Top News:
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
ESPN's forthcoming standalone streaming service will cost $30 per month, or $36 per month in a bundle with Disney+'s and Hulu's ad-supported tiers — ESPN's new streaming application, featuring everything the sports media arm of Disney has to offer, will cost $29.99 per month.
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, ESPN Press Room U.S., Media Play News, Decider, The Streamable, TVNewsCheck, Reuters, @loudmouthjulia, Mediaite, Celebrity Insider, TV Tech, Business Insider, @mmccarthyrev, @dannygroner.bsky.social, TV Insider, Wall Street Journal, The Desk, @corey_mcl, @sherman4949, Awful Announcing, @tvgrimreaper, @jbflint, Forbes, Sports Media Watch, IndieWire, Streaming Better, Los Angeles Times, @pkafka, Deadline, @jbflint, Engadget, @tim_bays, Axios, Bloomberg, Cord Cutters News, 9to5Mac, Barrett Media, The Information, New York Times, @sarafischer, @loudmouthjulia, @willmckinley.bsky.social, The Hollywood Reporter and The Verge
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
CEO Mark Thompson tells employees that CNN plans to launch a streaming service in the fall; cable subscribers will have free access to the service — The service is part of a major push to find paying customers for the network's journalism. — CNN is getting ready to launch a streaming service.
Discussion:
Deadline, al.com, The Streamable, Axios, @mcgritterson.industries, @davezatz.bsky.social, MarketWatch, Barrett Media, Streaming Better and The Verge
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Audible partners with US publishers to convert print books and e-books into audiobooks narrated by 100+ AI voices across English, Spanish, French, and Italian — The audiobook platform wants to ‘close the gap’ between the number of print and e-books in existence and audiobooks
Discussion:
Audible.com, The Guardian, TechCrunch, Publishing Perspectives, The Verge, Publishers Weekly and The Bookseller, more at Techmeme »
A.G. Sulzberger / New York Times:
A.G. Sulzberger says the role of a free press is under attack, and that the anti-press playbook used in eroding democracies is now being deployed in the US — This essay was originally delivered as a talk at the Notre Dame Kellogg Institute for International Studies on Tuesday.
Discussion:
@brianstelter, @nytimespr and @maxwelltani
Stephen Fowler / NPR:
Court docs: DOGE tried to assign a team to review CPB operations on April 29, but CPB said DOGE had no role “supervising or having any activity relating to CPB” — Less than a day after President Trump attempted to fire three Corporation for Public Broadcasting board members last month …
Discussion:
CNN, Inside Radio, @thedesk.net, @notaaroncraig.bsky.social, @brianstelter.bsky.social and Jacobin
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
YouTube will stream the week one international NFL game for free worldwide on September 5, a reflection of the NFL's desire to prioritize scale and reach — The week one matchup will feature to Los Angeles Chargers taking on an opponent to be named Wednesday, with YouTube also securing multiyear rights …
Andrew Webster / The Verge:
Moonbug Entertainment plans to release the first CoComelon feature film in 2027; Cocomelon's YouTube channel has 190M+ subscribers and averages 4B monthly views — The Dreamworks film is due out in 2027. … The Cocomelon empire is expanding once again. A few years after the massively …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Kidscreen, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, Tubefilter, The Toy Book, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter
Associated Press:
The WHCA says it is “disturbed” that the Trump administration barred wire service reporters from traveling with Trump on Air Force One to the Middle East — The group representing White House journalists said Monday it was disturbed that the Trump administration barred …
Felix Gillette / Bloomberg:
A look at Cartoon Network's challenges due to cost-cutting measures, including studio closures, and a shift away from kids programming under WBD's David Zaslav — The irreverent animation factory once cranked out hits, talent and profits. But with David Zaslav's retreat from streaming kids programming …
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Q&A with Jeremy Sirota, CEO of Merlin, a trade group representing indie labels, on stepping down at the end of 2025 and the current state of the music industry — Jeremy Sirota, CEO of Merlin, will exit the company at the end of 2025 — Hi, everyone. Welcome back to Soundbite, a bit earlier in the week than usual.
Discussion:
Digital Music News and Billboard
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Time plans to launch Time Longevity, an editorial vertical covering science, health, business, tech, and policy innovations tied to aging and the human lifespan — Time plans to launch a new editorial vertical called Time Longevity, dedicated to the coverage of science, health, business …
Discussion:
Sam Jacobs on LinkedIn and Jessica Sibley on LinkedIn
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
The MPA, SAG-AFTRA, WGAW, the Teamsters, and other Hollywood unions urge President Trump to support tax deductions for the industry, without mentioning tariffs — A coalition of entertainment unions, joined by the Motion Picture Association, urged President Trump on Monday to support tax deductions …
Discussion:
New York Times, IATSE, The MPA, Politico, The Guardian, Deadline, Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg
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