Mediagazer: Netflix reports Q2 revenue up 16.8% YoY to $9.56B, vs. $9.53B est., paid memberships up 16.5% YoY to 277.65M, vs. 274.4M est., net income up 44% YoY to $2.15B (Lillian Rizzo/CNBC)

Top News:

Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:

Netflix reports Q2 revenue up 16.8% YoY to $9.56B, vs. $9.53B est., paid memberships up 16.5% YoY to 277.65M, vs. 274.4M est., net income up 44% YoY to $2.15B — Netflix reported second-quarter earnings Thursday that showcased the media giant's position at the head of the streaming race …

Discussion: The Wrap, New York Times, Ad Age, Variety, The Verge, @ainemacdermot.bsky.social, Netflix and Reuters, more at Techmeme »

Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:

Peter Naylor, Netflix VP of ad sales since August 2022, is leaving, and the company will hire a head of US and Canada ad sales to fill his spot — The executive has been at the streaming giant since August 2022. … Naylor has been at Netflix since August 2022.

Discussion: Variety, Adweek, Deadline, @pkafka, @pkafka and @pkafka, more at Techmeme »

Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:

Netflix says its ad tier now accounts for over 45% of all signups in the markets where it's available, and ad tier memberships grew 34% QoQ in Q2 — The company expands its lead over competitors with 277.65 million subscribers globally — Netflix beat Wall Street expectations …

Discussion: Reuters, Quartz, The Information, Next TV and Deadline

Financial Times:

Sources: WBD weighs splitting off its streaming and studio businesses from its legacy TV networks including CNN, leaving most of its debt with the TV networks — Group behind CNN and HBO has discussed options including spin-off of its streaming service and movie studio

Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:

Veteran cable news host Lou Dobbs, who made his name on CNN and then Fox Business, has died at 78; Trump announced his death on Truth Social — Lou Dobbs, the veteran broadcaster who made his name on CNN and then Fox Business as an icon of financial news, passed away at the age of 78 …

Discussion: Variety, TVLine, The Wrap, CNN, @loudobbs, The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, al.com, TMZ.com, HuffPost, The Independent, Washington Examiner, New York Post, Deadline, @mehdirhasan, @carolmswain, @carolmswain, @yashar, The US Sun and ABC7

Bloomberg:

Sources: Apple has spoken to many of the largest Hollywood studios about acquiring more programming from their libraries to offer customers in the US and abroad — - Apple TV+ has relied on original series like ‘Ted Lasso’ … The iPhone maker has spoken to several of the largest studios …

Discussion: Ars Technica, Lucas Shaw on LinkedIn, The Streamable, AppleInsider, Spyglass, 9to5Mac and Reuters, more at Techmeme »

Lisa Richwine / Reuters:

FilmLA: from April through June 2024, the number of on-location filming days in LA fell 12.4% YoY, driven by a 56.9% drop in reality TV production — Los Angeles experienced a hefty decline in reality TV production as Hollywood worked to recover from dual labor strikes last year, according to statistics released on Wednesday.

Discussion: The Wrap, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline

Reuters:

An Italian court orders a journalist to pay PM Giorgia Meloni €5K for mocking her height; in 2023, journalist Roberto Saviano was fined €1K for insulting Meloni — A Milan court has ordered a journalist to pay Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni damages of 5,000 euros ($5,465) …

Discussion: New York Times and The Guardian

Committee to Protect Journalists:

The CPJ supports an urgent appeal filed to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture on behalf of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora, imprisoned since 2022 — The Committee to Protect Journalists supports the urgent appeal filed to UN officials by an international legal team …

Discussion: @pressfreedom, @pressfreedom, doughtystreet.co.uk and @pressfreedom

Adam Crafton / New York Times:

CBS Sports secures a four-year deal to air at least 250 English Football League matches per season, starting in August 2024 — CBS Sports is the new home of the English Football League (EFL) and Carabao Cup in the United States after agreeing a four-deal to prise coverage of the competitions away from ESPN.

Discussion: Awful Announcing, Radio & Television …, Variety, The US Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, Boris Gartner on LinkedIn, Deadline and TVNewsCheck

Emma Roth / The Verge:

Apple is launching new immersive video content for the Vision Pro over the next few months, including content from The Weeknd and the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend — Apple is launching new “immersive” video content for the Vision Pro over the next few months, including one from The Weeknd …

Discussion: TechCrunch, Apple, BGR, AppleInsider and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Verizon offers customers who subscribe to Peacock Premium at the new $79.99 per year rate one year of Netflix Premium for free — Verizon keeps reshuffling its deck of various and sundry streaming bundle deals, aiming for new ways to appeal to bargain hunters — and to cater to particular sign-up goals of its content partners.

Discussion: The Wrap, The Streamable, Los Angeles Times, IndieWire, Business Insider, StreamTV Insider, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Verizon, MediaPost, Next TV, ComingSoon.net, @tvgrimreaper, Media Play News and TVNewsCheck

New York Times:

A profile of Carlos Espina, who has 9.4M TikTok followers, posts in Spanish about immigration and politics, and whom the White House treats as a broadcaster — Carlos Espina is among a new kind of social media personalities whom politicians, especially those in the Biden White House, view as modern-day broadcasters.

Discussion: TVNewsCheck, @taylorlorenz, @sapna and @sapna