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, Billboard, The Streamable, Awful Announcing, Observer, ProFootballTalk, 9to5Mac, MediaPost, Sportico, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Next TV, @trippmickle, @trevordmoretz, Front Office Sports, The Verge, CBS News, @nomoremister, The Wrap, Daily Herald, Ad Age, Bloomberg and Deadline, 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:
Washington Post, @bgrueskin, @electproject, @electproject, @cliffordlevy, @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?
Discussion:
@jonquilynhill, @otherwilljames, @donetodeath, @risj_oxford, @reblavoie, @jennromolini, @leah_sottile, @tonyamosley, @revjohndelore, @lafergs, @albanbrooke, @tnwhiskeywoman, @norabz, @starleekine, @stephenwilson, @kallipearl, @lrmayer, @davechensky, @lizzieohreally, @lrmayer and @keithrhernandez, more at Techmeme »
Laura Wagner / Defector:
In a memo, Axios encourages staffers to promote Smart Brevity, a new book by its co-founders, including buying six copies and expensing the cost to Axios — Axios staffers received a memo on Monday suggesting several ways they could help promote a new book, Smart Brevity …
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, @hedgeyecomm, C21Media, @jasonhirschhorn, @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, @gregt2u2, New York Post, 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
RELATED:
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, Awful Announcing, Axios, @alexweprin, @bmarcello, Rolling Stone, @jyarow, @marshacollier, Sports Media Watch, TechCrunch, Forbes, The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, CNN, Wall Street Journal, The Streamable, CNBC, Deadline and IndieWire
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
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
Reuters:
France plans to impose a minimum €3 delivery fee for online book orders under €35 to help independent bookstores compete with big sellers like Amazon and Fnac — 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:
@victoriacoates, The Verge and Politico, more at Techmeme »
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:
CNET, TechRadar, Gizmodo, @amy_stewart, @authorsguild, @vanjchan, @authorsguild, @victoriastrauss, The Verge and Publishers Weekly
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, The Guardian, The Guardian, Screen, The Hollywood Reporter, Televisual, Advanced Television, Deadline and Variety