Top News:


Financial Times CEO John Ridding plans to step down on July 1 after 19 years, and will take an honorary FT chair title; the FT will now find a replacement — Financial Times CEO John Ridding is stepping down in June after leading the newspaper group for almost 20 years.
Discussion:
Nikkei Asia, Talking Biz News, Financial Times, @pressgazette, Dominic Ponsford on LinkedIn and @ft


Gannett unionized employees and management have reached tentative contract deals at six newspapers in New Jersey and New York after threatened walkouts — Walkouts were averted at six Gannett titles in New Jersey and New York when employees agreed on “ life-changing” increases in pay and job protections.
Discussion:
NewsGuild of New York and New Jersey Globe
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ITV reports FY 2024 revenue down 3% YoY to $5.34B, Studios revenue down 6% YoY to $2.63B, digital ad revenue up 15% YoY, and its efficiency program saved $77.5M — The U.K.'s ITV revealed strong profit growth in its full-year results for 2024, despite facing challenges from the U.S. actors …
Discussion:
Variety, Shares Magazine, MorningstarUK, Reuters, The Standard, The Media Leader, The Hollywood Reporter, ITV Plc and Deadline


Netflix CFO Spencer Neumann says Netflix plans to spend ~$18B in cash on content in 2025, up nearly 11% YoY, and the amount is “not anywhere near a ceiling” — Netflix expects to spend in the neighborhood of $18 billion in cash on content in 2025 — and it sees plenty of runway …
Discussion:
@tylerbishop, @tvgrimreaper, Deadline, The Wrap and Media Play News


Netflix plans to host its second live boxing special on July 11 at Madison Square Garden with a rematch of Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano — The all-women's boxing card will be held at Madison Square Garden July 11, and will stream live on Netflix. — Netflix is back in business …
Discussion:
Advanced Television, Variety, The Sun, ESPN, New York Times, Deadline, Bleacher Report, @netflix, @serranosisters and EVOKE


All Elite Wrestling and Amazon Prime Video announce a new multi-year agreement to offer AEW's pay-per-view events in the US, Canada, and the UK on Prime Video — The new pay-per-view streaming partnership kicks off this weekend with AEW Revolution, which costs $49.99.


How the Financial Times is using online polls to engage readers and grow subscriptions; polls in FT newsletters regularly record engagement rates above 75% — The newspaper has a loyal, well-informed readership keen to share their opinions. Polls in its newsletters record engagement over 75 per cent


Sources: LAT's Hector Becerra faced an HR probe in 2022 over alleged “insulting” behavior, including bullying; LAT says it has “been addressed and resolved” — The paper's De Los editor Paloma Esquivel resigned last week, accusing HR of dismissing her complaints against Becerra
Discussion:
@sharonwaxman, @sharonwaxman, @sharonwaxman and @gstarr.bsky.social


Variety.com names Zack Sharf as managing editor; Sharf joined Variety in January 2022 as digital news director after seven years at IndieWire — He previously served as digital news director since 2022. … “In the last three years, Zack has helped reinvent Variety's award-winning digital coverage …


Publicis acquires Lotame, which analyzes people's online behavior across 109 countries, and plans to integrate Lotame into its Epsilon service — Epsilon integration will give Publicis access to 3.8 billion unique customer profiles globally — Publicis Groupe has acquired data company Lotame …
Discussion:
Ad Age, MediaPost, Digiday, The Drum, GlobeNewswire News Room, TipRanks Financial, More About Advertising and Reuters


UK journalist Graham Johnson estimates he cost News UK £500M through his testimony, books, and legal research since his phone hacking conviction in 2014 — Former tabloid reporter Graham Johnson believes he helped cost the publisher of The Sun £500m.


A TollBit analysis of 160 websites on its content licensing service finds AI search engines drive 96% less referral traffic than Google Search — AI companies promised publishers their AI search engines would send them more readers via referral traffic. New data shows that's not the case.

WSJ journalists laid off amid consolidation of tech and media teams include Alexa Corse, Tom Dotan, Asa Fitch, Ben Fritz, Miles Kruppa, and Aaron Tilley — Here are The Wall Street Journal journalists whose jobs were eliminated on Tuesday: — Reporters:

YouTube debuts an $8/month Premium Lite tier in the US, offering most videos ad-free and music with ads, and plans to launch in Thailand, Germany, and Australia — Today we'll begin expanding our Premium Lite pilot to users in the US. Premium Lite gives viewers a new …
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YouTube says YouTube Music and YouTube Premium now have 125M+ subscribers globally, including trials, after passing 100M subscribers in February 2024
Discussion:
@lucas_shaw, YouTube Official Blog, Digital Music News, TVNewsCheck, The Desk, Music Ally, The Information and The Hollywood Reporter