Mediagazer: Apple says Spotify was the “primary advocate” and “biggest beneficiary” of the EU's ruling, Spotify pays Apple nothing, and that “free isn't enough for Spotify” (Apple)

9:55 AM ET, March 5, 2024

Top News:

Javier Espinoza / Financial Times:

The EU Commission fines Apple €1.8B for stifling competition from rival music streaming services, the EU's third-largest antitrust fine; Apple plans to appeal — iPhone maker hit by first-ever Brussels fine as competition watchdogs step up scrutiny of Big Tech

Apple:

Apple says Spotify was the “primary advocate” and “biggest beneficiary” of the EU's ruling, Spotify pays Apple nothing, and that “free isn't enough for Spotify” — CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Today, the European Commission announced a decision claiming the App Store …

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:

Filing: GB News owner All Perspectives has been forced to provide a further £41M in funding to cover operating costs, and is now owed £83.8M by GB News — Vehicle backed by hedge fund tycoon Paul Marshall steps in as right-leaning broadcaster increases number of staff

Discussion: Advanced Television and Broadband TV News

Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
GB News reports year to May 2023 revenue up 80% YoY to £6.7M, losses up 38% YoY to £42.4M, for £76M in losses since 2021, and 295 staff, up from 175 in May 2022

Discussion: Mediaite, @rasmus_kleis, Nick Manning on LinkedIn, @carolvorders, @otto_english, @seaninsound and @jamesrbuk

Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:

Warner Bros. Discovery plans to start cracking down on Max password sharing later this year with a wider rollout in 2025, joining rivals Netflix and Disney+ — The streamer's paid sharing initiative will launch later this year, with a broader rollout in 2025

Discussion: Cord Cutters News, @culturecrave, Yahoo Finance, @thestreamable, Media Play News, @lucas_shaw, NewscastStudio, Next TV, @iamadequate_, The Streamable, BGR and 9to5Mac

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
While HBO hit streaming DTC profitability under David Zaslav, via licensing to Netflix, slashing marketing, layoffs, and more, WBD's stock is down 25%+ YTD

Discussion: Appleosophy, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, @jalefkowit@octodon.social, @masasoncap, @lucas_shaw, @tvgrimreaper and Fox Business

Laura Wagner / Washington Post:

The NewsGuild of New York accuses the NYT of targeting staff with Middle Eastern or North African backgrounds in a investigation into October 7 coverage leaks — In a letter to the publisher, a union leader said the leak probe has singled out employees ‘for their national origin, ethnicity and race’

Discussion: @maxwelltani, Semafor, American Crisis, @yehyabrown, @jeremymbarr, @willsommer, @nickatnews, @john_hudson, Media Nation, HuffPost, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @estelle@techhub.social, Vanity Fair and The Wrap

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch says the Fox, Disney, and WBD sports streaming joint venture is anticipating signing up 5M customers in the first five years — The 5 million mark will be where the JV “settles after five years,” Murdoch said, speaking Monday at the 2024 Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in San Francisco.

Discussion: Deadline, Poynter, @jbflint, New York Post, Sports Media Watch, Sportico, @jbflint, Business Insider, @sherman4949, The Streamable, The Desk, Reuters, The Wrap, Awful Announcing, Media Play News and Bloomberg

Jesse Whittock / Deadline:

Source: Amazon Prime Video plans to lay off less than 5% of its staff across its European offices, as part of a restructure impacting Europe, MENA, and Africa — EXCLUSIVE: Prime Video is today beginning job consultations with staff in Europe, we hear. — It's understood a figure of less …

Discussion: The Desk

Elizabeth A. Harris / New York Times:

Authors Equity, a US book publisher from former Penguin Random House and Macmillan executives, launches with plans to give authors the “lion's share” of profits — Authors Equity is tiny but has big industry names behind it. Its founders hope their profit-sharing approach and experience will entice authors.

Discussion: Publishing Perspectives, Wall Street Journal and The Bookseller

Max Goldbart / Deadline:

Ofcom has “significant concerns about GB News' editorial control of its live output” after finding GB News in breach over Laurence Fox's misogynistic comments — Ofcom has said it has “significant concerns about GB News' editorial control of its live output” …

Discussion: Byline Times, Ofcom, Variety, @alistaircoleman, @parody_pm, @drmatthewsweet, Financial Times, Mediaite, Guido Fawkes, HuffPost, The Guardian, Broadband TV News, Advanced Television and Press Gazette

PA Media:

TalkTV plans to close down its linear TV channel in early summer 2024 and go online only, weeks after Piers Morgan left his daily show on the channel — Move announced by News UK venture comes weeks after Piers Morgan left his daily show on channel — TalkTV will be taken off air …

Discussion: The Desk, The Media Leader, Deadline, The i Paper, Telegraph, @mediaguido, @mediaguido, @scottygb, Guido Fawkes and TVBEurope

Jane Elizabeth / Nieman Lab:

A look at the Chicago Public Media merger with Chicago Sun-Times two years later: newsroom and staff compensation grew, Sun-Times dropped paywall, and more — After a $61 million acquisition by public media, Chicago-Sun Times readers get free content and the newsroom has grown.

Discussion: American Press Institute, Holly Edgell on LinkedIn and @philmeyer@newsie.social

Bloomberg:

Vivendi's Canal+ increases its bid for South Africa's MultiChoice by almost a fifth, valuing MultiChoice's shares at $2.9B, and enters exclusive takeover talks — - Vivendi's Canal+ is working with JPMorgan, Bank of America — Vivendi says its committed to JSE listing, transformation

Discussion: Deadline, Broadband TV News and TVBEurope

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Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
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Earlier Picks:

Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
Semafor launches a Global Election Hub; Ben Smith says the hub will feel like what Twitter “used to do well” as readers look for “human editorial judgment”

Discussion: @pressgazette, @semaforben, Semafor and Semafor

ESPN:
Chris Mortensen, an award-winning journalist who reported on the NFL for ESPN since 1991, died on March 3 at age 72; Mortensen was diagnosed with cancer in 2016

Marah Eakin / Wired:
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An India-based content farm impersonates 60+ major media outlets, including the BBC and CNN, reposting articles and selling advertorial slots for press releases

Discussion: Ax Sharma on LinkedIn and @BleepingComputer …

Reece Rogers / Wired:
As music from Universal Music Group artists disappears from TikTok, creators turn to royalty-free, almost-contextless sound clips

Discussion: @wired, @wiredculture and @crowslabyrinth@threads.net

Tyler Pager / Washington Post:
A look at Joe Biden's media diet, which includes MSNBC's Morning Joe, CNN, Fox News, the Financial Times, the Apple News app, and the rare book for leisure

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From Techmeme:

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Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
GitHub makes its Copilot free in VS Code, with 2,000 code completions and 50 chat messages per month; GitHub now has 150M developers, up from 100M in early 2023

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