Mediagazer: Spotify gives its Android app's home screen separate feeds for Music and Podcasts & Shows to better highlight recommendations, will bring the change to iOS soon (Aisha Malik/TechCrunch)

9:00 AM ET, August 10, 2022

Top News:

Sources: Walmart has held talks with Paramount, Disney, and Comcast, as the retailer explores bundling a streaming service into its Walmart+ membership program — The retail giant is exploring bundling a streaming service into its Walmart+ membership program.

J. Clara Chan / The Hollywood Reporter:

BuzzFeed reports Q2 revenue up 20% YoY to $106.8M, including Complex Networks, a $23.6M net loss, vs. $0.8M YoY, and time spent down 19% YoY to 154M hours — BZFD stock has dropped roughly 50 percent in price over the past six months. — BuzzFeed brought in $106.8 million in revenue during …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, @joshsternberg and @thr

Peter Kafka / Vox:

Axios, Politico, Punchbowl, and other Washington-focused outlets owe a lot of their success to ad deals with Meta, Alphabet, and other Big Tech companies — Money from Meta — and the rest of Big Tech — is pouring into Washington publications. — Axios is an against-the-grain success story …

Discussion: The Rebooting, @jessicalessin, @delrey, @lucas_shaw, @sarafischer, @chafkin, @kent_pubcitizen, @leah_nylen, @pkafka, @lutherlowe, @bluestein, @nytimestech, @kerrymflynn, @benmullin and @terronk

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

Spotify gives its Android app's home screen separate feeds for Music and Podcasts & Shows to better highlight recommendations, will bring the change to iOS soon — Spotify announced today that it's launching a new Home experience that includes separate feeds for “Music” and “Podcasts & Shows.”

Discussion: Spotify, Complete Music Update, Music Ally, @alexhern and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Kara Swisher plans to stop hosting the Code Conference after the 2022 edition to focus on new projects that explore topics beyond tech and reach more people — After 20 years, this year's annual Code Conference from Vox Media will be Kara Swisher's last year hosting and organizing the event, Swisher told Axios.

Discussion: @mediaevan, @sarafischer, @taylorlorenz and @taylorlorenz

Bloomberg:

Sources: the US DOJ is preparing to sue Google over its ad market business as soon as September, as the DOJ's antitrust division lawyers interview publishers — The US Justice Department is preparing to sue Google as soon as next month, according to people familiar with the matter …

Discussion: Engadget, CNET, @anthony, TechCrunch and AppleInsider, more at Techmeme »

Brandon Katz / The Wrap:

Fox Corp reports Q4 revenue rose 5% YoY to $3.03B, with ad revenue up 7% YoY, and net income of $308M; FY 2022 revenue was $13.97B, with $1.23B net income — Despite concerns that a looming recession would depress ad sales, Fox Corp. is bucking the trend thus far.

Discussion: Variety, Deadline, @great_katzby, The Hollywood Reporter and Fox Corp

Lachlan Markay / Axios:

Filings: Russia-backed TV Novosti and two entities are funding four news-style TV shows from US conspiracy theorist Ben Swann, covering the US, NATO, and more — Russia's state-backed media apparatus is financing four new TV programs produced by a U.S. conspiracy theorist and aimed in large part …

Discussion: @lachlan, @ldrogen, @robertcaruso, @m_c_klein, @andrewsweiss and @andrew_danieri

Reuters:

AppLovin offers to buy Unity for $58.85 per share, an 18% premium to Unity's Monday closing price, in a $17.54B all-stock deal; AppLovin's stock drops 10.29% — Gaming software company AppLovin Corp (APP.O) on Tuesday made an offer to buy peer Unity Software Inc (U.N) in a $17.54 billion all-stock deal …

Discussion: AppLovin, The Shortcut, @gandalfpls, @roundhill, @sarthakgh, @eric_seufert, @carnage4life, @stockmktnewz, @eric_seufert, @bloombergasia, @slingshotcap, @richlightshed, CNET, TechCrunch, Bloomberg and AdExchanger, more at Techmeme »

Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:

Spotify quietly begins selling event tickets to users in the US directly, instead of redirecting buyers to Ticketmaster and Eventbrite — Spotify has launched a new site to sell fans tickets to live gigs directly from its platform instead of redirecting users to partners like Ticketmaster and Eventbrite.

Discussion: Engadget and Music Ally, more at Techmeme »

Anna Menta / Decider:

Warner Bros. movies are no longer guaranteed to hit HBO Max after 45 days in theaters; source: the company will decide streaming dates on a “case-by-case basis” — After 48 hours of industry rumors, speculation, and panic over HBO Max, a clearer picture is starting to form.

Discussion: @canadagraphs, The Wrap, The Wrap, @lancestlaurent, @unclegrambo, @decider, Gamereactor UK, Collider, ScreenRant, CBR and @regulartweetsuk

Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Hollywood's streaming evangelism seemingly ends, as WBD shelves Batgirl and David Zaslav says costly movies going straight to streaming offers no economic value

Discussion: @michellemanafy, @variety_cynthia, @drtvlotz, @akstanwyck, @zsharf and @jeffjarvis

Patrick McGee / Financial Times:

Many small businesses that use personalized online ads are cutting back on marketing, in part due to Apple's ATT, as they face rising customer acquisition costs — Online brands reliant on personalised ads ramp back marketing spending — Small businesses are cutting back marketing spending due …

Discussion: @glenngabe, @1br0wn, @nigelbarron and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Miami-based Column, a public benefit company offering software to streamline placing public notices in newspapers, raised a $30M Series A led by Lux Capital — Column, a public benefit company that provides software to streamline the placement of public notices, has raised a $30 million series …

Discussion: @jeffjarvis, @joshua__hone, @sarafischer, @anniebishai and @lux_capital, more at Techmeme »

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 9:00 AM ET, August 10, 2022.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Deputy Ed. - Gen. Assignment Desk, DC — WaPo

EU Technology Reporter, Brussels — Bloomberg

Breaking News Reporter, NY — Guardian US

Harrisburg Reporter, PA — PCBC

Senior Editor - Styles, NY — NYT

Part-time Editor, Remote — Techmeme

Home & Travel Reporter, Ireland — Newsweek

Assistant Digital Editor, MA — Boston Globe

Senior Editor - Visuals (Temporary), DC — NPR

Copy Editor, Remote US — ProPublica

Markets Reporter, NY/CA — Sherwood Media

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Food Reporter, CA — SF Standard

Staff Writer, NV — Las Vegas Weekly

Pharma Editor, Remote — Endpoints

Higher Ed. Reporter, Remote CA — EdSource

Politics Reporter, Brussels — Politico

Investigations & Enterprise Ed., WI — Cap Times

Social Strategy Editor, NY — WSJ

Senior Narrative Editor, CA — Cloud Chamber

Editor-in-Chief, NY (flexible) — The 74

Housing Reporter, OK — The Frontier

Writer/AI Content Reviewer, CA — Outlier

Writer/Editor, Remote — Mediaite

Multi Media Reporter, NC — Cardinal & Pine

Afternoon/Night Editor, NH — Keene Sentinel

Education Lab Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Senior Editor, Remote US — PCWorld

State Worker Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Executive Editor, NM — Searchlight

News Assistant, NY — Quanta Magazine

Local Editor, NJ (Remote) — Patch

News Writer, CA — Hollywood Reporter

News Editor/Reporter, KS — Blade-Empire

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

Sophie Fullerton / Washington Post:
YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram travel influencers are documenting trips to Syria, helping burnish the regime's image, often sponsored by brands like Surfshark

Discussion: @fared_alhor, @talaramadan, @glcarlstrom, @im_pulse and @florida_sophia

Scott Deveau / Bloomberg:
Nielsen shares rose 21.18% after saying its largest shareholder, WindAcre, was in talks with Elliott and Brookfield to join their $28/share buyout of Nielsen

Discussion: Variety, @variety, Wall Street Journal and Nielsen Holdings plc

New York Times:
Russia has rerouted internet traffic in occupied Ukrainian territories through Russian networks since June 2022, blocking uncensored information and services

Discussion: @nakashimae, @dlepeska, @satariano and @w7voa

Margaret Moffett / The Assembly:
A look at the decline of News & Record, a Greensboro, North Carolina newspaper, starting under Landmark and continuing under BH Media and Lee Enterprises

Discussion: @jeremy_borden, @bretstrelow, @raej, @pottsmark, @travisfain, @efcone, @kate_sheppard, @jcbringle, @paulfain, @tessallen_, @johnrobinson, @joefishertv, @lucyaberrier and @john_drescher

Max Goldbart / Deadline:
The UN raises “grave concerns” with Iran over the treatment of BBC News Persian staff, as Iran claims BBC journalists aimed to “overthrow the Islamic Republic”

Discussion: BBC and Variety

Scott Roxborough / The Hollywood Reporter:
German public broadcaster RBB's director, Patricia Schlesinger, resigned on Sunday, amid media reports she used public funds to bankroll a luxury lifestyle

Earlier Picks:

Sara Fischer / Axios:
The New York Times plans to expand its ad business across its bundled products like games and sports, under new ad executive Mohit Lohia, who joined from Amazon

Discussion: @stephentotilo, @raju, @alex_hardiman and The New York Times Company

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sports media startup Overtime, which targets Gen-Z and millennials, has raised a $100M Series D led by Liberty Media, a source says at a $500M+ valuation

Discussion: @aforevc, @anamitra, @epjackson, Front Office Sports, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, Sportico and Bloomberg

Wall Street Journal:
Despite YouTube suspending hundreds of Kremlin-linked channels, Russia has yet to ban the service, some argue because the Kremlin views it as too big to block

Discussion: @rachaelmyrow, @samschech, @anthony, @mhbergen and Beyond Search

Scott Fybush / Current:
How Appalshop's WMMT, an eastern Kentucky community radio station, and the region's NPR station struggled to report on and recover from recent historic flooding

The Guardian:
News Corp reports Q4 revenue up 7% YoY to $2.67B, $127M net income, WSJ subscriptions up 8% YoY to 3.7M+, and full year 2022 net income up 95% YoY to $760M

Discussion: @jimwaterson, Press Gazette, @talkingbiznews, @wuerker, News Corp, Talking Biz News, Forbes, The Age, MarketWatch, Blue Mountains Gazette, Australian Financial Review and Wall Street Journal

From Techmeme:

Alex Heath / The Verge:
Meta details Llama 3: 8B- and 70B-parameter models, a focus on reducing false refusals, and an upcoming model trained on 15T+ tokens that has 400B+ parameters

David Pierce / The Verge:
Google announces a new Platforms and Devices team overseeing Pixel, Android, Chrome, Photos, and more, to integrate AI across its products, led by Rick Osterloh

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

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page