Top News:
New York Times:
Sources: Walmart has held talks with Paramount, Disney, and Comcast, as the retailer explores bundling a streaming service into its Walmart+ membership program — The retail giant is exploring bundling a streaming service into its Walmart+ membership program.
Discussion:
Digital TV Europe, @samsanders, The Desk, @cambnewton, @shehanjeyarajah, @nytimestech, @delrey, Wall Street Journal, @mikefinger, @tvgrimreaper, @tim_bays, @jbillinson, @pkafka, @richlightshed, @digitalshields, @frankpallotta, @annaknicolaou, @haleighhoffman, Insider, The Verge, TechCrunch, Decider, Reuters, SlashFilm, Media Play News and The Streamable, more at Techmeme »
J. Clara Chan / The Hollywood Reporter:
BuzzFeed reports Q2 revenue up 20% YoY to $106.8M, including Complex Networks, a $23.6M net loss, vs. $0.8M YoY, and time spent down 19% YoY to 154M hours — BZFD stock has dropped roughly 50 percent in price over the past six months. — BuzzFeed brought in $106.8 million in revenue during …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, @joshsternberg and @thr
Peter Kafka / Vox:
Axios, Politico, Punchbowl, and other Washington-focused outlets owe a lot of their success to ad deals with Meta, Alphabet, and other Big Tech companies — Money from Meta — and the rest of Big Tech — is pouring into Washington publications. — Axios is an against-the-grain success story …
Discussion:
The Rebooting, @jessicalessin, @delrey, @lucas_shaw, @sarafischer, @chafkin, @kent_pubcitizen, @leah_nylen, @pkafka, @lutherlowe, @bluestein, @nytimestech, @kerrymflynn, @benmullin and @terronk
Bloomberg:
Sources: the US DOJ is preparing to sue Google over its ad market business as soon as September, as the DOJ's antitrust division lawyers interview publishers — The US Justice Department is preparing to sue Google as soon as next month, according to people familiar with the matter …
Discussion:
@joshsternberg, Engadget, CNET, @anthony, TechCrunch and AppleInsider, more at Techmeme »
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Spotify gives its Android app's home screen separate feeds for Music and Podcasts & Shows to better highlight recommendations, will bring the change to iOS soon — Spotify announced today that it's launching a new Home experience that includes separate feeds for “Music” and “Podcasts & Shows.”
Discussion:
Spotify, Complete Music Update, Music Ally, @alexhern and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
Brandon Katz / The Wrap:
Fox Corp reports Q4 revenue rose 5% YoY to $3.03B, with ad revenue up 7% YoY, and net income of $308M; FY 2022 revenue was $13.97B, with $1.23B net income — Despite concerns that a looming recession would depress ad sales, Fox Corp. is bucking the trend thus far.
Discussion:
Variety, Deadline, @great_katzby, The Hollywood Reporter and Fox Corp
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Lachlan Markay / Axios:
Filings: Russia-backed TV Novosti and two entities are funding four news-style TV shows from US conspiracy theorist Ben Swann, covering the US, NATO, and more — Russia's state-backed media apparatus is financing four new TV programs produced by a U.S. conspiracy theorist and aimed in large part …
Discussion:
@lachlan, @ldrogen, @robertcaruso, @m_c_klein, @andrewsweiss and @andrew_danieri
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Kara Swisher plans to stop hosting the Code Conference after the 2022 edition to focus on new projects that explore topics beyond tech and reach more people — After 20 years, this year's annual Code Conference from Vox Media will be Kara Swisher's last year hosting and organizing the event, Swisher told Axios.
Discussion:
@mediaevan, @taylorlorenz, @taylorlorenz and @sarafischer
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Spotify quietly begins selling event tickets to users in the US directly, instead of redirecting buyers to Ticketmaster and Eventbrite — Spotify has launched a new site to sell fans tickets to live gigs directly from its platform instead of redirecting users to partners like Ticketmaster and Eventbrite.
Discussion:
Engadget, @indianidle and Music Ally, more at Techmeme »
Reuters:
AppLovin offers to buy Unity for $58.85 per share, an 18% premium to Unity's Monday closing price, in a $17.54B all-stock deal; AppLovin's stock drops 10.29% — Gaming software company AppLovin Corp (APP.O) on Tuesday made an offer to buy peer Unity Software Inc (U.N) in a $17.54 billion all-stock deal …
Patrick McGee / Financial Times:
Many small businesses that use personalized online ads are cutting back on marketing, in part due to Apple's ATT, as they face rising customer acquisition costs — Online brands reliant on personalised ads ramp back marketing spending — Small businesses are cutting back marketing spending due …
Discussion:
@glenngabe, @1br0wn, @nigelbarron and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
Sophie Fullerton / Washington Post:
YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram travel influencers are documenting trips to Syria, helping burnish the regime's image, often sponsored by brands like Surfshark — Sophie Fullerton is a political scientist and human rights researcher based in New York. — Last November, around the same …
Discussion:
@fared_alhor, @talaramadan, @glcarlstrom, @im_pulse and @florida_sophia
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