Mediagazer: 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 (Mark Kleinman/Sky News)

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

Rob Davies / The Guardian:

The Barclay family regains control of Telegraph, after an Abu Dhabi-backed consortium helped pay off its £1.2B debt; the deal still requires government approval — Planned takeover still requires government approval despite Lloyds receiving funds owed

Discussion: Financial Times, Telegraph, Media Makers Meet, Reuters, New York Post and Digital Journal

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.”

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: The Desk, Next TV, Variety, The Wrap, Deadline, Simon Rice on LinkedIn, Streaming Better, Media Play News, @lmoses and @sherman4949

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

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, more at Techmeme »

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.

Discussion: The Wrap, The Verge, The Streamable, 9to5Google, BGR, Tv Technology, Reuters, Deadline, 9to5Mac, Streaming Better, Media Play News, The TV Answer Man!, Cord Cutters News and Wall Street Journal

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: TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

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

Celeste Katz Marston / Nieman Reports:

Five lessons from successful local news startups, including focusing on a single mission, openness to non-traditional reporting, and engaging the public — Let's start with an encouraging statistic: Despite years of demoralizing reports on sweeping media layoffs, nearly 300 …

Discussion: @niemanfdn, @niemanfdn, Institute for Nonprofit News on LinkedIn, Lenfest Institute for Journalism on LinkedIn, Christopher Baxter on LinkedIn, Rich Mathieson on LinkedIn and Tony Mecia on LinkedIn

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

Discussion: BBC, Mediaite, Broadband TV News and @jamesrbuk