Top News:
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
Discussion:
/Film, Reuters, IndieWire, The Wrap, Gizmodo, The Keyword, The Verge, Screen, Neil Parris on LinkedIn, Consequence, Digital Trends, Hindustan Times, Variety, Decrypt, Helena Malikova on LinkedIn, The Hollywood Reporter, How-To Geek, @discussingfilm.net, Deadline, Ben Fritz on LinkedIn, World of Reel, Proactive, Sherwood News, Far Out Magazine, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, Showbiz411, Yahoo Finance and The Decoder, more at Techmeme »
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.
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 …
New York Times:
People Inc., a major food content creator, is ramping up social media video production that emphasizes human-made recipes and testing to stand out from AI slop — People Inc., the home of Food & Wine and Southern Living, publishes more food content than anyone else.
Ben Sisario / New York Times:
Clive Davis, one of music's most powerful executives who guided Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, and Whitney Houston's careers, 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.
Discussion:
HuffPost, Billboard, Reuters, The Wrap, RADAR, The Forward, @katiestereo.bsky.social, Forbes, KFOR-TV, Hypebot, Mirror, Vanity Fair, VINnews, The Stranger, Vibe, @canaansdad1987.bsky.social, E! Online, HELLO!, Daily Star, TODAY.com, Fox News, Us Weekly, Bossip, TMZ.com, The Detroit News, Los Angeles Times, Suggest, Page Six, The Sun, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Just Jared, @larrytenney.bsky.social, KOIN.com, Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and WPXI-TV
Echo Wang / Reuters:NEW!
Sources: Vimeo owner Bending Spoons seeks to raise ~$1.62B in a US IPO, selling 58M shares at $26 to $28 apiece, at a valuation of $19B 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:
Finimize, more at Techmeme »
Borys Kit / The Hollywood Reporter:
Netflix wins rights to the Sesame Street movie; Rideback, the production company behind live-action Lilo & Stitch and Aladdin movies, will produce the feature — Rideback, the production company behind the billion-dollar live-action “Lilo & Stitch” and “Aladdin” movies, brought it to the studio and will produce.
Discussion:
Gizmodo, IGN, Just Jared, @rwmead.bsky.social, World of Reel and The InSneider
Associated Press:
Staff of Czech public broadcasters stage a warning strike, protesting government plans to shift funding from license fees to the state budget starting next year — Journalists and other employees formed a human chain around the Czech public radio in Prague on Monday as part of a warning strike …
Discussion:
The Guardian and Newser
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Disney plans an interactive hub called ESPN Fan House alongside ESPN's College GameDay in August, with fan experiences like live polls and merchandise showcases — Disney wants to help advertisers reach more of the sports fans under its own roof. — The entertainment giant this August …
Discussion:
Sports Business Journal, ESPN Press Room U.S., MediaPost and Deadline
Mallory Moench / BBC:
Israeli strikes kill Al Jazeera correspondent Ahmed Wishah, claiming he was “a sniper operative”; Al Jazeera says it “strongly condemns” the killing of Wishah — Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed at least six people, including an Al Jazeera cameraman and at least one child …
Discussion:
The Guardian, @simonrosenberg.bsky.social, Al Jazeera, RTÉ, New York Post, The Times of Israel, NBC News, Associated Press and Arab News
Martin Peers / The Information:
WPP Media expects ad revenue from AI search and chatbots to reach $5.1B in 2026 and $101B in 2030, but notes lack of historical data makes forecasting difficult — If you've wanted to visit the South of France, this might be the week. The annual Cannes Lion ad festival …
Discussion:
The American Bazaar, Digiday and The Verge
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.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Meta Newsroom, The Wrap, Neowin, WeRSM, The Next Web, iThinkDifferent and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
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.
Discussion:
Benzinga, Yahoo Finance, The Decoder, Digital Trends, The Decoder, Proactive, GlobeNewswire News Room, @danyahenninger.bsky.social, Engadget, The Next Web, ZeroHedge News, Blockonomi, Forbes, PetaPixel, @kennysmith.org, Fast Company, Zeina Tabbara on LinkedIn and iThinkDifferent, more at Techmeme »
