Top News:
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
WBD reports Q1 revenue down 10% YoY to $8.9B, net income down 53% to $453M, $2.6B streaming revenue, $339M streaming adjusted EBITDA, and 122.3M streaming subs — Even so, the company had to contend with dips in all of its traditional streams of revenue, including advertising and distribution …
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
WBD says it'll start getting “more assertive” about blocking password sharing later in 2025 and Max password-sharing feature will fully roll out in 12-18 months — That lets a primary account owner share their Max account by inviting a friend or family member outside of their household …
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, Cord Cutters News, Business Insider, Deadline, Media Play News and The Hollywood Reporter
Tony Maglio / The Hollywood Reporter:
CNBC's David Faber: sources say WBD is moving toward a split that would see its linear cable networks spun off from the studio and Max
CNBC's David Faber: sources say WBD is moving toward a split that would see its linear cable networks spun off from the studio and Max
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, Seeking Alpha, Mediaite, Los Angeles Times, Barrett Media, Yahoo Finance, CNBC, Reuters, @tvgrimreaper, @dylanbyers and Cord Cutters News
ABC News:
Sources: President Trump is considering installing Fox News host and former prosecutor Jeanine Pirro as interim US attorney for the District of Columbia — Pirro, if chosen, would be interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. — Judge Jeanine Pirro speaks following an exclusive interview …
Discussion:
NBC News, New York Post, Twitchy, @sethabramson.bsky.social, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, @jeremymbarr, @jeremymbarr, @hollybushbooks.bsky.social, ABA Journal, @punkrockscience.bsky.social, @esqueer.net, @supportdemocracy.bsky.social, @lrozen, @austinahlman, @samstein, @zkarlinn, @anatosaurus.bsky.social, @johnlcorbett.bsky.social, @maxberger.bsky.social, @zenofdesign.com, Fox News, KDFX-TV and CBS News
Chris Vallance / BBC:
The Wikimedia Foundation says it is taking legal action to challenge the UK's Online Safety Act, saying it could threaten the safety of its volunteer editors — Wikipedia is taking legal action against new Online Safety Act regulations it says could threaten the safety of its volunteer editors …
Discussion:
Engadget, Reclaim The Net, The Verge, City A.M., Silicon UK, The Guardian, Diff and @openrightsgroup, more at Techmeme »
Bloomberg:
Owl & Co. report: the global podcast industry generated $7.3B in sales in 2024, including video revenue, most notably YouTube, but not including live events — Researcher Owl & Co. puts the industry's 2024 revenue at more than $7 billion — The global podcast industry generated $7.3 billion …
Discussion:
@simonowens and @lucas_shaw
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Paramount reports Q1 revenue down 6% YoY to $7.19B, a $550M net income, Paramount+ subs up 11% to 79M, and still expects the Skydance deal to close in H1 2025 — Paramount Global, under scrutiny as it works to complete a deal that will have it acquired by Skydance Media …
Discussion:
The Desk, The Information, Deadline, @simonowens.bsky.social, Reuters, Paramount and Media Play News
Washington Post:
The Washington Post names ex-WSJ deputy EIC Jason Anders as managing editor of its News Hub, a newly created role to build the publication's central news desk — The newly created leadership role is charged with managing The Post's daily news agenda — The Washington Post named Jason Anders …
Discussion:
The Wrap
Eshe Nelson / New York Times:
President Trump's threatened 100% tariffs on foreign films causes anxiety in the UK industry; nearly 90% of the £5.6B spent on 2024 production came from abroad — After struggling through pandemic shutdowns and twin Hollywood strikes, the British film and TV industry is worried that duties will wreak devastation.
Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:
FanDuel Sports Network says its paid subscribers doubled to nearly 650,000 over a period of eight weeks and expects to reach 1M D2C customers by the end of 2025 — The regional sports networks owned by Main Street Sports Group are winning over streaming subscribers.
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Mark Lazarus says Versant, Comcast's cable TV spinoff, will have its own sports strategy, and has held talks with the NWSL and MLB on acquiring live game rights — Comcast's spinoff of most of NBCUniversal's cable portfolio has a new name - Versant. This week, I had a chance to speak …
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Alex Sherman on LinkedIn and Sports Media Watch
Financial Times:
Jefferies expects the global anime market to hit $60.1B by 2030, up from $31.2B in 2023, as Hollywood searches for IP; Japanese studios capture <10% of revenues — Stay informed with free updates — Simply sign up to the Media myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.
Discussion:
Comic Book and @simondowens@threads.com
Jem Aswad / Variety:
Rolling Stone announces CEO Gus Wenner will assume the role of executive chairman and Julian Holguin, the former president of Billboard, will become the new CEO — Rolling Stone has announced that Gus Wenner will assume the role of executive chairman, and Julian Holguin will become the brand's CEO.
Discussion:
The Wrap, MediaPost, The Hollywood Reporter and Julian Holguin on LinkedIn
