Top News:
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Richard Sharp resigns as BBC chair after months of mounting pressure over his role in helping Boris Johnson get a loan and handling of the Gary Lineker row — Investigation says Sharp broke rules on public appointments, creating ‘potential perceived conflict of interest’
Discussion:
BBC, The Wrap, New York Times, Financial Times, NPR, The Sun, Los Angeles Times, Deadline, @bbcbreaking, @ianclucas, @jneill, @janemartinson, @craigoliver100, @lucympowell, @lewis_goodall, @arusbridger, @grouse_beater, @life_disrupted, @richardjmurphy, @edwinhayward, BBC, @thenewsagents, @eggsbened, @edwina_currie, @loxyflo, The Desk, @wowestminster, @cstsher, @gralefrit, @kevin_maguire, @trevorw1953, @bladeofthes, Bloomberg, GOV.UK, @writesbright, Bloomberg.com, @gabriel_pogrund, Raw Story, @greenpartyjack, @johnkampfner, @rasmus_kleis, @itvnewspolitics, @amocs, @pippacrerar, Metro.co.uk, Broadband TV News, Variety, NBC 6 South Florida and The Hollywood Reporter
Raisa Patel / Toronto Star:
Canada's Online Streaming Act passes its final Senate vote; the law requires streaming services to support Canadian content and gives the CRTC regulatory power — Bill C-11 was introduced early last year in an attempt to subject streaming giants like Netflix, Disney Plus …
Matthew Keys / The Desk:
Sinclair is replacing local newscasts at Toledo's WNWO and Southern Oregon's KTVL with The National Desk, and laying off their entire newsrooms — Sinclair Broadcast Group is pulling local news from its Toledo NBC affiliate, a move that was described as a way to “ensure our long-term success.”
Discussion:
OPB, @ccolin, FTVLive and @thedeskdotnet, Thanks:@matthewkeyslive
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Pinterest announces a multi-year strategic ad partnership with Amazon, its first ads partner, to bring more brands and relevant products to the social network — Pinterest today announced a multiyear strategic ad partnership with Amazon aimed at bringing more brands and relevant products to its platform.
Discussion:
MediaPost, MarketWatch, Pinterest, Search Engine Land, The Information, The Bookseller and The Information, more at Techmeme »
Blake Brittain / Reuters:
Filing: Triller agrees to pay Sony Music $4.5M+ to settle claims that Triller breached a contract covering its use of musicians' songs on the platform — TikTok rival Triller Inc has agreed to pay Sony Music Entertainment (6758.T) more than $4.5 million to resolve claims that Triller breached …
Discussion:
Variety, Complete Music Update, Music Ally, @reuterslegal, Digital Music News, @reuterslegal, Billboard and Music Business Worldwide
Ellen Huet / Bloomberg:
Clubhouse plans to lay off 50%+ of its employees and “reset” the company, despite claiming to have “years of runway”; Clubhouse had ~100 staff in October 2022 — Clubhouse, the pandemic-era social media sensation, is cutting more than half of its employees, the company said in a blog post on Thursday.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Clubhouse Blog, Variety, Fortune, Axios, @ankit_quant, @melknee, @kateclarktweets, @pdavison, Music Ally, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, The Information and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Gavin J Blair / The Hollywood Reporter:
Sony Pictures reports FY 2021 operating income down 45% YoY to $894M, as revenue fell by $851M, and a Q4 profit of $119M on revenue of $2.71B — Sony's movie division was hurt by a lack of big hits and one-off gains, while music and sensors businesses continue to thrive.
Discussion:
Billboard, Reuters and Deadline, more at Techmeme »
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
On earnings calls, Spotify's Daniel Ek says generative AI should lead to more music creation but, like UMG's Lucian Grainge, raises copyright concerns — Hello and welcome back to Soundbite. Today we have a grab bag of news. As always, if you have something to share, reach me through email …
Discussion:
MediaNama and Music Business Worldwide
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Photos of President Biden holding a notecard previewing a reporter's question reveal the long-standing practice of stage-managing presidential news conferences — President Biden was photographed holding a note card Wednesday, revealing the stage managing behind many political media events
Discussion:
Axios, Fox News, Breitbart, @imillhiser, @scalzi, @washingtonpost, @local12, @holden114, @kerryeleveld, @farnoushamiri, @metzgov, @hughhewitt, Voice of America, @edmorrissey, @jdawsey1, CNN, New York Post, The Hill, Mediaite, Fox News and Fox News
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
NBA's Phoenix Suns sign a deal with Gray Television for broadcast rights and Kiswe for streaming; games will be available to 2.8M households, triple the old RSN — All local Suns and Mercury games will air on broadcast TV, with a paid streaming option for cord-cutters.
Discussion:
The Desk, The Streamable, Sportico, Next TV, Awful Announcing, CNBC, Bloomberg, Front Office Sports, Sports Business Journal and The Athletic
Russell Brandom / Rest of World:
Since Elon Musk's takeover, Twitter has received 971 government orders globally and has fully complied with 808, an 83% compliance rate, vs. ~50% before Musk — The company has not refused a single request since Musk took ownership, according to self-reported data
Discussion:
Insider, @jsrailton, @invisiblesmuros, @tomcoates, @moeedahmed, @kenroth, @samsacks, @iamcouncil, Gizmodo, @restofworld, @mehdirhasan, Quartz, CNN, MediaNama, Bloomberg and Digiday
Peter White / Deadline:
Scott Greenberg, co-founder and CEO of Fox-owned animation studio Bento Box Entertainment and CEO of Fox's Blockchain Creative Labs, is leaving on May 19 — EXCLUSIVE: Scott Greenberg, co-founder and CEO of Fox's animation studio Bento Box Entertainment, the company behind Dan Harmon's Krapopolis …