Mediagazer: Rolling Stone launches RS Gaming, a game vertical in partnership with ESL FACEIT Group, which is owned by Saudi state-backed investment fund PIF (Chris Kerr/Game Developer)

1:15 PM ET, May 22, 2024

Top News:

Sources: the NBA is formalizing deals with Disney, NBC, and Amazon, which may prompt WBD to sue; ESPN may pay $2.8B annually, NBC $2.6B, and Amazon $1.8B to $2B — NEW YORK — The NBA is formalizing written contracts with Disney, NBC and Amazon this week, with sources calling it the final stage …

Discussion: Mediaite, Awful Announcing, The Streamable, Cord Cutters News, New York Post, The US Sun, UPROXX, @dylanbyers and Sports Media Watch

Ted Johnson / Deadline:

Nexstar's NewsNation adds an early evening news block to its weekend schedule, completing its transformation into a 24/7 network — NewsNation is adding an early evening news block to its weekend schedule, completing its transformation into a 24/7 network.

Discussion: Radio & Television …, TVNewsCheck and Cord Cutters News

Max Tani / @maxwelltani:

[Thread] In a meeting, Washington Post CEO Will Lewis told staff that the paper lost $77M over the past year, and saw a 50% drop off in audience since 2020 — Washington Post CEO Will Lewis is introing the paper's new “Build It” plan today. In a meeting with staff, he noted that the paper lost $77 million over the past year, and saw a 50% drop off in audience since 2020: “To be direct, we are in a hole, and we have been for some time.”

Chris Kerr / Game Developer:

Rolling Stone launches RS Gaming, a game vertical in partnership with ESL FACEIT Group, which is owned by Saudi state-backed investment fund PIF — Rolling Stone is expanding its coverage of the video game industry with the launch of a dedicated gaming vertical.

Bloomberg:

Sources: Tata Group took full control of subscription TV broadcaster Tata Play after buying Disney's 29.8% stake, valuing Tata Play at about $1B — - Tata Group gains full control of Tata Play after Disney deal — Tata bought out Temasek's stake in platform earlier this year

Max Tani / Semafor:

Email: WaPo newsletter editor Elana Zak asked writers not to link to a story on Prince Harry's allegations that new CEO Will Lewis helped with hacking coverups — The Scoop — A top Washington Post editor instructed editors Tuesday night not to promote a story about a controversy involving the paper's new CEO Will Lewis.

Discussion: @davidfolkenflik, @jeffjarvis, @jeremymbarr, Washington Post, @davidfolkenflik, @dicktofel, @chrismsutcliffe, @davidfolkenflik, @froomkin, @maxwelltani and @davidfolkenflik

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

SEC filing: Vivek Ramaswamy owns shares and call options worth ~$4M in BuzzFeed, or a 7.7% stake, and seeks a shift in its strategy; BZFD jumps 10%+ — Ramaswamy has acquired just under 8% of BuzzFeed, with plans to push for “a shift in the company's strategy.”

Discussion: CNN, The Guardian, Axios, Mediaite, Associated Press, CNBC, The Wrap, @highyieldharry, Variety, @qkslvrwolf@mastodon.social, @parkerortolani@threads.net, @sherman4949, @tomgara, Bloomberg, @silviakillings, @seangriffey and Benzinga

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

TikTok launches its Symphony AI suite for brands, using generative AI to let marketers write scripts, produce videos, and enhance current assets — TikTok is the latest tech company to incorporate generative AI into its ads business, as the company announced on Tuesday that it's launching a new “TikTok Symphony” AI suite for brands.

Discussion: Adweek, The Media Leader and Digiday, more at Techmeme »

Alex Ritman / Variety:

UK-based studio Anton raised €100M led by BlackRock-managed funds and accounts to expand its feature film and TV series development and production — Anton, the European production, financing and sales group behind “Greenland,” is set to ramp up its output following a significant injection of funds.

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and WORLD SCREEN

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: Plagiarism Today, Billboard, Music Ally, Billboard, Digital Music News, David Israelite on LinkedIn, Billboard, Digital Music News, Variety, Rolling Stone, CMU and CMU

Charlie Warzel / The Atlantic:

OpenAI's Scarlett Johansson debacle is merely a reminder of AI's manifest destiny philosophy: “This is happening, whether you like it or not”, consent be damned — The Scarlett Johansson debacle is a microcosm of AI's raw deal: It's happening, and you can't stop it.

Huizhong Wu / Associated Press:

In a video statement, Chinese journalist Zhang Zhan says she was released from prison after serving four years for charges related to covering COVID-19 in Wuhan — Zhang Zhan was released from prison after serving four years for charges related to reporting on the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan …

Discussion: @ishrglobal, @wang_maya, @changchengwai, @sophiedrich, @rebecca_vincent, @rsf_inter, @reneexiachrd, @jenniferzeng97, @changchengwai, @benedictrogers, @changchengwai, Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, @rebecca_vincent, UPI, @rsf_inter and @huizhong_wu

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: PRWeek, ClickZ, Lauren Ito on LinkedIn, Search Engine Land, Adweek, The Drum, MarTech and Adweek, more at Techmeme »

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

Discussion: New York Post, The US Sun, The Information, The Verge, Search Engine Journal, Ad Age, Shelly Palmer, Digiday, @carnage4life@mas.to, Search Engine Land and The Keyword

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More News:

Sophie Culpepper / Nieman Lab:
Q&A with Press Forward's inaugural director Dale Anglin on bringing her experience from Cleveland Foundation, challenges facing news philanthropy, and more

Discussion: Camilla Palazzini on LinkedIn and Editor and Publisher

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
ProPublica passed $45M in annual revenue from more than 54K donors in 2023 and commits to local and regional reporting expansion through its 50 State Initiative

Discussion: @charlesornstein, @sarahscire, @dicktofel, Ben Werdmuller on LinkedIn and ProPublica

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

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

Discussion: Malaika Paquiot on LinkedIn, Robert Klara on LinkedIn, Mike Grehan on LinkedIn and Search Engine Land

Michael Nuñez / VentureBeat:
Generative AI music startup Suno raised $125M from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, Matrix, Founder Collective, and others

Discussion: Suno, Lisa Han on LinkedIn, Music Ally, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Digital Music News, Rolling Stone, Music Business Worldwide, Billboard and The Information, more at Techmeme »

Earlier Picks:

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

Discussion: Senator Welch, @newsalliance, 118th US Congress, U.S. Senate and News/Media Alliance

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+

Allison Quinn / The Daily Beast:
Russian state-run channel Rossiya24 is broadcasting days-old episodes of Tucker Carlson's show with a Russian voiceover

Discussion: Newsweek, Mediaite, @neilpateltdc, @brianstelter, @billkristol, The Hill, New York Daily News, Vanity Fair and Boing Boing

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

James Warrington / Telegraph:
ITV starts offering voluntary buyouts as it aims to save £50M/year amid an ad slump and a slowdown in sales of its shows; sources: ITV expects to cut ~200 jobs

Discussion: Broadcast and Deadline

From Techmeme:

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:
Source: Google has canceled the development of a second-generation Pixel Tablet, planned for release in 2025, due to concerns that it wouldn't sell very well

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is testing a more conversational version of Siri, dubbed “LLM Siri”, with plans to release it in spring 2026 as part of iOS 19 and macOS 16

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

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