Top News:
Ken Meyer / Mediaite:
NBC News plans to host the GOP's third 2024 presidential primary debate on November 8, partnering with Salem Radio Network and the Republican Jewish Coalition — NBC News announced that they will host the Republican National Committee's third presidential primary debate at the Adrienne Arsht Center …
Discussion:
NBC News, @mzhemingway, @awstar11, Media Matters for America, @mikebenzcyber, @seanspicer, @andrewfeinberg, @hollywoodintoto, @j035ich5pach, @bristei, @reaganreese_, @aterkel, @theleoterrell, @dylanbyers, @w7voa, The Hill, Radio & Television …, The Wrap, Hollywood Reporter, NBC News, Axios and Adweek
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Spotify launches an in-app Merch Hub that provides merch recommendations based on users' listening habits; merch is sold on artists' stores powered by Shopify — Spotify is launching a dedicated in-app Merch Hub that provides personalized merch recommendations based on your listening habits, the company announced on Monday.
Discussion:
Spotify, Music Ally, CMU and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Wall Street Journal:
Sources detail Netflix's deepening gaming push: more games based on its shows, including Squid Game and Wednesday, discussions about a GTA game, and more — Streamer to put greater emphasis on developing games based on its popular programming, including ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Wednesday,’ ‘Black Mirror’
Sara Fischer / Axios:
The Daily Wire debuts Bentkey, a $99/year streaming app for kids, on Disney's 100th anniversary; in 2022, the outlet planned to invest $100M+ over three years — The Daily Wire, a conservative media brand known for its popular podcast “The Ben Shapiro show,” has debuted …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Deadline, The Guardian and @sarafischer
Morgan Sung / TechCrunch:
Twitch launches Stories, expiring after 48 hours, for Partners and Affiliates who have streamed at least once for 45 minutes or longer in the last 30 days — Ahead of TwitchCon Las Vegas, Twitch is launching stories for streamers to connect with their audience even when they aren't live.
Discussion:
blog.twitch.tv, Engadget and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Reuters:
Italy plans to cut the compulsory license fee that helps finance public TV and radio broadcaster RAI from €90 to €70 per year in the 2024 budget — Italy will reduce the compulsory licence fee that helps finance public TV and radio broadcaster RAI from 90 to 70 euros ($73.70) …
Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:
Some influencers and CEOs are building their brands on LinkedIn, which is easier due to less creator competition, a committed user base, and a safer feel than X — Once purely a jobs board, users say the platform is now more valuable than rivals — Marketer Zain Kahn says he earns …
Discussion:
The Verge, The Information, Econsultancy, @nick_kapur and MIT Technology Review, more at Techmeme »
Mikey O'Connell / The Hollywood Reporter:
Q&A with Rachel Maddow on reducing on-air time, covering Donald Trump's indictments, cord cutting, Elon Musk's X, her podcasts, the Hollywood strikes, and more — The MSNBC host on her lack of boundaries, Elon Musk's destruction of Twitter and the cultural whiplash of working in Hollywood …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
YouTube adds Spotlight Moments, an AI-powered ad tool meant to help brands identify the most popular YouTube videos related to a cultural moment like the Oscars — YouTube is putting Google AI to use for advertisers, the company announced this morning with the introduction of a new advertising package called “Spotlight Moments.”
Discussion:
MediaPost, @kvnbbg, Search Engine Land, The Keyword and Digital Content Next, more at Techmeme »
Patrick Coffee / Wall Street Journal:
After relaxing ad rules in January 2023, X begins aggressively pitching political advertisers; AdImpact: ~$1.2B will be spent digitally for the 2024 US election — Musk's volatile leadership of the social-media platform has pushed down its prices—which might give it an edge
Discussion:
@wraithfodder, @mgalascio and Inside Radio
Max Tani / Semafor:
Sources: pre-publication, veteran WSJ staff raised concerns about an October 8 story that Iran “helped plan” Hamas' attacks; the piece had no Washington bylines — The News — The Wall Street Journal overrode some objections inside its own Washington bureau to publish an explosive …
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour grossed an estimated $95M to $97M on its opening weekend in the US and Canada across 3,855 theaters, a big boost to the industry — The movie made an estimated $95 million in ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada, giving a big boost to theaters suffering from strike-related delays.
Discussion:
Shaw Media Local, Reuters, Deadline, Variety, @kerrymflynn, @seangraf, The Atlantic, SlashFilm, Insider, Pitchfork, Consequence, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, Boxoffice, Digital Music News and Billboard