Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Disney reports Q3 revenue up 4% YoY to $23.2B, operating income up 19% YoY to $4.2B, DTC revenue up 15% YoY to $6.4B, and a $47M DTC profit as Disney+ grows — Company warns weak theme park demand could extend into the ‘next few quarters’ … That said, there were some mixed emotions …
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Emma Roth / The Verge:
Disney CEO Bob Iger says the company's password sharing crackdown will kick off “in earnest” in September, after announcing paid sharing in February 2024 — Disney Plus will soon no longer let you share your password with people outside your household.
Discussion:
@2xaught7.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Disney says the “outcome of the Hulu deal arbitration is uncertain” and it might have to pay up to $5B more to complete the buyout of NBCUniversal's 33% stake — Dispute over fair value of Hulu entered arbitration in May 2024, according to Disney
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Information, Deadline and @tvgrimreaper
Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:
Disney reports Disney+ Core subscribers up 1% YoY to 118.3M and its combined streaming business turned a profit, a first, but without ESPN+ reported a $19M loss — WATCH NOW — Disney reported its fiscal third-quarter earnings Wednesday, topping analyst estimates as its combined streaming …
The New York Times Company:
The NYT reports Q2 revenue up 5.8% YoY to $625.1M, subscription revenue up 7.3% YoY to $439.3M, and operating profit up 13.6% YoY to $104.7M — NEW YORK, August 7, 2024 - The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) announced today second- quarter 2024 results. Key Highlights
Discussion:
@tvgrimreaper
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Katie Robertson / New York Times:
The NYT reports adding 300K digital subscribers in Q2, for 10.8M in total, and digital ad revenue up 7.8% YoY to $79.6M; The Athletic losses fell to $2.4M — The publisher added about 300,000 digital subscribers in the latest quarter, and now has more than 10.8 million subscribers.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Bloomberg, @pkafka, @nkulw and @katie_robertson
Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
Reddit says it plans to test AI-powered search result pages later in 2024, using a combination of first-party and third-party tech to power the feature — Reddit users will soon see AI-generated summaries at the top of search results. — Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman told investors during …
Discussion:
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Wall Street Journal:
Sources: the NBA's deal with Amazon has several provisions that WBD can't match, including promotion of the NBA during Amazon's NFL streaming telecasts — League's media deal with tech giant included provisions Warner couldn't match, setting stage for legal fight
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, Sports Media Watch and USA Today
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Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Charles Barkley, a mainstay of TNT's Inside the NBA, reverses plans to retire and says he will keep working with WBD, which is fighting to keep NBA media rights
Charles Barkley, a mainstay of TNT's Inside the NBA, reverses plans to retire and says he will keep working with WBD, which is fighting to keep NBA media rights
Discussion:
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Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
GB News says it now has 10,000 paying members, after soft launching its membership scheme with £5, £10, or £20 per month tiers in November 2023 — Broadcaster also says it has passed the 100 million monthly page views mark based on internal figures.
Juby Babu / Reuters:
IAC reports Q2 revenue down 15% YoY to $949.5M and profit up 24% YoY to $87.3M; Dotdash Meredith reports revenue up 3% YoY to $425.2M and ad revenue up 16% YoY — IAC (IAC.O) posted a 24% rise in its core profit in the second quarter, banking on advertising and licensing revenues of Dotdash Meredith, its biggest business.
Jesse Whittock / Deadline:
Sony Pictures reports Q1 revenue down 7% YoY to $2.2B and operating income down 36% YoY to $73M, despite strong movie debuts and streaming subscriber growth — Sony Pictures Entertainment posted first quarter operating income of $73M, down over 36% year-on-year on a U.S. dollar basis.
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Ryan Browne / CNBC:
Sony says the company has no plans to submit a revised offer for Paramount Global as the deal “does not fit well with our strategy” — Sony's finance chief on Wednesday said the Japanese technology and media giant will not reconsider a fresh bid for film and TV production group Paramount Global.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
Division in Hollywood's approach to AI is growing, as some studios want to use AI tools more often in production, while unions aim to establish guardrails — While unions aim to establish guardrails and artists are going to court, studios are looking to use AI tools more often in production.
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck