Top News:
Reuters:
Netflix added 8.05M subscribers in Q2, vs. 5M est., as it benefited from its crackdown on password sharing and popular titles like Bridgerton and Baby Reindeer — Netflix (NFLX.O) said on Thursday it added more than 8 million subscribers in its second quarter as the streaming service benefited …
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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 …
Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Peter Naylor, Netflix's VP of ad sales since August 2022, is leaving, and the company plans to hire a head of US and Canada ad sales to replace his global role
Peter Naylor, Netflix's VP of ad sales since August 2022, is leaving, and the company plans to hire a head of US and Canada ad sales to replace his global role
Discussion:
Ad Age, Variety, @pkafka, @pkafka, @pkafka, TVNewsCheck, The Information, Adweek and Deadline
Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
Netflix says its ad tier now accounts for 45%+ of all signups in the markets where it's available, and ad tier memberships grew 34% QoQ in Q2 to 40M MAUs in May
Netflix says its ad tier now accounts for 45%+ of all signups in the markets where it's available, and ad tier memberships grew 34% QoQ in Q2 to 40M MAUs in May
Discussion:
Variety, Yahoo Finance, RTÉ, WORLD SCREEN, MediaPost, Financial Times, @sharonwaxman, IGN, Quartz, The Information, Next TV and Deadline
BBC:
A Russian court convicts Evan Gershkovich of espionage and sentences him to 16 years in prison; Wall Street Journal calls the trial a “sham” — US journalist Evan Gershkovich has been sentenced by a Russian court to 16 years in prison on espionage charges, after a secretive trial decried as a “sham” by his employer.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Desk, Mediaite, Talking Biz News, @potus@threads.net, @senatorwarner@threads.net, Washington Post, Reuters, Alistair MacDonald on LinkedIn, Lynn Cook on LinkedIn, Axios, Al Jazeera, CBS News, Breitbart, @jaketapper, ABC7, Bloomberg, Brian Tierney on LinkedIn, TVNewsCheck, @kimzetter, New York Times, @jrezaian, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, SWAMY WORLD, Voice of America, The US Sun, Politico, @jtoonkel, Newser, The Guardian, Reuters, Nora Eckert on LinkedIn, CNN, @brettbruen, The Wrap, Raw Story, Euractiv, @maxseddon, @davidfolkenflik, Associated Press, Semafor, @bbcstever, Courthouse News Service, freebeacon.com, NPR, @sylkegruhnwald@infosec …, Lucy Knight on LinkedIn, Business Insider, Washington Examiner, The White House, Committee to Protect …, Fox News, The Daily Beast, SPJ News and News/Media Alliance
Patrick Smith / NBC News:
CrowdStrike reports widespread “BSODs on Windows hosts”, impacting thousands of PCs and disrupting TV broadcasters, including Sky News and NBC News — Major carriers, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, all issued ground stops Friday morning citing communications issues.
Discussion:
@george_kurtz, ABC News, NPR, The Guardian, WWMT-TV, TechCrunch, MediaPost, New York Times, NBC Bay Area, Vox, The US Sun, @davidgrayrhodes, @matthewkeyslive, Al Jazeera, Washington Examiner, Mercury News, Associated Press, Quartz, The Sun, CNBC, Mashable, Broadband TV News, SWAMY WORLD, @troyhunt, Variety, Ars Technica, The Verge, Courthouse News Service, Gizmodo, al.com, ABC13, ABC7, Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, @vxunderground, @tomwarren, Politico, @tomwarren, 9to5Mac, @troyhunt, @skysportsnews, @aidanfitzryan, MIT Technology Review, The Record, @netcapgirl, @trungtphan, Fast Company, The Daily Beast, CBS News, Reuters, New York Post, Deadline, HuffPost, Digital Trends and Washington Post, more at Techmeme »
Connor Mycroft / South China Morning Post:
Media orgs, WSJ union, and a congressional panel express support for Selina Cheng, who says WSJ fired her for assuming Hong Kong Journalists Association's chair — - Asia Chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association latest to support reporter who says newspaper fired her over press freedom role
Discussion:
Talking Biz News, @wongmjane@threads.net, ABC, @ceccgov, @connor_mycroft, Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, @connor_mycroft, SPJ News, China Media Project, Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, @connor_mycroft, @connor_mycroft, CNN, Washington Post, Semafor, Voice of America, National Union of Journalists … and Al Jazeera
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Disney announces that Safra Catz, CEO of Oracle, is departing its board of directors after six years — Disney announced that Safra Catz, CEO of Oracle, is departing its board of directors after six years. — Disney and Catz did not provide an explanation for why she stepped down from the Mouse House's board.
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, @ashleylcarter1@threads.net, The Walt Disney Company and Bloomberg
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Podcasts seem to be recovering: Audacy's podcast business is profitable, iHeartMedia's and Acast's Q1 podcast revenue grew 18% YoY and 25% YoY, respectively — The dark days of financial and legal woes appear to be ending as the industry sees signs of revival — Hello, hello, and welcome back to Soundbite.
Discussion:
Molly DeMellier on LinkedIn, @ashleyrcarman and The Podcast Host
Chris Roush / Talking Biz News:
Fortune names Jim Edwards as its global news director to create “24/7 coverage across Europe, US, and Asia”; Edwards was Business Insider UK's founding editor — Fortune has hired longtime business journalist Jim Edwards to be is global news director. — He will start on Monday.
Discussion:
@ajs
Alexa Corse / Wall Street Journal:
X's Grok AI model struggled to generate accurate headlines and new summaries, especially for breaking news, elevating jokes and rumors into some X news items — Grok posted incorrect information, amplified unverified claims and failed to identify sarcasm as details of Trump shooting unfolded
Discussion:
@alexacorse, @alexacorse, @rachaelmyrow, Wired, Forbes and The Wrap
Cecilia D'Anastasio / Bloomberg:
Amazon's Twitch reinstates Donald Trump's account three years after he was banned, as “there is value in hearing from presidential nominees directly” — Gaming site says it allowed the candidate back after his presidential nomination. — LEARN MORE
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Dexerto and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
In an interview, Metro executives say the free newspaper is now profitable in both print and digital, after it underwent a major restructuring in March 2023 — Metro is growing commercially even as free London rival Evening Standard forced to reduce print output.
Discussion:
Sofia Victoria Delgado on LinkedIn, Emily Shackleton on LinkedIn and Media Voices
Daryna Antoniuk / The Record:
Bangladesh orders a nationwide shutdown of its mobile internet amid student protests that killed dozens of people to “ensure the security of citizens” — Authorities in Bangladesh have reportedly ordered a nationwide shutdown of mobile internet networks amid student protests …