Top News:
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Fox says it's sold 90% of its ad inventory in its share of MLB games for the 2020 season, the latest sign that sports will lead TV through the financial crisis — Baseball advertising appears to have pivoted from a months-long slump to hitting above average.
Discussion:
MediaPost, CNBC, Sports Business Daily, @ourand_sbj, @dianepavlick, CNN and Adweek
Rachel Abrams / New York Times:
NYT to buy Serial Productions, maker of the podcast Serial for, source says, $25M; NYT also enters marketing and ad sales partnership with This American Life — The Times, capitalizing on the success of its “Daily” podcast, continues an expansion into audio journalism.
Julia Alexander / The Verge:
AT&T says HBO Max has 4M+ customers; users spend 70% more time on HBO Max than on HBO Now, which is available on Roku and Amazon Fire TV — The question is whether those numbers were hurt by ongoing Roku and Amazon deals — HBO Max has signed up more just over four million customers since …
Discussion:
The Streamable
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Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Plex launches 80+ free live TV channels accessible by both free users and subscribers with news, sports, film, classic TV, comedy, anime, and more — Streaming media platform Plex announced today it's further expanding into live TV with the addition of over 80 free live TV channels accessible by free users and subscribers alike.
Discussion:
The Streamable and Plex, more at Techmeme »
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Twitter misses Q2 expectations with revenue of $683M, down 19% YoY, but reports 186M mDAUs, up 34% YoY, and ad revenue of $562M, down 23% YoY — - Twitter reported second-quarter earnings Thursday that missed analyst expectations on revenue, but showed strong growth in users.
Discussion:
VentureBeat, The Wrap, The Media Nut, The Hill, @carnage4life, @twitterir, @twitterir, @twitterir, @twitterir, @twitterir, @twitterir, CoinDesk, @twitterir, @twitterir, The Verge and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Sahil Patel / Wall Street Journal:
Sports media company Religion of Sports, co-founded by Tom Brady, Michael Strahan, and Gotham Chopra, raises $10M Series A — Religion of Sports Media Inc. has produced series for Apple, Facebook and Showtime — Religion of Sports Media Inc., a media venture co-founded by NFL legends Tom Brady …
Tom Kludt / Vanity Fair:
Sports journalists describe experiencing and chronicling the unprecedented NBA bubble, the strict restrictions on access, Zoom press conferences, and more — With a frat party-meets-biopshere vibe, quarantining in Disney is a once-in-a-lifetime assignment—and a precarious one, as an outbreak could cost billions.
Discussion:
Deez Links, @ben_espn, @tomkludt and @tomkludt
Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
Daily Mail owner DMGT: ad revenue fell 45% YoY and circulation revenue 12% YoY in 3 months to June 30 with an operating loss of £2M vs. £22M profit last year — The Mail titles returned to profit in June but saw revenue down 30% in the second quarter of the year.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: DOJ won't oppose Taboola's deal to buy Outbrain, which would give Outbrain shareholders $250M and 30% of new company's stock; deal faces UK hurdles — Antitrust officials, after studying proposed merger of industry leaders, don't object at the altar
Discussion:
Adweek, @derekwillis, @richardmorrison, @katzish, @sophiekleeman, @andrewwrites, @parismartineau, @wsjmarkets, @fmanjoo and The Verge
Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review:
Media focus on Trump's “sober” or “somber” tone in Tuesday's briefing reflects a superficial obsession with style or wishful thinking about his leadership — What is it that people say about the definition of insanity? On Monday, President Trump said he would bring …
Discussion:
@thedailyshow, @jamesfallows, Press Watch, @jon_allsop, @pwnallthethings, @jayrosen_nyu, @jamesfallows, @jayrosen_nyu, @heerjeet, @heerjeet, @joshfoxfilm, @brianbeutler, @jayrosen_nyu, @thedailyshow, @deborahblum, @eugene_robinson, @cjr, @jayrosen_nyu, USA Today, The Daily Beast, CNN, The Wrap and Fox News
Anthony D'Alessandro / Deadline:
AMC Theatres again delays reopening to mid-to-late August in the US, but says one third of its cinemas in Europe and the Middle East are open — Just because Warner Bros. took Christopher Nolan's Tenet temporarily off the release schedule doesn't mean that the No. 1 theater chain isn't going to reopen.
Discussion:
Variety
Elizabeth A. Harris / New York Times:
Amid the spring pandemic lockdown, people in the book publishing industry say book sales jumped at big-box chains, grocery chains, and pharmacies — Book sales jumped at big box stores this spring, which stayed open and stocked with essentials while other shops closed.
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