Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy's letter to shareholders: Prime Video now reaches 200M monthly viewers, and streaming TV advertising is growing quickly — Prime Video has a big audience, and now Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has put a new number on it: The premium video service has more than 200 million monthly viewers.
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Amazon hires Krishan Bhatia, previously a senior NBCUniversal exec, as VP of global video advertising for Amazon Ads, leading global sales for video operations — As Amazon ramps up its efforts to woo ad dollars that once were earmarked for traditional TV, it is also luring ad executives …
Discussion:
Adweek, Ad Age, Next TV and Brian Steinberg on LinkedIn
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Paramount is shutting down Showtime's streaming service on April 30, after it integrated Showtime's programming into the top-tier Paramount+ plan in June 2023 — Sunset of premium TV service's standalone apps comes after its integration into Paramount+ With Showtime package
Discussion:
The Wrap, TVLine, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and The Verge
Megan Graham / Wall Street Journal:
How “made for advertising” sites, which are criticized for their UX and dubious results for advertisers, get ~15% of automated ad spend or $10B/year, per ANA — Industry leaders want brands to shun ‘MFA’ websites. Others think more nuance is needed.
Discussion:
Dr. Augustine Fou on LinkedIn, Heidi Saas on LinkedIn, Nandini Jammi on LinkedIn and Adweek
The Information:
Sources: TikTok is testing an AI feature that generates a virtual influencer and a script for a video ad based on prompts submitted by advertisers — TikTok touts itself as a platform where creators can stand out and build a following. But the company has begun discussing with advertisers …
Discussion:
MediaPost, Brandon Perlman on LinkedIn and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Flipboard:
Flipboard makes 400 creators and 11,000 of their curated magazines visible in the fediverse and integrates fediverse notifications into the Flipboard app — Today Flipboard is taking two big steps toward opening its platform to the fediverse, making 400 creators and 11,000 …
Doja Daoud / Committee to Protect Journalists:
Q&A with Gaza journalist Diaa Al-Kahlout, Gaza bureau chief for the Qatari-funded newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, on being held for 33 days in Israeli custody — Diaa Al-Kahlout, the veteran Gaza bureau chief for the Qatari-funded London-based newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed …
Discussion:
Naomi Zeveloff on LinkedIn, @jfsteinfeld, Doja Daoud on LinkedIn, @caseyrights and @gypsystrategy
New York Times:
Uri Berliner's essay about NPR reignited criticism of the outlet on social media, especially by conservatives, and spurred vehement pushback from some staffers — An essay from an editor at the broadcaster has generated a firestorm of criticism about the network on social media, especially among conservatives.
Discussion:
The Verge, Fox News, New York Magazine, @shannonpareil@threads.net, @shannonpareil@threads.net, @emilybellnyc@threads.net, @anildash@threads.net, @micah_loewinger@threads.net, @brianmannadk, @brianmannadk, @brianmannadk, @lpolgreen@threads.net, @jpederzane, @matt.bachand@threads.net, @digiphile@threads.net, @digiphile@threads.net, @digiphile@threads.net, @jbouie@threads.net, @dankennedy_nu@threads.net, @greenloopstore@threads.net, @titonka, The Hill, @jbouie@threads.net, @jenniferschulzechi …, @maxkennerly.bsky.social, Media Nation, CNN, MediaPost, Mediaite, Inside Radio, New York Post, Newser, The Guardian, The Wrap, The Daily Caller and NPR
Variety:
Taylor Swift's music returns to TikTok, ahead of her next album due out on April 19, after UMG pulled her songs as part of an ongoing dispute with TikTok — As of Thursday morning, multiple Swift songs — including “You Belong With Me,” “Lover,” “Cardigan,” “Mirrorball,” “Fearless …
Discussion:
Financial Times, Fox News, The Information, The Hollywood Reporter, Wired, Forbes, Deadline, New York Post, Rolling Stone, Digital Music News, TechCrunch, Billboard, Music Ally, CNN, The Verge, Mashable, Pitchfork, Music Business Worldwide, Engadget, Reuters and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Substack now lets podcasters distribute their shows on Spotify, and says podcasters on Substack collectively earn $100M+ per year, up 100%+ over the past year — Substack announced on Thursday it's introducing a few new features for podcasters on its platform.
Discussion:
On Substack, Spotify, Engadget, MSPoweruser and RAIN News, more at Techmeme »
Brian Bonilla / Ad Age:
A look at The Way Upfronts, a quarterly event debuting in May and led by Sugar23, where producers and celebrities will pitch their projects to brands to invest — Host committee includes Scarlett Johansson, John Legend, Tom Brady, Elizabeth Banks and Steven Soderbergh
Discussion:
Brian Bonilla on LinkedIn and @adage
Emilia David / The Verge:
The Weather Company launches ReelSphere, an AI-powered video creation tool that provides captions, hyperlocal weather overlays, and an AI “meteorologist” — Generative AI could be coming to your local TV station as The Weather Company, aka the people that run The Weather Channel …
Discussion:
The Weather Company, The Weather Company and Next TV
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