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Disney CEO Bob Iger says Disney+ will start cracking down on password sharing in June in some countries and more broadly in September — New York CNN — — Disney is curbing password sharing for its Disney+ streaming service as part of a larger effort to boost signups and revenue.
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Disney says the standalone ESPN streaming service it plans for 2025 will be available on Disney+ for bundle subscribers, similar to its Hulu integration — Walt Disney Co. is betting big on ESPN as the Burbank entertainment company bolsters its streaming options and charts its future.
Discussion:
SportsPro, Hollywood Reporter, The Desk, Cord Cutters News and The Streamable


Bob Iger says “succession is the board's No. 1 priority” and that the search committee met seven times in 2023; Iger's contract extension runs through 2026
Discussion:
CNBC, The Wrap, Poynter, Fortune and Los Angeles Times

Disney prevails in the proxy fight with Nelson Peltz's Trian Partners as shareholders vote to reelect its full board, a stamp of approval for Bob Iger's efforts
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Forbes ran an alternate version of its website for years with reformatted articles, promoted on Taboola and others, to maximize ads intended for Forbes.com — Slideshows on parallel site—which Forbes shut down Tuesday—were loaded with ads and promoted through clickbait-style paid links
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@tm_brown, Dr. Augustine Fou on LinkedIn, @chrismohney, The Drum, @redphase, The Wrap, @chronotope, @samro, Jay Friedman on LinkedIn, @asharma and Talking Biz News


Facebook removed every post linking to the Kansas Reflector on April 4; the issue coincidentally arose on the day the Reflector ran a piece critical of Facebook — Facebook has blocked the sharing of Kansas Reflector stories and removed all posts linking to our website. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)


Vimeo names Philip Moyer, an ex-VP of applied AI engineering and business development at Google Cloud, as CEO and board member, replacing interim CEO Adam Gross — Video platform provider Vimeo named Philip Moyer, a senior exec at Google Cloud overseeing AI applied engineering and business development, as CEO and member of its board.
Discussion:
@quinnypig and Vimeo.com, Inc., more at Techmeme »


Substack's new emphasis on followers, not subscriptions, and its opaque steps to migrate paid subscriptions off the platform make leaving harder for writers — And it'll be worse this time around! — The writing life, which has never exactly been a picnic for independent journalists and freelancers …


Guardian journalist Hella Pick dies at 96; she spent seven decades as a foreign correspondent and diplomatic editor after fleeing Nazi-annexed Austria in 1938 — Former colleagues pay tribute to Pick, who broke into male-dominated world of foreign affairs journalism in 1950s
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@c_smaldonado, @freedland, @harrietgriffey, @niemanlab, @londonvinjamuri, @williamsjon, @janemartinson and @katyataylor


Google Books is indexing low quality, AI-generated books, which may impact Google Ngram viewer, an important tool used by researchers to track language use — Google said it will continue to evaluate its approach “as the world of book publishing evolves.”

ProPublica creates a dedicated newsroom team to sustain future investigative projects of current and prior Local Reporting Network partners — ProPublica announced on Wednesday a commitment to publishing accountability journalism in every state over the next five years.
Discussion:
Dan Petty on LinkedIn, Steve Myers on LinkedIn, @charlesornstein and @charlesornstein


Since Poland rid state broadcaster TVP of its right-wing staff, viewership has plummeted, while ratings for right-wing news channel TV Republika have shot up — Viewers switch from state broadcaster TVP to conservative Republika as it mimics the US right-wing channel
Discussion:
Raphael Minder on LinkedIn and @raphaelminder


Sources: Alphabet is considering an offer for the marketing software company HubSpot, which has a $35B market cap, in what would be its largest acquisition yet — Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O) has been talking to its advisers about the possibility of making an offer for HubSpot (HUBS.N) …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, MediaPost, Alexander Atzberger on LinkedIn, Quartz, Adriaan Dekker on LinkedIn, The Information, Barron's Online, CRN, CNBC, Benzinga, Irish Examiner, Reuters, @drewvolpe, @drnovac, @thekenyeung, Bloomberg, @carnage4life, @trace_cohen, @kevin_indig, @bigbullcap, @reuters, @andreasklinger, MSPoweruser, Silicon UK, @bdsams@threads.net, Kiplinger.com, @mikeisaac, @carnage4life@mas.to, @pkafka@threads.net, @economyapp, Finbold, @jackivaughan, @pitdesi, Search Engine Land, MarTech and Slashdot, more at Techmeme »


US rock band Kiss sells rights to its music, name, image, and likeness to Swedish entertainment company Pophouse to create a live show, a source says for ~$300M — Sale to Swedish entertainment group Pophouse set to 'fulfil the band's vision to become immortal'


X adds blue checks to some accounts, including journalists, as part of its plan to give free Premium status to those with 2,500+ “verified subscriber followers” — Just as Elon Musk said, X is doling out free Premium and Premium memberships to accounts with a high number of verified followers.
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