Top News:
Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:
Penn Entertainment Inc., owner of 36% of Barstool Sports, is buying the remaining shares of the sports and culture outlet, gaining full control by February 2023 — Penn Entertainment Inc. is acquiring the remaining shares of Barstool Sports that it doesn't already own …
Discussion:
@stevekrak, Casino.org and @markjburns88
Alex Barker / Financial Times:
Ofcom: in the UK, those aged 15-24 spent 57 minutes/day on TikTok in 2021, compared to 53 minutes/day watching TV; those 65 or over spent six hours watching TV — Ofcom survey points to challenges for traditional broadcasters in keeping pace with digital and streaming trends
Discussion:
Ofcom, Ofcom, @jimwaterson, BBC, @elipariser, Future News & Media, Media Play News, @ofcom, @ofcom, @faris, @stokel, @1br0wn, 9to5Mac, Daily Mail and Fortune
RELATED:
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Sinclair will roll out its direct-to-consumer streaming service Bally Sports+ on September 26, on iOS, Android, Android TV, tvOS, and at BallySports.com — Capping a challenging multi-year development process, Sinclair Broadcast Group's regional sports unit has set September 26 …
Discussion:
Bally Sports, @justinctoscano, @jefffletcherocr, TechCrunch and Awful Announcing
Alex Barinka / Bloomberg:
As part of its ban on political ads, TikTok will remove paid political posts by influencers; election-related posts will be reviewed and could be throttled — TikTok is reinforcing its ban on influencers on posting paid political content, one of the steps the social network is taking to shore …
Discussion:
TikTok, The Verge, @kellymakena, @fatimagaw, @tiktokcomms, @rasmus_kleis, @kellymakena, @russellbrandom, @yoda, Mediaite, The Wrap and Tubefilter, more at Techmeme »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Meta updates its political ads policy before the US midterms, including banning edits for political, social, and electoral ads running one week prior — - Ads that present new claims in the final days of an election may be difficult to contest or fact-check in time.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, @katieharbath, Meta, The Guardian, @ohhkaygo, @reganopel, @katieharbath, @kurtwagner8, @shgeldz, @nickclegg, @metanewsroom, Adweek, Protocol, CNET, @sarafischer, 9to5Mac and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Taylor Lorenz / Washington Post:
Timbaland and Swizz Beatz sue Triller, alleging the short-form video app owes them $28M+ after acquiring live-streaming music series Verzuz and missing payments — Triller bought music series Verzuz for an undisclosed sum in January 2021. Now its creators say they're still owed money.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Billboard, TMZ.com, @jaysonrodriguez, @xpangler, @theshaderoom, @coolness941, @hotnewhiphop, @andrejgee, @lthomasnews, @queenveej, The Wrap, The A.V. Club, The Verge, Music Business Worldwide, @invisibae, @texasfba4ever, @taylorlorenz, New York Post, Variety, Deadline, Complete Music Update, Music Ally, Daily Mail, Pitchfork, NME, Complex, Rolling Stone, TMZ.com and The Hollywood Reporter
Janko Roettgers / Protocol:
A look at Netflix's gaming initiative: experimenting with ways to surface games to subscribers, hiring for a cloud gaming service, acquiring studios, and more — Netflix's foray into gaming is dead on arrival — at least according to the latest headlines about the company's first few mobile games.
Discussion:
@jank0, @nickstatt and @jank0, more at Techmeme »
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Netflix iOS app code suggests the ad-supported tier, arriving in early 2023, won't let users download shows for offline viewing or skip ads — Netflix Inc. isn't planning to let users of its new ad-supported tier download shows and movies to their devices for offline viewing …
Discussion:
The Tape Drive …, @markgurman, @financialreview, TechCrunch, @newsynick, The Verge, Variety and The Streamable, more at Techmeme »
Esther Kezia Thorpe / Media Voices:
A look at the growth of print subscriptions for news-focused magazines with little advertising in the UK, including The Economist, The Spectator, and The Week — The stereotypical print magazine is jam-packed with advertising. September issues of fashion magazines in particular used …
Wilson Chapman / Variety:
HBO plans to remove ~36 titles from its service as early as this week, citing the pending Discovery+ merger; the move will likely help cut costs and residuals — HBO Max will remove almost 36 titles from its service as early as this week, Variety has confirmed.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, SlashFilm, Deadline, @bags, @bjhiddenjokes and Looper
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Vice World News will launch a news channel on Twitch, with two-hour live shows on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting at 11am ET on August 23 — Vice World News will launch a news channel on the streaming platform Twitch, with plans for live shows twice a week.
Discussion:
@katiedrumm, @macklamoureux and Adweek
Scott Roxborough / The Hollywood Reporter:
German media giant RTL Group launches RTL+ Musik to stream video, including movies, TV, and news, and audio, including music, podcasts, and radio channels — The German-language service will offer films, original series, news and music from French music streaming platform Deezer.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter