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Twitter rolls out its updated “interim” X logo, replacing the iconic bird, following Elon Musk's weekend announcement; X.com now redirects to twitter.com — Twitter has removed the iconic bird logo and adopted ‘X’ as its official logo. This move comes after Elon Musk announced the change over the weekend.
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Spotify confirms raising US Premium to $10.99/month, up from $9.99, the first increase since its US launch in 2011; Duo rises by $2, Family and Student by $1 — After 12 years, the price of Spotify Premium is increasing in the US. The subscription will now cost $10.99 a month, the company announced today.


Studio executives embraced Silicon Valley's magical thinking of hypergrowth and disruption for the past 10 years, only to slash worker pay as the boom times end — In one respect, the actors and writers of Hollywood uniting on the picket lines in a historic, industry-shaking strike is a tale as old as time …


Sources: Jeff Bezos is taking a more active role in The Washington Post's operations as staff morale craters and the newspaper is on pace to lose ~$100M in 2023 — The Amazon founder, who purchased The Washington Post for $250 million in 2013, has taken a more active role in the paper's operations this year.
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Sources: Altice USA is exploring a sale and other strategic options for Cheddar News; Altice USA acquired the streaming news network for $200M in 2019 — Rebranding the social network as X marks the billionaire's latest gamble to reinvent the company, after buying it last year for $44 billion.
Discussion:
Fortune, Complete Music Update and Politico


BBC newsreader George Alagiah, who joined the broadcaster as a foreign correspondent in 1989 and presented BBC News at Six for the past 20 years, dies at 67 — George Alagiah, one of the BBC's longest-serving and most respected journalists, has died at 67, nine years after being diagnosed with cancer.


Internal memo: WBD President of International TV Distribution Robert Blair plans to leave the company after 25 years due to a “necessary structural change” — Warner Bros Discovery President of International TV Distribution Robert Blair is leaving after 25 years with the company.
Discussion:
Variety, @variety, @jelmes_tv, Broadcast, The Hollywood Reporter and Cord Cutters News


A look at the actors' and writers' strikes that are plunging Hollywood into chaos, causing pricey movie delays, pay battles, AI anxiety, and more — It was a typical day on the set of “Gladiator 2” in Malta. British director Ridley Scott was orchestrating a complex sequence featuring the film's star …
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By letting the Hollywood strike drag on, legacy companies like Disney, NBCUniversal, and Paramount risk the devastation of the traditional network TV model
Discussion:
@thisisweber, @kwatt, @jbflint, @jasonhirschhorn, @whitstillman, @kimbenabib, @jbflint, @petergould, MediaPost and Wall Street Journal

In a 23-page document, the AMPTP disputes SAG-AFTRA's “misleading” claims of the negotiations status as of July 13, before talks broke off and the strike began
Discussion:
The Wrap, @slack2thefuture, @slack2thefuture, @slack2thefuture, @slack2thefuture, @jbflint, @jbflint, The Wrap and The Hollywood Reporter


Turkish shows, initially made for domestic audiences, are at the forefront of state broadcaster TRT's global expansion, as Turkey tries to extend its soft power — - New state streaming site brings drone wars to global viewers — Government backs TV export drive worth up to $1.5 billion


Canada's smaller news outlets, like Cabin Radio, the Northwest Territories' only entirely-online news organization, worry about the Online News Act's impact — ‘Obviously we will take as many steps as we can to protect our interests,’ said Cabin editor Ollie Williams
Discussion:
Globe and Mail


Q&A with Josh Goldstine, Warner Bros. president of global marketing, on Barbie's marketing campaign, which rival studio execs estimate to have cost ~$150M — Unless you've been trapped in a plastic toy box, there's no escaping the Barbie-core movement that's sweeping the globe …
Discussion:
Insider, Screen Rant and The Hollywood Reporter


South Korean and Indian filmmakers are hoping the Hollywood strikes will give them more bargaining power with US streaming services and a precedent to follow — SEOUL — When Netflix launched in South Korea in 2016, it was a breath of fresh air for filmmakers jaded by a local industry notorious for labor abuses and penny-pinching.
Discussion:
@jintakhan, @washingtonpost and @drogon_dracarys


Sources: IAC, News Corp, the NYT, and other publishers are forming a coalition to push for AI laws and lead a lawsuit against AI firms who trained on their data — The News — Barry Diller fired publishers' opening shot at artificial intelligence platforms in a Semafor interview this April …
Discussion:
CNET and American Press Institute, more at Techmeme »