Top News:
Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
YouTube previews new ad formats coming to the platform, including an enhanced shoppable connected TV offering with a new interactive product feed — YouTube made its pitch to advertisers on Wednesday, accompanied by a flashy performance from Lady Gaga and special appearances from popular YouTubers like Brittany Broski and MrBeast.
Discussion:
Advanced Television, Variety, Adweek and TheStreet, more at Techmeme »
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Zach Vallese / CNBC:
YouTube announces Peak Points, a pilot Gemini AI feature that lets advertisers target ads to viewers when they are most engaged with a video — YouTube on Wednesday announced a new tool that will allow advertisers to use Google's Gemini AI model to target ads to viewers when they are most engaged with a video.
Discussion:
YouTube Official Blog, Benzinga, Tubefilter and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Stuart Dredge / Music Ally:
Open letter: SoundCloud CEO Eliah Seton says a 2024 TOS update did not intend to allow AI training on user content; SoundCloud revised the wording on May 14 — - Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email — Music Ally NEXT 2025: Tickets on sale now!
Discussion:
SoundCloud, The Verge, The Hollywood Reporter, Engadget, Digital Music News, Futurism, TechCrunch, Billboard and Music Business Worldwide
Sara Salinas / CNBC:
Netflix says its ad-supported tier now has 94M MAUs, up from 70M in November 2024, and reaches more 18- to 34-year-olds than any US broadcast or cable network — Netflix said Wednesday its cheaper, ad-supported tier now has 94 million monthly active users — an increase of more than 20 million since its last public tally in November.
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About Netflix, The Desk, Profit, The Indian Express, @minddestroyedx, Streaming Better, Tubefilter, 9to5Mac, TechCrunch, Reuters, Adweek and Media Play News, more at Techmeme »
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Bill Bradley / Adweek:
Netflix says its in-house ad platform Netflix Ads Suite, currently live in the US and Canada, will be available in all 12 of its ad-supported countries by June
Netflix says its in-house ad platform Netflix Ads Suite, currently live in the US and Canada, will be available in all 12 of its ad-supported countries by June
Discussion:
Ars Technica, Netflix Tudum, BMI, Media Play News, TV Tech, Ad Age, MediaPost, Cord Cutters News, TVNewsCheck, Deadline, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter and The Verge
Jennifer Maas / Variety:
Warner Bros. Discovery says it will change the name of its Max streaming service back to HBO Max this summer, and tweaks its logo; WBD dropped “HBO” in May 2023 — Turns out, Warner Bros. Discovery thinks HBO has some pretty good brand equity, after all.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Pressroom, New York Times, Deadline, Wall Street Journal, @hbo, @streamonmax, Business Insider, @dkthomp, @screenbrief, @willfulchaos, @mikeisaac, @sherman4949, @streamonmax, @seanyoo, @mattbinder, @pkafka, @brettredacted, @lingounbound, Daring Fireball, @nathanallebach, @peacock, @kerrymflynn, @maxwelltani, @scottnover, @jeremiahdjohns, @loudmouthjulia, @caitiedelaney, @danprimack, @timeimmemorial_, Decrypt, MacRumors, @loudmouthjulia, @tvgrimreaper, @morningbrew, Hollywood Life, The Daily Wire, LateNighter, Aftermath, Dallas Taylor on LinkedIn, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, @ernie.tedium.co, Chris Heatherly on LinkedIn, Newser, @moryan.bsky.social, StreamTV Insider, Erin Sarofsky on LinkedIn, TV Tech, @chrisyogerst.com, @juansaaa.com, The Verge, Cara Lustik on LinkedIn, TODAY.com, Screen Rant, Chicago Tribune, Broadband TV News, Yahoo Finance, MediaPost, @thelincoln.bsky.social, The Drum, SlashFilm, @chopaganda@shakedown.social, Engadget, WPXI-TV, @harrymccracken.com, Streaming Better, @defunctgames.com, @gedeonm@mastodon.social, Advanced Television, GamesRadar, @rbripley.bsky.social, Dara Gruen on LinkedIn, @carnage4life.bsky.social, 9to5Mac, @tuphlos.bsky.social, @parismarx.com, @dbreunig@note.computer, The Hollywood Reporter, Comic Book, BGR, Polygon, @riversoverflow.bsky.social, Consequence, The Information, @scalzi.com, Associated Press, @izzos.us, @alexkoppelman.bsky.social, @kaleidotrope.bsky.social, CNN, The Streamable, Bloomberg, Adweek, TVLine, Entertainment Weekly, @stefan@stefanbohacek.online, @mcdaragh.bsky.social, Axios, The Verge, IndieWire, Reuters, TechCrunch, The Wrap, WORLD SCREEN, GoldDerby and Just Jared, more at Techmeme »
Wall Street Journal:
A profile of Paramount co-CEO George Cheeks, who is trying to settle President Trump's CBS lawsuit, calm nerves at CBS News, and complete a merger with Skydance — Co-CEO George Cheeks is trying to settle Trump's ‘60 Minutes’ lawsuit and mollify wary CBS News staff while completing a merger with Skydance
Discussion:
Radio & Television … and TVNewsCheck
Johnny Ryan / Irish Council for Civil Liberties:
The Belgian Court of Appeal rules the Transparency & Consent Framework, used by Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and much of the internet, is illegal across Europe — Landmark court decision against “TCF” consent pop ups on 80% of the internet — (Updated on 15 May to include links to the judgement)
Alondra Nelson / Time:
Alondra Nelson resigns from the National Science Board and Library of Congress Scholars Council, citing DOGE's interference and eroded institutional integrity — Today, I am resigning from the National Science Board and the Library of Congress Scholars Council.
Discussion:
CleanTechnica
Paul Farhi / Vanity Fair:
C-SPAN, with revenue down 35% since 2018 and an $8M budget shortfall in 2025, looks to multichannel streamers; YouTube TV cites a lack of subscriber interest — Despite fans across the aisle—including Trump—the cable network's financial path is “not sustainable,” per CEO Sam Feist …
Discussion:
@calderone.bsky.social, @benjaminoc.bsky.social and @mlcalderone
Elsa Keslassy / Variety:
Profile of Mubi founder Efe Cakarel and the streamer's shift to a full-fledged studio to rival A24; Mubi aims for an annual slate of 15 movies costing $5M-$25M — Mubi, the upstart indie film company that made “The Substance” into an Oscar sensation, traces its origins to Tokyo on New Year's Eve 2006 …
Discussion:
Deadline, World of Reel, Media Play News and IndieWire
Richard Headland / Press Gazette:
DMG's Eliza, a fashion brand for millennial women launched in 2022, shut down its site to focus on social media; an analyst says sites are “becoming redundant” — A fashion and beauty brand aimed at millennial women launched by DMG Media in 2022 closed its website and focused …
Discussion:
PPA Festival 2025
Will McCarthy / Politico:
Patrick Soon-Shiong has appeared with Trump on the first day of the president's Middle East trip, as he maneuvers into Trump's orbit and shifts LAT to the right — The billionaire newspaper owner is getting closer to the president. — The billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times has gotten closer …
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The BBC plans to expand its Local Democracy Reporting Service beyond local authorities and “dramatically” increase BBC's presence on YouTube and TikTok — BBC director-general Tim Davie has revealed plans to expand the Local Democracy Reporting Service outside of its current focus on local authorities.
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