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%.
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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, The Information, Reuters, @joshuaogundu, The San Diego Union-Tribune, 9to5Google and Fortune, more at Techmeme »
Newley Purnell / Wall Street Journal:
Meta hasn't labeled propaganda accounts of state-backed media from Russia and other authoritarian governments on Threads, unlike on Facebook and Instagram — State-backed media accounts have hundreds of thousands of followers without the labels they are made to carry on Instagram and Facebook
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:
CBS News, Fortune, @hankofjuly, @carolinerenard_, @mancitykd, @effoff1988, @comicgirlashley, @rufushound, Vanity Fair, @emmatolkin, @realjaredgilman, TMZ.com, @benjisales, @ecto_fun, @bootsriley, @sherazfarooqi_, @vinn_ayy, Insider, @discussingfilm, Forbes, VIBE.com, Global News, ET Canada, The Guardian, Metro, @shayz0rz@mastodon.online, @riteshwriter.bsky.social, UPROXX, New York Daily News, Comic Book, The A.V. Club, Gizmodo and Deadline
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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
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
Discussion:
@videodrew, @drewharwell, @shiralazar, Brightcove, Digiday, The Information, Rolling Stone, Study Hall and Foreign Policy
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 Technology SA fell as much as 13% in New York trading after the audio streaming giant reported sales that came …
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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”
Discussion:
@connorwein and Financial Times
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
Discussion:
CNET, Spotify, 9to5Mac, Billboard, New York Post, Global News, Variety, Complete Music Update, Light Reading, @bennjordan, @trengriffin, @lucas_shaw, @tomwarren, Inside Radio, @chrismessina@mastodon.xyz, Deadline, RAIN News, Insider, @jordanuhl_@threads.net, UPROXX, NBC News, Engadget, 9to5Google, CNBC, Gizmodo, CNN, Music Business Worldwide, Hollywood Reporter and TechCrunch
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:
Mumbrella, The Guardian, MediaPost, The Guardian and Nieman Lab
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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
Discussion:
@josephharker, @blackamazon, @josephharker, @judeinlondon, The Guardian and @andria.bsky.social
Jon Lafayette / Next TV:
Marquee Sports Network, a Chicago Cubs and Sinclair joint venture, launches a streaming app with live Cubs games and more in the Chicago area, for $19.99/month — Subscription costs $19.99 a month — Marquee Sports Network, the regional sports network joint venture of the Chicago Cubs and Sinclair …
Discussion:
The Streamable, Cord Cutters News and Marquee Sports Network
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 …
The Hollywood Reporter:
A majority of around 5,000 TV commercial production workers, organized by a group called Stand With Production, signs cards seeking to join the IATSE union — The group, titled Stand With Production, comprises an estimated 5,000 TV workers, a majority of whom have signaled their support …
Discussion:
@moreperfectus, @moreperfectus, The Wrap and Deadline
Tatiana Siegel / Variety:
Sources detail Jeff Zucker's efforts to court potential investors in a bid for CNN, including Jeff Bezos, Laurene Powell Jobs, Alex Soros, and Roman Abramovich — Jeff Zucker was breezing through the Faena Hotel in Miami Beach when he spotted David Zaslav across the room.
Discussion:
Mediaite, RADAR, @tatianasiegel27, @agrenell, @mrwhite.bsky.social, @variety, @mvpeers, @lucas_shaw, @cerealcommas, @theinsneider, @variety, @variety and @variety
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
CEO Daniel Ek teases ways Spotify could integrate additional AI functionality into its products, including summarizing podcasts and generating audio ads — During the company's second-quarter earnings call this morning, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek teased a few ways the streaming service could introduce additional AI-powered functionality.
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:
@martinsfp, @joelmathis.bsky.social, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, The Drum and Forrester, more at Techmeme »
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.
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, 9to5Mac, New York Post, @parkerortolani@threads.net, @daveleebbg@threads.net, @threadsapp@threads.net, @sarahfrier, @crumbler@threads.net, @reckless1280@threads.net, Gizmodo, @tomwarrenuk@threads.net, PRWeek, @snazzyq@threads.net, 9to5Mac, @joannastern@threads.net, PCWorld, @mikeisaac, 9to5Google, @rachawilliams@threads.net, @mosseri@threads.net, @martinsfp@threads.net, @zuck@threads.net, Engadget, @tomwarren, CNN, MediaPost and CBS News, more at Techmeme »
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