Mediagazer: Sources: Apple signed a Futuro Studios deal to fund podcast development and production in exchange for the first look to turn any podcast into a film or TV show (Bloomberg)

Top News:

Todd Spangler / Variety:

While Disney now has more streaming subscribers than Netflix, its ARPU is much lower: in Q2, its US ARPU was $6.27/month, compared to Netflix's $15.95/month — But the value of those subscriber bases is much different. — Domestically, for example, Disney+ generated about 39% …

Discussion: Axios, Broadband TV News and Associated Press

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Disney announces Disney+ Basic, its ads tier for $7.99 per month, launching in the US on December 8, and raises the ad-free price from $7.99 to $10.99 per month — Disney has set pricing and date for the U.S. launch of the version of Disney+ with ads, while also hiking the monthly price of the Disney+ tier with no ads.

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

Disney hit 221.1M global streaming subscribers in Q3, surpassing Netflix's 220.7M in Q3; Disney+ had 152.1M subscribers, Hulu had 46.2M, and ESPN+ had 22.8M — The Walt Disney Company reported on Wednesday that total Disney+ subscriptions rose to 152.1 million during the company's third-quarter, posting better-than-expected results.

Discussion: Observer, The Walt Disney Company, The Hollywood Reporter, Fortune, Deadline, Too Much TV Newsletter, Boing Boing, CBS News, The Streamable, IndieWire and Decider, more at Techmeme »

Erik Hayden / The Hollywood Reporter:

Disney lowers its Disney+ subscriber forecast to between 135M and 165M by 2024, and separates its Disney+ Hotstar subscriber guidance, aiming to hit 80M by 2024 — The Hollywood giant's flagship streaming platform had earlier set guidance of 230 million to 260 million subscribers by 2024 …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, CNBC and Variety

Sarah Whitten / CNBC:

Disney beats with Q3 revenue up 26% YoY to $21.5B, vs. $20.96B est., 14.4M new Disney+ subscribers, and 221M total streaming subscribers — - Analysts anticipate the company added around 10 million new Disney+ subscribers during the period between April and June, bringing the total number of users to 147 million.

Discussion: The Wrap, Axios, Junghoon's Direct Media …, @tvgrimreaper, @lucas_shaw, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, @thewrap, @kaplansportsbiz, @sarahwhit10, Awful Announcing and The Wrap

Sara Guaglione / Digiday:

Fortune, Bloomberg, Forbes, Gizmodo, and Money are growing dedicated blockchain and crypto teams, even amid a bear market, to better explain the tech to readers — The week the cryptocurrency market crashed in mid-June, Fortune sent Jeff Roberts an offer to become its crypto editor and oversee building a team of reporters.

Discussion: @jeffjohnroberts

Rasha Al Aqeedi / New Lines Magazine:

Veteran Iraqi actress Enas Taleb plans to sue The Economist for using her picture as an example of “fat” women in the Arab world in a July 28 story — The British newspaper ran a story about the epidemic of obesity among Arab women and used the photo of Enas Taleb to illustrate the phenomenon

Discussion: BBC, Newser, VICE, @amadfarouki, Arab News, Daily Mail, @rashaalaqeedi, New York Post, @leloveluck, @newlinesmag, Deadline and @_amroali

Eric Mandel / Atlanta Business Journal:

Mailchimp co-founder and CEO Ben Chestnut plans to step down after 21 years and transition to a founder-advisor role; Intuit's Rania Succar will take over — Managing Editor, Atlanta Business Chronicle — See Correction/Clarification at end of article — Ben Chestnut is stepping …

more at Techmeme »

Scott Roxborough / The Hollywood Reporter:

Paramount+ is launching in Italy on September 15, in Germany and France in the coming months, and in “all major European markets” by the end of the year — The Italian launch for Paramount's streaming platform will be quickly followed by bows in Germany and France later this year.

Politico:

Marina Ovsyannikova, the Russian journalist who protested the war in Ukraine during a news broadcast, is charged with disseminating false information — Marina Ovsyannikova, a former editor of the state-run Channel One network who denounced Moscow's war on Ukraine during a live TV broadcast …

Discussion: Associated Press, @sarahrainsford, Meduza.io and The Guardian

Kristin Robinson / Billboard:

Docs and sources detail how two men in Phoenix, Arizona ran one of the largest known YouTube music royalty scams, leading to a wire fraud indictment and more — Inside the brazen but surprisingly simple scheme that took royalties from songs by artists like Daddy Yankee, Anuel AA, Julio Iglesias and more.

Discussion: @davidclowery, @wordsbykristin, @zoecello, @jasonlipshutz, @billboardpro and @edchristman, more at Techmeme »

Bloomberg:

Sources: Apple signed a Futuro Studios deal to fund podcast development and production in exchange for the first look to turn any podcast into a film or TV show — Apple Inc., stepping up its spending on original podcasts, signed an agreement with a Pulitzer Prize-winning studio …

Discussion: TechCrunch, The Streamable, @lucas_shaw, Engadget, The Verge, @pabloreports, CNET, 9to5Mac and AppleInsider, more at Techmeme »