Top News:
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 …
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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
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:
Reuters, Kidscreen, Screen Rant, The Desk, IndieWire, Deadline, Broadband TV News, @azalben, @chronotope, @jacktweets44, CNBC, Bloomberg, @news_by_nick and Insider
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, less than its Q2 2022 $558M loss
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:
The Wrap, @carnage4life@threads.net, @tvgrimreaper, The Hollywood Reporter, Gizmodo, The Information, Variety and TechCrunch
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
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:
Press Gazette
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Byline Times:
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 — In the seventh part of its three-year special investigation, Byline Times can reveal the internet data leaks that tie the TV presenter …
Discussion:
@fascinatorfun and @hardeep_matharu
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:
Al Jazeera, Agence France-Presse, Insider, Plagiarism Today, UPI, @elonmusk, Washington Post, TechCrunch, Newser, Quartz, Associated Press, @xdaily, Engadget, 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
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:
Insider, @rdotchadha, @oalexanderdk, @scobleizer, @sawyermerritt, @xdaily, Engadget, The Verge, MacRumors and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
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
Discussion:
@joelmathis.bsky.social, @mbalter and @maxboot
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 Wrap, @kyledcheney, The Desk, @wlabovitz, CourtListener, U.S. Press Freedom Tracker and Bloomberg Law
Shirley Zhao / Bloomberg:
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
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:
@darcyjamesargue, @amandamarcotte, @manigarm, @amandamarcotte, @prezlives2022, @manigarm, @amandamarcotte, @salon, @brosandprose, @manigarm, @letitmelo, @letitmelo, @letitmelo, @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
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
Michael Geist:
As Meta blocks news links and sharing on Facebook and Instagram in Canada, a look at how Bill C-18 could cause millions of losses for 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 …
Mia Sato / The Verge:
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.
Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:
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 »