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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 …
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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
Discussion:
Financial Times

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
Discussion:
Reuters, The Desk, IndieWire, Deadline, Broadband TV News, @azalben, Kidscreen, @chronotope, Screen Rant, @jacktweets44, CNBC, Bloomberg, @news_by_nick and Insider

Warner Bros. Discovery reports 95.8M streaming subscribers in June, down from 97.6M in March, and a Q2 streaming loss of $3M, less than its Q2 2022 $558M loss
Discussion:
Gizmodo, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, @carnage4life@threads.net, @tvgrimreaper, The Information, Variety and TechCrunch


Apple reports Q3 revenue for its Services segment, which includes Apple TV+ and Apple Music, grew 8.2% YoY to a record $21.2B, driven by 1B+ paid subscriptions — Apple delivered solid financial results for the June 2023 quarter that beat Wall Street estimates, even as top-line revenue dipped 1.4% on lower-than-expected iPhone sales.
Discussion:
Apple, TechCrunch, The Wrap, CNBC, Deadline, The Verge, Apple Inc., MacRumors, @lexnfx, Wall Street Journal, 9to5Mac, The Hollywood Reporter, @patrickmcgee_ and @patrickmcgee_, more at Techmeme »


Amazon Q2: ad revenue up 22% YoY to $10.68B, vs. $10.4B est., subscription revenue up 14% YoY to $9.89B, and North America segment sales up 11% YoY to $82.5B — - Amazon beat on the top and bottom lines for the second quarter. — Amazon said second-quarter revenue climbed 11% …
Discussion:
Variety, CNN, NBC 7 San Diego, Deadline, @digitalshields, About Amazon, @epro.social and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »


A unique password found in a data breach directory links GB News' Dan Wootton to two online personas that bribed and harassed men to share sexual material — Receive our Behind the Headlines email and we'll post a free copy of Byline Times — GB News star Dan Wootton twice used …
Discussion:
@peterjukes, @kuangeleven, @fascinatorfun, @hardeep_matharu and Press Gazette
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MailOnline suspends Dan Wootton from writing his twice-weekly column; he continues to present a nightly primetime show on GB News — Journalist denies claims he used pseudonym to secretly offer colleagues tens of thousands of pounds for sexual material — Dan Wootton has been suspended …
Discussion:
@jimwaterson.bsky.social


Agence France-Presse sues X in Paris for refusing to discuss potential content distribution payments under a 2019 law; Elon Musk calls the lawsuit “bizarre” — said on Wednesday it filed a lawsuit in Paris against Elon Musk's X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter …
Discussion:
Insider, Al Jazeera, Agence France-Presse, UPI, @elonmusk, Newser, Plagiarism Today, Washington Post, @carnage4life@mas.to, @xdaily, Engadget, @afpcom, Associated Press, Quartz, TechCrunch, Forbes and @elonmusk, more at Techmeme »


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
Discussion:
@joelmathis.bsky.social, @mbalter and @maxboot


A look at Hong Kong-based streaming service Viu's plans for expansion in Asia and its current and potential future collaborations with Canal+ — - Recent deal with Canal+ set to bolster presence across region — Major streaming platform targets more local language content


A look at Premier League soccer's fight against piracy as illegal live streams in the UK decline, with 600K+ blocked last season, and use of IPTV devices rises — With broadcasters losing billions of pounds a year to tech-savvy criminal networks, new weapons are needed in the war against an “industry killer”
Discussion:
@martynziegler


Gannett reports a Q2 net loss of $12.7M, vs. $54M loss in Q2 2022, adjusts full-year revenue estimates to between $10M loss and $20M profit; stock is up 13%+ — Both Gannett and Lee Enterprises reported digital growth in the most recent quarter as total revenue fell.
Discussion:
Reuters, MediaPost, Gannett Inc., @bymikedavis, @gannett and nyguild.org


Triller files for a NYSE IPO after scrapping a $5B SPAC merger in 2021 and a direct listing in 2022; Triller had $47.7M in revenue and a $195.6M loss in 2022 — Triller has long teased its ambitions to go public, and now, the short form video platform seems to on its way to an IPO.
Discussion:
Billboard, Billboard, Music Ally and Digital Music News, more at Techmeme »


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, The Wrap, @wlabovitz, The Desk, CourtListener, U.S. Press Freedom Tracker and Bloomberg Law


Patreon temporarily disables Payoneer payments after some creators were unable to access their earnings and some banks flagged subscriber payments as fraudulent — Two simultaneous issues with payments on Patreon are causing problems for both creators and fans.