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:
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Google says 2B+ logged-in monthly users are watching YouTube Shorts, up from 1.5B+ in June 2022, and YouTube is reaching 150M people on their TVs in the US — Google said today that more than 2 billion logged-in monthly users are watching YouTube Shorts, giving it an edge over competitors like TikTok and Instagram Reels.
Discussion:
CNBC
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
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.
Financial Times:
Sources: UK-listed online retailer THG is in talks to acquire London business newspaper City AM, which was put up for sale this month; City AM employs ~40 staff — Acquisition would mark a departure for London-listed ecommerce group — Matt Moulding's online retailer THG is in talks …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Guardian, @arashmassoudi, London Evening Standard and Sky News
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Documents detail the struggles of Amazon's Clubhouse rival Amp, launched in March 2022 with a year-end target of 1M+ MAUs; a source says MAUs sit at 700K today — At the height of the COVID-19 health crisis, when many of us — forced by quarantine rules and social distancing guidelines …
Discussion:
The Information
Reuters:
Sources: music rights company BMI is again exploring options including a sale; BMI switched to a for-profit model in 2022 after failing to sell itself in 2021 — Broadcast Music Inc (BMI), the music rights company representing top songwriters such as Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Rihanna …
Discussion:
Music Business Worldwide and Digital Music News
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek teases ways the company could integrate additional AI 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.
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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, CNN, Sydney Morning Herald, The Drum, Financial Times, Al Jazeera, @leeandersonmp_, @ticerichard, @mrharrycole, @piersmorgan, @niall_gooch, @laocailarry1, @alexanderhorne1, @glinner, @mrharrycole, @prwhittle, @alex_stafford, @arron_banks, @_henrybolton, @mrharrycole, The Week, The i Paper, Daily Mail, Telegraph, London Evening Standard and The Times
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, Marquee Sports Network and Cord Cutters News
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
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
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:
@tatianasiegel27, @agrenell, @variety, @mvpeers, @lucas_shaw, @cerealcommas, Mediaite, CNN, @theinsneider, @variety, RADAR, @variety, @variety, The Wrap and @mrwhite.bsky.social
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