Mediagazer: Paramount CEO Bob Bakish says consumers won't notice the WGA writers' strike “for a while”, citing unscripted content, a large library, and offshore production (Caitlin Huston/The Hollywood Reporter)

5:35 PM ET, May 4, 2023

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Ross A. Lincoln / The Wrap:

In a show of solidarity, members of six guilds including the DGA, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, and Teamsters joined the Writers Guild of America at a Los Angeles rally — Participants included SAG, DGA, IATSE, the Teamsters, and more — In a massive show of solidarity, on day 2 of the ongoing Writers' strike …

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David Robb / Deadline:

AMPTP pushes back against WGA demands, saying studios don't seek to force writers into a gig economy, are committed to more discussion about AI's use, and more — The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers struck back today, providing answers to the WGA's talking points …

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Benj Edwards / Ars Technica:
Striking WGA writers have two main worries about AI: their work being used as training data and being tasked with just fixing AI-generated “sloppy first drafts”

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Tim Baysinger / Axios:

CEO Bob Bakish says Paramount restarted the process to sell Simon & Schuster, after US regulators blocked selling the publisher to Penguin Random House in 2022 — - Tim Baysinger, author of Axios Pro: Media Deals — Paramount Global has restarted the sale process for book publisher Simon & Schuster …

Discussion: Associated Press

Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:

Paramount CEO Bob Bakish says consumers won't notice the WGA writers' strike “for a while”, citing unscripted content, a large library, and offshore production — The studio says it has a slate of new releases, a large library and offshore production to get through the strike.

Discussion: Variety, The Wrap, @marisatomay, Deadline, @elplethora, @thisiskaia, @tvgrimreaper, @coelasquid, @kirkwrites79, @merrillbarr, @tinseltownpr and IndieWire

Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
Paramount Q1: revenue down 1% YoY to $7.3B and a $1.23B loss; streaming revenue up 39% YoY and a $511M loss; Paramount+ hits 60M subscribers; PARA drops 28.35%

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ABC News:

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Oliver Darcy / CNN:

Fox opposes news outlets' efforts to unseal Dominion's redacted lawsuit material, saying the company settled the case in large part to end the “media spectacle” — Fox said in a court filing Wednesday that it settled the monster defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems …

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Todd Spangler / Variety:

Apple reports Q2 revenue for its Services segment, which includes Apple TV+ and Apple Music, grew 5.5% YoY to $20.9B — But the tech giant topped Wall Street expectations and its services business hit a new record for sales, while iPhone revenue also increased year-over-year.

Discussion: Apple, TechCrunch, CNBC, Deadline, Bloomberg, Reuters, 9to5Mac and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

Troy Smith / Axios:

Convicting a Murderer, a docuseries narrated by right-wing commentator Candace Owens that rebuts Netflix's Making a Murderer, will premiere on DailyWire+ — “Convicting a Murderer,” the docuseries from Cleveland's Transition Studios that serves as a rebuttal to Netflix's “Making a Murderer,” has found a home.

Editor and Publisher:

Yahoo promotes Lauren Johnston to executive editor of Yahoo News US, which she joined in July 2014 from the New York Daily News — Johnston will lead original content strategy across news, entertainment and lifestyle verticals — Yahoo today announced the promotion of Lauren Johnston …

Jemima Kelly / Financial Times:

Twitter's Community Notes is changing fact-checking by avoiding the term and using a crowdsourced consensus, a model for a fairer and more transparent approach — The strength of the platform's Community Notes feature is that it works through consensus — I think I might have let out an audible groan …

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Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:

Hulu plans to roll out PBS, PBS Kids, and Magnolia Network on Hulu Live TV in the coming months, for a total of 90+ sports, news, and entertainment channels — Hulu Live TV announced Thursday that it is adding new channels to its library, bringing the total to over 90 channels across live sports, news and entertainment.

Discussion: The Verge, Hulu, Engadget, 9to5Google, The Wrap, The Streamable, The Desk and The Hollywood Reporter

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