Mediagazer: A UK jury finds Kevin Spacey not guilty of nine charges of sexual assault alleged to have been committed between 2004 and 2013 (Emine Sinmaz/The Guardian)

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

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, more at Techmeme »

Miles Kruppa / Wall Street Journal:
Alphabet reports Q2 Google ad revenue up 3% YoY to $58.14B after two consecutive quarters of falling ad sales

Discussion: The Motley Fool, MediaPost, @joshuaogundu, NBC 7 San Diego, Reuters and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Emine Sinmaz / The Guardian:

A UK jury finds Kevin Spacey not guilty of nine charges of sexual assault alleged to have been committed between 2004 and 2013 — Jury at Southwark crown court finds Oscar-winning actor, 64, not guilty after four-week trial — Kevin Spacey wept and said he was humbled after being cleared …

The Hollywood Reporter:

With striking actors not doing press, sources say multiple streaming services are discussing potentially moving certain undated fully shot series to early 2024 — With talent unable to do press and content pipelines at risk of running dry, executives at every major streamer are quietly debating …

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, 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

Discussion: @newley, more at Techmeme »

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: @iatalkspace, Music Business Worldwide and Digital Music News

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, Sky News, @martinsfp, London Evening Standard and @arashmassoudi

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Verizon partners with YouTube to offer some new and upgrading wireless and home internet customers free access to the NFL Sunday Ticket — Verizon and YouTube are calling a new customer-acquisition play aimed a gridiron fans. … Terms of the agreement between Verizon and YouTube …

Discussion: The Streamable, CNET, Media Play News, Verizon, The Verge, Deadline, 9to5Google and Cord Cutters News

Naman Ramachandran / Variety:

The BBC invested £128.5M into TV and radio content under its Creative Diversity Commitment, hitting its £100M three-year goal with one year to spare — The BBC invested £128.5 million ($165.7 million) into TV and radio content in the first two years of its Creative Diversity Commitment, a year ahead of target.

Discussion: WORLD SCREEN, @blackamazon, BBC and Deadline

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 Verge, @hypervisible.bsky.social, Fortune, @martinsfp, Insider Intelligence, @joelmathis.bsky.social, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social and The Drum, 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

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.

Discussion: Music Ally

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, Financial Times, @carnage4life@threads.net and Bloomberg