Top News:
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
ABC is airing direct appeals to its audience for The View and for stations it owns, asking viewers to comment on FCC actions challenging the show and stations — The spots, which will start airing on Monday, are the latest pushback from The Walt Disney Co. and the network …
Discussion:
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Ben Fritz / Wall Street Journal:
Google invests in independent movie studio A24 as part of a new AI partnership; sources say Google is investing $75M, equal to what Thrive invested in 2024 — Search giant is putting about $75 million into the film company as part of an artificial-intelligence research partnership
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Katie Kilkenny / The Hollywood Reporter:
Instagram is testing horizontal video on Instagram for TV, plans to experiment with longer-form storytelling and episodic series, and launches on Samsung TV — The Meta-owned company is going decidedly retro by experimenting with time-honored video formats with its creators.
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Jake Kanter / Deadline:
UK ministers are advancing a bill requiring YouTube and TikTok to promote BBC and ITV content, as well as forcing streamers to show big sports events for free — YouTube, TikTok, and other major video-sharing platforms will be told to carry public service content prominently under new legislation being drawn up by the UK government.
Discussion:
@europa, Press Gazette, BBC, Breitbart, The Guardian, @m_simonyan, @sprinterpress, The Daily Sceptic and Telegraph
Ben Sisario / New York Times:
Clive Davis, one of music's most powerful executives who guided the careers of Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, and Whitney Houston, dies at 94 — He rose from a midlevel position at Columbia Records to become one of music's most powerful executives, shepherding stars like Barry Manilow and Whitney Houston.
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Mark Bergen / Bloomberg:
Getty Images signs a licensing deal with OpenAI, letting its image library appear in ChatGPT's search and discovery features; GETY jumps 120%+ and is up 5%+ YTD — Shares of Getty Images Holdings Inc. jumped about 200% in premarket trading on Monday after the photography repository announced a licensing deal with OpenAI.
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Max Tani / Semafor:
The Daily Wire, Truth Social, and other conservative brands are making their presence known this year at Cannes Lions ad festival, which tends to avoid politics — THE SCOOP — The American right is arriving in force at this week's Riviera advertising extravaganza to “force the conversation Cannes has spent decades avoiding.”
Discussion:
The Ankler, Ad Age and Martech Record
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Rebecca Rubin / Variety:
Netflix names Hannah Minghella as head of its Animation Studios, as it streamlines its animation efforts; VP Kira Goldberg will lead live-action family division — Hannah Minghella was named head of Netflix Animation Studios in an effort by the streaming giant to streamline all things animated.
Discussion:
Media Play News, Animation Magazine and Deadline
Max Tani / Semafor:
The Atlantic ramps up its video podcasts, doubling its video team from ~10 to ~20, and says its podcast revenue is up 104% YoY and downloads rose ~50% YoY — One of America's oldest magazines is investing in video after seeing notable growth in its audience in recent months.
Discussion:
@johnspurlock
Echo Wang / Reuters:
Sources: Vimeo owner Bending Spoons seeks to raise ~$1.62B in a US IPO, selling 58M shares at $26 to $28 each, hitting a $19B valuation at the top of the range — Bending Spoons, an Italian technology company that acquires and revamps software businesses, is seeking to raise as much as $1.62 billion …
Discussion:
The Next Web, Bloomberg and Finimize, more at Techmeme »
Kerry Flynn / Axios:
Sources: marketing tech startup AppsFlyer raised a $1B Series E at a $2.7B post-money valuation; Moloco, Google, Meta, and Unity acquire minority stakes — AppsFlyer has raised more than $1 billion in Series E funding at a $2.7 billion post-money valuation, Axios has learned from sources familiar with the financing.
PYMNTS:
Walmart integrates its US and international ad operations into one framework and rebrands Sam's Club Member Access Platform to Sam's Club Connect — Walmart is integrating its advertising operations into one framework amid growing ad revenue. — Get the Full Story
Discussion:
Walmart Inc.
