Top News:
Reuters:
Warner Bros. Discovery reports Q2 revenue up 5% YoY to $10.4B and a $1.2B net loss, up from a $3.42B loss in Q2 2022; costs and expenses dropped by 16% — Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) posted a smaller loss for the second quarter on Thursday as the media conglomerate benefited from cost cuts …
Discussion:
Deadline, Broadband TV News, @azalben, @jacktweets44 and @news_by_nick
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Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
Warner Bros. Discovery reports 95.8M streaming subscribers in June, down from 97.6M in March, and a Q2 streaming loss of $3M, up from a $555M loss in Q2 2022 — Barbie marketing costs and the weaker performance of ‘The Flash’ compared to the year-ago hit ‘The Batman’ dragged down the Studios unit …
Discussion:
IndieWire, Variety and @chronotope
Amanda Marcotte / Salon:
Some experts say trolls who built businesses and media careers on Twitter have had to escalate shock value tactics as the audience of “normal people” shrinks — Elon Musk's business model depends on “triggering” liberals — but he's now running out of progressives to bait
Discussion:
@manigarm, @prezlives2022, @manigarm, @codinghorror@infosec.exchange, @letitmelo, @AmandaMarcotte@mastodon …, @darcyjamesargue, @amandamarcotte, @letitmelo, @timfordwrites@mstdn.ca, @amandamarcotte, @touaregtweet@mastodon.social, @manigarm, @salon, @letitmelo, @amandamarcotte, @brosandprose, @letitmelo, @mrsschwarzski.bsky.social, @amandamarcotte.bsky.social, @tharfagreinir.bsky.social and @mikethemadbiol.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
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Doomberg:
Doomberg, a pseudonymous Substack publication about economic and policy news with 150K+ subscribers, plans to leave Twitter to focus on Substack Notes — The Work of My Life: July 2023 Report — “There is a time for departure even when there's no certain place to go.” - Tennessee Williams
Discussion:
@howardlindzon, Notes, @jeremydschwartz, Notes, @substacklinda, Notes, Notes, @max_gagliardi, @doombergt, @lastbearstandng and Notes
Shubham Kalia / Reuters:
France's AFP sues X in Paris, saying the company refused to discuss potential content distribution payments under a 2019 law; Elon Musk calls the move “bizarre” — said on Wednesday it filed a lawsuit in Paris against Elon Musk's X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter …
Discussion:
Insider, Agence France-Presse, TechCrunch, Engadget, @elonmusk, Associated Press, Quartz, @afpcom, Forbes and @xdaily, more at Techmeme »
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Elon Musk / @elonmusk:
Elon Musk says X will amend its creator payouts policy to take no cut until a payout exceeds $100K, and plans to talk to Tim Cook about lower App Store fees
Discussion:
@scobleizer, @rdotchadha, @sawyermerritt, @oalexanderdk, @xdaily, Engadget, MacRumors, The Verge and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
Michael Geist:
As Meta starts blocking news links and sharing on Facebook and Instagram in Canada, a look at the harm that Bill C-18 will do to the country's media sector — For months, supporters of Bill C-18, the Online News Act, assured the government that Meta and Google were bluffing when they warned …
New York Times:
Sources say second-round bids for Simon & Schuster were due earlier this week and the sale process is expected to conclude in the coming weeks — The move to acquire the publisher, one of the five largest in the country, comes after the government blocked a deal last year on antitrust concerns.
Discussion:
@benmullin
New York Times:
Sources: Fox News execs Jay Wallace and Suzanne Scott lobbied Trump to appear at an August 23 debate, during a private dinner just after his third indictment — The Fox leaders appealed to the former president to participate in the first G.O.P. debate, which is being hosted by the network.
Max Goldbart / Deadline:
Hasbro confirms the sale of Entertainment One, or eOne, to Lionsgate for $500M after buying the studio in 2019 for $4B, and will retain the Family Brands unit — Hasbro has confirmed the sale of Entertainment One (eOne) to Lionsgate for $500M. — Speculation had been intensifying …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Axios, Variety, @tim_bays, The Toy Book, Advanced Television, The Hollywood Reporter and Bloomberg
Oliver Darcy / CNN:
A US federal judge rules Catherine Herridge must participate in a deposition regarding the identity of confidential source(s) for her Fox News stories in 2017 — A federal judge handed down a rare and alarming court decision this week that could have significant implications for the free press in America.
Discussion:
The Desk, Bloomberg Law, @kyledcheney, U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, CourtListener and @wlabovitz
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
The SAG-AFTRA Foundation says Meryl Streep and George Clooney helped lead a donation campaign that raised $15M+ in three weeks; eight other stars gave $1M+ each — The stars, joined by celebrities like Matt Damon and Oprah Winfrey, helped raise more than $15 million over the past three weeks.
Discussion:
UPROXX, CBS News, SAG-AFTRA, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, Variety, Vanity Fair, IndieWire, The Wrap, Deadline and New York Times
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Ofcom: UK broadcast TV weekly audience reach fell to 79% in 2022 vs. 83% in 2021; 66% of UK households were using an SVOD service in Q1 2023 vs. 68% in Q1 2022 — Media regulator's research shows big fall in weekly audiences of traditional ‘linear’ programming
Discussion:
Ofcom, Variety, Advanced Television, Music Ally, @ofcom, @endersanalysis, Ofcom, @ofcom, @ofcom, The Guardian and Deadline
TVNewsCheck:
Sinclair reports Q2 revenue down 8% YoY to $768M and a $89M net loss vs. $11M YoY, even after the “deconsolidation” of RSNs operated by Diamond Sports Group — Sinclair Broadcast Group on Wednesday afternoon reported that its second quarter total revenue decreased 8% …
Discussion:
MediaPost, Next TV, Deadline, Radio & Television … and Sinclair, Inc
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