Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
HBO is offering 500+ hours of free programming, including The Sopranos and Succession, starting Friday, for a limited time via HBO Now and HBO Go — HBO is unlocking its biggest trove of free programming ever — in a goodwill gesture as people look for a diversion during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tatiana Siegel / Hollywood Reporter:
Amazon Prime Video teams up with SXSW to offer free streaming of films that were to be screened at the canceled festival, likely in late April for 10 days — The films will stream for free on the streaming platform over 10 days, likely in late April. — South by Southwest 2020 …
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Sara Fischer / Axios:
Memo: Google will begin letting some advertisers run COVID-19 related ads, prioritizing government entities, hospitals, and others working directly on the issue — Democrats had criticized Google for refusing to run attack ads targeting Trump's coronavirus response.
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
An OANN correspondent returned to the White House briefing room despite a WHCA vote to bar the outlet; WHCA president says she should sit with WH press aides — A cable news correspondent who has been barred from White House briefings by a journalists' organization said Thursday …
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Eli Stokols / Los Angeles Times:
WHCA board votes to remove One America News from the rotation for WH briefing room seats for violating social distancing rules, citing public safety
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New York Times:
How Modi has become more blatant in efforts to control Indian media amid the pandemic, after years of pressure on advertisers, licensing restrictions, more — India's government has pressured advertisers and even shut down channels to shape the information that 1.3 billion Indians receive.
Scott Nover / Adweek:
Sources: 20-30 people have been laid off from CQ Roll Call, mostly from the editorial department; the news outlet was bought by FiscalNote for $180M in 2018 — It's the latest in a series of layoffs afflicting the media industry this month — Key insights:
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@scottnover, @jackietothdc, @fawnjohnson, @cahnemily, @joshtpm, @ericmgarcia and @alexclearfield
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
A deep dive into the deal between Apple and Amazon which lets the retail giant process some payments in Prime Video app, and the motivations of both companies — Benjamin Mayo, writing for 9to5Mac yesterday: … I've been digging into this since the news broke, and I think it's even more significant than Mayo suggests.
Discussion:
9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
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Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple now lets some video streaming apps, like Amazon Prime Video, use their own payment methods for in-app purchases on Apple devices, avoiding Apple's 30% cut
Discussion:
/Film, Gizmodo, @tigesavage, @harrymccracken, CNBC, @markgurman, ZDNet, Business Insider, The Streamable, @whatthebit, @markgurman, @pierce, @jeffjohnroberts, @brianb, @markgurman, @jlantunez, @bzamayo, @backlon, @nickstatt, Variety, The Verge, The Mac Observer, The Mac Observer, TechCrunch, CNET and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Sarah Whitten / CNBC:
Disney plans to furlough some non-union employees in its parks, experiences, and products unit starting April 19, will pay for health insurance during furlough — - Disney will furlough its non-union park employees starting on April 19. — During the furlough, employees …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, The Hill, Deadline, Variety, @scottgustin, @markwillard85, @callmenapkins, @scottgustin, @zachhayesyt, @scottgustin and @scottgustin
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Ofcom warns broadcasters of sanctions if they air false COVID-19 health advice after a radio station aired a baseless suggestion that the virus is linked to 5G — Broadcasters warned they face sanctions if they give airtime to false Covid-19 health advice — British broadcasters …
Discussion:
Press Gazette, @karlbode, @jimwaterson and @alistaircoleman
Jennifer Maas / The Wrap:
T-Mobile is offering a free subscription to short-form video service Quibi for one year, for customers of its unlimited wireless family plan — Jeffrey Katzenberg's short-form content streaming service launches April 6 — T-Mobile is giving away one year of Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman's upcoming …
Discussion:
Business Wire, /Film, Adweek, The Streamable, Broadcasting & Cable, TechCrunch and CNET
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Source: Comcast's NBCUniversal and Sky to delay the launch of NBC Sky World News, a news service aimed at global English-speaking audiences, due to the pandemic — NBC Sky World News, the ambitious news service aimed at English-speaking audiences around the world that was expected to launch this summer, is on hold.
Discussion:
TVNewser
David Bloom / Forbes:
Penske Media plans to launch Sportico, which will focus on the business side of sports, by June or July; Dick Glover to be the CEO and Scott Soshnick the EIC — I'm a media/tech/entertainment writer, podcaster, speaker and analyst — Penske Media Corp. said today it is launching Sportico …
Discussion:
@soshnick, Variety, @brizilla, @darrenrovell, @ltwphilly, @gloverd, Deadline, Sports Illustrated and @reshmanuel
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