Mediagazer: Several major streaming companies form a group to fight local broadcasters over an FCC rule that lets streamers bypass distribution negotiations with stations (Sara Fischer/Axios)

8:55 PM ET, July 27, 2023

Top News:

Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair:

Jeff Zucker's spokesperson asks Variety to retract a post on Zucker and CNN, and Puck and The Atlantic reporters refute some of its claims; Variety stands by it — The magazine's scathing feature on former network chief Jeff Zucker has unleashed an outcry over its veracity, with some top media brass even calling for a retraction.

Discussion: @timalberta, The Wrap, Puck, @nbj914, @jonathanvswan, @steveguest, @timalberta, @timalberta, CNN, @timalberta, New York Post, @timalberta, Fox News, RADAR, CNN, Mediaite, Poynter and Page Six

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

ESPN plans to air a SportsCenter show with an all-female anchor team and a female-led production crew, as it aims to serve brands that support women's sports — Not tonight. — When ESPN viewers tune in to the 11 p.m. edition of the long-running sports-news program, they may see something a little different.

Discussion: ESPN Press Room U.S., Mediaite, The Wrap, Barrett Media and Awful Announcing

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

Sources in Hollywood and Silicon Valley discuss AI's impact: creatives view AI as an existential threat, studios see a cost saver, and both sides need a deal — Adam Conover started to worry a few months ago that a computer could take his job. A comedian in Los Angeles …

Discussion: The Information, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, Screen Rant and Puck, more at Techmeme »

Ken Klippenstein / The Intercept:
Netflix lists a $300K to $900K-a-year ML product manager job that points to its plans to use AI to “create great content”, as actors strike for AI protections

Bloomberg:

Research using Meta's data from around the 2020 US election shows news audiences were highly politically segregated; changing algorithms didn't change attitudes — Multiple studies aim to understand Facebook's impact on elections … Meta Platforms Inc., Facebook's parent company …

Will Sommer / Washington Post:

The staff of Mississippi Today, which won a 2023 Pulitzer for Local Reporting, and its New Orleans-focused sister site Verite unionize — It's the latest evolution for scrappy nonprofit Mississippi Today, founded seven years ago by former NBC News executive Andy Lack

Discussion: @dstodayunion, @dstodayunion, @dstodayunion, @devnabose, @misaacstein and @dstodayunion

Murray Stassen / Music Business Worldwide:

Universal Music Group Q2: revenue rises 8.8% YoY to €2.697B, or $2.93B, subscription streaming revenue up 13%, and merchandising up 12.1%; stock climbs 10%+ — Yesterday, the world's biggest subscription music streaming service, Spotify, announced its Q2 results.

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, MediaPost, MarketScreener, @YellowPup@mstdn.party, Universal Music Group, Billboard, Music Ally, Reuters, Billboard, Digital Music News and Bloomberg

Ryan Barwick / Marketing Brew:

Microsoft's Xandr emails customers about updates to its ad policies, including a ban on political ads, with changes effective in September and October — Xandr, the ad-tech platform acquired by Microsoft in 2021, is getting out of political advertising later this year.

Discussion: Adweek, Microsoft Advertising, Axios and @ryanbarwick

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Roku reports Q2 revenue up 11% YoY to $847.2M, vs. $773.5M est., platform revenue up 11% YoY to $744M, and active accounts up 16% YoY to 73.5M; ROKU jumps 8%+ — The company reported Q2 revenue of $847.2 million, up 11%, and a net loss of $107.6 million (-$0.76 per share).

Discussion: The Wrap, Billboard, The Desk, Media Play News, Deadline, @xpangler, Roku Inc. and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

John Ourand / Sports Business Journal:

Yahoo Sports hires former Axios Sports newsletter editor Kendall Baker as its senior writer to oversee its newsletter strategy and launch a new daily newsletter — Yahoo Sports hired Kendall Baker as senior writer, a position where he will head up the company's newsletter and cross-platform strategy.

Discussion: @owillis.bsky.social, @kerrymflynn, @jeffreytracy, @kendallbaker, Business Wire, @howielongshort, @jimvandehei, @danprimack, Awful Announcing, @pat_trousdale, @jlanzone and @turnernovak

Adweek:

Adweek names Will Lee, currently the COO of NPR, as CEO, and former Time Inc. CEO Rich Battista as executive chairman of the Adweek Board — Joining from NPR, Lee will expand Adweek's offerings and chart a new path forward for one of the industry's most iconic brands

Discussion: Talking Biz News, @jasonlynch, Inside Radio and Current

Max Goldbart / Deadline:

The UK's Film & TV Charity names Marcus Ryder, former BBC news executive and a diversity veteran, as its CEO, replacing Alex Pumfrey, who moved to ITV this year — Marcus Ryder, the British diversity vet and former BBC news exec, has been named CEO of the UK's Film & TV Charity.

Discussion: Variety, @bectu, @alex_pumfrey, @dianekemp1, @marcusryder, @screencraftw, @filmtvcharity, Screen and The Hollywood Reporter

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

The White House condemned Fox News over comments made by host Greg Gutfeld, who said some Jews “had to be useful” as a means for survival during the Holocaust — The White House denounced Fox News this week over comments by one of its hosts, Greg Gutfeld, that some Jews …

Discussion: @decodingfoxnews, @justinbaragona, @andrewjbates46, @decodingfoxnews, Vanity Fair, RADAR, Insider, Media Matters for America, Poynter and Mediaite

Aisyah Llewellyn / Al Jazeera:

Indonesia restricts X.com, which now redirects to twitter.com after Twitter rebranding to X, as the domain had been previously used by porn and gambling sites — Medan, Indonesia - Elon Musk's aspirations for X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, have hit a stumbling block …

Discussion: The Desk, The Daily Beast, @Rasta@mstdn.ca, @ryanschultz@mastodon.social, UPROXX, Insider, Engadget, Newslit Daily, Insider, Gizmodo and NBC News, more at Techmeme »

Financial Times:
Sources: Linda Yaccarino pitched her vision for Twitter/X to talent agencies in LA and met with Disney, in a bid to bring stars and influencers to the platform

Discussion: The Guardian, The Information, @mshannahmurphy, @filmthepolicela, @xnewsdaily, @yoda and @apocalypticanow.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »

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More News:

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Several major streaming companies form a group to fight local broadcasters over an FCC rule that lets streamers bypass distribution negotiations with stations

Discussion: The Desk, The Streamable and @sarafischer

K.J. Yossman / Variety:
A UK judge sends Prince Harry's lawsuit against The Sun's publisher over alleged unlawful information gathering to trial, but barred phone hacking claims

Discussion: Press Association, The Daily Beast, @archewellbaby, @tvkhaleesi, RTÉ, @pagantrelawney, Deadline, @archewellbaby, New York Post, Sky News, CBS News, Page Six and Sydney Morning Herald

Reuters:
Comcast reports Q2 revenue up 1.7% YoY to $30.5B, content and experiences revenue up 4% YoY to $10.9B, and Peacock hit 24M subscribers, up from 22M in Q1 2023

Discussion: Variety, @bristei, @tvgrimreaper, @brandonthurston, @bristei, @ashleylcarter1, @xpangler, @bristei, The Desk, Screen Rant, The Information, Deadline, Wall Street Journal, WORLD SCREEN, IndieWire, The Hollywood Reporter, CNBC and The Wrap

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
BBC News' Yalda Hakim leaves just months after becoming a chief presenter to join Sky News to be the lead world news presenter and lead a new primetime program

Discussion: @bbcyaldahakim, @nickbryantny, Variety, @davidgrayrhodes, @daveleebbg, @davidgrayrhodes, @markaustintv, @back_the_bbc, @bbcyaldahakim, @jake_kanter, Broadband TV News and Deadline

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Producer Scott Zabielski and entrepreneur Adam Mosam plan to launch an AI-dependent, 30-minute weekly news show in 2023 for a FAST channel, hosted by AI anchors

Discussion: Axios

Earlier Picks:

Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
ITV reports H1 2023 revenue down 2% YoY to £1.63B, digital ad revenue up 24% YoY to £179M, Studios revenue up 8% YoY to £1B, and ITVX MAUs up 29% YoY to 12.5M

Discussion: Financial Times, Broadband TV News, Bloomberg, Hollywood Reporter and Deadline

Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
Libro.fm, an audiobook retailer and listening app for local bookshops, launches internationally; the company has partnered with over 2,200 independent bookshops

Discussion: @bookishcrick, @librofm, @librofm and Publishing Perspectives

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Netflix is reworking its tech deal with Microsoft for its ad tier to reduce the revenue guarantee and has discussed selling ads through other partners

Discussion: IndieWire, W Media Research, Reuters, @jtoonkel, The Streamable, @jordannovet and Broadband TV News, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:
A group of booksellers, publishers, and authors sue to stop a new Texas law that is taking effect in September and requires stores to rate books' sexual content

Discussion: Publishing Perspectives, @lailalalami.bsky.social, @JaneRLaForge@mstdn.social, New York Daily News and The Hill

From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple and OpenAI are preparing a major announcement of their partnership at WWDC; the new AirTag with a better chip is scheduled to arrive by mid-2025

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: US officials have told Google, Meta, and others about concerns that undersea cables could be vulnerable to tampering by China-owned repair ships

Emma Agyemang / Financial Times:
Around 58 countries now offer a digital nomad visa, as governments compete with each other to attract talent; the number of US digital nomads hit 17.3M in 2023

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