Mediagazer: Apple Podcasts adds charts for the top 100 most-subscribed shows and channels available on the service but will not release specific subscriber numbers (J. Clara Chan/The Hollywood Reporter)

11:40 AM ET, August 18, 2022

Top News:

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Nielsen: in July, for the first time, streaming had the largest share of US TV viewing at 34.8%; cable and broadcast had 34.4% and 21.6%, respectively — Americans now watch more stuff on TV from streaming services than either broadcast or cable TV. — Streaming platforms, led by Netflix …

Discussion: Nielsen, The Streamable, Ad Age, Los Angeles Times, MediaPost, The Wrap, Next TV, Axios, 9to5Mac, Deadline, Wall Street Journal, @meganclasen, @michellemanafy, @mediumbuying, The Hollywood Reporter and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

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

Discussion: Ofcom, Ofcom, @jimwaterson, Media Play News, Future News & Media, @elipariser, @ofcom, @ofcom, @faris, BBC, @stokel, @1br0wn, 9to5Mac, Daily Mail and Fortune

K.J. Yossman / Variety:
Ofcom's annual Media Nations report shows the UK streaming sector made £2.7B profit in 2021, up 27% YoY; 5.2M UK homes subscribe to Netflix, Prime, and Disney+

Discussion: Press Gazette, What's On Disney Plus and Bloomberg

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, @markjburns88, Barrett Media and Casino.org

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

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: SlashFilm, CBR, Deadline, @bjhiddenjokes, Looper, TechCrunch, @morganwick and @bags

Michael Smith / Sports Business Journal:

The Big Ten conference finalizes media rights contracts with CBS, Fox, and NBC totaling $8B+ over seven years, almost 3x more than the previous contract — The Big Ten has finalized media rights contracts with CBS, Fox and NBC that will total more than $8 billion over seven years …

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: MediaPost, The Shortcut, @markgurman, Digital TV Europe, @financialreview, @newsynick, The Tape Drive …, TechCrunch, The Verge, Variety and The Streamable, more at Techmeme »

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, Insider, @kellymakena, Newslit Daily, Axios, @fatimagaw, @russellbrandom, @tiktokcomms, @kellymakena, @rasmus_kleis, @yoda, The Wrap and Tubefilter, more at Techmeme »

J. Clara Chan / The Hollywood Reporter:

Apple Podcasts adds charts for the top 100 most-subscribed shows and channels available on the service but will not release specific subscriber numbers — Wondery+ is the most-subscribed channel offered on Apple Podcasts.

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 …

Thomas Seal / Bloomberg:

GB News co-founders Andrew Cole and Mark Schneider and Warner Bros. Discovery will sell their stakes in GB News as part of a £60M fundraising round — Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. will sell its stake in British television startup GB News as part of a £60 million fundraising round.

Discussion: Variety, The Guardian, @jimwaterson, @jimwaterson, Broadband TV News, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter and @chrismsutcliffe

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

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 »

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More News:

Emre Kizilkaya / Nieman Reports:
Amid a largely government-controlled media landscape, a look at four independent outlets in Turkey: Kapsül, Medyascope, Sözcü, and Podfresh

Discussion: @dlepeska, @risj_oxford and @candundaradasi

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
TikTok launches Shopping Ads, including video shopping ads, catalog listing ads, and live shopping ads, to improve targeting and amplify product discovery

Discussion: MediaPost, Music Ally, Ad Age, Fast Company and Adweek

Amina Niasse / Bloomberg:
iSpot.tv: spending on TV ads by crypto companies fell from an $85M peak in February 2022 to $3M in June and $36K in July, the lowest level since January 2021

Discussion: Cointelegraph, @princeofcoins, @iankar_, @lucas_shaw and Fortune

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

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter

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

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, @katieharbath, Bloomberg, @ohhkaygo, Meta, @reganopel, @katieharbath, @kurtwagner8, @shgeldz, @nickclegg, @metanewsroom, Protocol, The Guardian, Adweek, @sarafischer, CNET, 9to5Mac and Bloomberg

Earlier Picks:

Megan Graham / Wall Street Journal:
VidMob, which offers tools for marketers to create digital ads, raised a $110M Series D led by Shamrock, source says at a $500M valuation, up from $290M in 2021

Discussion: @carey, @megancgraham and Adweek

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

Alex Ritman / The Hollywood Reporter:
ITV and the NFL sign a three-year deal to broadcast NFL games in the UK, including the Super Bowl LVII on February 12, 2023, replacing the BBC after seven years

Discussion: Digital TV Europe, @itvsport, @nfluk, Media Play News, Variety, Deadline, Press Centre and sportindustry.biz

AAP:
Australia's high court says Google is not a publisher, reversing a lower court decision that said Google was liable for a defamatory article in search results

Discussion: @darrylmason, @emilyhwoods, American Press Institute, Sydney Morning Herald and Mumbrella

From Techmeme:

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:
Source: Google has canceled the development of a second-generation Pixel Tablet, planned for release in 2025, due to concerns that it wouldn't sell very well

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is testing a more conversational version of Siri, dubbed “LLM Siri”, with plans to release it in spring 2026 as part of iOS 19 and macOS 16

The Information:
Sources: OpenAI considered making a browser, discussed deals to power AI features on Samsung devices and search on sites and apps from Condé Nast and others

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