Top News:
Dave McNary / Variety:
Cineworld joins AMC Theatres in refusing to show Universal Pictures films after NBCUniversal CEO's promise to open titles simultaneously on PVOD and in theaters — Cineworld, owner of the Regal Entertainment exhibition chain, is joining AMC Theatres in refusing to play any Universal Pictures films …
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Thom Geier / The Wrap:
Universal says Trolls World Tour on-demand release has netted ~5M downloads; source: it's made $77M in revenue from the 80% it retains from digital rental fees
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Wall Street Journal, The Verge, Variety, Business Insider, Fox News, The Week, MediaPost, @zeitchikwapo, @zeitchikwapo, @zeitchikwapo, @zeitchikwapo, @mortuaryreport, @bookishplinko, @scrawfish, @scott_tobias, @witneyseibold, @wsj, @frankpallotta, @edmundlee, @awallenstein, @mjsamps, @davidlsims, @cinematicbanter and @dkthomp
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Spotify beats with Q1 revenue of €1.8B and net income of €1M, with MAUs up 31% YoY to 286M, premium users up 31% to 130M, and ad-supported MAUs up 32% to 163M — The coronavirus may be decimating some corners of the economy, but the impact on the digital music …
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Spotify, Los Angeles Times, Variety, @ingridlunden, @thr, Ad Age, @philipmorton, @ncsh, The Wrap, Fast Company, VentureBeat and Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »
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Kerry Flynn / CNN:
Spotify says TV and game console usage is up by 50% due to the pandemic, with increased consumption of wellness podcasts and searches for terms like “chill”
Discussion:
@brianstelter and TechCrunch
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Spotify-owned Anchor introduces a feature that will allow creators to turn their video chats and virtual hangouts into podcast-ready audio
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Input, Mobile Marketer, @rfaughnder, @ivan_brussels, MediaPost, @rverrier, @leimer, Engadget, Anchor, Engadget, Marketing Land, The Verge and Hot Pod News
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The Guardian says it had 821,000 readers making monthly contributions at the end of March, up 23% YoY; digital app subscriptions grew by 39% YoY to 265,000 — The Guardian's reader revenues have grown at record rates since the coronavirus crisis began and one of the UK's biggest regional dailies follows …
Discussion:
The Guardian, HoldtheFrontPage, @kathviner, @pzfahad, @janebsinger, @grahamruthven, @johnharris1969 and @jonathanwatts
Tim Baysinger / The Wrap:
Amazon renews its NFL deal for 3 more seasons, with Amazon and Twitch getting exclusive global rights to one late-season Saturday game each season — Amazon will stream “Thursday Night Football” for three more seasons and get an additional game all to itself in a new deal with the NFL.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Variety, CNBC, Hollywood Reporter, The Streamable, @pkafka, @carlquintanilla, @awfulannouncing, @sherman4949, Axios, @pkafka, @darrenrovell, Ad Age, @sherman4949, @pkafka, @claireatki and @latimesent
Sam Stanton / Sacramento Bee:
Probation officials allege Matthew Keys violated the conditions of his supervised release from prison by deleting Comstock magazine's YouTube videos and account — Sacramento journalist Matthew Keys first came to notoriety because of his mastery of computers.
Discussion:
@bendreyfuss, @nickmiller510 and @jowens510
Max Willens / Digiday:
As Facebook ad rates nosedive, publishers are using them to drive subscribers; Condé Nast says 50% of its new subscriptions are from paid efforts — Over the past seven weeks, many publishers have welcomed a coronavirus bump in subscribers as news consumption rises.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
The Daily Beast:
NY Post announces cost-cutting measures, including laying off staff, cutting freelance budgets, and freezing hiring; sources: over a dozen have been laid off — Employees were informed Wednesday of plans to freeze all new hiring, cut and even eliminate most freelance budgets, and lay off some staff.
Discussion:
@joereubens, @wlabovitz, @lalpert1, @lalpert1 and @claireatki
Patrick Brzeski / Hollywood Reporter:
Head of China's Film Bureau says cinemas are expected to reopen in early June; Chinese officials estimate lost box office revenue at $4.2B in total so far — Movie theaters in China, the world's second-biggest film market, have been closed since late January, weeks before they shut down in North America.
Discussion:
Variety, /Film, The Playlist, @lucas_shaw, @bicaraboxoffice and IndieWire
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Nielsen: CNN saw an increase of 179% in viewers between the ages of 25 and 54 in April, while Fox News grew 83% and MSNBC grew 54% — Viewership for all three of the nation's main cable-news outlets soared in April as viewers tuned in at all hours for information on the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Discussion:
Mediaite, New York Times, @poynter, The Media Nut, Poynter, The Wrap, TVNewser and Raw Story
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
BBC announces pay and hiring cuts as it predicts £125M lower income this year as revenue from its commercial arm dips and people stop paying the license fee — Boss Tony Hall says licence fee and commercial revenues are being hit by Covid-19 pandemic
Discussion:
@jimwaterson
Oliver Darcy / CNN:
Tucker Carlson hyped a YouTube video of two doctors who incorrectly downplayed the COVID-19 threat, and the Fox host also slammed YouTube for removing the video — (CNN Business)A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. You can sign up for free right here.
Discussion:
VICE, NBC News, @jason_koebler, @jeremymbarr, @jeremymbarr, @jason_koebler, @jason_koebler, @brianstelter, Mediaite and AAEM
Matthew Moore / The Times:
Facebook poaches Tony Close, director of content standards at Ofcom, as director of content regulation; Ofcom is preparing to regulate social media companies — A senior official at the watchdog preparing to regulate social media companies has been poached by Facebook to help it respond to the curbs.
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