Mediagazer: Report: the BBC faces a UK government review of its funding model; potential alternatives to the license fee include a subscription, a broadband levy, and ads (Hayden Vernon/The Guardian)

10:45 PM ET, July 17, 2023

Top News:

Politico names co-founder John Harris as its top editor, overseeing US and European newsrooms; Matt Kaminski shifts to editor at large at the end of August 2023 — Mr. Harris, who helped found the media outlet in 2007, will succeed Matt Kaminski as the publication's editor in the United States …

Discussion: @bdayspring, @djtweets, @washingtonpost, @kenvogel, @cmarinucci, Deadline, @maxwelltani, @katie_robertson, Washington Post, @maggienyt, The Wrap and Talking Biz News

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Sources: Tucker Carlson signed a seven-figure ad deal with Public Square, making the anti-ESG shopping app one of his Twitter show's first advertisers — - Tucker Carlson has agreed to a seven-figure ad deal with Public Square (PublicSq.), a conservative-friendly shopping app, for his Twitter show.

Discussion: Axios, @schwartzbcnbc, New York Daily News, The Wrap, @cacoreyu, Wall Street Journal and The Information

Sophie Culpepper / Nieman Lab:

How Detroit-based local TV broadcaster Graham Media Group plans to use a GPT 3.5 bot that asks positive questions to spark productive comments for news articles — Graham Media Group developed the idea for a “first dibs” comment bot through NYC Media Lab's AI & Local News Challenge.

Discussion: @rji, @niemanlab, Engadget, @nbj914, @coreyhutchins and Simon Owens's Media Newsletter

Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:

Peacock raises its Premium price by $1 to $5.99/month and Premium Plus by $2 to $11.99/month, at once for new customers and on August 17 for current subscribers — Peacock is delivering bad news to its subscribers tonight. Beginning at 12 a.m. EDT, the streamer is notifying existing customers …

Discussion: Deadline, TVLine, The Streamable, The Wrap, Variety, IGN, Next TV, Wall Street Journal, IMDb, Vulture, The Hollywood Reporter and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »

Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:

NYC-based private equity firm Integrated Media Company plans to acquire Toon Boom Animation from Corus Entertainment's cartoon company Nelvana for CA$147.5M — The software firm, owned by cartoon company Nelvana and part of Corus Entertainment, was sold to a New York-based equity firm, Integrated Media Company.

Clothilde Goujard / Politico:

The Norwegian Data Protection Authority orders Meta to stop showing users behavioral ads for three months starting on August 4 or face a daily ~€89,500 fine — Meta's social media platforms will be barred from behavioral advertising in August. — 3 MINUTES READ

Discussion: The Information, MediaPost, Insider Intelligence, TechCrunch, Reuters, The San Diego Union-Tribune, @jason_kint, @eric_seufert, @johnnyryan and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Bryan Alexander / USA Today:

An interview with Jesse Watters about how his controversial comments are “brutally honest”, Tucker Carlson's firing, and more, as he moves to Carlson's 8pm slot — “Jesse Watters Primetime” will finally live up to its name. — The Fox News host won the conservative commentator golden ticket …

Discussion: Rolling Stone, @jessebwatters, Media Matters for America, NPR, @davidfolkenflik, @decodingfoxnews, @abughazalehkat and The Desk

Caitlin Huston / Hollywood Reporter:

Fox's free ad-supported streaming service Tubi hires Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud as its new CEO, reporting to Tubi Media CEO Paul Cheesbrough, starting on September 1 — The executive had been CEO of video platform Vimeo since 2017. — Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud has been named the new CEO of Fox's free ad-supported streaming service Tubi.

Discussion: Tubefilter, Broadband TV News, The Wrap, Adweek, The Desk, Variety, @anjsud, @tvgrimreaper, @xpangler, Deadline, TechCrunch and Cord Cutters News

Hayden Vernon / The Guardian:

Report: the BBC faces a UK government review of its funding model; potential alternatives to the license fee include a subscription, a broadband levy, and ads — Alternatives reportedly being considered include a premium subscription model and a broadband levy

Discussion: @gbnews, @kelvmackenzie, GB News, The Times and The Times

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Comcast adds NBC News Now, the free ad-supported streaming service NBC launched in 2019, to its X1 platform and channel guide, alongside 20 other FAST channels — Cable subscribers typically recognize a handful of news brands, including CNN, MSNBC and Fox News Channel.

Discussion: Light Reading, @simplyzinhle, @tvkatesnow, The Desk, @adrianbutler, @tomranzweiler and Cord Cutters News

Byline Times:

Investigation: GB News' Dan Wootton used fake online identities from 2008 to 2018 to bribe media executives and others into sharing compromising sexual material — Receive our Behind the Headlines email and we'll post a free copy of Byline Times — GB News presenter and MailOnline columnist …

Discussion: @rubytrubes, @adambienkov, @stevenjcbuckley, @imshanereaction, @imshanereaction and @adambienkov

Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:

Meta rebrands Facebook's Watch tab as Video, which will now include all visual content like Reels, long-form content, and live videos, and adds editing features — Facebook announced new video-related features today ranging from editing to discovery to make the platform competitive with YouTube and TikTok.

Discussion: @paulgreenberg, PRWeek, Engadget, Meta, MediaPost and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 10:45 PM ET, July 17, 2023.

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Who's Hiring in Media?

Senior Data Journalist, NY — WSJ

Manager - Publishing Editorial, Manila — Reuters

Oil Reporter, Singapore — Bloomberg

Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — AP

Business Reporter, SC — Post & Courier

State Government Reporter, WA — Seattle Times

Climate Crisis Columnist — Prospect UK

Multimedia Journalist, CA — Paramount

Community Engagement Mgr., DC — Freedom Forum

Senior California Politics Reporter, CA — SFGATE

Staff Writer - Business, NY — WIRED

Team Editor - Opinion, ON — Toronto Star

Assistant Correspondent, DC — Kyodo News

Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — The Verge

Lead Business Reporter, TN — Daily Memphian

Managing Editor, WA — Everett Herald

Private Credit Reporter, NY — Debtwire

City Correspondent, London — Financial News

Legislative Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Reporter, PA — Tribune-Review

Visual Editor, Remote — Rest of World

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Senior Political Reporter, DC — The Lever

California Playbook Writer, CA — Politico

National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — CT Mirror

Coordinating Editor, OR — OPB

Editor, Remote US — Daily Kos

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Alexandre Fonseca, Altice Group's co-CEO and Altice USA's chairman, resigns after Portuguese police arrested an Altice Group co-founder in a corruption probe

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Brendan O'Boyle / Reuters:
Local media report that Mexican journalist Nelson Matus was killed on July 15 in Acapulco after reportedly surviving two assassination attempts in 2017 and 2019

Discussion: Fox News and Agence France-Presse

Bloomberg:
Antenna: June 2023 was Netflix's best US growth month in years, with a gross ~3.5M signups, 100%+ above its recent averages, amid its password sharing crackdown

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Sara Guaglione / Digiday:
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Financial Times:
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Lewis Gordon / The Ringer:
After DVDs and streaming, Netflix gears up for what appears to be its third and most ambitious act: video games, with 67 in its library and 86 in development

Discussion: Insider, @lewis_gordon, @lewis_gordon, @ringer, @soi, @ballmatthew, @lewis_gordon, @adrianhon@mastodon.social, Comic Book and CBS News

Earlier Picks:

Clayton Davis / Variety:
Letter: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences affirms its commitment to DEAI programs; at least four Black leaders left the Academy in the past year

Discussion: Screen Rant, @lamardcheraime, @carolinerenard_, @blackamazon, @shannon_sense, @littlecharlestv, @kirkwrites79, @disparutoo, @lizfilmnyc, The Wrap, Deadline, IndieWire and ET Canada

Gene Maddaus / Variety:
Sources detail some of SAG-AFTRA's demands, including paying 2% of streaming revenue to performers, compensation when using AI likenesses, pay raises, and more

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Sohee Kim / Bloomberg:
A look at Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which has 100M+ registered members, including 11M paid subscribers, as the anime streaming service looks to India for growth

Discussion: @ncsh, @thejidetaiwo, @soheefication and @sidcoins

Jahnavi Nidumolu / Reuters:
Elon Musk says a ~50% ad revenue drop and a heavy debt load kept Twitter cash flow negative; he said in March 2023 the company could be cash flow positive in Q2

Rhiannon Williams / MIT Technology Review:
Study: ChatGPT helped writers complete tasks, such as writing press releases or reports, 40% faster and produce work that assessors scored 18% higher in quality

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Jessica Nicholson / Billboard:
Radio and music industry trade website All Access plans to close on August 15, 2023, after 28 years, over a revenue drop “that makes moving forward impossible”

Discussion: AllAccess.com, Digital Music News, The Desk, @miguelfuller, @timmurphytalks, @jbleach85, @foxebenbrown, @jamescridland, @tonylorino, @jaredhalpern, Deadline and Inside Radio

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

Kent Walker / The Keyword:
Google says the DOJ's “wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision”, would hurt US consumers, and jeopardize the US' global tech leadership

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