Top News:
Dominic Patten / Deadline:
Studio and streaming sources: the studios' plan is to “break the WGA” by allowing “things to drag on until union members starting losing their apartments” — EXCLUSIVE: Regardless of whether SAG-AFTRA goes on strike this week, the studios have no intention of sitting …
Discussion:
Screen Rant, The Wrap, NBC 7 San Diego, DiscussingFilm, UPROXX, Collider, @joshgondelman, Vanity Fair, @tananarivedue.bsky.social, @musezack, @briangaar, Durnesque-Esque, @thewritegame, @kbeninato@mstdn.party, @guyendorekaiser, @pascaleand0r, @jeremyoharris, @nycsouthpaw, @pranobaileybond, @popcrave, @aodespair, @dcbicki, @notcapnamerica, @deadline, @lexialex, @appodlachia, @discussingfilm, @capeshitsucks, @julieplec, @kristinchirico, @embryethan, @k_trendacosta, @tillybridges@mastodon.social, @josemolinatv.bsky.social, @jordanmaison.bsky.social, The Ghost of Cat's Cradle and The Hill
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David Robb / Deadline:
SAG-AFTRA agrees to federal mediation with the AMPTP, but says it is “not confident” in employers' intentions; contract still expires at 11:59pm PT on July 12 — SAG-AFTRA has agreed to federal mediation in order the break the bargaining deadlock with the Alliance of Motion Picture …
Discussion:
Variety, @travishelwig, @lindaholmes, @gregbaldwiniroh, @nancy_kiu, @futterish, @aodespair, @henderson_joe, @writtenbyhanna, @jerilryan, @jelenawoehr, Reuters, @matthewacherry, @carolinerenard_, @stevendeknight, @moryan, @carolinerenard_, @adamconover, @justinebateman, @elidiazva, @scalzi, CNN, @felonious_munk, @evanhandler, @traceyecorder, @carolinerenard_, @chrishewitt, @jamesmoran, @slashfilm, @dealbook, @johndellaporta, @variety, CBS News, decision to leave, WORLD SCREEN, Wheel of the Year, The A.V. Club, @aaronserna, Variety, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire, Rolling Stone, @badideas.bsky.social, Los Angeles Times, SlashFilm and Variety
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
The Washington Post names former CNN and NYT executive Alex MacCallum as chief revenue officer and Uber's senior engineering leader Vineet Khosla as CTO — Alex MacCallum will focus on expanding the news publisher's subscription and ad businesses — The Washington Post named former CNN …
Andrew Deck / Rest of World:
A look at the global labor force on sites like Fiverr and Upwork, some of whom are early generative AI adopters and are most at risk of being replaced by AI — The global labor force of outsourced and contract workers are early adopters of generative AI — and the most at risk. — R
Kate McGee / The Texas Tribune:
Texas A&M weakened its offer to a University of Texas professor to revive its journalism program, after backlash about DEI and her NYT past; she's staying at UT — The university celebrated its decision to hire Kathleen McElroy to revive its journalism program.
Discussion:
@jayrosen_nyu, @bklynbckstretch, @sivavaid, @rolandsmartin, @shannimcg, @rolandsmartin, @drjameswhit, Columbia Journalism Review, @miamoodyramirez, @ibjiyongi, @feliciasonmez, @cassandrajar, @davetarrantnews, @rolandsmartin, @michaelluo, @kut, @thebattonline, @mcclain_on_nfl, @elvialimon, @parisnoire, @dem8z, @grossdm, @deanluk, @jason_kint, @jason_kint, @sivavaid, @markjacob16, @vermontgmg, @rolandsmartin, @froomkin, @jswatz, Houston Chronicle, @jftitone.bsky.social, @harmonygritz@mastodon.social, @scottpb.bsky.social, @damon.kiesow.net, @JoshuaHolland@mastodon.social, @stevesilberman@newsie.social, @sarahc@mas.to, @dmgreene.bsky.social, @triciamatthew.bsky.social, @bakerdphd.bsky.social, @aggiegrad03.bsky.social, @donmoyn.bsky.social, @KimPerales@toad.social and @MediaLawProf@mastodon.social
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Disney is exploring strategic options for its Star India business; Media Partners Asia estimates Disney+ Hotstar could lose 15M subscribers in FY 2023 — Talks are a sign of how Star India's fortunes have changed since Disney's purchase of Fox entertainment assets
Discussion:
The Wrap, MediaPost, @royprice, @richlightshed, @kushanmitra, @jtoonkel, @scottgustin, @rwhelanwsj and Variety
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
TikTok signs a deal with the owner of Redbox to show TikTok videos at Redbox kiosks; brands will be able to advertise alongside via ad platform Crackle Connex — The video app will provide content from its platform, while Crackle Connex will handle ad deals. — TikTok is coming to a Redbox DVD kiosk near you.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Business Wire, Variety, Deadline, MediaPost and Media Play News
Noam Cohen / Bloomberg:
A look at Wikipedia in Russia, where the service remains popular after the Ukraine invasion, and the Kremlin-compliant rival Ruwiki from a long-serving editor — When a group of armed mercenaries seized a Russian regional capital and began marching toward Moscow in late June, verified information was hard to come by.
Cam Thompson / CoinDesk:
Sound, which helps artists mint their songs as NFTs, raised a $20M Series A led by a16z, with Snoop Dogg and others participating, and launches out of beta — The company aims to help artists make a living for their music by minting their songs on-chain and selling them directly to fans.
Discussion:
Billboard and Fortune, more at Techmeme »
Madeline Diamond / Esquire:
How BookTok and Bookstagram caused a rise in merchandise use for book publicity, leading to influencers being criticized for turning reading into an aesthetic — BookTok and Bookstagram have given rise to a new form of book publicity. Is it tearing the literary community apart?
Discussion:
@emilyctamkin, @margotdouaihy, @zandoprojects and @adriennemwest
K.J. Yossman / Variety:
UK broadcaster Channel 4 reports 2022 revenue down 2% YoY to £1.14B and a £20M pre-tax surplus; non-advertising revenue made up 11% of total revenue — U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 has posted robust revenues of £1.14 billion ($1.47 billion) for 2022.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Financial Times, Deadline, Broadband TV News and Channel 4
Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
Google TV adds the Roku Channel to its free streaming TV lineup; Roku says the channel reaches about 100M viewers in the US — The Roku Channel is now available on Google TV and other Android TV OS devices, Roku announced Wednesday. The free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) …
Discussion:
The Desk, The Streamable, The Verge, 9to5Google, The Hollywood Reporter and Cord Cutters News