Top News:
New York Times:
Sources: Sunday Ticket media rights have become protracted because the NFL wants to bundle other media assets, including NFL Network and the NFL RedZone — Talks for Sunday Ticket are expected to spill into next year, as Apple faces increased competition from Google for the league's last available TV rights.
Discussion:
@sportstvratings, @tim_bays, @trippmickle, @appleinsider, @benmullin, @tvgrimreaper, @sportstvratings, Sports Media Watch, 9to5Mac and The Streamable
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
A look at BuzzFeed's health using data from SEC filings: time spent on its content dropped every quarter since Q3 2021, costs remain greater than revenues, more — Prompted by its drooping market cap, Press Gazette pieced together a longer picture of the publisher's health.
Discussion:
@pressgazette, @mathewi and @pressgazette
James Vincent / The Verge:
Stable Diffusion 2.0 makes it harder to mimic some artists' styles or generate photorealistic pictures of celebrities — Users of AI image generator Stable Diffusion are angry about an update to the software that “nerfs” its ability to generate NSFW output and pictures in the style of specific artists.
Discussion:
Stability.Ai, @sumanth_077, @nin_artificial, @jjvincent, @emostaque, @bilawalsidhu, @emostaque, @hardmaru, @jjvincent, TechCrunch, @chrisalbon, @jjvincent and CNET, more at Techmeme »
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
Sources detail Netflix's internal debate over embracing theatrical releases for big-budget movies, something Ted Sarandos and Reed Hastings call a distraction — The company agreed to some exclusive theatrical distribution for “Glass Onion” and “Matilda the Musical,” but it's not clear exhibitors will get much more.
Discussion:
GoldDerby, The Streamable, Decider and ScreenRant, more at Techmeme »
Alex Frangos / Wall Street Journal:
Major News Corp and Fox shareholder Independent Franchise Partners opposes the merger, saying it would not realize News Corp's “substantial intrinsic value” — Independent Franchise Partners, one of the largest non-Murdoch holders of both companies, says a combination on its own …
Discussion:
Digital TV Europe, @pjlogue, @anthony, @anthony, CNBC, The Wrap and The Hollywood Reporter
Amanda Meade / The Guardian:
Australia's Sky News host and Courier-Mail columnist Peter Gleeson leaves News Corp after 34 years, following the discovery of multiple instances of plagiarism — In one case the Courier-Mail columnist and Sky News presenter filled almost half a column with the unattributed reporting of a regional ABC journalist
Discussion:
@rohan_connolly, @therealpbarry, Sydney Morning Herald, @cameronwilson, @tonykoc69285191, @neilmcmahon, @byjondaly, @susanamet and @murdoch_rc
Scott Roxborough / The Hollywood Reporter:
Controversy around the Qatar World Cup hasn't hurt ratings in the US, Canada, France, Japan, and the UK; Fox's viewership is up 78% from 2018 — Viewership is up at Fox Sports, which has avoided any talk of scandals and human rights abuses at this year's World Cup, while broadcasters in Germany …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Guardian, The Desk, Next TV, Sports Media Watch, Awful Announcing and Deadline
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: Amazon plans to spend $1B+ per year to produce and release movies for theaters, starting with a few releases in 2023, and eventually 12 to 15 annually — Amazon.com Inc. plans to spend more than $1 billion a year to produce movies that it will release in theaters …
Rupert Neate / The Guardian:
UK government refuses a measure that would have given judges the power to dismiss legal cases brought against journalists if the judges found them to be SLAPPs — Tom Tugendhat says economic crime bill is not right law to stop courts being used by super-rich to silence critics and journalists
Discussion:
@liambyrnemp, @ian_fraser and @pressgazette
Benoit Berthelot / Bloomberg:
Reporters Without Borders sues French media regulator Arcom for letting satellite operator Eutelsat continue to broadcast three Russian channels — French rights group Reporters Without Borders has filed a lawsuit in France to try to prevent satellite operator Eutelsat from continuing to broadcast three Russian channels.
Discussion:
Agence France-Presse, Digital TV Europe and Broadband TV News
Sarah Krouse / Wall Street Journal:
Bob Iger returns to a more competitive and challenging streaming landscape and should steer Disney+ to profitability without cannibalizing Disney's other units — Incoming CEO championed Disney+, but needs to steer streaming business toward profitability without cannibalizing other Disney units
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Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Bob Iger loomed large over Bob Chapek's short tenure as Disney CEO, leading Chapek to complain that he was being undermined as soon as he was promoted
Sources: Bob Iger loomed large over Bob Chapek's short tenure as Disney CEO, leading Chapek to complain that he was being undermined as soon as he was promoted
Discussion:
New York Post, Insider, @jbflint, @tim_bays, @rationalwalk, @timseymour, @eliotwb, @djtgallagher, @erichschwartzel, @benpershing, The Ankler, IndieWire, Vanity Fair, Looper and Los Angeles Times
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
UK police review finds the arrest of four journalists covering Just Stop Oil protests in November could be “unlawful interference” in freedom of expression — An independent review has found the arrest of journalists covering protests earlier this month may have constituted “unlawful interference”.
Discussion:
New York Post, @pressgazette, @pressgazette, HoldtheFrontPage and The Guardian
Patrick Frater / Variety:
Podcast network Luminary launches in India, which PwC says is the third largest podcast consumer market at 56.7M monthly listeners — Launched originally in the U.S. in 2018, Luminary operates a premium podcasting platform addressing a subscription audience with “smart and entertaining content.”
Discussion:
Business Insider and Livemint