Top News:
Tripp Mickle / New York Times:
Apple signs a multiyear NFL deal to have Apple Music replace Pepsi as the main sponsor for the Super Bowl halftime show; sources say the NFL was seeking ~$50M — Apple's pursuit of an N.F.L. media package has broadened to include a sponsorship of one of TV's most-watched events.
Discussion:
Sports Business Journal, The Streamable, Billboard, Observer, Awful Announcing, MediaPost, Wall Street Journal, Next TV, Sportico, Fortune, The Wrap, 9to5Mac, Ad Age, @trippmickle, @trevordmoretz, Front Office Sports, The Verge, CBS News, Daily Herald, Deadline and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Adam Goldman / New York Times:
A jury finds Project Veritas broke wiretapping laws and fraudulently misrepresented itself to Democratic political consultants; Project Veritas plans to appeal — The conservative group was found to have violated wiretapping laws and fraudulently misrepresented itself to a Democratic consulting firm …
Discussion:
@bgrueskin, @electproject, @electproject, @erikwemple, @kimmasters, @electproject, @dangillmor, @electproject, Politico and Project Veritas
Nicholas Quah / Vulture:
A look at the crowded podcast market, where competition has made almost everything in the business more difficult, and some say no one is taking creative risks — It's been ages since the last blockbuster narrative show. What does that mean for the medium as an art form?
Jolie Lash / The Wrap:
Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier is leaving to join Roku in October as president of Roku Media, overseeing ad sales, its ad platform business, and content — Fox Entertainment chief executive officer Charlie Collier is exiting the company and heading to Roku next month.
Discussion:
Variety, Variety, Observer, MediaPost, Ad Age, TBI Vision, @jasonhirschhorn, @hedgeyecomm, C21Media, @variety, Advanced Television, Media Play News, Adweek, WORLD SCREEN and Deadline
Chris Willman / Variety:
Timbaland and Swizz Beatz settle a missed payments lawsuit with Triller after Triller acquired their music series Verzuz in March 2021; terms were not disclosed — Swizz Beatz and Timbaland have settled their lawsuit with Triller, after suing the service last month for $28 million …
Discussion:
Billboard, New York Post, @gregt2u2, Complete Music Update, UPROXX, Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone and The Hollywood Reporter
Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:
Amazon's prohibition on alcohol ads on Prime Video means its NFL broadcasts break with the longstanding tradition of featuring ads for beer brands — To many viewers, Amazon.com Inc.'s first exclusive “Thursday Night Football” game last week looked like a typical NFL broadcast.
Discussion:
@sportsrapport, @newsynick and @gerryfsmith
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Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:
Nielsen says Amazon Prime Video's first Thursday Night Football game averaged 13.03M viewers; Amazon claimed 15.3M viewers after guaranteeing advertisers 12.5M
Nielsen says Amazon Prime Video's first Thursday Night Football game averaged 13.03M viewers; Amazon claimed 15.3M viewers after guaranteeing advertisers 12.5M
Discussion:
Sports Business Journal, @andrewmarchand, Ad Age, Awful Announcing, Amazon Studios, Axios, Awful Announcing, @alexweprin, Rolling Stone, @bmarcello, @jyarow, @marshacollier, Sports Media Watch, TechCrunch, Forbes, The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, CNN, Wall Street Journal, The Streamable, CNBC, Deadline and IndieWire
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik:
Memo: NPR CEO announces the reintroduction of the chief content officer position, eliminated in 2014, to oversee news, programming, digital, and other divisions — NEWS ABOUT NPR: NPR's CEO, John Lansing, today announced that the network will create position of chief content officer, to oversee its news, programming, digital and other divisions. In a memo, Lansing said new exec would “chart the unified vision for all NPR content” /MORE
Discussion:
@wynn_atwork
Perry Bacon Jr / Washington Post:
Everyone deserves thriving local news, not just those who live in a few lucky cities and states blessed by a nearby rich person, foundation, or other entity — We are in the middle of a sustained, aggressive response to the huge decline in local news in America.
Discussion:
@marynewsom, @perrybaconjr, @perrybaconjr, @perrybaconjr, @perrybaconjr and @perrybaconjr
Rich Iurilli / The Authors Guild:
The Authors Guild says Amazon agreed to limit ebook returns for those who have read over 10% starting soon, after complaints over returning fully read books — The Authors Guild is proud to report that our discussions with Amazon's senior executive team concerning the platform's policy …
Discussion:
Gizmodo, @amy_stewart, @authorsguild, @vanjchan, @authorsguild, @victoriastrauss, The Verge and Publishers Weekly
Reuters:
France plans to impose a €3 minimum delivery fee for online book orders of less than €35 to help independent bookstores compete against big sellers like Amazon — France plans to impose a minimum delivery fee of 3 euros ($2.93) for online book orders of less than 35 euros to level …
Discussion:
The Verge and Politico, more at Techmeme »
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
The British Film Institute unveils a National Lottery Strategy for 2023-2033, including spending £136M over the first three years, and plans for a BFI+ streamer — The British Film Institute (BFI), the U.K.'s lead organization for film and the moving image, has set out a new …
Discussion:
Deadline, Variety, The Guardian, The Guardian, Deadline, Screen, The Hollywood Reporter, Televisual and Advanced Television
Eliza Mackintosh / CNN:
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi withdrew from a long-planned interview with Christiane Amanpour after she declined his last-minute demand to wear a head scarf — Iran's President cancels interview after Amanpour refuses head scarf demand — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi withdrew …
Discussion:
@amanpour, New York Post, @amanpour, @amanpour, @amanpour, Deadline, @marklittlenews, @dandrezner, The Daily Beast, @mehdirhasan, @sphillipsab, @saragoldrickrab, @nprkelly, @casmudde, @murphyslaw74, @jimsciutto, @kathapollitt, @mrjoelclark, @henrymance, @elizabethcnn, @amanpour, @amanpour, @amanpour, The Hill, 世.走走, The Economic Times, NBC News, NPR, The Guardian and The Wrap