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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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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


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, 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


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 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 »


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 …


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


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.


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


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


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


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


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