Top News:
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
The Hallmark Channel says it will launch streaming service Hallmark+ for $8/month in September, with on-demand access to old content and memberships perks — Hallmark+, which arrives in September, will include free greeting cards and a “Hallmark Hunk” competition show.
Discussion:
TVLine, The Wrap, Entertainment Weekly, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Alyssa Zeisler on LinkedIn and The Streamable
Wes Davis / The Verge:
YouTube announces new Shorts features, including TikTok-like text-to-speech video narration, in-app auto-generated captions, and a set of Minecraft effects — YouTube has announced a set of new features for YouTube Shorts, some of which are available now, like a new text-to-speech video narration …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, @edwardchampion@mastodon … and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: comedian Dax Shepard signs an $80M podcasting deal with Amazon, shifting his Armchair Expert show to Amazon's Wondery service from Spotify — New deal includes video episodes, gives Amazon's Wondery exclusive distribution and ad-sales rights — Comedian Dax Shepard has signed …
Discussion:
Variety, Deadline, Chris Peterson on LinkedIn, The Hollywood Reporter, RAIN News and @kerrymflynn
CNN:
A US jury finds Archegos Capital Management's Bill Hwang guilty of fraud for artificially inflating stocks of companies including ViacomCBS and Discovery — Bill Hwang, founder of Archegos Capital Management, was found guilty of fraud Wednesday by a Manhattan federal court after the 2021 collapse …
Discussion:
Deadline, Variety, Financial Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Associated Press, New York Times and Bloomberg
Jon Lafayette / Next TV:
Ad measurement company VideoAmp says it will integrate Snap's first-party data, video, and AR ad inventory into VideoAmp's campaign planning system — Collaboration will enable advertisers to reach audiences across linear, streaming and digital platforms — VideoAmp said it made a deal enabling …
Discussion:
StreamTV Insider, Advanced Television, Snapchat Advertising, Ad Age and Beet.TV
Daniel Tencer / Music Business Worldwide:
Ticketmaster and Shazam announce a partnership letting artists link their live events in Shazam, adding to Ticketmaster's integration with Snap and TikTok — After integrating its ticket sales platform with Snap and TikTok, ticketing giant Ticketmaster is taking another step towards sales …
Discussion:
Billboard, Music Ally, CMU, Ally Norton on LinkedIn and Digital Music News
Reuters:
Source: Turkey is seeking an explanation from Saudi Arabia for detaining a Turkish journalist who allegedly made comments about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi — Turkey is seeking an explanation from Saudi Arabia after Saudi police detained a Turkish journalist over alleged comments …
Discussion:
Committee to Protect …
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Brian Lowry, the veteran Hollywood reporter, critic, and a contributor to CNN's Reliable Sources newsletter, is set to leave in the new round of CNN job cuts — The news outlet is cutting approximately 100 jobs as it works to boost its digital business.
Discussion:
@blowryontv, @tvmojoe, Cord Cutters News, The Wrap and Talking Biz News
RELATED:
Claire Atkinson / The Media Mix:
Sources: CNN lays off the team producing its Opinion section, with an end date of August 9; a source says Senior Editor Sheena McKenzie is among those leaving
Discussion:
@simondowens@threads.net, @newspolitics, Axios and @bsdtectr.bsky.social
Wall Street Journal:
Memo: Mark Thompson says CNN is cutting about 100 jobs, plans to launch its first CNN.com subscription product later in 2024, but offers few details, and more
Discussion:
CNN, Adweek, Media Nation, Nieman Lab, The Verge, Deadline, Associated Press, Media Voices, @farhip, @mattdpearce, Broadband TV News, @heysamantha, @kevincollier, @sfiegerman, @iyengarish, Variety, Breitbart, The Wrap, @rasmus_kleis, @pressgazette, The Media Mix, @alexweprin, @bristei, @brianstelter, @bristei, Talking Biz News, Brian Steinberg on LinkedIn, Mediaite, MediaPost, Jeremy Moore on LinkedIn, Hartford Courant, New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, The Media Leader, The Information, New York Post, Reuters and Cord Cutters News
Andrew Deck / Nieman Lab:
Q&A with filmmaker Errol Morris on his 1988 The Thin Blue Line documentary, generative AI, disinformation, reenactment, his new Separated documentary, and more — “Our task is to get back to the real world, to the extent that it is recoverable.” — Errol Morris is used to being called a liar, a trickster, and a manipulator.
Katie Kilkenny / The Hollywood Reporter:
The Writers Guild of America West negotiates a $3.05M settlement with CBS to compensate 24 writers on MacGyver, Seal Team, and Hawaii 5-0 for unpaid work — The union told members on Wednesday of the resolution to an arbitration claim made on behalf of ‘MacGyver,’ ‘Seal Team’ and ‘Hawaii 5-0’ scribes.
Kate Park / TechCrunch:
South Korea-based Beeble AI, which is developing virtual production services for indie filmmakers, raised $4.75M in seed funding at a valuation of $25M — Visual effects (VFX) have emerged as essential in filmmaking and have transformed storytelling and creativity in the film industry with its diverse digital techniques.
Lauren Feiner / The Verge:
How the SCOTUS NetChoice ruling on social media platforms' First Amendment rights could affect a host of tech legislation, including kids' online safety laws — Here's what the SCOTUS decision might mean for everything from kids online safety laws to the TikTok ‘ban.’
Discussion:
Wired, @lauren_feiner, @eff and ACLU, more at Techmeme »
Andrew Marchand / New York Times:
Sources: the NBA finalizes contracts with new partners NBC and Amazon Prime Video, while maintaining ABC/ESPN for the NBA Finals; TNT could still match — The NBA and network executives finalized contracts that will make NBC and Amazon Prime Video new partners, while maintaining ABC/ESPN …
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