Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
In a letter, Skydance lawyers accuse Paramount's special committee of breaching its terms with Skydance by extending the time it can talk with other bidders — In a letter from its lawyers, Skydance accuses Paramount's committee of directors of violating the terms of its deal
Discussion:
Variety, Deadline, The Desk, The Wrap, Media Play News, TVNewsCheck, TrekMovie.com and The Verge
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New York Times:
Sources: Paramount extends its deadline for sales talks until early September to evaluate Edgar Bronfman Jr.'s new bid, which could shake up the Skydance deal
Discussion:
Reuters, Axios, The Special Committee …, The Media Leader, Business Insider, CNBC, The Desk, Los Angeles Times and Advanced Television
Nilay Patel / The Verge:
Q&A with Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion, and Danielle Strle, chief product officer, on how they bought the outlet, why they're making a print version, and more — The new owners of the satire site rescued it from content farm hell. Now, they're relaunching its newspaper.
Liam Reilly / CNN:
Unions and some state senators criticize Google's plan for a California local news fund, which stalled bills that would have forced Big Tech to fund journalists — New York CNN — — Google struck a first-in-the-nation deal with California lawmakers on Wednesday to fund newsrooms …
Discussion:
MEDIANAMA, Raw Story, Society of Professional …, @bcmerchant, @mattdpearce, @jeffjarvis, The Wrap, @spj_tweets, @mattdpearce, The Desk, Associated Press, @tvgrimreaper, @bcmerchant, @ddayen, @jeffjarvis, The Drum, Media Guild of the West, Observer, Ars Technica, Fast Company, @jeffjarvis, Inside Radio, LION Publishers, New York Post, The Verge, CalMatters, @passantino@threads.net, a14.asmdc.org, KQED, Editor and Publisher, UPI, Media Nation, New York Times, The Information, MediaPost, Engadget, Free Press and Politico
Hayden Field / CNBC:
In a pitch deck, AI search engine Perplexity told advertisers it plans to start running ads in Q4; a source says Perplexity's CPM prices will be $50+ — Perplexity AI, the artificial intelligence startup that's been embroiled in controversy due to accusations of plagiarizing content from media outlets …
Colin Mann / Advanced Television:
Liberty Media announces plans to sell F1 shares worth $825M to partially fund its 86% stake in Dorna Sports, the MotoGP commercial rights holder valued at $4.2B — Liberty Media has revealed plans to sell F1 shares worth $825 million (€742m) in order to ‘partially fund’ its planned acquisition of MotoGP.
Discussion:
Sports Illustrated, PlanetF1, Motorsport Week and Motorsport.com
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
A look at the fading dominance of Apple Podcasts, as a study of 603 weekly podcast consumers finds 31% use YouTube, followed by Spotify at 21%, and Apple at 12% — Hello! Welcome back to Soundbite. Today we're looking at the fading dominance of Apple Podcasts.
Discussion:
9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
Pete Brown / Columbia Journalism Review:
Star Spangled Media, behind websites posing as news outlets, such as The Morning Mirror, appears to have close ties to pro-Democratic super PAC Forward Majority — A quasi-local news site whose operators sought a news media exception to dodge campaign finance regulators has emerged as a vehicle …
Discussion:
Sinclair Cornell on LinkedIn
Aisha Counts / Bloomberg:
Reddit is winning over advertisers with interest-based targeting via subreddits, instead of personal data; analysis: Reddit's ad revenue to reach $1.1B+ in 2024 — Without as much personal information, Reddit lures marketers by touting interests and conversations
Lacey Rose / The Hollywood Reporter:
Study: women accounted for 23% of creators working on original programs on TV and streaming in the US in 2023-24, down from 26% in 2022-23 and 30% in 2021-22 — The latest “Boxed In” report, now in its 27th year, offers grim findings for female representation across broadcast and streaming.
Maria Iu / The Media Leader:
WARC: global ad spending will grow by 10.5% to $1.07T in 2024; Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta will account for 43.6% of global ad spending in 2024 and 46% by 2026 — Global adspend will grow by 10.5% to $1.07tn this year, crossing the $1tn mark for the first time, according to Warc's Global Ad Spend Outlook 2024/25.
Discussion:
Inside Radio, Media Makers Meet, Radio & Television … and Advanced Television
Advanced Television:
Survey: 66% of US TV viewers use FAST platforms, 53% of them have cut down on paid streaming, and 43% signed up to a pay service to continue watching a show — Two in three (66 per cent) TV viewers in the US are using free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platforms in a typical month …
Evelyn Okakwu / Committee to Protect Journalists:
In Nigeria, Kenya, and Senegal, journalists have been targeted, assaulted, and detained by security forces as they covered anti-government protests — “He hit me with a gun butt,” Premium Times newspaper reporter Yakubu Mohammed told the Committee to Protect Journalists …
Discussion:
Freedom of the Press …, Voice of America, The Intercept and Reporters Without Borders
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