Mediagazer: 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 (Thomas Seal/Bloomberg)

8:20 AM ET, July 25, 2023

Top News:

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 — 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.

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:

Spotify reports Q2 revenue rose 11% YoY to €3.2B, Premium subscribers grew 17% YoY to 220M, MAUs rose 27% YoY to 551M, and a €112M adjusted operating loss — Spotify Technology SA, the Swedish audio streaming platform, beat analyst expectations in its second-quarter results …

Discussion: TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, NBC 7 San Diego, Hollywood Reporter, @lucas_shaw and Spotify, more at Techmeme »

Lisa Richwine / Reuters:

The much-hyped “Barbenheimer” opening weekend netted $155M for Barbie and $80.5M for Oppenheimer, for $300M in total in the US and Canada for just the 4th time — The much-hyped “Barbenheimer” box office battle over the weekend proved to be a win for movie theaters that needed to add some sizzle to their summer.

Rebecca Rubin / Variety:
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

Discussion: New York Times, UPROXX, Insider, The Wrap and Screen Rant

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 last big strikes reshaped the movie business and fueled the rise of reality TV. The latest walkout likely …

Discussion: @videodrew, @shiralazar, @drewharwell, Brightcove, Digiday, The Information, Rolling Stone, Study Hall, Foreign Policy and Deadline

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: @emilymbender@dair …, @justinhendrix and Los Angeles Times, more at Techmeme »

Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:

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.

Discussion: @elonmusk, @lindayacc, New York Times, @elonmusk, @lindayacc, CNN, The Verge, The Verge, Insider, @chafkin, RADAR, Fast Company, @martingrasser, Macworld, NBC News, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, Forrester, @lindayacc, Associated Press, @rmac18, @mrerikjackson, The Hill, @mollyjongfast, @rmac18, CBS News, @valueterminal, @mikeisaac, New York Magazine, @ivanthek, The Daily Beast, @rmac18, @news_by_nick, @tomgara, Mother Jones, TIME, @mabintou, Bloomberg, @wagatwe, @espiers, The Guardian, Digital Journal, @elonmusk, Slate, KNSD-TV, @jack, @lindayacc, Us Weekly, Ars Technica, Fortune, New York Post, @mossbergwalt@threads.net, @lindayacc, @carnage4life@threads.net, Hollywood Life, Engadget, PRWeek, MediaPost, Vibe, CNN, Variety, NPR, New York Daily News, New Republic, Global News, Gizmodo, Poynter, The Register, @levie, @tomcoates, @tedlieu, @jdcmedlock, @elonmuskaoc, @emilcdc, @bendreyfuss, @yosephpaulos, @jamestobyne, @karaswisher, @loupas, @jujuujba, @benedictevans, @killedbygoogle, Fox News, Agence France-Presse, KGET-TV, Complete Music Update, Sydney Morning Herald, Insider, New York Post, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Slate, Boing Boing, The Hollywood Reporter, Digital Music News, @carnage4life@mas.to, @parkerortolani@threads.net, Times of San Diego, Ad Age, The A.V. Club, UPROXX, The Week, Consequence, Forbes, Vanity Fair, Metro.co.uk, The Wrap and Billboard, 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 — 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, The Hollywood Reporter, CNET, Engadget, Deadline, TechCrunch, UPROXX and Media Play News, 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: Instagram and Tubefilter, more at Techmeme »

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 roles include dedicated correspondents for the Caribbean, Africa and South America. — The Guardian is creating seven …

Discussion: The Guardian, @josephharker, @josephharker and @blackamazon

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 — As Twitter shoots itself in the foot with a rebrand this morning, TikTok has announced that it's rolling out support for text posts.

Catherine Perloff / Adweek:

Mailchimp owner Intuit is launching SMB MediaLabs, which lets advertisers target QuickBooks' 7.1M customers on social media, online publishers, CTV, and more — Targeting QuickBooks' customers across digital media is a promising new revenue line — Financial services giant Intuit …

Discussion: Intuit SMB MediaLabs, @lefterisjp, @catherineperlo1, @johnathanbarnes and @sean_kaushal

Sports Business Journal:

Sources: MLS Season Pass is nearing 1M subs including season-ticket holders; team execs say they are frustrated due to lack of transparency in viewership stats — Apple's Eddy Cue began speaking to a room filled with MLS owners and executives last week in Washington, D.C. …

Discussion: CNN, @turnersavesthat, Awful Announcing, @worldsoccertalk, @tvanswerman, @alexmsilverman, @griffin_author, @tvgrimreaper, @zone_nhl, @jheaps4, @usmnt_thoughts, @GreenFire@mstdn.social, The Streamable and 9to5Mac

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 — The hostile takeover of NDTV — one of India's last channels willing to report critically on the Modi government …

Discussion: @vidyakrishnan and Columbia Journalism Review

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 — - Ad-tech will be forced to crack down on scam advertisements — Measures are intended to complement the Online Safety Bill

Discussion: Financial Times, more at Techmeme »

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Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
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Discussion: Investegate, Financial Times and HoldtheFrontPage

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
The Telegraph Media Group reports 2022 revenues up 4% YoY to £254.2M, digital subscription revenue up 31% YoY to £57.9M, and subscriptions up 2% YoY to 734K

Discussion: The Guardian, Financial Times, London Evening Standard, Telegraph, Reuters, Telegraph Media Group, The Times and @guardiannews

Washington Post:
Mandiant: a Chinese PR firm used newswire services to place pro-Beijing content on the subdomains of 32+ US news outlets, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Discussion: @nakashimae, @nakashimae, @nakashimae, @nakashimae, @ericgarland, @heminator, CNN and Mandiant

David Folkenflik / NPR:
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Discussion: Inside Radio, @isalara, @davidfolkenflik, @elbordeaux, @vivian, @greenfield64, Current and The Wrap

Thomas Buckley / Bloomberg:
Sources: Disney is reviewing its film release schedule for the rest of 2023 and may delay some titles because striking actors won't help promote the pictures

Discussion: Comic Book, @tvgrimreaper and @bart_smith

Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
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Discussion: Media Voices, United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, @markstenberg3 and @adamry_n

Jean Yamamura / The Santa Barbara Independent:
The Santa Barbara News-Press, which has published a paper since 1868 and received a Pulitzer, ceases publication and files for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Earlier Picks:

New York Times:
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

Discussion: Poynter, Adweek, @tomgara, @bmorrissey, Semafor, @sherman4949, @scottnover, @ryanvailbrown, @seangriffey, @dannygroner, @benmullin, The Wrap and Insider

Jesse Whittock / Deadline:
Internal memo: WBD President of International TV Distribution Robert Blair plans to leave the company after 25 years due to a “necessary structural change”

Discussion: @variety, @jelmes_tv, Broadcast, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Cord Cutters News

BBC:
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

Natalie Pressman / CBC News:
Canada's smaller news outlets, like Cabin Radio, the Northwest Territories' only entirely-online news organization, worry about the Online News Act's impact

Discussion: @gregorytaylor1

Patrick Sykes / Bloomberg:
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

Ben Smith / Semafor:
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

Discussion: The Overspill, The Bookseller, @jl_zamith, @moorehn, @_zeets, @michaelgreshko, @mediaevan, @natfriedman, @adamkovac, @hingumtringum, @natfriedman, @sirdigalot, Vanity Fair and @ernie@writing.exchange

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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