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:
The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Variety, Variety, CNET, SlashFilm, @xpangler, ScreenRant, Forbes, Us Weekly, Deadline, Breitbart, Decider, Vanity Fair, @variety, @lacymb, The Guardian, @sonnybunch, @jowrotethis, @francisco_apino, @greg_jenner, @thecartooncrave, @adambvary, @loudmouthjulia, @gellertdepp, @cevangelista413, @richardlnewby, @somebadideas, @_julianhilliard, @loudmouthjulia, @levidu99, @bearmccreary, @xpangler, @becketadams, The Week, @gerrymcbride, @thr, @ewangibbs, @franklinleonard, @loudmouthjulia, Den of Geek, @markharrisnyc, @drjasonjohnson, @jimvejvoda, @ascottreid, @bigscreenleaks, @stevendeknight, @garettsloane, TechRadar, @variety, @seitz_unseen, @williambibbiani, @andylevy, @murrelldan, @paultassi, @drawin_casscain, @philnobilejr, @theericgoldman, Geek Cultured, The Comeback, al.com, Looper, Inverse, The Verge, UPI, UPROXX, Gizmodo, The A.V. Club, TVLine, The Playlist and Collider
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, @pilhofer, @msanchezmia, @benwerd, @mattderienzo, @objectivejrn, @juliachanb, @nicolewong, @versharma, @ryanpitts, @pkerkstra, @vivian, @mtdukes, @mitrakalita, @gingerthomp1, @wendi_c_thomas, @pcheung630, @iwmf, @mharrisperry, @nabihasyed, @blackamazon, @s_m_i, @nabihasyed 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:
Axios, @benmullin, @robinwigg, @benmullin, @dgisserious, @mylesudland, @pkafka, Observer, 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.
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:
Press Gazette, The Wrap, MediaPost, Reuters, @tvgrimreaper, @mccanner and @cliffordlevy
Thomas Seal / Bloomberg:
Textbook publisher Pearson plans to turn its e-books into NFTs so the company can profit from secondhand sales — The chief executive officer of Pearson Plc, one of the world's largest textbook publishers, said he hopes technology like non-fungible tokens and the blockchain could help …
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, @ericrweinstein, FTVLive, @richardgrenell, @harthanson, @anthony, @edmundlee, @tvgrimreaper, @joshsternberg, @mylesudland, New York Post and Mediaite
Ronan Shields / Digiday:
Apple job posting indicates it is looking to build a “privacy-forward” demand-side ad platform — Apple may have blown up the digital ads business but it left enough fertile ground to build its own, more focused play for media dollars. The company is building a demand-side platform …
Discussion:
@digiday and @damianburns
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
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
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.”
Discussion:
@bigmeaninternet and @emilystewartm
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
A look at the practice of guests paying podcasters to appear on their shows; Guestio, a marketplace for brokering paid guest appearances, has raised $1M+ — People will confess all sorts of things to podcasters, from their unpopular political beliefs or embarrassing romantic mishaps to their worst fears.
Discussion:
@simonowens and @dskok