Mediagazer: Streaming service ESPN Plus launching next month at $4.99/mo; sources say it won't have ESPN cable channels' content, which still requires ESPN subscription (Peter Kafka/Recode)

9:50 AM ET, February 7, 2018

Top News:

Peter Kafka / Recode:

Streaming service ESPN Plus launching next month at $4.99/mo; sources say it won't have ESPN cable channels' content, which still requires ESPN subscription — How much would you pay for sports you weren't watching on TV? — Want to pay for a subscription to ESPN without paying for a subscription to other cable channels?

Discussion: TechCrunch, The Wrap, AppAdvice.com, Variety, CNBC, CNNMoney, Engadget, Associated Press, The Verge, @spingriffey, 9to5Mac and Broadcasting & Cable, more at Techmeme »

Christine Wang / CNBC:

Disney reports mixed Q1 results with revenue of $15.35B vs. $15.45B expected; media and networks, consumer and interactive, and studio units miss targets — The Walt Disney Company reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations on Tuesday, but revenue missed estimates.

Discussion: Fast Company, The Walt Disney Company, Broadcasting & Cable, Variety, FierceCable, The Wrap, The Playlist, The New York Observer and @jyarow

Wall Street Journal:

Snapchat is launching to tool to let TV networks pipe snippets of live broadcasts directly into the app, starting this Saturday with NBC's Olympics coverage — Deal could forge closer ties between traditional TV networks and Snapchat's parent company Snap Inc. — Georgia Wells and Benjamin Mullin

Discussion: 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Frier / Bloomberg:
Snap's Q4 revenue, $285.7M vs. $252.8M est., topped analysts' estimates for first time since the firm's IPO, and average revenue per user rose 46% YoY to $1.53

Discussion: Snap Inc., Business Insider, New York Times, Forbes, TechCrunch, The Drum, ZDNet, @jank0, @bloombergtv, TechCrunch, Business Insider, @kantrowitz, The Verge and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Samantha Cole / Motherboard:

Pornhub says it's banning AI-generated fake porn videos because they're “nonconsensual”, yet such “deepfake” videos are still available via site search results — The giant porn site puts deepfakes in the same category as revenge porn.

Discussion: The Guardian, The Verge, Fast Company, Engadget, The Next Web, The Verge, Mashable, The Daily Dot and Trusted Reviews, more at Techmeme »

April Simpson / Current:

NPR's Daniel Zwerdling, a veteran investigative journalist, has left the network; sources say allegations of sexual harassment were filed to HR in November — Daniel Zwerdling, a veteran investigative journalist at NPR, has left the network amid allegations of sexual harassment.

Discussion: NPR, TVWeek.com, thecut, NewsCut, @kryssypease, @aprilehrlich and @alyssaedes

Robert Feder:

Three former editors of DNAinfo Chicago are starting a local news site with five reporters, funded by subscriptions with support from blockchain-based Civil — Three editors from the former DNAinfo Chicago are reuniting to start up a new neighborhood news website to be funded by reader subscriptions.

Discussion: @emily__olsen, @lillian_ruiz, @rachelholliday, @amandarivkin, @greenfieldjohn, @byalisonbowen, @amlwhere and Stephanie Graves

Keach Hagey / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Vice Media missed its 2017 revenue target of $805M by $100M+, largely due to its Viceland TV channel; co-president Creighton unlikely to return to role — Digital media company misses revenue forecast; shareholders push company to turn a profit — Vice Media is facing uncertainty …

Discussion: @raju, @keachhagey, @srabil and @asharma

Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed:

Russian trolls posed as black activists on Tumblr and generated hundreds of thousands of interactions with anti-Hillary Clinton, pro-Bernie Sanders content — Tumblrs run by Russian trolls generated hundreds of thousands of interactions with anti-Hillary Clinton, pro-Bernie Sanders content.

Discussion: @d1gi and @profcarroll, more at Techmeme »

Financial Times:

Study of 48K Facebook pages and 14K Twitter accounts from Oct. 2017 to Jan.: Trump backers share more extremist and phony posts than all other groups combined — Ultra-rightwing conservatives shared more false stories on Facebook than all other political groups combined in the three months …

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Guardian, Newsweek, The Daily Caller, @markfollman, @stepleton6, @samueloakford, @mattgarrahan, @john_hudson, @solange_lebourg, Harold Capenter, @niemanlab, New York Magazine, Oxford Internet Institute and McClatchy Washington Bureau

Supantha Mukherjee / Reuters:

Tronc has confirmed it is selling the Los Angeles Times and a number of other newspapers to billionaire biotech investor Patrick Soon-Shiong for $500M in cash — (Reuters) - Tronc Inc (TRNC.O) said on Wednesday it would sell some newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune …

Alfred Lee / The Information:

Sources: in Q3 2017, Spotify made €1B in revenue, putting it on track for €4B in full year revenue, up 40% YoY, and had an operating loss between €70M and €90M — Spotify generated a billion euros ($1.2 billion) in revenue in the third quarter of 2017, according to two investors briefed on the numbers.

Discussion: hypebot, more at Techmeme »

Press Gazette:

The main source for a UK investigative news site's story about a Westminster paedophile ring, which sparked a police probe, is charged with child porn offences — The main source for claims reported by now defunct investigative journalism outfit Exaro News about a VIP paedophile ring …

Chris Roush / Talking Biz News:

Investigative reporter David Sirota has resigned from Newsweek-owned International Business Times, after Newsweek EIC and others were fired — David Sirota, who joined International Business Times as a senior writer, focusing on the intersection of Wall Street and politics, four years ago …

Discussion: @kelseymsutton

David Uberti / Splinter:
Memo: Nancy Cooper, IBT's Managing Ed, named acting editor of Newsweek; Jonathan Davis to return as chief content officer pending investigation into current CCO

Discussion: New York Post, Talking Biz News, Paste, @itsdavidford, Press Gazette, The Wrap, The Outline and @daviduberti

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More News:

Corey Ford / A Matter-Driven Narrative:
Matter announces local news bootcamps for for-profit news outlets, working with colleges in MO, NY, CA, and GA, plus Google News Lab and News Media Alliance

Discussion: @morepete, Nieman Lab, AndroidHeadlines.com, The Keyword, @ptalamantes, @coreyford, @newsalliance, @kenromano, @googlenewslab, Editor & Publisher, @mckeanml and @grove

Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:
Megan Greenwell becomes the first female chief editor at Gizmodo Media Group's sports site Deadspin, replacing Tim Marchman who was promoted

Discussion: Fortune, @raju, @megreenwell, @page88, @aliciakennedy, The Wrap, @max_read, @emmaroller, @senari, @michellelegro, @jamilsmith, @amandahess, @djheller, @erikmal, @attackerman, @albertburneko, @minakimes, @stevekandell and @byjoelanderson

Stewart Clarke / Variety:
European Commission conditionally approves Discovery Communications $14.6B takeover deal for Scripps Networks Interactive

Discussion: Engadget

Earlier Picks:

Alex Heath / Cheddar:
Sources: Viacom is to announce another round of layoffs this week affecting dozens of staff, mostly in its sales and marketing divisions

Discussion: @rwmead

Jessica Elgot / The Guardian:
UK's Theresa May launches a review that will examine the health of online ad-driven media and whether state intervention is needed to preserve the press

Discussion: @oldmansaid

From Techmeme:

Raffaele Huang / Wall Street Journal:
Apple removes WhatsApp and Threads from its App Store in China, saying it was ordered to do so by China's cyberspace officials citing national security concerns

Ryan Morrison / Tom's Guide:
Microsoft researchers introduce VASA-1, an AI model that can create a realistic talking face video from a portrait photo and an audio file, in research preview

Zaheer Kachwala / Reuters:
Google says it will consolidate teams that focus on building AI models across Research and DeepMind, and move its Responsible AI teams in Research to DeepMind

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