Mediagazer: Spotify Q2: revenue up 11% YoY to €3.2B, Premium subs up 17% YoY to 220M, MAUs up 27% YoY to 551M; Q3 sales forecast below analyst est.; SPOT closes down 14.26% (Ashley Carman/Bloomberg)

7:50 PM ET, July 25, 2023

Top News:

Todd Spangler / Variety:

YouTube's ad revenue increased 4.4% YoY to $7.67B in Q2, above expectations of $7.43B and a reversal after three consecutive quarters of declines — Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, came in above analyst earnings expectations, with top-line growth of 7%.

Discussion: The Wrap, @tvgrimreaper, The Information, @quinnypig, NBC 7 San Diego, The Verge, New York Times, Alphabet Inc., Deadline, @nicoagrant and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

Miles Kruppa / Wall Street Journal:

Alphabet reports Q2 Google ad revenue of $58.14B, growing 3% YoY after two consecutive quarters of falling ad sales — Financial chief Ruth Porat to become Alphabet's president and chief investment officer — Google reported a pickup in revenue growth during the most recent quarter …

Discussion: MediaPost, Fast Company, The Information, Reuters, @joshuaogundu, Fortune, The San Diego Union-Tribune and 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »

Angelique Jackson / Variety:

SAG-AFTRA Foundation president Courtney B. Vance says Dwayne Johnson donated a seven-figure sum to the SAG-AFTRA Relief Fund, the largest single donation ever — On July 13, as SAG-AFTRA leadership declared the union was going on strike, SAG-AFTRA Foundation president Courtney B. Vance …

Justin Hendrix / Tech Policy Press:
Q&A with Justine Bateman, a member of the DGA, the WGA, and SAG-AFTRA, on how AI may change the industry, the importance of the timing of the strike, and more

Discussion: @justinhendrix and @emilymbender@dair …

Washington Post:
The previous big strikes reshaped Hollywood and fueled reality TV's rise; the current ones will likely turn established actors into TikTok stars and vice versa

Discussion: @videodrew, @drewharwell, @shiralazar, Brightcove, Digiday, The Information, Rolling Stone, Study Hall and Foreign Policy

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:

Spotify Q2: revenue up 11% YoY to €3.2B, Premium subs up 17% YoY to 220M, MAUs up 27% YoY to 551M; Q3 sales forecast below analyst est.; SPOT closes down 14.26% — Spotify Technology SA fell as much as 13% in New York trading after the audio streaming giant reported sales that came …

Discussion: Spotify, @lucas_shaw, Reuters, @eldsjal, @sarthakgh, The Guardian, Music Business Worldwide, Engadget, @carnage4life@threads.net, RAIN News, Axios, @ashleyrcarman, Hollywood Reporter and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek says podcasting is ageing down, citing the growth of video podcasts and “Internet-native” creators who upload “more longform content”

Discussion: Financial Times and @connorwein

Jon Porter / The Verge:
Spotify confirms raising US Premium to $10.99/month, up from $9.99, the first increase since its US launch in 2011; Duo rises by $2, Family and Student by $1

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

The Guardian reports revenue up 3.4% YoY to £264.4M for FY ending March 31, 2023, digital reader revenue grew 7.6%, and digital makes up 70% of total revenue — Total revenues were up 3% in the year to 31 March 2023. — Guardian Media Group has maintained a four-year run of revenue growth …

Discussion: MediaPost, The Guardian, Nieman Lab and The Guardian

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The Guardian creates seven journalist jobs to improve its coverage of underrepresented communities, including in the UK and US, after its founder's slavery ties

Discussion: The Guardian, @josephharker, @andria.bsky.social, @blackamazon, @josephharker and @judeinlondon

Tatiana Siegel / Variety:

Sources detail Jeff Zucker's efforts to court potential investors in a bid for CNN, including Jeff Bezos, Laurene Powell Jobs, Alex Soros, and Roman Abramovich — Jeff Zucker was breezing through the Faena Hotel in Miami Beach when he spotted David Zaslav across the room.

Discussion: Mediaite, @lucas_shaw, RADAR, @tatianasiegel27, @agrenell, @mrwhite.bsky.social, @variety, @mvpeers, @cerealcommas, @theinsneider, @variety, @variety and @variety

Wall Street Journal:

Emails: X offers discounts on new video ads in the US and UK and warns advertisers that they will lose verified status unless they reach spending thresholds — Social-media site X is offering hefty discounts to lure back ad dollars — X Corp. is cutting ad prices as it tries to woo brands back to the Elon Musk-owned platform.

Discussion: @martinsfp, @joelmathis.bsky.social, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, The Drum and Forrester, more at Techmeme »

Jon Lafayette / Next TV:

Marquee Sports Network, a Chicago Cubs and Sinclair joint venture, launches a streaming app with live Cubs games and more in the Chicago area, for $19.99/month — Subscription costs $19.99 a month — Marquee Sports Network, the regional sports network joint venture of the Chicago Cubs and Sinclair …

Discussion: The Streamable, Marquee Sports Network and Cord Cutters News

Matias Grez / CNN:

The BBC apologizes for a reporter's “inappropriate” question at the Women's World Cup opener; the reporter asked Morocco's captain if the team had gay players — Women's World Cup 2023: Live scores, fixtures, results, tables and top scorers — The BBC has apologized for an …

Discussion: PinkNews, @_shireenahmed_, NBC News, The Messenger, @georgegalloway, @qatarifc, @daniellewarby, @_shireenahmed_, @_shireenahmed_, @_shireenahmed_, @Beeks@mstdn.party, The Guardian, New York Post, Awful Announcing, Newser and Fox News

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Netflix rolls out a My Netflix tab on iOS, superseding the Downloads tab to offer downloads, watch lists, reminders, and more; Android gets My Netflix in August — Netflix has rolled out a new feature designed to — what else? — get you to stream as much as possible on the service.

Discussion: Broadband TV News, About Netflix, The Verge, Media Play News, The Hollywood Reporter, CNET, Engadget, UPROXX, Deadline and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

TechCrunch:

Threads adds an option for a chronological feed of posts from people the user follows — Meta's text-based social network Threads is rolling out one of the most requested features after its launch — a following feed. — In a post on his Instagram Channel, Mark Zuckerberg said that the company …

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

CEO Daniel Ek teases ways Spotify could integrate additional AI functionality into its products, including summarizing podcasts and generating audio ads — During the company's second-quarter earnings call this morning, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek teased a few ways the streaming service could introduce additional AI-powered functionality.

more at Techmeme »

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

In response to MPs questions over The Sun's Huw Edwards reporting, its EIC says the story had “significant scrutiny pre-publication” and corroborative evidence — MPs wanted to know how The Sun verifies its stories. — MPs asked The Sun how it verifies its stories following …

Discussion: @dave43law, @stuzi_pants, @craftyoldgit, @archewellbaby, @_not__happy_, @adambienkov, @adambienkov, @j_a_warrington, PinkNews, @lorna_tveditor, The Guardian, Deadline and Variety

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More News:

Jonathan Vanian / CNBC:
Snap Q2: revenue down 4% YoY to $1.07B, vs. $1.05B est., global DAUs up 14% YoY to 397M, vs. 395M est., and Q3 revenue forecast below est.; SNAP down 16%+

Discussion: TechCrunch, Variety, Snap Inc., NBC 7 San Diego, Deadline, @carnage4life@threads.net, @carnage4life@mas.to, @terraf31215, @scobleizer, New York Times, @alexbarinka, @eric_seufert and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Taaffe-Maguire / Sky News:
NatWest CEO Dame Alison Rose admits to being the BBC source for an erroneous story that said Coutts de-banked Nigel Farage for financial, not political, reasons

Raffaele Huang / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: TikTok plans to launch an e-commerce business in the US in early August to sell made-in-China goods to consumers

Discussion: @sino_market, @michaelsobolik, Gizmodo, Tubefilter and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Jon Lafayette / Next TV:
Nexstar names Fox distribution head Michael Biard as its president and COO, effective August 21; Fox Corp. names David Espinosa to succeed Biard

Discussion: Observer, The Desk, Fox Corporation, Business Wire, TVNewsCheck, Deadline, @jbflint, Variety, Media Play News, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, Radio & Television … and WORLD SCREEN

Thomas Seal / Bloomberg:
The UK plans to force social media and ad platforms like Google Ads to stop scam ads including fake celebrity endorsements and pop-ups with malware

Discussion: Financial Times

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
Reach reports revenue fell 6.1% YoY to £279.4M and operating profit dropped 23.5% YoY to £36.1M; print revenue fell 2.7% YoY and digital slid 16.1% YoY

Discussion: Investegate, HoldtheFrontPage and Financial Times

Earlier Picks:

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Instagram rolls out creator subscriptions in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, and the UK, expanding on support in the US

Discussion: 9to5Mac, Instagram and Tubefilter, more at Techmeme »

Vidya Krishnan / Nieman Reports:
A look at NDTV, India's last mainstream TV network willing to critically cover the Modi government, as Adani Group's NDTV takeover leaves few independent voices

Discussion: @vidyakrishnan, Newslaundry and Columbia Journalism Review

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
The Telegraph Media Group reports 2022 revenues up 4% YoY to £254.2M, digital subscription revenue up 31% YoY to £57.9M, and subscriptions up 2% YoY to 734K

Discussion: The Guardian, @guardiannews, Telegraph Media Group, Reuters, The Times, Financial Times, London Evening Standard and Telegraph

Catherine Perloff / Adweek:
Mailchimp owner Intuit is launching SMB MediaLabs, which lets advertisers target QuickBooks' 7.1M customers on social media, online publishers, CTV, and more

Discussion: @sethliebert, @lefterisjp, @sean_kaushal, @johnathanbarnes, @catherineperlo1 and Intuit SMB MediaLabs

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
TikTok rolls out support for text posts, available via the app's Camera page and letting users add sounds, locations, stickers, and more

From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a smart doorbell system with advanced facial recognition that can wirelessly connect and unlock third-party smart locks

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Donald Trump announces that Sriram Krishnan, until recently a general partner at a16z, will serve as senior policy advisor for AI at the White House OSTP

Financial Times:
Sources: Palantir and Anduril are in talks with OpenAI, SpaceX, and more to form a consortium to bid for US defense contracts and plan to announce it in January

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