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 …
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and Associated Press
RELATED:
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.
Lachlan Cartwright / Breaker:
Sources: NYT reporter Rob Copeland filed a HR complaint against editor Ellen Pollock after she threatened to “kill” him if a Harvard story exceeded 2,000 words — Pamela Paul's new gig; Keith McNally censored; VERSANT vs Vaulter — In partnership with … Newsrooms plus pressure equals... more drama.
Jeré Longman / New York Times:
Clarence O. Smith, co-founder and president of Essence, the first general circulation magazine directed at Black women, has died at age 92 — As president, he helped persuade companies like Estée Lauder and Ford to advertise in the pages of the first mass-circulation magazine directed at Black women.
Discussion:
Essence
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.
Liam Scott / Columbia Journalism Review:
Q&A with RFE/RL reporter Andrei Kuznechyk, whose release from a Belarus jail in February was brokered by the US, on the importance of RFE/RL in Belarus and more — After 1,175 days in a Belarusian prison, Andrei Kuznechyk, a journalist with the US-funded international broadcaster Radio …
Mark K. Miller / TVNewsCheck:
Nexstar reports Q1 revenue down 3.9% YoY to $1.23B, primarily due to reduced political advertising revenue and net income down 42% to $97M — Save this article for later! Login or create a Free Member Profile to bookmark it. — That $50 million drop to $1.23 billion was “primarily due to reduced political advertising revenue.”
Discussion:
Yahoo Finance, Barrett Media and Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
Netflix unveils its ChatGPT-powered search that lets users express preferences using natural phrases, rolling 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
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, TechRadar, Netflix Tudum, Fortune, The Daily Upside, Netflix on YouTube, MacRumors, @lucas_shaw, Benzinga, Josh Mateo on LinkedIn, Android Central, Android Headlines, NBC News, @mhwilliams.bsky.social, Android Authority, Streaming Better, Media Play News, Patrick Flemming on LinkedIn, The US Sun, BGR, Fast Company, Bloomberg, Engadget, Variety and The Verge, 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
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
Discussion:
@aerocles, @lucas_shaw, Fast Company, Mashable, Tubefilter, Business Insider, WeRSM, Comic Book, @reckless.bsky.social, CNN, TechCrunch and The Wrap
Chris Gardner / The Hollywood Reporter:
Former British Vogue EIC Edward Enninful and his sister Akua plan to launch digital platform EE72 and quarterly print magazine 72 Magazine in September 2025 — Edward Enninful's EE72 has reeled in Simone Oliver as head of content, Sarah Harris as editorial director and Lee Swillingham …
Discussion:
WWD, The Business of Fashion and Red Carpet Fashion Awards
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:
Podnews and @lucas_shaw
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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Isabella Simonetti / Wall Street Journal:
Disney reports Q2 revenue up 7% YoY to $23.62B, streaming profit up 16% to $336M, and 180.7M streaming subscribers, up 2.5M from Q1 2025; DIS closed up 10.8%
Disney reports Q2 revenue up 7% YoY to $23.62B, streaming profit up 16% to $336M, and 180.7M streaming subscribers, up 2.5M from Q1 2025; DIS closed up 10.8%
Discussion:
Broadband TV News, @sherman4949, MediaPost, The Hollywood Reporter, Forbes, Deadline and The Wrap
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, PR Daily, Sports Business Journal, TVNewsCheck and Reuters
RELATED:
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:
The Information and @jtes
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
In a letter, nine US senators urge Shari Redstone not to settle Trump's $20B lawsuit, saying it will only embolden him to “extort” CBS and other outlets — The letter signed by nine senators urges Redstone to “Stand up for freedom of the press and our democracy.”
Discussion:
New York Times, @benmullin, Politico, Washington Examiner, The Wrap, The Independent, TVNewsCheck, Mediaite, Variety, Common Dreams and Semafor

