Top News:
Andrew Marchand / The Athletic:
Sources: ESPN and MLB have a deal framework giving ESPN exclusive rights to sell out-of-market regular-season games digitally and in-market games for five clubs — Major League Baseball and ESPN have a framework agreement that would give the network the exclusive rights to sell …
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Wall Street Journal:
Sources: NBCU is in advanced talks with MLB to carry games on NBC and Peacock for close to $200M/year; Netflix nears a deal for the Home Run Derby at $35M+/year — Netflix is also in advanced talks with the league to stream the Home Run Derby in a deal that would be worth more than $105 million
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: ESPN is in talks to license MLB.TV and wants midweek national games, giving up Sunday Night regular season games and the Home Run Derby — Disney's new ESPN flagship streaming app launches Thursday. Here's what we know — Microsoft and NFL announce multiyear partnership to use AI to enhance game day analysis
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, The Verge, ESPN Press Room U.S., KSTP-TV, Adweek, Inside Radio, Deadline, Vulture, Awful Announcing, The Information, TV Tech, Forbes, Fast Company, Washington Post, Deseret News, Business Insider, Cord Cutters News, Wall Street Journal, Barrett Media and Sports Business Journal
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Wired and Business Insider remove articles by journalist Margaux Blanchard that appear to be AI-generated and feature people who do not seem to exist — Wired and Business Insider have removed news features written by a freelance journalist after concerns they are likely AI-generated works of fiction.
Discussion:
Wired, The Guardian, Mumbrella, @ransomwaresommelier.com, Kaitlyn Arford on LinkedIn, @benmullin, @dell.bsky.social, The Overspill, The Wrap, Futurism, Sarah Scoles on LinkedIn, Matt Allyn on LinkedIn, @scottnover.bsky.social, TVNewsCheck, @kbeninato.bsky.social, MediaPost, @grspur.bsky.social, @jaywillis.net, @jetjocko.bsky.social, @AlisonCreekside@mstdn.ca, @seywarddarby.bsky.social, @mjanssen.bsky.social, @stokel.bsky.social, Jem Collins on LinkedIn, @paris.nyc, @ogmcduck.bsky.social, @jamesrball.com, @harryrose.bsky.social, @garethtbij.bsky.social, @oisinmcgann.bsky.social, @katebevan.com, @pressgazette.co.uk and Talking Biz News
Lydia Polgreen / New York Times:
A reflection on Israel's killing of Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif in an airstrike on a press tent, and Israel's weak claim that he was a Hamas militant — Eleven days ago, Israel assassinated a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, a young man who had suddenly become the face and voice …
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Apple raises the price of Apple TV+ in the US and some markets globally after previously raising the price in 2023; in the US, the price will rise $3 to $12.99 — Apple today announced that the monthly price of Apple TV+ is rising in the United States and some international markets.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, MacRumors, The Hans India, The Hollywood Reporter, Daring Fireball, PhoneArena, Benzinga, Plain Dealer, New York Post, Redmond Pie, The Apple Post, MobileSyrup, Fast Company, Android Headlines, Ars Technica, Canadian Press, Variety, @krassotkin.bsky.social, Digital Trends, Screen Rant, TheDesk.net, Forbes, Broadband TV News, Appleosophy, BGR, Tom's Guide, iThinkDifferent, iDownloadBlog.com, FlatpanelsHD, Decider, iPhone in Canada, Reuters, PCMag, The Streamable, Pocket-lint, Cult of Mac, @edkane71.bsky.social, @goldengaytime.bsky.social, Los Angeles Times, TechCrunch, iClarified, Thurrott, Macworld, PCWorld, Streaming Better, Business Insider, Engadget, TVLine, Bloomberg, The Verge, The Wrap, WPXI-TV, Media Play News, AppleInsider, MacDailyNews, Collider, MacTech.com and Deadline, more at Techmeme »
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Filing: OnlyFans took in $7.2B from subscribers in FY ending Nov. 2024, up from $6.6B YoY, and paid out $5.8B, up from $5.3B; creator accounts grew 13% to 4.6M — Porn streamer paid $5.8bn to content creators last year as Leonid Radvinsky holds talks over offloading majority stake
Discussion:
Variety, The Guardian, Proactive, The Standard, Press Association, Benzinga, Telegraph, Bloomberg and BelfastTelegraph.co.uk
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Reach plans to “radically reorganize” newsrooms through the creation of a live news network with journalists across its outlets reporting to one leader — Largest UK commercial news publisher to produce less “text-only” content under new plans.
Discussion:
HoldtheFrontPage
Jason Notte / Adweek:
EDO: the NFL brings in $5.2B annually in national TV ads; in 2024-2025 ads on streaming-exclusive NFL games were 66% more effective for brands than TV ads — New data from EDO finds that ads during football games on Peacock, Netflix, and Amazon last year were more effective than in-game linear
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, @kennysmith.bsky.social, Business Wire and MediaPost
Gabriela Pomeroy / BBC:
Denmark plans to abolish a 25% sales tax on books, one of the highest globally, in an effort to combat a “reading crisis”; the measure will cost $50M per year — The Danish government has announced it will abolish a 25% sales tax on books, in an effort to combat a “reading crisis”.
Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill:
Two House Democrats sent Paramount a letter on August 20 demanding documents, communications, and answers regarding the Skydance merger approval process — A pair of top House Democrats are launching an investigation into Paramount's $7 billion merger with fellow media conglomerate Skydance …
Discussion:
Fox News, HuffPost, New York Sun, The Wrap, Salon, TVNewsCheck, LateNighter, CNBC, Deadline, The Independent, Bloomberg, NBC News and Radio & Television …
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
The Onion has 53K+ print subscribers and expects $6M in 2025 revenue, signaling a market for print media, also shown by print relaunches of Saveur and others — Publications turn to old-style products to appeal to readers and stand out in digital media landscape
Discussion:
Will Flannigan on LinkedIn, Matt Pearce on LinkedIn, @jeff@newsie.social, John Martin on LinkedIn, Jesse Dungan on LinkedIn, @bolson.org, @jocelynl.bsky.social, @mediaevan.bsky.social, @dexanderson.com, @wendysawatzky.bsky.social, @kibblesmith.com, @djlavoie.bsky.social, @bencollins.bsky.social and r/Journalism
