Top News:
Netflix:
Netflix reports Q1 revenue of $7.16B, up 24% YoY, and 208M paid memberships, up 14% YoY but below its forecast of 210M; stock down 10%+ after hours — Revenue grew 24% year over year and was in line with our beginning of quarter forecast, while operating profit and margin reached all-time highs.
Discussion:
Variety, Financial Times, Digiday, @lucas_shaw, Variety, The Playlist, FierceVideo, CNBC, MediaNama, @charliebilello, @variety, @lucas_shaw, @tvmojoe, @tvmojoe, @tvmojoe, @pkafka, @thestalwart, @mylesudland, Forbes, Hollywood Reporter, musically.com, Junghoon's Direct Media …, The Verge, Ad Age, ZDNet, IndieWire, Light Reading, MediaPost, Protocol, The Wrap, TechCrunch, Yahoo Finance and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »
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Competitors like Disney+, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime Video have cut into Netflix's share of viewer attention, but the company is in its best financial shape ever — The streaming service reported the addition of four million new customers for the first quarter, below the six million it had forecast.
Discussion:
Axios, @edmundlee, @xpangler, @shakeelhashim, Collider, Variety, CNBC and New York Times

Apple unveils in-app subscriptions for Apple Podcasts; Apple will take 30% of revenue in the first year, and 15% in following years — For ad-free, early access, and bonus content — A monumental change is coming to Apple Podcasts' business: the company is launching subscriptions within the Apple Podcasts app.
Discussion:
Vox, Apple, @mattmedeiros, MediaPost, Matt on Audio, @ashleyrcarman, @kantrowitz, One Man & His Blog, Los Angeles Times, @jakeshapiro, @patreon, Podnews podcasting news, Nieman Lab, @simonowens, @ashleyrcarman, TechCrunch, @grovesprof, PRX Official, 9to5Mac, @nwquah, Supporting Cast, Nathan Gathright, Variety, Castos, Complete Music Update, @kylekashuv, @aexm, @kantrowitz, What's New in Publishing, @karaswisher, @caseynewton, @kevin_indig, @cheriehu42, @gauravchoudhury, @chrismessina, @ashleyrcarman, @alexeheath, @prodanstatev, @theshortboxjax, @lanterncast, @achangeoftune, @chrismessina, @nprextra, @sidharthajha, @pkafka, @sims, @itstreverr, @ow, @godfree, @simonowens, @ashleyrcarman, @heyheyesj, @simonowens, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, Mumbrella, Wall Street Journal, RAIN News, AppleInsider, ScreenRant, Gizmodo, The Wrap, CNET, MacRumors and Reuters

Outbrain confidentially files for an IPO, seeking a $2B valuation, after the abandonment of its earlier attempted merger with rival Taboola — Ad-tech company seeks $2 billion valuation in planned IPO
Discussion:
Yahoo Finance, @ediggs and @adweek, more at Techmeme »

Reporters Without Borders ranks China fourth to last out of 180 countries on its 2021 World Press Freedom Index, citing “grave threat” to Hong Kong journalism — China ranked 177th in 2019, 2020 and 2021, down from a period at 176th from 2015 to 2018.
Discussion:
TIME, Washington Post and Editor and Publisher
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Reporters Without Borders:
RSF's 2021 Press Freedom Index finds journalism is totally blocked or seriously impeded in 73 of 180 countries and constrained in 59 others; US ranks 44th
RSF's 2021 Press Freedom Index finds journalism is totally blocked or seriously impeded in 73 of 180 countries and constrained in 59 others; US ranks 44th
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @michaelsalamone, Washington Post, @lcmporter, @sophia_yan, @withmeaa, @cdeloire, Associated Press, @radiofreeasia, @uspresstracker, @juliemajerczak, @thewire_in, @janebsinger, @rasmus_kleis, Voice of America, Newser, American Press Institute, EURACTIV.com, The Wire, EURACTIV.com, The Hill, Politico, Scroll.in and The Guardian

NBCUniversal hires Nielsen exec Kelly Abcarian as its first EVP of measurement and impact, and says it is spending $100M+ annually on data and tech initiatives — The media giant is spending more than $100 million annually on data and technology initiatives
Discussion:
MediaPost, Variety, @lindayacc, @sizpatel and @beet_tv

Roku rebrands Quibi content as Roku Originals and says those 75+ shows will be available to watch for free on the ad-supported Roku Channel later this year — Roku is officially dropping the Quibi name. … The 75-plus original shows from Quibi will be available to watch for free …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, The Streamable, Adweek, @caro, @jeremarketer, The Verge, Hollywood Reporter, @sepinwall, @xpangler, WORLD SCREEN, Bloody Disgusting! and Cord Cutters News

Byron Allen launches Local Now, a free ad-supported streamer that aggregates 300+ hyperlocal channels across 225 markets in the US — Local Now, the free ad-supported streamer, has kicked off on most major platforms. Local Now aggregates and streams local news, weather, sports, traffic and entertainment in real time.
Discussion:
@michellemanafy and The Wrap

Bloomberg Media says its revenue grew ~30% YoY in Q1, as it hit more than 300,000 active subscribers, up from 250,000 in Q4 2020 — One to watch at this year's Upfront and Newfront advertising presentations (held virtually again in 2021): Bloomberg Media. — What to watch …
Discussion:
Talking Biz News, @alecmacgillis and @rafat

Simon & Schuster refuses to cancel a seven-figure book deal for Mike Pence's memoir, after staff open letter accused the publisher of “legitimising bigotry” — Simon & Schuster president Jonathan Karp says seven-figure book deal will go ahead, after open letter …
Discussion:
Insider, Wall Street Journal, @bencjacobs, @jasonleopold, @oliverdarcy, The Week and Bookseller News

AP says StoryShare will expand in the coming months from geographic to topical networks, letting newsrooms share around topics like storms and gun control — “This is about giving customers the capability to launch networks and improve coverage.”
Discussion:
@norgillespie and @sarafischer

UK government drops plans for US-style TV briefings; press secretary Allegra Stratton will become Boris Johnson's spokeswoman on the climate change summit Cop26 — Proposals for White House-style televised presentations shelved as press secretary changes jobs
Discussion:
@thattimwalker, @theobuttphilip, Press Gazette, @tomstaniford and @thattimwalker