Top News:
Paresh Dave / Wired:
Google plans to test search and shopping ads in its AI Overviews, drawing from advertisers' existing campaigns; AI Overviews rolled out to US users last week — Google is set to start mixing ads into its new AI-generated search answers. It's a test of how the company's biggest revenue stream can adapt to the age of generative AI.
Discussion:
The Verge, The Keyword, Search Engine Land, @carnage4life@mas.to, Adweek, The US Sun and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »
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Louise Matsakis / Wired:
Google is rolling out a new AI-powered ad format that shows shoppers how items of clothing would look on different skin tones and body types — A new breed of online ad allows brands to pay Google to offer shoppers AI-generated images that show how items of clothing would look on different skin tones and body types.
Discussion:
Lauren Ito on LinkedIn, Search Engine Land, The Drum, MarTech, Adweek and Adweek, more at Techmeme »
Thomas Buckley / Bloomberg:
Pixar lays off ~175 employees, or around 14% of its workforce, the biggest restructuring in Pixar's history, and plans to stop making original shows for Disney+ — About 175 employees are getting layoff notices Tuesday, the company said. — The reductions reflect a decision to refocus Pixar …
Allison Quinn / The Daily Beast:
Russian state-run channel Rossiya24 is broadcasting days-old episodes of Tucker Carlson's show with a Russian voiceover — THEY'LL NEVER LET GO — Hilariously, the supposedly new program called “Tucker” is just days-old episodes of his show with a Russian voiceover.
Discussion:
Newsweek, Mediaite, @billkristol, @neilpateltdc, @brianstelter, Boing Boing, New York Daily News, The Hill and Vanity Fair
Murray Stassen / Music Business Worldwide:
Amid a dispute between music publishers and Spotify, the NMPA asks Congress to change copyright law to give rights holders more options to negotiate royalties — The National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) has called on Congress to make a change to copyright law in the United States …
Discussion:
Billboard, Billboard, CMU, Digital Music News, Rolling Stone, Variety and David Israelite on LinkedIn
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Comcast says StreamSaver, a bundle of Peacock, Netflix, and Apple TV+, will be available starting next week to Comcast TV or broadband customers at $15/month — Comcast, as its legacy cable TV business continues to shrink, has built a new cable-style bundle for the streaming era.
Discussion:
Xfinity, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Awful Announcing, Michael Estrin on LinkedIn, @loudmouthjulia, Jason Weitzel on LinkedIn, Advanced Television, UPROXX, Next TV, Adweek, Media Play News, StreamTV Insider, Axios, The Hill, @tvgrimreaper, The Verge, 9to5Mac, IndieWire, The Streamable, Cord Cutters News, The Wrap, Reuters, WORLD SCREEN and Bloomberg
Robert Klara / Adweek:
A profile of Vidhya Srinivasan, Google's VP and GM of ads since November 2023, as the company faces challenges including restoring advertiser trust — She's fighting to rebuild advertiser trust and make sure Google stays ahead of the AI race — When she was a kid, Vidhya Srinivasan …
Discussion:
Robert Klara on LinkedIn, Malaika Paquiot on LinkedIn and Mike Grehan on LinkedIn
Associated Press:
Israeli officials reverse course and order the return of seized camera equipment to AP, after earlier seizing cameras and blocking AP's live feed from Gaza — Israel's communications minister ordered the government to return seized camera equipment to The Associated Press after blocking its live video of Gaza earlier Tuesday.
Discussion:
AP Definitive Source, The Times of Israel, ABC News, NPR, The Hill, @tbridis, Reason, @onthemedia, @erikwemple, @megankstack, @barakravid, @margbrennan, @barakravid, Newser, Associated Press, @brianstelter, Voice of America, @jongambrellap, Committee to Protect …, Axios, Mediaite, @andreas_krieg, @mehdirhasan, @frances_coppola, @barakravid, @ap_corpcomm, @barakravid, Freedom of the Press …, Reclaim The Net, Breitbart, The Daily Beast, @bgrueskin, @fpaispal, @rhijazi, @austinahlman, Mediaite, @noa_landau, @jangelooff, @mairavz, The Guardian, Mediaite, Reuters, @barakravid, New York Times, Politico, Axios, Fox News, CNN, Deadline, The Wrap and عول …
Christopher Dring / GamesIndustry.biz:
Ziff Davis' IGN acquires the UK-based Gamer Network, which includes digital brands GamesIndustry.biz and Eurogamer, and lays off some staff — New owner makes redundancies across the Gamer Network portfolio — News by Christopher Dring Head of Games B2B
Discussion:
@EposVox@glitch.lgbt, @redgamingtech, @hookshotmedia, Lance Fensterman on LinkedIn, @gameonysus, @gamingonlinux@mastodon.social, @abeewords, @botherer, Game Developer, @mcgariachi, @ethangach, @ethangach, Aftermath, @junebug@slime.global, James Batchelor on LinkedIn, Metro.co.uk, The Verge, @batsphinx and @junebug@slime.global
Sara Fischer / Axios:
A group of lawmakers push a US Senate bill that would require USPS to hit performance targets before imposing surcharges on the delivery of newspapers — - Newspapers previously relied on gig economy workers to distribute newspapers via their own vehicles early in the morning.
Discussion:
Senator Welch, 118th US Congress, U.S. Senate, @newsalliance and News/Media Alliance
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sources: Google is warning nonprofit newsrooms that passage of a new California ad tax bill would threaten to pause Google News Initiative funding in US — - That statement was made in response to a bill, introduced by California Assembly member Buffy Wicks last year, that would essentially …
Nilay Patel / The Verge:
Q&A with Google's Sundar Pichai about new AI features, the future of search and its impact on publishers, providing value for YouTube content creators, and more — The head of Google sat down with Decoder last week to talk about the biggest advancements in AI, the future of Google Search, and the fate of the web.
Discussion:
@reckless1280@threads.net, @daveleebbg@threads.net, @ethank@threads.net, @kristileilani, @pressgazette, @jason_kint, @jason_kint, @jason_kint, @jason_kint, @jason_kint, @waxy@xoxo.zone, @glenngabe@mas.to, Techdirt, Search Engine Journal, @josemurilo@mato.social, @cdarwin@c.im, Tubefilter, Music Ally, Benzinga, VentureBeat and Search Engine Land
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