Top News:
Max Tani / Semafor:
In recent months, some elite podcasts, like the NYT's The Daily and iHeartMedia's Black Effect and My Cultura, have struggled to fill all of their paid ad slots — The News — Some of the most listened-to podcasts in America are struggling to sell ads as the audio business shifts toward the vast, mostly independent, “mid-tail.”
Discussion:
RAIN News, Inside Radio, @semafor, @mattyglesias, @loewylawfirm and @semaforben
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Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Despite big reach elsewhere, on YouTube, Slate podcasts averaged ~75 views/video last week while NPR averaged ~179/video; studio footage drives views higher — Hello and welcome back to Soundbite. Today we'll look at how podcast networks are faring on YouTube and have an update on Sony Music Entertainment's podcast efforts.
Discussion:
@robgreenlee, @parismarx, @mattnavarra, @ashleyrcarman, We Edit Podcasts, Josh Taylor and Podnews
Mike Allen / Axios:
Sources: Tucker Carlson wants to force Fox News to let him out of his contract, which expires in January 2025; Carlson and Elon Musk discussed working together — Tucker Carlson is preparing to unleash allies to attack Fox News in an effort to bully the network into letting him work for …
Discussion:
The Hill, Adweek, New York Times, The Wrap, Awful Announcing, Vanity Fair, @keenanpeachy, @mehdirhasan, @kamvtv, @mikeallen, @brucebartlett, @zaleskiluke, @mikeallen, @brianstelter, HuffPost, @aidnmclaughlin, @keithedwards, @patrickw, @aureliusstoic1, Poynter, Forbes, Newser, @jayrosen_nyu, @eoinhiggins_, @roybelly, @lukewearechange, @jakewilkns, The Wrap, @bennyjohnson, @brianstelter, Insider, Mediaite and Rolling Stone
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Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill:
In a letter, Fox News asks Dominion to “investigate and confirm” that the voting tech company is not the source of the leaked Tucker Carlson text messages
Discussion:
MediaPost, @megynkelly, Insider, Reuters, @oliverdarcy, @oliverdarcy, @oliverdarcy, @maxwelltani, @farhip, @BlueWaver22@genomic.social, Mediaite, The Daily Beast and The Wrap
Colby Hall / Mediaite:
Fox News sends Media Matters a cease-and-desist letter over a series of stories featuring leaked footage of Tucker Carlson, claiming the material is its IP
Discussion:
@maxwelltani, @jeffjarvis, @imyourmoderator, @johnrobb, @ggreenwald, The Hill, @justinbaragona, @farhip, @bgrueskin, @jeremymbarr, @catturd2, @megynkelly, The Desk, Yahoo News, CNN, Gizmodo, Vanity Fair, New York Post, The Wrap, Media Matters for America, Deadline, Insider and The Daily Beast
Anna Fazackerley / The Guardian:
Over 40 scientists resign from the editorial board of science journal Neuroimage, which charges £2,700 per paper, to protest publisher Elsevier's “greed” — Entire board resigns over actions of academic publisher whose profit margins outstrip even Google and Amazon
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Memo: Puck News co-founder and CEO Joe Purzycki is leaving, ad revenue in H1 2023 is up 200% YoY paid, and subscribers “more than doubled during the past year” — Puck News co-founder and CEO Joe Purzycki is leaving the company, according to an internal note sent from co-founder …
Discussion:
@sarafischer
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Nexstar, which owns The CW, to acquire San Diego's KUSI-TV and Channel 51 for $35M, days after eight CBS stations shed their CW affiliations — Nexstar Media Group, which owns The CW and the largest group of local TV stations in the U.S., is adding an independent station in San Diego to its portfolio.
Discussion:
The Desk, Next TV, Nexstar Media Group, Inc., TVNewsCheck, Awful Announcing, The Hollywood Reporter and The Streamable
Anthony Vargas / AdExchanger:
PubMatic launches Activate, which lets brands and agencies buy CTV and online video inventory through direct deals, bypassing DSPs — The line between the buy side and sell side of digital advertising is getting blurrier by the day. Now PubMatic is crossing the aisle.
Kristi Eaton / The Daily Yonder:
A study in the US Midwest finds readers of rural newspapers are more open to new revenue ideas, like events, than publishers, who prefer ads and legal notices — There's a conflict between what weekly newspaper publishers think are the most likely ways their businesses will generate money …
Discussion:
@tzmorsy and @nick_mathews
Rolling Stone:
Sources: in early 2020, Tucker Carlson tried to get Fox's PR chief Irena Briganti fired, making his case to Lachlan Murdoch, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott, others — The host tried to get a top executive canned. It backfired spectacularly … Carlson had grown so furious with Fox's communications …
Discussion:
@jbenton, @torriangray, @meidas_laurena, @reedgalen, @noahshachtman, @seth_hettena, @alexsalvinews, @jeffweineros, @mollyjongfast, @kathmschmidt, @swin24, @moorehn, @mattgertz and @violanorth
Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:
Amazon launches Amazon MGM Studios Distribution to make its movies and TV shows available to rent or buy on services besides Prime Video and on airplanes — Amazon.com Inc. is launching a new unit to distribute its movies and TV shows to other media outlets besides its Prime Video streaming service.
Discussion:
Variety, TechCrunch, The Wrap, Deadline, The Information, WORLD SCREEN and The Hollywood Reporter
Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
Dish Network reports losing ~552K net pay TV subscribers in Q1, compared to losing 462K in Q1 2022, for a 9.2M total, including 2.1M Sling TV subscribers — The satellite TV company, led by chairman Charlie Ergen and CEO Erik Carlson, had a decline of 462,000 in the year-ago quarter.
Discussion:
The Desk, The Streamable, MediaPost, Next TV, @thedeskdotnet, @tvgrimreaper, Media Play News and Light Reading
Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
An interview with Warner Bros. Discovery CTO Avi Saxena and Chief Product Officer Tyler Whitworth on building Max from the ground up, new features, and more — A few weeks before Warner Bros. Discovery launches its new HBO Max/Discovery+ streaming service, Max, TechCrunch spoke …
Discussion:
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