Top News:
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Interviews with 25+ people who worked with Bob Iger and Bob Chapek between 2020 and 2022 detail how Disney's succession plan went awry and led to Iger's return — - What did a private bathroom, Oogie Boogie and a hippo have to do with the behind-the-scenes chaos between Bob Iger and Bob Chapek at Disney?
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, The Verge, New York Post, @sherman4949, KNSD-TV, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, @murraymatt, @mattrosoff and @jbflint
Deadline:
A look at Netflix's “success-based” residual arrangements that exist in Germany, Sweden, and France, as some in the US begin discussing similar residual metrics — Since the outbreak of the dual Hollywood labor strikes, the issue of residuals has risen to the fore …
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
Roku plans to lay off 300+, or 10% of its staff, close offices, and take an up to $65M impairment charge in Q3 2023 for cutting some content; ROKU jumps 5%+ — Roku will cut more than 300 staffers — laying off 10% of its workforce — as the streaming-platform company continues its battle to control costs.
Thomas Claburn / The Register:
Google started rolling out Chrome's Enhanced Ad Privacy, part of its Topics API, via a popup; some say the Got It button is misleading for leaving tracking on — YMMV, based on where you are — Google has been gradually rolling out Chrome's “Enhanced Ad Privacy.”
Discussion:
The Verge, @jon@henshaw.social, @nixCraft@mastodon.social and The Messenger, more at Techmeme »
Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:
UMG and Deezer sign a deal to give songs from professional artists, who generate 1,000+ listens a month, double the weight when calculating streaming royalties — Agreement with Deezer aims to boost royalties for artists and labels and reduce payouts for ‘noise’
Discussion:
Music Business Worldwide, Billboard, RAIN News, Variety, Decrypt, Music Industry Blog, @postindustria12, Music Ally, Bloomberg and Deezer Press, more at Techmeme »
Reuters:
A Myanmar court sentences photojournalist Sai Zaw Thaike to 20 years in prison, the longest known prison term given to a media worker since the 2021 army coup — A court in military-ruled Myanmar on Wednesday sentenced a photojournalist to 20 years in prison, his employer said …
Discussion:
Fox News and Committee to Protect …
David Pierce / The Verge:
Spotify is testing making song lyrics a Premium-only feature, currently “with a limited number of users in a pair of markets” — A number of Spotify users began to notice something strange over the last day or so: the in-app lyrics, which typically pop up under the currently playing song …
Discussion:
@thequietkid4l, @realjoseph123, @jon_speaks_, Gizmodo, Music Ally, 9to5Mac, Music Business Worldwide, Billboard, TechCrunch and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: WBD plans to offer live sports on Max, at no extra cost, for a limited time later in 2023; an extra fee for sports will start in February or March 2024 — Customers will need to pay an additional amount for sports starting next year, likely around February or March, said the people …
Discussion:
The Streamable, Reuters, The Verge and Front Office Sports
Jeff Jarvis / Whither news?:
Jeff Jarvis says he plans to leave CUNY's Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the end of this term and will “technically” retire — I have news: I am leaving CUNY's Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the end of this term. Technically I'm retiring, though if you know me you know I will never retire.
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
X rolls out Community Notes for videos and says the tool offers a “highly-scalable way of adding context to edited clips, AI-generated videos, and more” — Social network X, formerly known as Twitter, has introduced Community Notes for videos. Community Notes is an existing program for crowdsourced moderation.
Discussion:
Gizmodo and @senoj.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
Lane Brown / Vulture:
How Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer, an important metric in entertainment, became erratic and reductive as some PR firms hack its score by paying obscure “critics” — In 2018, a movie-publicity company called Bunker 15 took on a new project: Ophelia, a feminist retelling of Hamlet starring Daisy Ridley.
Discussion:
@seanmburns, @mattzeitlin, @samuelaadams, @projectseestra, @boringdrew, @huginspl, @ipreferpi314, @_zeets, @leask, @sicrook, @sonnybunch, @milkman__dead, @mikeryan, @nick_field90, @walthickey, @tomilaffly, @katiewalshstx, @luke_winkie, @beatonna, @nathanpester, @chrisecrowley, @themanfromrio2, @moviedeathblows and @hamrahrama
Wayne Friedman / MediaPost:
Fox says its free ad-supported streaming TV service Tubi now has 74M MAUs, up from 64M in February 2023; Nielsen: Tubi has a 1.4% share of total TV viewing time — Fox Corp's free ad-supported streaming platform Tubi TV has grown sharply over the last six months — up 16% to more than 74 million monthly active users.
Discussion:
Fox Corporation, TechCrunch, Hollywood Reporter and Cord Cutters News
Jennifer Maas / Variety:
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts says Comcast and Disney moved up Hulu sale talks to September 30 from the January 2024 deadline, and Hulu could be worth $30B — Comcast and Disney last week signed a modification agreement to bring forward the timing of their formal Hulu sale talks to Sept. 30 …
Discussion:
IndieWire, New York Times, Next TV, CNBC, The Wrap, The Messenger, Deadline, The Information, Hollywood Reporter and Cord Cutters News