Top News:
David Folkenflik / NPR:
Kari Lake says OAN will provide its newsfeed and video service “free-of-charge” to USAGM networks, including VOA, OCB, and Radio Martí — Senior presidential adviser Kari Lake appears to have resolved any doubts about what she wants to do with the Voice of America.
Discussion:
@karilake, Washington Post, Adweek, TVNewsCheck, Arizona Republic, The Guardian, Columbia Journalism Review, Reuters, New York Daily News, Deadline, @farhip, Florida Politics, Raw Story, Axios, @karaswisher.bsky.social, @knittingknots2@mstdn.social, @pwidakuswara, @houseforeign.bsky.social, @scottnover, @damon.kiesow.net, @iamfreetobeme.bsky.social, @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social, @annamerlan.bsky.social, @amanbatheja.bsky.social, CNN, @joshkovensky.bsky.social, @scottnover, The Hill, Cord Cutters News, @nick-lynx.bsky.social, @davidfolkenflik, @timkarr.bsky.social, @dhnexon.bsky.social, The Independent, @davidfolkenflik.bsky.social, @newsguy.bsky.social, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, The National Pulse and The Gateway Pundit
Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
Netflix unveils its ChatGPT-powered search that lets users express preferences using natural phrases, to be rolled out this week to iOS users as an opt-in beta — After hinting at a new AI-powered search experience during its recent earnings call, Netflix officially unveiled the feature at its tech and product event on Wednesday.
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John Koblin / New York Times:
Netflix unveils a new homepage design for TVs, its first major update since 2013, featuring fewer titles but more video and animation, rolling out next week — The implications for the industry could be significant, given that most other streaming services have copied Netflix's design.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix Tudum, Netflix on YouTube, Josh Mateo on LinkedIn, NBC News, Android Authority, Mercury News, Android Headlines, Fast Company, Engadget, The US Sun, Media Play News, Streaming Better, Patrick Flemming on LinkedIn, BGR, @lucas_shaw, @mhwilliams.bsky.social, The Verge and Variety, more at Techmeme »
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Netflix says it plans to start testing a TikTok-like feed of vertical videos in its mobile app “in the coming weeks” to help users find more content to watch — The streaming service has experimented with vertical video feeds before. … Netflix is going to start testing …
Discussion:
Fast Company, Mashable, Business Insider, @aerocles, The Wrap, Comic Book, TechCrunch, WeRSM, @reckless.bsky.social, CNN and @lucas_shaw, more at Techmeme »
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
The NYT reports adding 250K digital-only subscribers in Q1, taking its total subscribers to 11.6M+; digital ad revenue rose 12.4% YoY to $70.9M — The company had nearly 11.7 million total subscribers at the end of March. Adjusted operating profit grew 21.9 percent compared with the same quarter a year ago.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Sports Business Journal, Reuters, PR Daily, Streaming Better, Adweek, Benzinga and TVNewsCheck
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Oliver Darcy / Status:
The Daily Dot laid off 15 people, or much of its staff, after a sudden and unexplained collapse in referral traffic starting April 10 that it couldn't fix — After a sharp and abrupt traffic collapse, the Daily Dot was forced to lay off much of its staff—and it may be a preview of the tough road ahead for digital publishers.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
In Q2, Disney says Disney+ subscribers rose by 1.4M to 126M, while Hulu rose by 1.1M to 54.7M, and operating income hit $336M, up from $47M in Q2 2024 — Despite gathering economic storm clouds, chief Bob Iger said the Mouse House remains “optimistic” about its current fiscal year guidance.
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Scott Feinberg / The Hollywood Reporter:
The Golden Globe Awards plans to add a best podcast category in 2026, featuring six nominees chosen from among the 25 most-listened-to podcasts — It would appear that Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper and Megyn Kelly could soon be invited to “Hollywood's Party of the Year.”
Discussion:
Deadline, Vanity Fair, Mia Lobel on LinkedIn, The Independent, KDFX-TV, Rolling Stone, Engadget, Variety, IndieWire, @maxwelltani, World of Reel, The Wrap, Billboard, GoldDerby, Consequence, Just Jared, Barrett Media and TV Insider
Matthew Keys / The Desk:
Nielsen: Merit TV, launched by Dr. Phil two years ago, had 30M viewers in Q1, up 47% from Q3 2024; its CEO attributes the growth to a focus on “flyover states” — Merit Street Media, the news and entertainment company formed by television talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw two years ago …
Discussion:
The Drum and @matthewkeyslive
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
NBCU reaches an agreement that will allow it to sell Versant's US ad inventory for the next two upfront cycles — NBCUniversal is parting ways with many of its cable networks, but the company will continue to sell all the commercials that appear on those outlets for the next two years.
Discussion:
MediaPost, Awful Announcing, Advanced Television, Broadband TV News, The Desk, The Wrap, Adweek, Ad Age, Axios, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, TVNewsCheck and CNBC
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
Lionsgate Entertainment completes the separation of its studio and Starz into two standalone companies; Starz had 20M subs in US and Canada at the end of 2024 — Lionsgate Entertainment has completed the full separation of its studio and Starz businesses into two standalone, publicly-traded companies.
Jessica Testa / New York Times:
Dear Media, the woman-focused podcast network launched in 2018, says it has between $51M and $100M in revenue and has raised $12M — Men dominate the top of the podcasting charts. As listeners, they slightly outnumber women, too. “Brocasters” and the “manosphere” have even become a media obsession, and for good reason.
Discussion:
@jtes
Washington Post:
After a documentary questioned whether Nick Ut took the famous Napalm Girl photo in 1972, the AP's year-long probe finds that Ut should retain his credit — A documentary called “The Stringer” called into question whether Nick Ut actually took the famous photograph in Vietnam.
Discussion:
@corbinbolies, @scottnover and The Associated Press
