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, SlashFilm, The Wrap, CNET, @xpangler, Forbes, ScreenRant, The Verge, NPR, Mashable, Us Weekly, IndieWire, Deadline, Breitbart, @variety, Vanity Fair, @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, @markharrisnyc, @drjasonjohnson, @jimvejvoda, @ascottreid, @bigscreenleaks, @stevendeknight, @garettsloane, @variety, @seitz_unseen, @williambibbiani, @andylevy, @murrelldan, @paultassi, @drawin_casscain, @philnobilejr, @theericgoldman, Geek Cultured, TechRadar, Den of Geek, The Comeback, al.com, Looper, Inverse, The Verge, UPI, UPROXX, Gizmodo, The A.V. Club, TVLine, The Playlist, Decider 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, @nicolewong, @objectivejrn, @juliachanb, @pilhofer, @versharma, @benwerd, @msanchezmia, @mattderienzo, The Markup, @ryanpitts, @pkerkstra, @vivian, @mtdukes, @mitrakalita, @gingerthomp1, @wendi_c_thomas, @pcheung630, @iwmf, @mharrisperry, @nabihasyed, @blackamazon, @s_m_i, @nabihasyed and OpenNews
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, Poynter, @benryanwriter, @jasonkilar, @davidshepardson, 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 …
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, AppleInsider, @alextcone, @timhwang, @blackamazon, @damianburns and @tatarynovich
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
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:
@elanazak, @pkafka, @bigmeaninternet, @rmc031 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:
@adamsinger, @gabby_hoffman, @ashleyrcarman, @lucas_shaw, @parismartineau, @greg_jenner, @henereyg, @simonowens, @dskok and @pftcommenter
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.
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:
Mediaite, @ggreenwald, @ericrweinstein, FTVLive, @harthanson, @richardgrenell, @anthony, @edmundlee, @chris_maag, @tvgrimreaper, @joshsternberg, @mylesudland and New York Post
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
Fox renews its distribution agreement with Verizon for its FiOS TV platform, which will now also carry Fox Weather and Tubi — Fox has completed a multi-year renewal of its distribution agreement with Verizon for its Fios TV platform. — The deal encompasses the full portfolio of Fox brands …
Discussion:
The Streamable, Variety, Next TV and Media Play News
Brandon Katz / The Wrap:
Roku will add Paramount+ to the premium subscriptions available on the Roku Channel later in August — Paramount+ will launch as a premium subscription within The Roku Channel later this month, Roku Inc. announced Wednesday. The partnership will provide The Roku Channel users with direct access …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Roku, The Streamable, Next TV, Deadline, Media Play News and The Hollywood Reporter