Top News:
New York Times:
Sources: Sony Pictures and Apollo Global formally express interest in acquiring Paramount for ~$26B; Paramount's negotiating period with Skydance ends May 3 — Paramount has been exploring a potential deal for months, talking to suitors including Skydance, producer of “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Inside Radio, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Yahoo Finance, ComingSoon.net, The Information, Radio & Television …, Business Insider, The Wrap, Deadline, Quartz, Liz Spaulding on LinkedIn, Financial Times, Variety, Media Play News, @sherman4949, Bloomberg, The Desk, CNBC, The Streamable, Next TV and Cord Cutters News
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
A look at 2023 media CEO pay amid industry contraction: Charter CEO Chris Winfrey, $89M; Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, $84M; WBD CEO David Zaslav, $49.7M; and more — It was a year of pain for the entertainment industry and shareholders of (many) media companies with months-long Hollywood strikes and layoffs.
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College Media Association:
A coalition of collegiate and professional press freedom groups urges campus administrators to respect the rights of student journalists covering protests
Hadas Gold / CNN:
Journalists covering protests on college campuses have been denied access and faced assaults and arrest, as some student media websites struggle with outages
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Boston Globe, @dailybruin, Freedom of the Press …, Media Nation, Associated Press, @evanhill, @cat__hamilton5, @thedartmouth, @brizzyc, @jangelooff, @hadas_gold, @paulglader, @jangelooff, @dailybruin, @cat__hamilton5, Los Angeles Times, @davidkaye.bsky.social, @cat__hamilton5, @brianstelter@threads.net and The NewsGuild
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Apple Q2: revenue from Services, which includes Apple TV+ and Apple Music, rose 14% YoY to $23.9B, vs. $23.27B estimated, an all-time record — The Apple Services segment generated $23.87 billion, up 14.2%, for the quarter ended March 30, topping analyst forecasts of $23.12 billion.
Discussion:
New York Times, Neowin, CNBC, Deadline, Media Play News and AppleInsider, more at Techmeme »
Jem Aswad / Variety:
Universal Music Group and TikTok strike a new music licensing deal to bring UMG music back to the platform, including “improved remuneration” and AI protections — The months-long standoff between Universal Music Group and TikTok over royalty payments and AI policies is finally over …
Discussion:
Mumbrella, Wall Street Journal, UMG, Deadline, The Hill, CMU, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Music Technology Policy, CBS News, The Information, Conrad Withey on LinkedIn, Fraser MacKenzie on LinkedIn, UPROXX, The Hollywood Reporter, Tubefilter, Digital Music News, Android Headlines, Neowin, WFAA-TV, The Wrap, Bloomberg, Axios, 9to5Mac, Social Media Today, Consequence, The Drum, Music Business Worldwide, Financial Times, The Guardian, CNN, Engadget, The A.V. Club, Reuters, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Music Ally, TechCrunch, The Verge and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »
Sohee Kim / Bloomberg:
Indonesia's Vidio, a local streaming competitor to Netflix, aims to double its paid subscribers to 8M in the next two to three years ahead of an IPO — - Youthful population of over 270 million a draw for streamers — Low 5G penetration remains an obstacle to increasing customers
Discussion:
Sohee Kim on LinkedIn and @lucas_shaw
Clare Malone / New Yorker:
A look at Hunterbrook, whose hedge fund makes trades based on investigations by its newsroom, and well-connected founders Sam Koppelman and Nathaniel Horwitz — The hybrid media-finance company wants to monetize investigative journalism in the public interest. Is it a visionary game changer or a cynical ploy?
Discussion:
@sammykoppelman, @bgrueskin, @claremalone, Talking Biz News, Business Insider, @pkafka and @pkafka
Andrew Marchand / The Athletic:
Sources: MLB is in advanced talks to make Roku the new home for Sunday morning baseball this season, in what would be Roku's first major live rights deal — Major League Baseball and Roku are in advanced talks to make the service the new home for Sunday morning baseball this season …
Discussion:
The Desk, @keshavbhat, @svg_brandon, Bleacher Report, @andrewmarchand, Barrett Media, Sports Media Watch and @tvmojoe
Jack Mirkinson / Discourse Blog:
Dana Bash's May 1 CNN monologue about pro-Palestinian student protests included lies, regurgitated others' spin, and repeated lines of pro-Israel propaganda — I have covered the U.S. media for a long time. I have watched more hours of cable news than is healthy for any human being.
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: the NBA is close to signing deals that would pay the league ~$76B over 11 years, including $2.6B and $1.8B a year from Disney and Amazon, respectively — The National Basketball Association is close to signing new long-term broadcasting agreements that would pay the league …
Discussion:
@lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw and @dylanbyers
Gannett:
Gannett reports Q1 revenue down 5% YoY to $635.8M, digital revenue up 8.1% to $267.5M, an $84.8M net loss including a ~$46M impairment charge; GCI closes up 27% — Gannett Co., Inc. ("Gannett", “we”, “us”, “our”, or the “Company") (NYSE: GCI) today reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.
Discussion:
MediaPost, Yahoo Finance, AdExchanger, Providence Business News and Gannett
Justin Miller / New York Magazine:
A look at Joanna Coles' start as the Daily Beast's chief creative and content officer, where her vision is at odds with the outlet's hard-news scoop approach — On her first week on the job as chief creative and content officer, Joanna Coles carried a tip into the newsroom …
Discussion:
@jessicalessin, @mediaevan, @davidwtaintor, @willsommer, @nkulw and Columbia Journalism Review
Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
In a letter, Fubo, DirecTV, and others call on Congress to hold hearings on the Fox, Disney, and WBD's sports streamer, citing “serious competition concerns” — DirecTV, Dish Network and Newsmax also joined the call for hearings in Washington, D.C. into the future of pay TV competition and its impact on consumers.
Discussion:
The Desk, The Verge, ir.fubo.tv, The Streamable, Variety, Barrett Media, Media Play News, Next TV and Light Reading
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