Mediagazer: A look at Forbes, its myriad monetization endeavors like the 30 Under 30 list, the union dispute, its quest for a buyer, and its diluted media brand identity (Feven Merid/Columbia Journalism Review)

10:00 PM ET, August 10, 2023

Top News:

Rohan Goswami / CNBC:

An interview with X CEO Linda Yaccarino on her having “autonomy” under Elon Musk, brands including Coca-Cola and Visa returning under her leadership, and more — WATCH NOW — X Corp. CEO Linda Yaccarino told CNBC that she has “autonomy” under owner Elon Musk in an interview Thursday …

Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:
X CEO Linda Yaccarino plans to reinstate the company's “client council”, an invite-only yet-to-be-decided group of marketing and ad executives, in the fall

Discussion: PRWeek, Associated Press, The Daily Beast, TechCrunch, @lindayax, Reclaim The Net, The Information, Engadget, The Guardian, Ad Age, Insider, Mashable, The Wrap and Digiday, more at Techmeme »

Nicola Agius / Search Engine Land:
X unveils Sensitivity Settings and Enhanced Blocklist to boost brand safety and control for advertisers, rolling out over the next few weeks in X Ads Manager

Discussion: @lindayax, MediaPost, @elyanathierry, @xbusiness, X for Business, Engadget, The Register, MobileSyrup, Social Media Today, TechCrunch, Forbes and Mashable, more at Techmeme »

Danny Goodwin / Search Engine Land:

The New York Times updated its terms of service on August 3, aiming to prevent AI companies from using the media organization's content to train their systems — Many large language models are trained using website content without permission - and some brands are demanding compensatation.

Discussion: Agence France-Presse, Search Engine Journal, @lauren@mastodon …, Adweek and Insider

Jacob Granger / Journalism.co.uk:

Blendle, bought by Cafeyn in 2020, is ending micropayments for news articles in the US and Germany on September 4, focusing on subscription bundles instead — News consumers expect all-access, Spotify-style subscription bundles, not small purchases — Credit: Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Discussion: @jbenton, Nieman Lab and What's New in Publishing

Mickey Djuric / Canadian Press:

Meta's blocking of news outlets has impacted some satirical websites in Canada, including The Beaverton and The Toronto Harold, requiring appeals to the company — OTTAWA - Luke Gordon Field is trying to figure out how he can explain the concept of deadpan satire to an algorithm. — 3 min to read

Discussion: @thebeaverton

Ernesto Van der Sar / TorrentFreak:

Hosting provider Uberspace takes down youtube-dl's website, which linked to YouTube ripping software, but is appealing a German court order forcing the takedown — Hosting provider Uberspace has taken down the website of YouTube-ripping software, youtube-dl.

Discussion: Plagiarism Today, Reclaim The Net, @TorrentFreak_rss@burn.capital and Complete Music Update

Feven Merid / Columbia Journalism Review:

A look at Forbes, its myriad monetization endeavors like the 30 Under 30 list, the union dispute, its quest for a buyer, and its diluted media brand identity — The disarray and discontent at Forbes — On December 5, 2017, an article appeared on the Forbes website: “This Phlebotomist …

Discussion: @jonst0kes, @7im, @daniellefong, @iowahawkblog, @aedwardslevy, @w7voa, @stevesi, @forbesunion, @nyguild, @cjr, @crumbler@threads.net, @nyguild, @reporterfield, @tylerkingkade, @megchristensen, @dsmith_tucson, @jbenton and Talking Biz News

Katie Robertson / New York Times:

Condé Nast names Katie Drummond, Vice Media's senior vice president of global news and entertainment, as Wired's global editorial director — Ms. Drummond will be the first woman to lead the technology magazine in its 30-year history. — Katie Drummond will be the next top editor of Wired …

Discussion: @kashhill.bsky.social, @caseyjohnston, @bubbaprog, @kashhill, @michaelroston, @noahshachtman, Variety, @katiedrumm, @keithgrossman, @zachsdorfman, @ryansingel@writing.exchange, @lmatsakis, @mat, @sokane1, @bendreyfuss, The Wrap, MediaPost and Talking Biz News

Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:

Bob Iger says that “anyone who wanted to speculate about” Disney as an acquisition target “would have to immediately consider the global regulatory environment” — “Obviously anyone who wanted to speculate about such things would have to immediately consider …

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, The A.V. Club, Sports Media Watch, @AmyZenunim@unstable.systems, @carlquintanilla, AppleInsider, @tedgioia, @tvgrimreaper, @tedgioia and The Wrap

Scott Mendelson / The Wrap:
Bob Iger says that Disney is expecting its FY 2023 content spending to be $27B, ~$3B lower than previously guided, in part due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes

Discussion: Variety, Tech Advisor, Mashable, ComingSoon.net, Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, Awful Announcing, The Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg, Variety and The Wrap

Jay Peters / The Verge:

The NFL adds RedZone and NFL Network to its NFL+ Premium service and raises its monthly price from $9.99 to $14.99 and the basic tier's from $4.99 to $6.99 — NFL RedZone, the NFL's excellent whip-around show that jumps from game to game to showcase highlights and key moments as teams are about to score …

Discussion: The Streamable, The Wrap, Fox Business, Los Angeles Times, CNET, Wall Street Journal, Hollywood Reporter, Front Office Sports, The Desk, Deadline, Barrett Media, Awful Announcing, Sportico, The Athletic and Cord Cutters News

Wendy Lee / Los Angeles Times:

The WGA's negotiating committee plans to meet the AMPTP on August 11; AMPTP President Carol Lombardini requested the meeting, the second since the strike began — After more than 100 days of striking, the Writers Guild of America said it has agreed to meet again with the negotiators representing the major Hollywood studios on Friday.

Discussion: CNN, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Bloomberg, Forbes, Variety, IndieWire, The Wrap, TVLine, The Verge, Gizmodo and Vanity Fair

David Hellier / Bloomberg:

Source: Saudi Pro Football League has signed TV deals in 130+ territories, including with Fox and DAZN, which paid ~$500K/year; 2022/23 global rights made $710K — The Saudi Pro Football League has secured a network of deals to broadcast games featuring superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema around the world.

Discussion: Front Office Sports and World Soccer Talk

Michael Schneider / Variety:

Fox and the Television Academy push back the Emmy Awards from September 18, 2023, to January 15, 2024, in response to the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes — The Emmys officially have a new date: Fox and the Television Academy were set to announce this morning that the 75th Emmy Awards …

Discussion: The Verge, The Wrap, Engadget, IndieWire, SlashFilm, ComingSoon.net, New York Times, Next TV, The A.V. Club, The Hollywood Reporter, Media Play News and New York Daily News

Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:

Lionsgate delays a possible sale or spinoff of Starz or its studio business to Q1 2024, citing the eOne deal, Hollywood strikes, and a “disruptive marketplace” — The Hollywood giant, led by CEO Jon Feltheimer, has pushed the timing for a spin off of its studio business …

Discussion: The Streamable, The Wrap and Deadline

Scott Mendelson / The Wrap:
Lionsgate Q1: revenue up 1.6% YoY to $909M, vs. $893M est., a $70.7M net loss, and Motion Picture revenue up 46% YoY to $406.5M, driven by John Wick: Chapter 4

Discussion: Media Play News and Lionsgate