Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Disney explores a membership program akin to Amazon Prime, bundling streaming, theme parks, and merchandise, and adding a commerce feature to Disney+ — Entertainment giant looks to package streaming, parks and merchandise offerings together; aims to add commerce feature to Disney+
Discussion:
Deadline, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, @asharma, CBR, Media Play News, The Verge, @davezatz, @skiswm, @richlightshed, @renegadestyle, @mattnavarra, @frankpallotta, @peterschorschfl, @bullandbaird, @profgalloway, @awolk, @ednever, Too Much TV Newsletter, The Streamable, Reuters, Insider and Skift, more at Techmeme »
Jem Aswad / Variety:
US music publishers settle on 15.35% for mechanical streaming rates in 2023-2027, avoiding costly legal fights with Amazon, Apple, Google, Pandora, and Spotify — The announcement comes as a surprise, as the NMPA has been saying for months that it would push for a 20% rate for the forthcoming period.
David Bauder / Associated Press:
Media Insight Project's May-June 2022 survey: ~71% of younger Americans get news daily from social media and 32% enjoy following the news, down from 53% in 2015 — Young people are following the news but aren't too happy with what they're seeing. Broadly speaking, that's the conclusion …
Angela Fu / Poynter:
Sources: in a staff Q&A, CEO Mike Reed said Gannett laid off 3% of its US workforce in August 2022, or ~400 people; he and the CFO defended Reed's compensation — The round of layoffs, which started Aug. 12, followed a dismal second quarter. — Gannett CEO Mike Reed told staff …
Suzanne Vranica / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Netflix seeks to charge brands a ~$65 CPM on its ad-supported tier, more than most other streaming services, and cap every brand's annual spend at $20M — Streaming giant aims for Nov. 1 launch of ad-supported tier, ad buyers say — Netflix Inc. NFLX 1.32%▲ …
Alex Heath / The Verge:
Memo: on top of cutting ~20% of its staff, Snap cancels its original shows, in-app games, and Zenly and Voisey apps; the layoffs could save $500M annually — Snapchat's original shows, in-app games, and camera drone are no more — Snap is laying off around 20 percent of its more than 6,400 employees …
Discussion:
Snap Newsroom, Variety, CNBC, CNN, The Register, PR Daily, @obrien, @alexeheath, @gergelyorosz, @kyurieff, MediaPost, @xpangler, TechCrunch, @lucas_shaw, Los Angeles Times, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, IndieWire, Tubefilter, Observer, New York Times, Ad Age, Billboard, The Hill, Associated Press, CNET, Forbes, TechCrunch, Deadline, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal and Axios
Jonathan Spicer / Reuters:
An investigation details extensive efforts by Erdoğan's regime in Turkey to shape the nation's news, dictated by the 1,500-strong Directorate of Communications — From an office tower in Ankara, Turkish officials shape the nation's news, media insiders say - always to President Tayyip Erdogan's advantage.
Discussion:
@sinanciddi, @reuters, @reuters and @specialreports
Kerry Flynn / Axios:
BuzzFeed is licensing its name to retail airport stores; two opened in LaGuardia Airport in June 2022, selling beverages, snacks, magazines, and souvenirs — Exit Content Preview — BuzzFeed, Inc. is entertaining airport travelers not just via its own smartphones but also IRL with new retail stores.
Discussion:
@davezatz, @abeaujon, @delia_cai, @adrianhon and @kerrymflynn
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Reddit acquires contextual advertising company Spiketrap to improve its ad quality scoring and boost prediction models for auto-bidding — Reddit's acquisition spree is continuing this morning with news that the company is bringing the audience contextualization company Spiketrap's technology in-house.
Discussion:
Reddit Upvoted
Casey Newton / Nieman Lab:
An interview with Medium CEO Tony Stubblebine: writers with subscribers should be paid more and thinking “Medium was going to shine” in journalism was a mistake — Sometimes as a reporter you write a piece that is critical of a company and the company decides not to talk to you again for a long while, or ever again.
Discussion:
@caseynewton, @oneunderscore__, @bcmerchant, @waxy, @mariaramirezny and @martinsfp
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act is a dangerous link tax bill and a bizarre attempt to circumvent antitrust, copyright, and common carrier laws — Look, I'm a small journalism outfit. A very small one. So, in theory, a law that effectively lets me demand free cash from Google …
Discussion:
@robinberjon, @daphnehk, @mmasnick, @blakereid, @newsalliance, @halsinger, @georgeprof, @mattdpearce, @pt, MediaPost and News/Media Alliance
Reuters:
India's antitrust watchdog says Sony and Zee's merger requires further investigation; sources say the findings will delay regulatory approval of the deal — A merger between the Indian unit of Japan's Sony (6758.T) and Zee Entertainment (ZEE.NS) to create a $10 billion TV enterprise …
Discussion:
@reutersbiz, @adityakalra, Digital TV Europe, @adityakalra and @adityakalra
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