Top News:
Eileen AJ Connelly / The Wrap:
Though WBD's streaming unit posted a Q2 loss, content licensing revenue rose to $410M from $132M in Q2 2022; David Zaslav says WBD will seek co-exclusive deals — The company's DTC division reported $410 million in licensing revenue, more than triple last year's sales, after offering shows like “Westworld” to rivals
Discussion:
Financial Times
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Jennifer Maas / Variety:
WBD CFO says the company has saved more than $100M due to strikes and that “our modeling assumes a return to work date in early September” — Warner Bros. Discovery execs reported the Hollywood writers and actors' ongoing work stoppage had brought the company savings in the …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Deadline, @jbflint, @sharonwaxman and ComingSoon.net
Wall Street Journal:
WBD reports Q2 revenue down 4% YoY to $10.36B and a $1.2B net loss, up from $3.42B in Q2 2022; the company paid down $1.6B debt in Q2, leaving $47.8B remaining — Company narrows losses as it pays down debt — Warner Bros. Discovery's revenue fell as its streaming segment shed subscribers …
Discussion:
Screen Rant, Reuters, Insider, CNBC, Bloomberg, Deadline, Broadband TV News, @azalben, @jacktweets44 and @news_by_nick
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
Discussion:
MediaPost, The Wrap, The Desk, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, IndieWire, Variety, The Information and @chronotope
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:
Plagiarism Today, UPI, Insider, Al Jazeera, Agence France-Presse, @elonmusk, Washington Post, Newser, Engadget, Associated Press, Quartz, TechCrunch, @xdaily, Forbes and @afpcom, 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:
@rdotchadha, @oalexanderdk, @scobleizer, @sawyermerritt, @xdaily, Engadget, The Verge, MacRumors and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
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, @letitmelo, @darcyjamesargue, @amandamarcotte, @letitmelo, @amandamarcotte, @manigarm, @salon, @letitmelo, @amandamarcotte, @brosandprose, @letitmelo, @timfordwrites@mstdn.ca, @codinghorror@infosec.exchange, @touaregtweet@mastodon.social, @AmandaMarcotte@mastodon …, @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
Discussion:
Notes, Notes, Notes, Notes, @doombergt, Notes, @substacklinda, @jeremydschwartz, @max_gagliardi, @howardlindzon and @lastbearstandng
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:
@kyledcheney, U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, Bloomberg Law, CourtListener, The Desk and @wlabovitz
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 …
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
A look at the fate of the bankrupt Santa Barbara News-Press under owner Wendy McCaw, who turned the paper into a forum for her politics and private crusades — Wendy McCaw, the owner of the Santa Barbara News-Press, ceased its publication in July after years of controversy
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:
The Guardian, Ofcom, Ofcom, Music Ally, @ofcom, Variety, @endersanalysis, @ofcom, Advanced Television, @ofcom, The Guardian and Deadline
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
Haleluya Hadero / Associated Press:
Twitch expands its ban on livestreams of gambling content to include online casinos Blaze and Gamdom; gambling viewership dropped ~75% after its bans in 2022 — Amazon-owned Twitch said Wednesday it's expanding the ban on livestreams of gambling content on the platform.
Discussion:
Video Games Chronicle, more at Techmeme »
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:
IndieWire, The Wrap, Axios, Variety, Media Play News, Advanced Television, @tim_bays, The Hollywood Reporter, The Toy Book, WORLD SCREEN and Bloomberg
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