Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube's ad revenue increased 4.4% YoY to $7.67B in Q2, above expectations of $7.43B and a reversal after three consecutive quarters of declines — Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, came in above analyst earnings expectations, with top-line growth of 7%.
RELATED:
Miles Kruppa / Wall Street Journal:
Alphabet reports Q2 Google ad revenue of $58.14B, growing 3% YoY after two consecutive quarters of falling ad sales — Financial chief Ruth Porat to become Alphabet's president and chief investment officer — Google reported a pickup in revenue growth during the most recent quarter …
Discussion:
MediaPost, Fast Company, Reuters, @joshuaogundu, Fortune, The San Diego Union-Tribune and 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »
Angelique Jackson / Variety:
SAG-AFTRA Foundation president Courtney B. Vance says Dwayne Johnson donated a seven-figure sum to the SAG-AFTRA Relief Fund, the largest single donation ever — On July 13, as SAG-AFTRA leadership declared the union was going on strike, SAG-AFTRA Foundation president Courtney B. Vance …
Discussion:
Insider, TMZ.com, VIBE.com, Fortune, @hankofjuly, @carolinerenard_, @mancitykd, @effoff1988, @comicgirlashley, Forbes, @rufushound, Vanity Fair, The Guardian, @emmatolkin, @realjaredgilman, @benjisales, @discussingfilm, @ecto_fun, @bootsriley, @sherazfarooqi_, @vinn_ayy, ET Canada, Global News, Metro, @shayz0rz@mastodon.online, @riteshwriter.bsky.social, UPROXX, New York Daily News, Comic Book, The A.V. Club, Gizmodo and Deadline
RELATED:
Justin Hendrix / Tech Policy Press:
Q&A with Justine Bateman, a member of the DGA, the WGA, and SAG-AFTRA, on how AI may change the industry, the importance of the timing of the strike, and more
Q&A with Justine Bateman, a member of the DGA, the WGA, and SAG-AFTRA, on how AI may change the industry, the importance of the timing of the strike, and more
Discussion:
@justinhendrix and @emilymbender@dair …
Washington Post:
The previous big strikes reshaped Hollywood and fueled reality TV's rise; the current ones will likely turn established actors into TikTok stars and vice versa
The previous big strikes reshaped Hollywood and fueled reality TV's rise; the current ones will likely turn established actors into TikTok stars and vice versa
Discussion:
@videodrew, @drewharwell, @shiralazar, Brightcove, Digiday, The Information, Rolling Stone, Study Hall and Foreign Policy
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek says podcasting is ageing down, citing the growth of video podcasts and “Internet-native” creators who upload “more longform content” — Spotify had its best quarter ever for new additions but revenue fell short of expectations and the music streamer booked …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Financial Times and @connorwein, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Spotify Q2: revenue up 11% YoY to €3.2B, Premium subs up 17% YoY to 220M, MAUs up 27% YoY to 551M; Q3 sales forecast below analyst est.; SPOT closes down 14.26%
Spotify Q2: revenue up 11% YoY to €3.2B, Premium subs up 17% YoY to 220M, MAUs up 27% YoY to 551M; Q3 sales forecast below analyst est.; SPOT closes down 14.26%
Jon Porter / The Verge:
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
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
Discussion:
New York Post, Spotify, Billboard, 9to5Mac, Complete Music Update, Variety, Light Reading, Global News, @bennjordan, @trengriffin, @lucas_shaw, @tomwarren, Inside Radio, @chrismessina@mastodon.xyz, CNET, Deadline, RAIN News, Insider, CNN, @jordanuhl_@threads.net, NBC News, Engadget, UPROXX, 9to5Google, CNBC, Gizmodo, Music Business Worldwide, Hollywood Reporter, TechCrunch and Billboard
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The Guardian reports revenue up 3.4% YoY to £264.4M for FY ending March 31, 2023, digital reader revenue grew 7.6%, and digital makes up 70% of total revenue — Total revenues were up 3% in the year to 31 March 2023. — Guardian Media Group has maintained a four-year run of revenue growth …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, The Guardian and The Guardian
RELATED:
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The Guardian creates seven journalist jobs to improve its coverage of underrepresented communities, including in the UK and US, after its founder's slavery ties
The Guardian creates seven journalist jobs to improve its coverage of underrepresented communities, including in the UK and US, after its founder's slavery ties
Discussion:
The Guardian, @josephharker, @andria.bsky.social, @blackamazon, @josephharker and @judeinlondon
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix rolls out a My Netflix tab on iOS, superseding the Downloads tab to offer downloads, watch lists, reminders, and more; Android gets My Netflix in August — Netflix has rolled out a new feature designed to — what else? — get you to stream as much as possible on the service.
Discussion:
About Netflix, Broadband TV News, The Verge, Media Play News, The Hollywood Reporter, CNET, Engadget, Deadline, UPROXX and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Wall Street Journal:
Emails: X offers discounts on new video ads in the US and UK and warns advertisers that they will lose verified status unless they reach spending thresholds — Social-media site X is offering hefty discounts to lure back ad dollars — X Corp. is cutting ad prices as it tries to woo brands back to the Elon Musk-owned platform.
Discussion:
The Drum, Ad Age and Forrester, more at Techmeme »
TechCrunch:
Threads adds an option for a chronological feed of posts from people the user follows — Meta's text-based social network Threads is rolling out one of the most requested features after its launch — a following feed. — In a post on his Instagram Channel, Mark Zuckerberg said that the company …
Discussion:
The Verge, MediaPost, PRWeek, New York Post, @daveleebbg@threads.net, CNN, Gizmodo, PCWorld, @parkerortolani@threads.net, @threadsapp@threads.net, @sarahfrier, @crumbler@threads.net, @reckless1280@threads.net, @tomwarrenuk@threads.net, @snazzyq@threads.net, 9to5Mac, @joannastern@threads.net, @mikeisaac, 9to5Google, @rachawilliams@threads.net, @mosseri@threads.net, @martinsfp@threads.net, @zuck@threads.net, Engadget, @tomwarren and CBS News, more at Techmeme »
Matias Grez / CNN:
The BBC apologizes for a reporter's “inappropriate” question at the Women's World Cup opener; the reporter asked Morocco's captain if the team had gay players — Women's World Cup 2023: Live scores, fixtures, results, tables and top scorers — The BBC has apologized for an …
Jonathan Vanian / CNBC:
Snap Q2: revenue down 4% YoY to $1.07B, vs. $1.05B est., global DAUs up 14% YoY to 397M, vs. 395M est., and Q3 revenue forecast below est.; SNAP down 16%+ — - Snap's overall sales in the second quarter declined 4% from the $1.11 billion it logged in the previous year during the same period.
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
In response to MPs questions over The Sun's Huw Edwards reporting, its EIC says the story had “significant scrutiny pre-publication” and corroborative evidence — MPs wanted to know how The Sun verifies its stories. — MPs asked The Sun how it verifies its stories following …
Discussion:
@dave43law, @stuzi_pants, @craftyoldgit, The Guardian, @archewellbaby, @_not__happy_, @adambienkov, @adambienkov, @j_a_warrington, PinkNews, @lorna_tveditor, Deadline and Variety
Raffaele Huang / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: TikTok plans to launch an e-commerce business in the US in early August to sell made-in-China goods to consumers — TikTok wants to replicate the success of other popular China-founded shopping platforms Shein and Temu — TikTok is launching an e-commerce business in the U.S …
Discussion:
Gizmodo, @sino_market, @michaelsobolik, Tubefilter and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Instagram rolls out creator subscriptions in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, and the UK, expanding on support in the US — Meta announced today that it's rolling out Instagram subscriptions to all eligible creators in Australia, Brazil, Canada …
Discussion:
9to5Mac, Instagram and Tubefilter, more at Techmeme »
Sarah Taaffe-Maguire / Sky News:
NatWest CEO Dame Alison Rose admits to being the BBC source for an erroneous story that said Coutts de-banked Nigel Farage for financial, not political, reasons — NatWest chief executive Dame Alison Rose said she thought she was confirming publicly available information to a BBC reporter …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Week, The i Paper, Daily Mail, Telegraph, London Evening Standard, The Times, @leeandersonmp_, @ticerichard, @mrharrycole, @piersmorgan, @niall_gooch, @laocailarry1, @alexanderhorne1, @glinner, @mrharrycole, @prwhittle, @alex_stafford, @arron_banks, @_henrybolton, @mrharrycole, BBC, The Guardian and Byline Times