Top News:
Oliver Darcy / CNN:
Memo: The Washington Post media critic Margaret Sullivan is retiring her column at the end of August 2022 and will join Duke University as a visiting professor — New York (CNN Business)Media critic Margaret Sullivan is retiring her column and departing The Washington Post this month.
Discussion:
@oliverdarcy, @sulliview, @oliverdarcy, @bgrueskin, @emilybell, @newsceo, @stuartemmrich, @film_girl, @meredithshiner, @nfl_dougfarrar, @sulliview, @jayrosen_nyu, @mlcalderone, @ericmgarcia, @katzish, @brandonetc, @karenkho, @mathewi, @timjgraham, @lisatozzi, @citizencohn, @jasonabbruzzese, @brandyzadrozny, @ddiamond, @froomkin, @ericschultz, @oneunderscore__, @dansaltzstein, @mollyjongfast, @dankennedy_nu, @malitzd, @deborahblum, @joshuahol, @journalistslike and @markberman
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Spotify quietly tests Spotify Tickets, directly selling live music tickets to users in the US, instead of redirecting buyers to Ticketmaster or 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:
Music Ally, Forbes, Billboard, CNET, Tubefilter, Music Business Worldwide, Gizmodo, The Verge, Engadget, @emmaswiftsings, @musically and @indianidle, more at Techmeme »
Brandon Katz / The Wrap:
Fox Corp reports Q4 revenue rose 5% YoY to $3.03B, ad revenue up 7% YoY, and $308M net income; full year revenue grew 8% YoY to $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:
MediaPost, Deadline, Variety, Fox Corp, The Hollywood Reporter and @great_katzby
Lachlan Markay / Axios:
Filings: Russia-backed TV Novosti and two entities are funding four “news” TV shows from US conspiracy theorist Ben Swann, covering the US, NATO, war, and more — Russia's state-backed media apparatus is financing four new TV programs produced by a U.S. conspiracy theorist …
Discussion:
@lachlan, @ldrogen, @m_c_klein, @robertcaruso, @andrewsweiss and @andrew_danieri
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Satirical feminist site Reductress says it has been acquired by Phenomenal Media, a media company focused on women and historically excluded communities — The merger combines like-minded publishers with an eye toward entertainment — The satirical publisher Reductress …
Discussion:
Insider, Vulture, @katienotopoulos, @katienotopoulos, The Hollywood Reporter, @markstenberg3 and @lexandrapinel
Whip Media:
Survey: 72% of Netflix subscribers say they are unlikely to switch to an ad-supported tier, 92% of HBO Max users with ads are satisfied with the tier, and more — Spotlight on the Ad-Supported Experience whipmedia.com Introduction © 2022 Whip Media All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners.
Discussion:
The Streamable, The Streamable, Next TV, MediaPost, MediaPost, Next TV and MediaPost
Scott Feinberg / The Hollywood Reporter:
Sources: the Golden Globe Awards will be back on NBC in 2023; the ceremony was not aired in 2022 after HFPA was criticized for its lack of diversity and ethics — The awards ceremony was not aired in 2022 as the organization behind it, the HFPA, was under fire for its lack of diversity and ethics.
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, @gracerandolph, @alexritman, @adrierising, @yongchavezla, HOLA!, Deadline, Los Angeles Times, The A.V. Club, New York Post, IndieWire and The Wrap
Bassem Mroue / Associated Press:
Biden, marking the 10th anniversary of journalist Austin Tice's abduction, calls on Syria's government to work with the US “so that we can bring Austin home” — President Joe Biden said Wednesday the U.S. is certain that the Syrian government is holding American journalist Austin Tice …
Discussion:
@davejorgenson, The Guardian, McClatchy Washington Bureau, @cforman, @cforman, CBS News, CNN, Al Jazeera, @jmhansler, Texas Monthly, The Hill and Next TV
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:
@shiraovide, @glenngabe, @nigelbarron, @1br0wn and 9to5Mac, 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
Jack Stebbins / CNBC:
SEC filing: WWE discloses $5M in payments made by former CEO Vince McMahon, in addition to the previously disclosed $14.6M, and delays its earnings report — - World Wrestling Entertainment disclosed another $5 million in payments from former CEO Vince McMahon and delayed its earnings report, according to an SEC filing Tuesday.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
NFT startup Dapper Labs hires Nick Grudin, who was at Meta for nearly 12 years and at Newsweek before that, as chief business officer starting in September 2022 — After nearly 12 years at Meta and Facebook, Nick Grudin is leaving the social-media giant. Grudin next month …
Discussion:
@pkafka, more at Techmeme »
Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
IAC executives explain the company's decision to end the print editions of InStyle and others, saying print magazines are now seen as “a luxury good” — The commentary comes after the company cut the print editions of publications such as Entertainment Weekly.