Top News:
Katherine Sayre / Wall Street Journal:
Spotify reports Q2 revenue up 10% YoY to €4.2B, MAUs up 11% YoY to 696M, subscribers up 12% YoY to 276M, and an €86M net loss; SPOT drops 9%+ after missing est. — The audio streaming service added more listeners than it had forecast, but reported a net loss for the second quarter
Discussion:
Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, The Wrap, Axios, Moneycontrol, Proactive, Deadline, The Economic Times, @sarafischer, Hypebot, Reuters, @eldsjal, Yahoo Finance, @thetranscript_, Spotify and Benzinga, more at Techmeme »
Reuters:
Canal+ reports H1 2025 revenue down 3.3% YoY to €3.09B, free cash flow of €370M, up from €128M in H1 2024, and expects FY 2025 EBITA of ~€515M; CAN jumps 6%+ — French pay-TV company Canal+ (CAN.L) reported a jump in free cash flow in the first half even as revenue fell …
Discussion:
Advanced Television, Broadcast, Broadband TV News, Deadline and Canal+
Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:
After the spinoff, WBD's streaming and studios business will be called Warner Bros. and its cable networks business will be called Discovery Global — Executives at Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) have lifted the curtain on the new names for their film studio and cable networks business once …
Discussion:
Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Broadband TV News, Warner Bros. Discovery, @mikeisaac, The Information, @dylanbyers, CNBC, The A.V. Club, Jason Hanold on LinkedIn, Wall Street Journal, Engadget, Streaming Better, Barrett Media, TV Tech, Reuters, @discussingfilm, Adweek, @benmullin, Axios, Chris Heatherly on LinkedIn, The Wrap, Sports Business Journal, Los Angeles Times, @matthewkeyslive, BMI, @gentledoofus, TVBEurope, Cord Cutters News, Awful Announcing, The Verge, Advanced Television and Media Play News
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Filing: Trump's lawyers argue that Rupert Murdoch should be deposed within 15 days because of his advanced age, in the $10B libel suit against Murdoch and WSJ — The president's legal team argued in a legal filing that discovery process for the media mogul should be expedited because of his age and health.
Discussion:
NPR, All Rise News, @pkafka, @yashar, Mediaite, Business Insider, @isaacdovere, @joshgerstein, The Left Hook with Wajahat Ali, @alaynatreene, NBC News, Bloomberg, @hissgoescobra, @daniel_sugarman, @covie_93, HuffPost, Washington Examiner, @klasfeldreports, Mumbrella, @klasfeldreports, @davidfolkenflik, New Jersey Online, The Hill, ABC News, CNBC, Variety and New Republic
RELATED:
Axios:
Rupert Murdoch's media empire is playing both sides of the Trump-Epstein scandal, with the WSJ breaking bombshell news that Fox News is largely ignoring
Rupert Murdoch's media empire is playing both sides of the Trump-Epstein scandal, with the WSJ breaking bombshell news that Fox News is largely ignoring
Discussion:
The Wrap, Poynter, Reuters, New York Sun, Associated Press, Forbes, Raw Story, The Independent, emptywheel, Law & Crime, TVNewsCheck, Deadline, Capital Brief, Irish Independent and The Guardian
Sean Burch / The Wrap:
The Washington Post's Fact Checker Glenn Kessler is leaving the paper after over 27 years, having taken a buyout, and is “not sure” if his role will be replaced — But we couldn't work out an agreement," Glenn Kessler says — Another prominent Washington Post staffer is exiting the paper.
Discussion:
Glenn Kessler on LinkedIn, Fox News, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Newser, The Federalist, Indicator, New York Post, IJR, @emmaroller.bsky.social, @realchrisrufo, @benmullin.bsky.social, The Other McCain, @asherelbein.bsky.social, @RinostarGames@mastodon …, HotAir, The Washington Free Beacon, @planetoffinks.bsky.social, Blaze Media, Instapundit, @bobbylewis.bsky.social, Daily Mail, Breitbart, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, twitchy.com, The Post Millennial and Althouse
Max Goldbart / Deadline:
The BBC appoints ex-Meta executive Anjali Kapoor to the newly created role of director for BBC News AI, Innovation, and Growth, to “accelerate AI adoption” — Anjali Kapoor was previously Meta's Director for Media Partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region but takes …
Discussion:
Broadband TV News, BBC, TVBEurope, Insider Monkey, @jasonkoebler.bsky.social, Yahoo Finance, Watcher Guru and TVNewsCheck
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
Bollywood star Aamir Khan's hit Sitaare Zameen Par will be released exclusively on YouTube for digital rental on August 1, sidestepping traditional streamers — Bollywood superstar's latest theatrical hit will be available exclusively on YouTube Movies-on-Demand starting Aug. 1
Discussion:
Hindustan Times, Hindustan Times, Moneycontrol, NDTV, CNBC-TV18, Press Trust of India, @taran_adarsh, @kdcloudy, @pti_news, @_patilvishwajit, Republic World, India Today, The Hollywood Reporter India, The Tribune, Times Now, News18, The Statesman, Zee News, Telegraph India, Wion, Devdiscourse News Desk, NewsBytes, Google, Firstpost, The Indian Express, BMI and MediaBrief
Jesse Whittock / Deadline:
France's TF1 Group reports H1 2025 revenue up 0.1% YoY to €1.1B, media division revenue down 0.9% YoY to €975M, and Studio TF1 revenue up 6.4% YoY to €128M — France's TF1 Group posted half-year revenue of €1.1B ($1.3B), with dips at its media arm offset by growth at its newly refurbished studios division.
Discussion:
TF1 Group
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Hope Hicks, the ex-Trump White House communications director and Fox communications chief, joins Megyn Kelly's production company Devil May Care Media as COO — Hope Hicks, the former Trump White House communicatoins director and Fox Corp. communications chief, will join Megyn Kelly's production company …
Lucia Moses / Business Insider:
Steven Bartlett, host of the popular UK podcast The Diary of a CEO, is using AI to clone his voice and create animated videos for his new podcast, 100 CEOs — - Steven Bartlett is using AI to produce his “100 CEOs” podcast, cloning his voice to make a host.
Discussion:
@katienotopoulos.bsky.social and @tomdavidson92.bsky.social
Ben Smith / Semafor:
How Fox Corp. has accelerated its roll-up of independent media talent, as it seeks to attract younger viewers through digital and streaming platforms — Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Semafor — If you want a glimpse of the coming consolidation in digital media, take a look at Fox Corp. …
Discussion:
@tvgrimreaper
Tomás Mier / Rolling Stone:
TikTok and iHeartRadio launch a singing competition show on TikTok Live; contestants will advance through rounds based on viewer engagement and judges' scores — The Top 12 contestants will make it to a live finale, filmed in late September at the iHeartRadio Theater
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
Eros and filmmaker Aanand L. Rai clash over plans to re-release the Tamil-language version of 2013 Indian film Raanjhanaa with an AI-enabled alternative ending — In an exclusive statement to Variety, Rai addressed both the AI controversy and an ongoing corporate dispute between …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Daniel Best on LinkedIn, @kidvanguard.bsky.social, @scalzi.com, @mrgodfrey.bsky.social, @debbiemoon.bsky.social, @metacurity.com, @tammi.bsky.social, @gregeganSF@mathstodon.xyz, Hannah Abraham on LinkedIn, @runwithskizzers.bsky.social, @stephenblackmoore.com and The Indian Express
