Mediagazer: Sony hikes Crunchyroll's Mega Fan tier by $2 to $11.99/month and the Ultimate Fan tier by $1 to $15.99/month; Fan tier will remain unchanged at $7.99/month (Todd Spangler/Variety)

1:30 PM ET, May 1, 2024

Top News:

Marko Zivkovic / AppleInsider:

Source: Apple is testing an AI-enabled Safari browser with a Web Eraser feature for better content blocking, AI-powered text summarization, a new UI, and more — Apple is testing a version of its Safari web browser that includes UI tweaks, advanced content blocking features …

Discussion: BGR, @chronotope, @scottkrauss, @siddhantsahu92, Glenn Gabe on LinkedIn, @tomgara, Quartz and 9to5Mac

Jacob Bryant / The Wrap:

Fubo cuts ties with WBD after renewal negotiations for their partnership fell through, citing WBD's “abuse of massive market power” as cause for the decision — The media company accuses WBD of refusing “to engage in good faith negotiations” — Fubo cut ties with Warner Bros. Discovery …

Discussion: StreamTV Insider, The Streamable, The Verge, Yahoo Finance, WORLD SCREEN, The Desk, Deadline, Awful Announcing and Variety

Melvin Backman / Quartz:
WBD shares hit a 52-week low after a WSJ report suggested WBD could lose rights to NBA games, as NBCUniversal is prepared to bid about $2.5B per year for rights

Karissa Bell / Engadget:

LinkedIn launches three Wordle-style puzzle games: theme-based guessing game Pinpoint, Sudoku and Minesweeper-style crossover Queens, and trivia game Crossclimb — How long until “What I learned about B2B sales from playing Crossclimb”? — LinkedIn, the professional network known …

Discussion: CNN, TechCrunch and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Bron Maher / Press Gazette:

UK's The New European appoints James Ball as its first political editor, as it expands its political coverage ahead of the UK general election — Ball is taking on the role ahead of the upcoming UK general election. — The New European has appointed James Ball as its first political editor.

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

Substack now lets writers paywall their Chat discussion spaces and says active Chat participants are 12% more likely to retain their subscriptions — Substack is launching the ability for writers to paywall their entire Chat or specific threads to paid or founding members only, the company announced on Wednesday.

Discussion: On Substack

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Sony hikes Crunchyroll's Mega Fan tier by $2 to $11.99/month and the Ultimate Fan tier by $1 to $15.99/month; Fan tier will remain unchanged at $7.99/month — The pricing is increasing for Crunchyroll's Mega Fan and Ultimate Fan subscription tiers in select countries.

Discussion: The Wrap and @tvgrimreaper

Bron Maher / Press Gazette:

DMG Media makes up to 15 sport staff redundant at its Mail titles, as part of a “significant restructuring” on the sports desk — A similar number of roles have been cut at sports betting business Livescore. — Up to 15 sport staff are being made redundant at the Mail titles …

Discussion: @mediaguy19

Bloomberg:

A look at potential Telegraph bidders after RedBird IMI walked: Daily Mail proprietor Jonathan Harmsworth, Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, Murdoch, and more — - Conservative-leaning UK newspaper is a coveted media asset — UAE-backed takeover was thwarted by British politicians

Discussion: Al Jazeera, Reuters, City A.M., Telegraph, The Wrap, Financial Times, The Guardian and Deadline

David Folkenflik / NPR:

Fox News takes down a six-part streaming series that staged a mock trial of Hunter Biden, a day after Biden's legal team threatened to sue the network — Fox News has pulled down a six-part series in which it staged a mock trial of hypothetical criminal charges against Hunter Biden …

Discussion: Adweek, @hadas_gold, Kenneth Lagasse on LinkedIn, @davidfolkenflik, The Daily Beast, New Republic, CNN, New York Post, Mediaite, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill and Deadline

Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:

Comcast expects its cable TV customers to lose access to 15 Bally regional sports networks at midnight in a fee dispute with Diamond Sports Group — “We'd like to continue carrying their networks, but they have declined multiple offers and now we no longer have the rights to this programming …

Discussion: The Desk, Next TV, Sportico, Front Office Sports, @grantmcauley, businesswire.com, Barrett Media, MLive.com, The Streamable, Awful Announcing and Cord Cutters News

Rachel Kaser / VentureBeat:

Roblox expands its immersive video ad format to all advertisers and adds more controls, such as genre targeting and brand suitability, to its Ads Manager — The Roblox Corporation announced today that its video ads are opening up for all advertisers who wish to join.

Discussion: PRWeek, Reuters, Variety, Digiday and AdExchanger

Jake Kanter / Deadline:

Four female BBC News presenters start legal action against BBC, saying they were forced off air for a year and were victims of a “sham” hiring process in 2023 — Four female BBC News presenters have commenced legal action against the UK broadcaster, arguing they were forced off air …

Discussion: Press Gazette, Metro.co.uk, @jake_kanter and @jake_kanter

BBC Studios:

The BBC launches BBC Verify US to combat disinformation, led by Analysis Editor Ros Atkins and based in DC, as part of its 2024 US elections coverage plans — Brand New Digital Experience Enables Up-to-the-Minute, 360-Content via All-New BBC.com, BBC app, Daily Live Pages, Podcasts, Newsletters, and More

Discussion: @bbcstudiosuspr, @ejhchess, Ros Atkins on LinkedIn, @leng_cath, @pressgazette, @back_the_bbc and @caitrionaperry

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Amazon is testing a new discovery page on Audible to give users recommendations about what to listen to next based on their Prime Video viewing behavior — Amazon has historically operated audiobook marketplace Audible as a separate entity, unconnected to the retailer's broader goals and ambitions.

Discussion: The Verge

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Amazon reports Q1 ad revenue up 24% YoY to $11.8B, vs. $11.7B est., driven by the growth of its Stores and Prime Video businesses — Amazon raked in $11.82 billion in advertising revenue for the first quarter of 2024, topping analyst expectations, fueled by the ecommerce giant's move …

Discussion: Observer, @simonjharris, @dcurtis, @christianhern, @benedictevans@threads.net, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, Cord Cutters News and Deadline, more at Techmeme »

Annie Palmer / CNBC:
Amazon reports Q1 revenue up 13% YoY to $143.3B, a $10.4B net income, vs. $3.2B YoY, $15.3B operating income, vs. $4.8B YoY, subscription sales up 11% to $10.7B

Discussion: MediaPost, Publishers Weekly, Tinny Widjaja on LinkedIn, Annie Palmer on LinkedIn, Richard King on LinkedIn, Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 1:30 PM ET, May 1, 2024.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Senior Data Journalist, NY — WSJ

Manager - Publishing Editorial, Manila — Reuters

Oil Reporter, Singapore — Bloomberg

Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — AP

Business Reporter, SC — Post & Courier

State Government Reporter, WA — Seattle Times

Climate Crisis Columnist — Prospect UK

Multimedia Journalist, CA — Paramount

Community Engagement Mgr., DC — Freedom Forum

Senior California Politics Reporter, CA — SFGATE

Staff Writer - Business, NY — WIRED

Team Editor - Opinion, ON — Toronto Star

Assistant Correspondent, DC — Kyodo News

Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — The Verge

Lead Business Reporter, TN — Daily Memphian

Managing Editor, WA — Everett Herald

Private Credit Reporter, NY — Debtwire

City Correspondent, London — Financial News

Legislative Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Reporter, PA — Tribune-Review

Visual Editor, Remote — Rest of World

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Senior Political Reporter, DC — The Lever

California Playbook Writer, CA — Politico

National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — CT Mirror

Coordinating Editor, OR — OPB

Editor, Remote US — Daily Kos

Business Reporter, WA — Longview Daily News

Editor-in-Chief, AZ — Phoenix New Times

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

Financial Times:
In tests run by executives in advertising, animation, and real estate, OpenAI's Sora generated people with more realistic facial features than Runway or Pika

Discussion: Ars Technica and @cristinacriddle

Natalie B. Compton / Washington Post:
A profile of Rick Steves, whose travel company makes $120M yearly, published 110 books, filmed 12 seasons of his travel show, and produced 750+ podcast episodes

Discussion: @rodmickleburgh, @journalism_joe, @washingtonpost, @rr_edmonds, @greenmelinda, @mswaichingliu81, @sirlupin2, @natbco and @byerussell

Nielsen:
US audiences gave 67% of their daily ad-supported audio time to over-the-air radio in Q1, 20% to podcasts, and the rest to streaming audio or satellite radio

Discussion: Edison Research, Business Insider, RADIO ONLINE, Inside Radio and Radio & Television …

Thania Garcia / Variety:
Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl and singer FKA twigs testify before a US Senate committee to support a plan to defend people from nonconsensual AI deepfakes

Discussion: CMU, @rkyncl, The Hill, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Senate Judiciary Committee, The Hollywood Reporter, Tech Policy Press, The Hill, Digital Music News, Music Business Worldwide, Consequence and Music Ally

Earlier Picks:

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Twitch rolls out its TikTok-like discovery feed, launching as a tab within the Twitch iOS and Android apps, showing live streams and clips

Discussion: 9to5Google, Bloomberg and Traackr, more at Techmeme »

Jennifer Maas / Variety:
Source: Paramount and Charter extend contract renewal talks; the contract, which affects Paramount's cash flow amid buyout talks, was set to expire on April 30

Discussion: Next TV, Bloomberg, The Wrap, Deadline and Los Angeles Times

Sara Guaglione / Digiday:
The Athletic has ~2.95M newsletter subscribers, up nearly 20% YoY; Comscore: the outlet had 17.6M unique US visitors in March 2024, up from 6.6M in March 2023

Discussion: Inbox Collective, Awful Announcing, Chris Sprow on LinkedIn, Meg Linehan on LinkedIn, Claudio E. Cabrera on LinkedIn and The New York Times Company

Tyler Aquilina / Variety:
Survey: 33% of Peacock users were still using the free tier in Q1 2024, though new sign-ups ended in January 2023; 24% of Peacock Premium users stream it daily

Discussion: Streaming Better

From Techmeme:

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Anthropic raised another $4B from Amazon, will make AWS its primary training partner, and is working with Annapurna Labs to develop new Trainium accelerators

The Information:
Sources: OpenAI considered developing a browser, discussed deals to power AI features on Samsung devices and search on sites and apps from Condé Nast and others

Tim Hardwick / MacRumors:
A UK CMA report finds that Apple's policies hold back innovation in mobile browsers and recommends investigating Apple and Google's mobile ecosystem activities

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page