a price of at least the $630 million valuation declared in its earlier plan to go public.
Discussion:
@benmullin, @dgisserious, @benmullin, @mylesudland, Observer, @pkafka, Reuters and Talking Biz News
Christopher Beam / New York Times:
A profile of Scott Galloway, who wants to be “the most influential thought leader” in business via his podcasts, newsletter, New York magazine column, and books — The podcaster aspires to be an influential thought leader. But his appeal to a mostly male fan base is about more than just his prognostications.
Discussion:
@chrismessina, @bendwalsh, @tomgara, @profgalloway, @wadds, @karaswisher, @kerrymflynn, @jyarow, @jeremymbarr, @kellyaucoin77, @taylorlorenz, @bafeldman, @karaswisher and @jeffjarvis
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
NYT reports Q2 revenue up 11.5% YoY to $555.7M, adjusted operating profit down 18% YoY to $76M, and 180K net new digital subs; The Athletic had a $12.6M loss — Revenue from digital advertising fell slightly in the second quarter, but subscription revenue continued to rise sharply, the company said.
Discussion:
Reuters, @cliffordlevy, @tvgrimreaper and @mccanner
Matt Tamanini / The Streamable:
fuboTV announces “a small workforce reduction” in the US as it focuses on “a conservative approach to growth”, before its Q2 2022 earnings report on August 4 — The larger economy is in a perilous position currently as businesses, analysts, and consumers alike weigh …
Discussion:
Insider
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
S&P Global Market Intelligence projects CNN's 2022 profit falling to $956.8M, which sources say would be the first time since 2016 that its profit was below $1B — The network is on a pace to drop below $1 billion in profit for the first time in years, according to people familiar with its operations …
Discussion:
@chris_maag, @ggreenwald, @tvgrimreaper, @ericrweinstein, FTVLive, @mylesudland, @richardgrenell, @harthanson, @anthony, @edmundlee, @joshsternberg, New York Post and Mediaite
Stacy Perman / Los Angeles Times:
Two Hollywood newsletters bolster their offerings: Ankler added a $250/month service about IP to option in July and Puck teases journalist consultation calls — It was June 2020, weeks after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police, sparking Black Lives Matter protests around the world and a widescale conversation about race.
Discussion:
Poynter, @film_girl, @janicemin, @latimes, @nbj914 and @latimes
Peter Kafka / Vox:
Sources: over 1M people signed up for free newsletters on Meta's Bulletin service and the company was planning on expanding its roster earlier in 2022 — The Substack frenzy seems like a thing of the past. But lots of publishers are still leaning into newsletters. “They're a great minimally viable product.”
Drew Magary / Defector:
Interviews with a dozen people in movie and TV post-production reveal that an overworked, confused, and exploited staff has led to lower-quality visual effects — A head of hair is a wild, unreliable thing. It never stays the same length. It never stays in the same place, unless you have Doctor Strange amounts of pomade on you.
Discussion:
@mikeisaac, @drewmagary, @toley88, @drewmagary, @dhm, @drewmagary, @drewmagary and @mikeisaac
Lillian Rizzo / Wall Street Journal:
Amazon plans to offer alternate Prime Video NFL streaming feeds in addition to its main broadcast, a strategy ESPN and Nickelodeon have used to attract viewers — Company to have comedy group Dude Perfect call some ‘Thursday Night Football’ games in bid to expand reach
New York Times:
Sources: Neon, the indie distributor of films such as Parasite, is exploring a sale, five months after A24 sold a minority stake for $225M valuing A24 at ~$2.5B — It has tapped the investment bank Raine to assess its options, on the heels of a megadeal for another independent distributor, A24.