Top News:
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Spotify lays off ~17% of its workforce, or ~1,500 staff, to “rightsize” its costs, citing slow economic growth and rising capital costs, its third cut in 2023 — Spotify is eliminating about 17% jobs, its third round of layoffs this year, as the music streaming looks to become “both productive and efficient.”
Discussion:
Spotify, Variety, Financial Times, RAIN News, The Desk, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, Engadget, Inside Radio, CBS News, Wall Street Journal, CMU, The Verge, The Hollywood Reporter, @carnage4life@mas.to, Neowin, Ars Technica, BBC, Billboard, @markgurman, 9to5Mac, Axios, UPROXX, @sarafischer, Fast Company, The Information, Music Ally, Bloomberg, @lucas_shaw, @tvgrimreaper, The Guardian, New York Post, Digital Music News, Reuters, Engadget, CNN, Rolling Stone, The Wrap, The Bookseller and Ad Age, more at Techmeme »
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Comcast president Mike Cavanagh says Peacock now has 30M paying subscribers, with an ARPU of $10 per month, and saw $2.8B in losses in 2023 — “We collected an eight and a half billion dollar check on Friday,” Mike Cavanagh said, adding that Disney's payment for Hulu has cleared.
Discussion:
MediaPost, @aaronklein, Next TV, The Desk, BGR, Deadline, Simon Rice on LinkedIn, Streaming Better, Media Play News, Variety, @lmoses, The Wrap, @sherman4949, Tv Technology and Cord Cutters News
Catharine Tunney / CBC News:
CBC/Radio-Canada plans to cut ~10% of its workforce, or 600 workers, and cut CA$40M in programming over the coming year to cope with a CA$125M budget shortfall — Public broadcaster says most cuts will take effect over the coming year — The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio-Canada announced Monday …
Discussion:
CBC News, The Desk, Reuters, @cbcdaveseglins, @melissambarki, @maritstiles, @jonkay, @parismarx, @keithdunnenl, @carolemacneil, @mickeydjuric, @mickeydjuric and @mickeydjuric
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Ted Sarandos says Netflix didn't see significant “interruption” due to Hollywood strikes and is still targeting a $17B content budget for 2024 — Ted Sarandos is happy the twin Hollywood strikes are over — but the Netflix co-CEO claimed the streamer didn't see significant …
Discussion:
The Wrap, @tvgrimreaper and The Hollywood Reporter
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
James Dyson loses his £1M libel case against Mirror Group after a High Court judge rules Dyson was not caused “serious harm” by a January 2022 Mirror article — High Court judge says Brian Reade comment piece did not cause ‘serious harm’.
Discussion:
BBC, @pressgazette, The Guardian, @jolyonmaugham, @kevin_maguire, @shipbrief, @healthreglawyer, @pollyrippon, Boing Boing and Financial Times
Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
GroupM forecasts global ad spending to grow 5.8% YoY to $889B in 2023, excluding US political ads, and US political ad spending in 2024 to reach a record $15.9B — Worldwide advertising will post a 5.8 percent gain this year to $889 billion, before slowing to a 5.3 percent gain in 2024 …
Discussion:
Next TV, MediaPost, Deadline, VideoWeek, Wall Street Journal, Inside Radio, Tv Technology and AdExchanger
Kellen Browning / New York Times:
Kick, a Twitch rival that has generous creator deals, online gambling, and lax moderation, tries to move beyond edgy content amid public and regulatory pressure — The Twitch competitor has doled out generous deals to content creators. It has also faced criticism for its lax moderation and embrace of online gambling.
Discussion:
@psuitenetwork and @dannygroner
Carl Franzen / VentureBeat:
Generative AI video startup Runway ML partners with Getty Images on a new AI video model available in the coming months for use in Hollywood and advertising — Runway ML, the New York City video AI startup backed by Google and Nvidia, continues to entrench itself in the marketplace of the future.
Mark Kleinman / Sky News:
Source: Ofcom CEO Melanie Dawes will remain recused from the watchdog's probe into the sale of The Daily Telegraph as the Lloyds Banking employs her husband — Dame Melanie Dawes will play no role in Ofcom's inquiry even after Lloyds, which employs her husband, is repaid a £1.16bn loan later on Monday, Sky News learns.
Discussion:
Bloomberg
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Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Streaming services seem to be increasingly open to bundling with rivals, as Verizon announces a $10 per month deal for Netflix and Max's ad tiers — A Verizon-backed Netflix and Max deal, and talks between Apple and Paramount suggest that streaming bundles may be about go get bigger and better.
Reuters:
A group of 83 Spanish media outlets files a lawsuit against Meta, citing unfair competition in the ad market due to its “massive” and “systematic” use of data — A group representing 83 Spanish media outlets on Monday said it has filed a 550 million euro ($598 million) …
Discussion:
New York Post and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Paul MacInnes / The Guardian:
The English Premier League agrees a new deal with Sky and TNT Sports under which the soccer competition will earn £6.7B over four years for its UK TV rights — - Number of live games set to grow substantially as part of deal — Match of the Day to continue after BBC buys highlights rights
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Sportico, Bloomberg, BBC, Financial Times, @robharris, @sam__carp, @willohara, @simonlester24, @graemebailey, @david_conn, @tariqpanja, @skysports, @seaningle, Sky News, @sistoney67 and Broadband TV News
Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
Nexstar CEO Perry Sook says The CW may break even by the end of 2025 after Nexstar made about $100M per year in annual savings — Perry Sook said the advertising recession and the recent dual Hollywood strikes represent headwinds to getting beyond losses at broadcast network.
Discussion:
@tvgrimreaper
Sam Buckingham-Jones / Australian Financial Review:
The Guardian's senior editors issue a rare joint message to staff, warning them on signing letters and posting messages that “risk compromising” its integrity — The Guardian's most senior editors have issued a rare joint message to their staff, warning journalists …
Discussion:
@samebjones, @_claireconnelly, @s_mitchell, @jonkudelka and @markdistef
Peter Walker / The Guardian:
UK Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer confirms that the BBC will receive a below-inflation license fee increase; the £159 annual fee has been frozen for two years — Imminent announcement expected to signal further cuts to broadcaster's staffing and programmes
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