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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 — 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


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

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


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 …
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Press Gazette
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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


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 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 »


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 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


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


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, 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


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 …


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.


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 »