Mediagazer: Documents show that authorities sought evidence of alleged criminal unauthorized computer access when searching journalist Timothy Burke's home on May 8, 2023 (Matthew Keys/The Desk)

11:40 PM ET, July 25, 2023

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%.

Discussion: The Information, @nicoagrant, NBC 7 San Diego, New York Times, The Wrap, Alphabet Inc., @quinnypig, @tvgrimreaper, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

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: The Information, MediaPost, @joshuaogundu, Reuters, The San Diego Union-Tribune, 9to5Google and Fortune, more at Techmeme »

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.

more at Techmeme »

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

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%

Discussion: Spotify, @lucas_shaw, @eldsjal, @sarthakgh, @ashleyrcarman, RAIN News, @carnage4life@threads.net, The Guardian, Reuters, Engadget, Axios, Music Business Worldwide, Hollywood Reporter and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

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

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

more at Techmeme »

Matthew Keys / The Desk:

Documents show that authorities sought evidence of alleged criminal unauthorized computer access when searching journalist Timothy Burke's home on May 8, 2023 — A search warrant obtained by The Desk shows federal investigators are looking into an alleged cyber intrusion scheme involving former Deadspin editor Timothy Burke.

Discussion: @matthewkeyslive and @matthewkeyslive

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 …

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: @andylevy.bsky.social, @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, Foreign Policy, Rolling Stone and Study Hall

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

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, Deadline and The Wrap

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 …

Discussion: PinkNews, @_shireenahmed_, Sydney Morning Herald, NBC News, @_shireenahmed_, @_shireenahmed_, @daniellewarby, @_shireenahmed_, @georgegalloway, @qatarifc, The Messenger, @Beeks@mstdn.party, New York Post, The Guardian, Awful Announcing, Fox News and Newser

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, The Guardian, MediaPost and Nieman Lab

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

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, The Information, RADAR, @tatianasiegel27, @agrenell, @mrwhite.bsky.social, @variety, @mvpeers, @lucas_shaw, @cerealcommas, @theinsneider, @variety, @variety and @variety, 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: @joelmathis.bsky.social, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, @martinsfp, 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.

Discussion: Snap Inc., NBC 7 San Diego, TechCrunch, @carnage4life@threads.net, @terraf31215, @scobleizer, Deadline, @alexbarinka, @carnage4life@mas.to, @eric_seufert, Variety, New York Times and The Hollywood Reporter, 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 …

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More News:

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

Discussion: @dave43law, @stuzi_pants, @craftyoldgit, @archewellbaby, @_not__happy_, @adambienkov, @adambienkov, @j_a_warrington, @lorna_tveditor, PinkNews, The Guardian, Deadline and Variety

TechCrunch:
Threads adds an option for a chronological feed of posts from people the user follows

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

Discussion: @sino_market, @michaelsobolik, Gizmodo, Tubefilter and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Jon Lafayette / Next TV:
Nexstar names Fox distribution head Michael Biard as its president and COO, effective August 21; Fox Corp. names David Espinosa to succeed Biard

Discussion: Observer, Fox Corporation, Business Wire, The Desk, @jbflint, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Media Play News, Variety, The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, WORLD SCREEN and Radio & Television …

Thomas Seal / Bloomberg:
The UK plans to force social media and ad platforms like Google Ads to stop scam ads including fake celebrity endorsements and pop-ups with malware

Discussion: Financial Times

Earlier Picks:

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
Reach reports revenue fell 6.1% YoY to £279.4M and operating profit dropped 23.5% YoY to £36.1M; print revenue fell 2.7% YoY and digital slid 16.1% YoY

Discussion: Investegate, HoldtheFrontPage and Financial Times

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

Discussion: 9to5Mac, Instagram and Tubefilter, more at Techmeme »

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

Discussion: Broadband TV News, About Netflix, Media Play News, The Verge, The Hollywood Reporter, CNET, UPROXX, Engadget, Deadline and TechCrunch

Vidya Krishnan / Nieman Reports:
A look at NDTV, India's last mainstream TV network willing to critically cover the Modi government, as Adani Group's NDTV takeover leaves few independent voices

Discussion: @vidyakrishnan, Newslaundry and Columbia Journalism Review

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
TikTok rolls out support for text posts, available via the app's Camera page and letting users add sounds, locations, stickers, and more

From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a smart doorbell system with advanced facial recognition that can wirelessly connect and unlock third-party smart locks

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Donald Trump announces that Sriram Krishnan, until recently a general partner at a16z, will serve as senior policy advisor for AI at the White House OSTP

Financial Times:
Sources: Palantir and Anduril are in talks with OpenAI, SpaceX, and more to form a consortium to bid for US defense contracts and plan to announce it in January

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