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5:35 AM ET, August 25, 2025

Mediagazer

 Top News: 
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: Spotify's difficulties of lining up partnerships have delayed its super premium service, which Spotify has been talking about for a couple of years  —  The company has spent a couple years talking about a more-expensive version of its music service for superfans.  Where is it?
Discussion: How-To Geek and Android Police
RELATED:
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
How Spotify's Discovery Mode has become the new normal in music marketing, five years after its 2020 launch when it faced a backlash and “payola” accusations  —  Spotify's Discovery Mode allows rightsholders to boost their songs in exchange for a lower royalty rate.  Most everyone is using it.
Rebecca Rubin / Variety:
Netflix's theatrical debut of KPop Demon Hunters is estimated to earn $18M-$20M this weekend, topping the domestic box office; it came out on Netflix in June  —  In a box office twist, a film from the theatrical-averse Netflix appears to be No. 1 on North American charts.
Oliver Darcy / Status:
Q&A with Wired's global editorial director Katie Drummond on how it is impossible to disambiguate tech from politics as the US turns toward authoritarianism  —  The lines between Silicon Valley and Washington have blurred beyond recognition, necessitating a news organization that is fluent in both worlds.
Tatum Hunter / Washington Post:
Vertical streaming apps charging $20/week are beating Netflix and other SVOD platforms in user growth with their mini-dramas optimized for mobile viewing  —  Streaming apps that charge $20 a week for absurd, 60-second soap operas are winning audiences that rival Hulu and Paramount+.
Rebecca Rubin / Variety:
Comscore: US box office revenue from May 1 have reached $3.53B, making it clear sales will be short of the $4B summer threshold, last attained in 2023  —  Heading into the summer, Hollywood was bullish that several promising blockbusters would be able to propel ticket sales above $4 billion for only the second time since the pandemic.
Discussion: CNBC
CNBC:
A profile of Gunnar Wiedenfels, the “hard-nosed accountant” who is WBD CFO and future Discovery Global CEO after the split from WBD, managing CNN, HGTV and TNT  —  By day, Gunnar Wiedenfels is the chief financial officer of Warner Bros. Discovery and the CEO-elect of Discovery Global …
Discussion: Adweek and Awful Announcing
Matt Donnelly / Variety:
Sources: Disney is on the hunt for original movie concepts to lure young men aged 13-28 back to the brand, as audiences dwindle for the superhero genre  —  Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty aren't the only ones looking for a prince.  —  Leadership at Walt Disney Studios has been pressing Hollywood creatives …
Brent Lang / Variety:
Sources: Paramount layoffs could affect 2,000 to 3,000 employees and are expected by early November; Paramount had 18,600 employees globally as of December 2024  —  After closing its merger with Skydance this month, Paramount is poised to enact deep staffing cuts across its various divisions …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Bluesky blocks access to its service in Mississippi, saying it doesn't have the resources to comply with the state's broad new law requiring age verification  —  Social networking startup Bluesky has made the decision to block access to its service in the state of Mississippi, rather than comply with a new age assurance law.
RELATED:
Ben Koo / Awful Announcing:
Sources: ESPN has removed its paywall on most written content, after requiring an ESPN+ subscription for previously free articles on its site starting in 2020  —  As we and many other digital outlets are well aware, producing ad-supported written content is a tough business.
 
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 More News: 
Anu Adegbola / Search Engine Land:
Google begins rolling out Asset Studio in beta, letting advertisers generate and edit images, videos, and voiceovers directly in the Google Ads interface
 Earlier Picks: 
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Four outlets have taken down AI-generated articles by a “journalist”; Wired says the article it took down didn't get a proper fact-check or sufficient editing
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
Discussion: Telegraph
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Filing: OnlyFans gross revenue hit $7.2B in FY ending Nov. 2024, up from $6.6B YoY, and paid $5.8B to creators, up from $5.3B; creator accounts grew 13% to 4.6M
Haroon Siddique / The Guardian:
Actor Noel Clarke loses his UK libel case against the Guardian over an investigation in which he was accused of sexual misconduct by more than 20 women
 

 
From Techmeme:

Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Sources: Meta is considering deep budget cuts to its metaverse efforts in 2026, potentially as high as 30% and most likely including layoffs as early as January

Kif Leswing / CNBC:
Apple says general counsel Kate Adams and policy chief Lisa Jackson will retire, and Jennifer Newstead, Meta's former chief legal officer, will replace Adams

Will Oremus / Washington Post:
Two studies suggest AI chatbots can shift political views more effectively than TV campaign ads, especially by presenting many claims, regardless of accuracy
 
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