Top News:
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: WBD has started working on creating more original programming for TNT and rebooting series and made-for-TV movies, albeit with smaller budgets — Entertainment company is plotting ‘high-adrenaline’ dramas for a cable channel that has become closely associated with reruns
Discussion:
Screen Rant, The Wrap, TVLine, Variety, @tvgrimreaper and Deadline
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.
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
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, @bcmerchant, @bcmerchant, @mattdpearce, @jeffjarvis, @jeffjarvis, @spj_tweets, @tvgrimreaper, @mattdpearce, @ddayen, Society of Professional …, The Desk, The Wrap, The Drum, Observer, Media Guild of the West, Ars Technica, @jeffjarvis, Fast Company, Inside Radio, LION Publishers, New York Post, The Verge, CalMatters, @passantino@threads.net, KQED, Editor and Publisher, UPI, a14.asmdc.org, Media Nation, New York Times, The Information, MediaPost, Engadget, Free Press and Politico
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
A look at Apple Podcasts' fading dominance, as an April 2024 study of 603 podcast consumers found 31% use YouTube, 21% use Spotify, and 12% use Apple's app — Hello! Welcome back to Soundbite. Today we're looking at the fading dominance of Apple Podcasts.
Discussion:
Cult of Mac, Slate, 9to5Mac and MacRumors, more at Techmeme »
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, Motorsport Week, Motorsport.com and PlanetF1
Aisha Counts / Bloomberg:
Reddit is winning over advertisers using interest-based targeting via subreddits, instead of personal data; analysis: Reddit's ad revenue may pass $1.1B in 2024 — Without as much personal information, Reddit lures marketers by touting interests and conversations
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
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:
WORLD SCREEN, 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 …