Top News:
Samantha Cole / 404 Media:
Source and doc: Runway scraped thousands of videos from YouTube creators and brands, including Disney and VICE News, to train its Gen-3 AI video generation tool — A leaked internal document shows Runway's celebrated Gen-3 AI video generator collected thousands of YouTube videos and pirated movies for training data.
Discussion:
The Verge, Engadget, VentureBeat, Samantha Cole on LinkedIn, Jason Koebler on LinkedIn, Dexerto and Diane Duane, more at Techmeme »
David Gilmour / Mediaite:
The AP removed a fact check debunking the claim that JD Vance admitted he had sex with a couch; AP said the post didn't go through its standard editing process — The Associated Press removed its fact-check debunking the claim that former President Donald Trump's running mate Senator JD Vance …
Discussion:
The Verge, New York Post, Associated Press, Rolling Stone, New Republic, Defector, @bfriedmandc, @lyndonbajohnson, @mattgertz, @Haste@mastodon.social, @akivamcohen.bsky.social, Gizmodo, @leo@60228.dev, @horbinski, @ryansingel@writing.exchange, @bgrueskin, @farhip, @ericmgarcia, @mattsheffield, @illumi.meme, @mikeisaac, @nycsouthpaw, @ranimolla, @timmarchman, @lolennui.bsky.social, @kfile, @timmarchman, @paleofuture.bsky.social, @swordsjew.bsky.social, @davidmgilmour, @carlbergstrom.com, HuffPost, The one and only Goblin Queen and Boing Boing
Kendra Barnett / The Drum:
Publicis Groupe announces it will acquire Influential, the world's largest influencer agency by measure of revenue; Influential has a network of 3.5M+ creators — News of the acquisition comes just one week after the holding company posted impressive Q2 results.
Discussion:
Ad Age, Publicis Finance Services, The Media Leader, PRWeek, Adweek, MediaPost, @kerrymflynn and @martyswant
Deepa Seetharaman / Wall Street Journal:
OpenAI says it partnered with publishers including WSJ and The Atlantic to build its search engine SearchGPT; publishers can manage how their content appears — Built with input from publishers, SearchGPT will summarize real-time information on websites — OpenAI is launching a test version …
Discussion:
The Media Leader, CNN, TechCrunch, The Drum, CNBC, The Register, The Verge, Engadget, Tech Xplore, New York Post, Quartz, Neowin, The Information, Search Engine Land, VentureBeat, BGR, @chris@threads.net, Bloomberg, 9to5Mac, Semafor, 9to5Google and Cointelegraph, more at Techmeme »
Jake Rudnitsky / Bloomberg:
Russia says it will throttle YouTube download speeds on computers by 70% by the end of next week, as “a consequence of the anti-Russian policy of the host” — - Download speeds to be slowed by 70% by the end of next week — YouTube one of last US social media sites available in Russia
Discussion:
Reuters and Politico, more at Techmeme »
Daysia Tolentino / NBC News:
Longtime Mr. Beast collaborator Ava Kris Tyson leaves the YouTube channel after allegations of grooming; Tyson and the alleged victim denied the accusations — Tyson and the alleged victim denied the allegations. — Ava Kris Tyson, a longtime friend and collaborator of YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson …
Discussion:
The Wrap, @mrbeast, @lavags, @kristyson_, @dramaalert, @kristyson_, @dramaalert, TMZ.com, @imbrainfreak, @kristyson_, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Game Rant, Dot Esports, Dot Esports, Forbes, Dexerto, Dexerto, Dexerto, Dexerto, Benzinga, @kristyson_, Deadline, Tubefilter, New York Post and PinkNews
Sarah Parvini / Associated Press:
SAG-AFTRA announces a strike starting Friday against major video game companies, including EA, after talks for a new contract broke down over AI protections — Hollywood's video game performers voted to go on strike Thursday, throwing part of the entertainment industry into another work stoppage …
New York Times:
Doc: Rupert Murdoch wants to change his family trust to ensure Lachlan Murdoch stays in charge of the media empire; three other siblings are fighting the move — Rupert Murdoch, the patriarch, has moved to change the family's irrevocable trust to preserve his media businesses as a conservative force.
Discussion:
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Cagan Koc / Bloomberg:
UMG shares fell as much as 30% on Thursday, the biggest decline since company's IPO, and closed down 21%, after revenue growth disappointed investors — - The company's shareholders include billionaire Bill Ackman — Universal Music Group is the world's biggest record label
Discussion:
Billboard, Financial Times, New York Post, Reuters, Music Ally, Variety and Music Business Worldwide
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
A US judge rejects ABC News' motion to dismiss Trump's defamation suit filed after George Stephanopoulos said Trump was found liable for raping E. Jean Carroll — The litigation stems from a March 10 interview in which George Stephanopoulos, the network's star anchor, referred to a civil case brought …
Discussion:
@whetstone.bsky.social, @wendelschwab.bsky.social, Fox News, The Guardian, CNN, The Daily Beast, Deadline, The Hill and TVNewsCheck
Bloomberg:
Together, the NBA's deals with Disney's ESPN and Comcast's NBC are expected to generate $76B over 11 years, with Amazon paying about $1.8B annually — The National Basketball Association announced new long-term TV contract with Amazon.com Inc., spurning a last minute effort by Warner Bros. Discovery Inc …
Discussion:
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Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
The NBA declines WBD's effort to join the set of rights packages built for Amazon, Disney, and NBCUniversal, saying WBD's proposal did not match Amazon's offer
Discussion:
The Streamable, Awful Announcing, Media Play News, The Wrap, @ourand_puck, @ourand_puck, @edludlow, @ajassy, @jimmytraina, @ourand_puck, @ourand_puck, UPROXX, Variety, Adweek, The Desk, TMZ.com, About Amazon, CNN, TVLine, The Information, Deadline and Sports Media Watch
Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:
The WNBA's deal with Disney, NBC, and Amazon, which is reportedly worth ~$200M/season, includes more national telecasts and an increased global reach
Discussion:
The Streamable, Media Play News, Next TV, Engadget, Fortune, UPROXX, TVNewsCheck, The Official Home of the WNBA, Cord Cutters News, The Wrap, New York Times and NPR
Catherine Perloff / Adweek:
Six ad firms are limiting their clients' exposure to streaming ads from Pluto TV because they say Pluto exploits auctions using bid duplication to raise prices — Buyers who've pulled spend from the Paramount-owned FAST platform are concerned it's tricking their algorithms into spending too much
Discussion:
Jamison Lackey on LinkedIn, WORLD SCREEN, AdExchanger and The Streamable
Max Goldbart / Deadline:
ITV reports H1 adjusted EBITA up 40% YoY to £212M, revenue down 3% to £1.9B, ad revenue up 10% to £889M, ITV Studios down 13% to £869M due to strikes in the US — The commercial net's adjusted EBITA was up 40% to £212M ($273M), although revenues dipped slightly to £1.9B.
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Broadband TV News, Irish News, City A.M., Variety, WORLD SCREEN and The Hollywood Reporter
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