Mediagazer: ESPN and Penn Entertainment announce a deal to launch ESPN Bet, as Penn rebrands its sportsbook in the 16 US states where it is licensed; PENN jumps ~15% (ESPN Press Room U.S.)

10:40 AM ET, August 9, 2023

Top News:

ESPN and Penn Entertainment announce a deal to launch ESPN Bet, as Penn rebrands its sportsbook in the 16 US states where it is licensed; PENN jumps ~15% — Sports betting deal to include a streamlined experience for sports fans — ESPN today announced an agreement with PENN Entertainment …

Axios:
Penn Entertainment is selling Barstool Sports back to founder Dave Portnoy, who has accepted certain noncompete agreements; Penn had bought Barstool for $551M

Katherine Sayre / Wall Street Journal:
ESPN's deal allowing Penn to use its brand for ESPN Bet is worth $2B over 10 years: $1.5B in cash plus warrants worth about $500M to purchase shares in Penn

Discussion: Front Office Sports, CNN, The Streamable, New York Post and Awful Announcing

Catherine Perloff / Adweek:

Google changes the name of one of its advertising video formats from “in-stream ads” to “skippable ads”, after a report accused YouTube of misleading buyers — What was once in-stream ads are now skippable ads — Google removed “in-stream” classification from the name of one of its video formats.

more at Techmeme »

Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:
YouTube plans to stop showing users recommended videos in some places when watch history is turned off entirely, including the homepage

Discussion: The Verge, @sportstvratings, Engadget, @carnage4life@mas.to and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Amanda Meade / The Guardian:

Australia's ABC shutters all but four of its accounts on X, citing “toxic interactions” and cost, amid shifting resources to TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram — The public broadcaster says interactions on the platform are ‘toxic’ as it closes almost all its Twitter accounts

Discussion: The Desk, @qanda, @sirsteven, @Greguti@pouet.chapril.org, @markdistef, @archcontext, @markdistef and TechCrunch

Blake Brittain / Reuters:

Gizmodo EIC Dan Ackerman sues Apple, the Tetris Company, and others, claiming they adapted his book about Tetris into a feature film without his permission — Dan Ackerman, editor in chief of the tech-news website Gizmodo, filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court on Monday accusing Apple …

Discussion: Insider, Talking Biz News, Metro, Engadget, The Verge, The Wrap, Variety, 9to5Mac and AppleInsider, more at Techmeme »

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

The RNC picks Fox Business to host the second GOP presidential primary debate on September 27, after Fox News hosts the first debate later on August 23 — It's now two-for-two for the Murdoch empire when it comes to presidential candidate forums. — The Republican National Committee …

Discussion: The Wrap, UPI, Deadline, The Hill, @brianstelter, @joelmathis.bsky.social, @wlabovitz, @politicoalex, New York Daily News and Semafor

Scott Roxborough / The Hollywood Reporter:

RTL Deutschland launches a €12.99 per month “all-in-one” streaming bundle with video, live sports, music, podcasts, audiobooks, and digital magazines — The new “all-inclusive” platform is promising German subscribers a one-stop-shop for video, live-sports, music, podcasts …

Discussion: The Desk

Joe Otterson / Variety:

Wonya Lucas, who became the president and CEO of Hallmark Media in 2020, plans to depart the company at the end of 2023 but will continue on its board — Hallmark Media president and CEO Wonya Lucas will depart the company at the end of the year. Upon her departure, Lucas will continue …

Discussion: The Desk, Next TV, The Hollywood Reporter, WORLD SCREEN, Cord Cutters News, The Wrap, Advanced Television, Adweek and Deadline

Reuters:

The WGA strike hits 100 days: negotiations with major studios are stalled and writers are protesting what they describe as a disregard for their demands — The Hollywood writers' strike marks 100 days on Wednesday with contract talks stalled and people on the picket lines protesting what they describe as a disregard for their demands.

Discussion: Collider, The Hollywood Reporter, @wgawest, @prismreports, @davidhsteinberg, @officermankorn, @lisacullen, @wgastrikeunite, @carolinerenard_, Los Angeles Times and CNN

Max Kim / Los Angeles Times:
The Korea Broadcasting Actors Union says Netflix is not responding to calls to meet, as the union asks for the same residuals that US actors get under SAG-AFTRA

Discussion: @elisewho, @lawoftd, @aliciadcarroll, @sev___, @oriana_banana, @wgawest, @dasgoot1, @carriecnh12, @ingloriousgigi.bsky.social, New York Post, Inverse, Rolling Stone, @judyberman.bsky.social and Screen Rant

Martin K.N Siele / Rest of World:

In Kenya, the most active African country on TikTok, creators make money with protest livestreams, which protesters say help them stay safe from police violence — At least 23 people have reportedly been killed as crowds oppose proposed tax increases. — • NAIROBI, KENYA

Discussion: Fox News and Reuters Institute, more at Techmeme »

Sophie Culpepper / Nieman Lab:

A look at Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang's “transparency portal”, launched to improve audience trust after facing criticism for a botched story — Readers “have to see this again and again and again, I think, before you really make an impact.”

Variety:

Source: Comcast-owned Sky, the UK's largest pay-TV broadcaster, gives up the rights to broadcast the Oscars, acquired from the BBC in 2004, as ratings decline — After a 20-year pact, the Oscars will no longer broadcast on Sky in the U.K., Variety has confirmed.

Discussion: @goldbart1 and Deadline

Gavin J Blair / The Hollywood Reporter:

Sony Pictures reports Q1 profit down 68% YoY to $115M, revenue down 6% YoY to $2.3B, and forecasts unchanged FY 2023 profit; Music profit rose 20% YoY to $86M — Sony Corp. reported its latest financial results in Tokyo on Wednesday, with revenue at the pictures division down slightly to $2.3 billion.

Discussion: The Wrap, Associated Press, Sony, Sony, Deadline and Variety, more at Techmeme »

Elizabeth de Luna / Mashable:

X begins making ad revenue payouts to smaller creators, after releasing payments to thousands of select accounts; how payouts are calculated remains unclear — ‘$8 to make $370 is a fantastic ROI for something I do anyway,’ one creator tweeted. … X is finally paying smaller creators …

Discussion: Engadget, Techlusive, Digiday, @support, The Information, Forbes, Adweek and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »

Wall Street Journal:

Charlie Ergen strikes a deal to merge Dish and EchoStar, as he shifts away from the shrinking pay-TV network to compete with wireless giants like AT&T — Deal aims to give Dish the financial flexibility it needs to compete in the next generation of wireless

Luke Bouma / Cord Cutters News:
Dish reports Dish TV lost 197K subscribers in Q2, leaving 6.9M, Sling TV lost 97K subscribers, leaving 2M, and total pay TV subscribers fell 11% YoY to 8.9M

Discussion: @tvgrimreaper, TechCrunch, The Streamable, Media Play News and The Desk

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More News:

Committee to Protect Journalists:
A look at the increasingly hostile environment for journalism in the Netherlands, where the 2021 killing of journalist Peter R de Vries has had ripple effects

Discussion: Voice of America, @pressfreedom, @naomizeveloff, @cpj_eurasia, @pressfreedom and @pressfreedom

Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
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Kate Harloe / Popula:
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Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Endeavor says the ongoing Hollywood strikes are expected to the cost the company ~$25M per month in revenue, but the company will stand with its clients

Discussion: Deadline and The Wrap

Jeff Kosseff / Wired:
Unlike in Gonzalez v. Google, SCOTUS in the next year can't just punt the NetChoice cases challenging social media content moderation laws in Texas and Florida

Discussion: @joeo10@mastodon.sdf.org and @PrivacyDigest@mas.to

Natalie Korach / The Wrap:
BuzzFeed misses with Q2 revenue down 27% YoY to $77.9M, ad revenue down 33% YoY to $35.4M, and a net loss of $27.8M vs. $23.6M in Q2 2022

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Mark Hicks / The Detroit News:
Bob Giles, who led two newsrooms to Pulitzers, oversaw Nieman Journalism Lab's launch, and selected and hosted hundreds of Nieman Fellows at Harvard, dies at 90

Discussion: @jodeet, @bethelmckenzie, @erniesuggs, @tommytomlinson, Detroit Free Press and Nieman Foundation

Earlier Picks:

Sara Fischer / Axios:
The Atlantic CEO Nicholas Thompson says the outlet hopes to be profitable in 2024, plans to seek higher-margin ad deals, and has 925K subscribers

Discussion: Media Voices and @sarafischer

Agence France-Presse:
News Media Canada, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, CBC, and Radio-Canada ask Canada's competition watchdog to investigate Meta's news article blocking

Discussion: Al Jazeera and Canadian Association …

Sara Fischer / Axios:
OpenAI plans to offer a $395K grant to fund a new initiative at New York University's journalism school that will provide workshops on journalism ethics issues

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, @dicktofel, @tonyajoriley, @_felixsimon_, MediaPost, Shelly Palmer, @jackmirkinson.bsky.social and @ingrid@everything …

Sam Roberts / New York Times:
Rhoda Karpatkin, the former executive director and president of Consumer Union who doubled Consumer Reports subscriptions to 4.3M, died on August 4 at 93

Discussion: @jimshultz, @chrishendel, @mltellado and TACD

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Puck raised a $10M+ Series B led by J Rothschild Capital Management and plans to hire 8 to 10 people in 2023; the outlet has 31 employees and is not profitable

Discussion: @jaycodon, @sarafischer, The Wrap and The Information

Jon Lafayette / Next TV:
Nexstar reports Q2 net revenue down 0.4% YoY to $1.24B, adjusted EBITDA down 32% YoY to $331M, a $78M loss for the CW, and core TV ad revenue down 2.2% to $404M

Discussion: TVNewsCheck, Hollywood Reporter, MediaPost, Variety, Nexstar Media Group, Inc., The Desk and The Wrap

From Techmeme:

Bloomberg:
Sources: Canadian authorities arrested Alexander “Connor” Moucka, who is allegedly behind hacks in June and July of up to 165 Snowflake customers including AT&T

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is exploring a push into smart glasses by conducting an internal study, codenamed Atlas, to gather employee feedback on products on the market

Bloomberg:
Sources: OpenAI is in early talks with the California AG's office to become a for-profit company; letter: it also has discussed the shift with the Delaware AG

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