Mediagazer: Triller files for a NYSE IPO after scrapping a $5B SPAC merger in 2021 and a direct listing in 2022; Triller had $47.7M in revenue and a $195.6M loss in 2022 (Amanda Silberling/TechCrunch)

1:55 PM ET, August 3, 2023

Top News:

Jennifer Maas / Variety:

WBD CFO says the company has saved more than $100M due to strikes and that “our modeling assumes a return to work date in early September” — Warner Bros. Discovery execs reported the Hollywood writers and actors' ongoing work stoppage had brought the company savings in the …

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Gizmodo, Los Angeles Times, @doctorow, @foenix, @doctorow, @mikeroyce.bsky.social, The Wrap, The A.V. Club, @kentremendous.bsky.social, Deadline, @jbflint, @sharonwaxman and ComingSoon.net

Wall Street Journal:

WBD reports Q2 revenue down 4% YoY to $10.36B and a $1.2B net loss, up from $3.42B in Q2 2022; the company paid down $1.6B debt in Q2, leaving $47.8B remaining — Company narrows losses as it pays down debt — Warner Bros. Discovery's revenue fell as its streaming segment shed subscribers …

Discussion: Reuters, Screen Rant, The Desk, Kidscreen, Insider, CNBC, Bloomberg, IndieWire, Deadline, Broadband TV News, @azalben, @jacktweets44 and @news_by_nick

Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:

Warner Bros. Discovery reports 95.8M streaming subscribers in June, down from 97.6M in March, and a Q2 streaming loss of $3M, less than its Q2 2022 $558M loss — Barbie marketing costs and the weaker performance of ‘The Flash’ compared to the year-ago hit ‘The Batman’ dragged down the Studios unit …

Discussion: The Wrap, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, The Information, @chronotope and Variety

Eileen AJ Connelly / The Wrap:

Though WBD's streaming unit posted a Q2 loss, content licensing revenue rose to $410M from $132M in Q2 2022; David Zaslav says WBD will seek co-exclusive deals — The company's DTC division reported $410 million in licensing revenue, more than triple last year's sales, after offering shows like “Westworld” to rivals

Discussion: Financial Times

Shubham Kalia / Reuters:

France's AFP sues X in Paris, saying the company refused to discuss potential content distribution payments under a 2019 law; Elon Musk calls the move “bizarre” — said on Wednesday it filed a lawsuit in Paris against Elon Musk's X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter …

Discussion: Al Jazeera, Agence France-Presse, Insider, Plagiarism Today, UPI, @elonmusk, Washington Post, TechCrunch, Newser, Quartz, Associated Press, @xdaily, Engadget, Forbes and @afpcom, more at Techmeme »

Elon Musk / @elonmusk:
Elon Musk says X will amend its creator payouts policy to take no cut until a payout exceeds $100K, and plans to talk to Tim Cook about lower App Store fees

Discussion: Insider, @rdotchadha, @oalexanderdk, @scobleizer, @sawyermerritt, @xdaily, Engadget, The Verge, MacRumors and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »

Oliver Darcy / CNN:

A US federal judge rules Catherine Herridge must participate in a deposition regarding the identity of confidential source(s) for her Fox News stories in 2017 — A federal judge handed down a rare and alarming court decision this week that could have significant implications for the free press in America.

Discussion: The Wrap, @kyledcheney, The Desk, @wlabovitz, CourtListener, U.S. Press Freedom Tracker and Bloomberg Law

Amanda Marcotte / Salon:

Some experts say trolls who built businesses and media careers on Twitter have had to escalate shock value tactics as the audience of “normal people” shrinks — Elon Musk's business model depends on “triggering” liberals — but he's now running out of progressives to bait

Doomberg:
Doomberg, a pseudonymous Substack publication about economic and policy news with 150K+ subscribers, plans to leave Twitter to focus on Substack Notes

Discussion: Notes, Notes, Notes, Notes, @doombergt, Notes, @substacklinda, @jeremydschwartz, @max_gagliardi, @howardlindzon and @lastbearstandng

Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:

Triller files for a NYSE IPO after scrapping a $5B SPAC merger in 2021 and a direct listing in 2022; Triller had $47.7M in revenue and a $195.6M loss in 2022 — Triller has long teased its ambitions to go public, and now, the short form video platform seems to on its way to an IPO.

Discussion: Billboard, Billboard, Music Ally and Digital Music News, more at Techmeme »

Shirley Zhao / Bloomberg:

A look at Hong Kong-based streaming service Viu's plans for expansion in Asia and its current and potential future collaborations with Canal+ — - Recent deal with Canal+ set to bolster presence across region — Major streaming platform targets more local language content

Mia Sato / The Verge:

Patreon temporarily disables Payoneer payments after some creators were unable to access their earnings and some subscriber payments are flagged as fraudulent — Two simultaneous issues with payments on Patreon are causing problems for both creators and fans.

Discussion: @patreonstatus, @bimbotoad, @susnebraska, @tom_nicholas, @aurahack, @hakeism, @patreonstatus, @patreonstatus, @lillhappycloud, @jasonkpargin, @jasonkpargin and @jasonkpargin, more at Techmeme »

Michael Geist:

As Meta blocks news links and sharing on Facebook and Instagram in Canada, a look at how Bill C-18 could cause millions of losses for the country's media sector — For months, supporters of Bill C-18, the Online News Act, assured the government that Meta and Google were bluffing when they warned …

Discussion: Meta, @melissambarki, @pierrepoilievre, @amyklobuchar, 9to5Mac, @pascalestonge_, @mark_goldberg, NewscastStudio, New York Times, @mike_vlasman@cosocial.ca, @mikebabcock@floss.social, The Hill, Android Police, Breitbart, CBC News, r/canada and Slashdot, more at Techmeme »

Max Goldbart / Deadline:

Hasbro confirms the sale of Entertainment One, or eOne, to Lionsgate for $500M after buying the studio in 2019 for $4B, and will retain the Family Brands unit — Hasbro has confirmed the sale of Entertainment One (eOne) to Lionsgate for $500M. — Speculation had been intensifying …

Discussion: The Streamable, IndieWire, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, Kidscreen, The Wrap, Axios, Advanced Television, @tim_bays, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Media Play News, The Toy Book, Bloomberg and WORLD SCREEN

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

A look at the fate of the bankrupt Santa Barbara News-Press under owner Wendy McCaw, who turned the paper into a forum for her politics and private crusades — Wendy McCaw, the owner of the Santa Barbara News-Press, ceased its publication in July after years of controversy

Discussion: @joelmathis.bsky.social, @mbalter and @maxboot

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 1:55 PM ET, August 3, 2023.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Commissioning Editor - Practical Law — Reuters

Energy Markets Reporter, London — WSJ

Oil Reporter, Singapore — Bloomberg

Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — AP

Business Reporter, SC — Post & Courier

State Government Reporter, WA — Seattle Times

Climate Crisis Columnist — Prospect UK

Multimedia Journalist, CA — Paramount

Community Engagement Mgr., DC — Freedom Forum

Staff Writer - Business, NY — WIRED

Editor, MA — Nieman Reports

Team Editor - Breaking News, ON — Toronto Star

Senior Reporter & Event Host, NY/CA — Newcomer

Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — The Verge

News Reporter, MA — Berkshire Eagle

Multimedia Journalist, PA — Observer-Reporter

Managing Editor, WA — Everett Herald

Private Credit Reporter, NY — Debtwire

Legislative Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Reporter, PA — Tribune-Review

Visual Editor, Remote — Rest of World

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

California Playbook Writer, CA — Politico

Senior Media Editor — Digiday

National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — CT Mirror

Coordinating Editor, OR — OPB

Staff Reporter, CA — Daily Kos

Data Editor, NY — ProPublica

Editor-in-Chief, AZ — Phoenix New Times

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
The SAG-AFTRA Foundation says Meryl Streep and George Clooney helped lead a donation campaign that raised $15M+ in three weeks; eight other stars gave $1M+ each

Discussion: Observer, UPROXX, CBS News, SAG-AFTRA, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, Variety, Vanity Fair, IndieWire, The Wrap, Deadline and New York Times

Haleluya Hadero / Associated Press:
Amazon expands Twitch's ban on livestreams of gambling content to include online casinos Blaze and Gamdom; gambling viewership fell ~75% after its ban in 2022

Discussion: Video Games Chronicle, more at Techmeme »

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Ofcom: UK broadcast TV weekly audience reach fell to 79% in 2022 vs. 83% in 2021; 66% of UK households were using an SVOD service in Q1 2023 vs. 68% in Q1 2022

Discussion: The Guardian, Ofcom, Ofcom, Music Ally, @ofcom, Variety, @endersanalysis, @ofcom, Advanced Television, @ofcom, The Guardian and Deadline

TVNewsCheck:
Sinclair reports Q2 revenue down 8% YoY to $768M and a $89M net loss vs. $11M YoY, even after the “deconsolidation” of RSNs operated by Diamond Sports Group

Discussion: The Desk, Baltimore Sun, MediaPost, Next TV, Deadline, Radio & Television … and Sinclair, Inc

New York Times:
Sources say second-round bids for Simon & Schuster were due earlier this week and the sale process is expected to conclude in the coming weeks

Discussion: @benmullin

Earlier Picks:

Robin Wigglesworth / Financial Times:
Study: the financial information industry generated $37.3B in revenue in 2022, with Bloomberg and Refinitiv accounting for about two-thirds of the total

New York Times:
Sources: Fox News execs Jay Wallace and Suzanne Scott lobbied Trump to appear at an August 23 debate, during a private dinner just after his third indictment

Discussion: Poynter, New Republic, Breitbart, Washington Post, Daily Kos, The Wrap, @joshsternberg.bsky.social, Rolling Stone, Mediaite, The Hill, @scribandotcom@mastodon.social and @barney@mas.to

Alex Ross / New Yorker:
Apple failed to save classical music with iTunes and fails again with Apple Music Classical, an oddly clumsy point of entry that falls short of its competitors

Discussion: The Information, @oxfordclock, @ionarts, @ajdoug and @scurve

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Filing: WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon faced a search warrant and subpoena in July and is now on medical leave; the merger with Endeavor's UFC is on track

Discussion: CNN, CNBC, Mediaite, Bleacher Report, WrestleTalk, Breitbart, Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, Associated Press, ComingSoon.net, Sportico and Deadline

From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
How Tim Cook may navigate Trump's presidency, a closer look at Apple's upcoming smart home command center, sources detail a new AirTag coming in 2025, and more

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: T-Mobile's network was among the systems hacked by the China-linked Salt Typhoon group, and some foreign telecommunications firms were also compromised

The Information:
Sources: in recent months, Nvidia has asked its suppliers to change the design of server racks for Blackwell GPUs several times to overcome overheating problems

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page