Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
News Corp and OpenAI announce a multiyear agreement to bring News Corp's news content to OpenAI; sources: the deal could be worth $250M over five years — Agreement could generate over $250 million over five years for News Corp in cash and credits — Wall Street Journal owner News Corp struck …
Discussion:
News Corp, The Verge, The Guardian, New York Times, The Information, Nicholas Gray on LinkedIn, Variety, @marlownyc, Washington Post, Columbia Journalism Review, Artem Fishman on LinkedIn, Axios, VentureBeat, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, Sydney Morning Herald, @benny6toes.bsky.social, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, Benzinga, MediaPost, Talking Biz News and Platformer, more at Techmeme »
Amanda Meade / The Guardian:
Sources: News Corp's Rebekah Brooks and Robert Thomson joined Lachlan Murdoch in Sydney for meetings ahead of a major restructuring announcement next week — Staff brace for significant cuts as media giant prepares to make moves to counter decline of print and slow advertising market
Discussion:
@onyadon, @mikecarlton01, Dave Earley on LinkedIn and @pressgazette
STLPR:
Big Lou Media has sold The Riverfront Times, an alt weekly in St. Louis, Mo, to an undisclosed buyer, and the entire writing and editing staff has been laid off — The Riverfront Times, St. Louis' alt-weekly newspaper, is no more, at least in its current state.
Discussion:
@kavahnmansouri, @doylemurphy, @sarahfenske, @sarahfenske, @sarahfenske, @alecdeclares, @jsodonoghue, @jordan_harper, @judy__lucas, @sireddiec, @alexiszotos, @rftmusic, @kallieecox, KSDK-TV and MediaPost
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Source: the US DOJ and state AGs plan to sue Live Nation on Thursday for illegally abusing its live ticketing monopoly through its 2010 Ticketmaster acquisition — - It will argue that Live Nation leveraged Ticketmaster's exclusive contracts with concert venues to maintain a monopoly …
Discussion:
Billboard, Wall Street Journal, CNN, The Wrap, Bloomberg, WFLA-TV, CBS News, Reuters, UPROXX, New York Times, Rolling Stone and Washington Post
Tom Friend / Sports Business Journal:
Sources: the NBA is formalizing deals with Disney, NBC, and Amazon, which may prompt WBD to sue; ESPN may pay $2.8B annually, NBC $2.6B, and Amazon $1.8B to $2B — NEW YORK — The NBA is formalizing written contracts with Disney, NBC and Amazon this week, with sources calling it the final stage …
Max Tani / @maxwelltani:
[Thread] In a meeting, Washington Post CEO Will Lewis told staff that the paper lost $77M over the past year, and saw a 50% drop off in audience since 2020 — Washington Post CEO Will Lewis is introing the paper's new “Build It” plan today. In a meeting with staff, he noted that the paper lost $77 million over the past year, and saw a 50% drop off in audience since 2020: “To be direct, we are in a hole, and we have been for some time.”
Discussion:
Digiday, @atherton.bsky.social, @markshatraw.bsky.social, @vortexegg.regretfully.online, @charles.littlegreenfootballs …, @hammancheez.bsky.social, @wilson__valdez, @macktubs, @maxwelltani, @tomscocca.bsky.social, @tomscocca.bsky.social, @worknowitzki.bsky.social, @alttag.bsky.social, @thatweissguy.bsky.social, @atherton.bsky.social, @jonastraxler.bsky.social, @sarafischer, @852dude.bsky.social, @cfaller96.bsky.social, @andrewsshi.bsky.social, @erinannmcc.bsky.social, @natalieweiner.bsky.social, @maxwelltani, Washington Post, @froomkin, @karlbode.bsky.social, @maxwelltani, @nslayton.bsky.social, @benharris1.bsky.social, @mcoatney, @maxwelltani, @darrylmason, @justicar.xyz, @estarianne.bsky.social, @cocktailhag.bsky.social, @socio-steve.bsky.social, @scarylawyerguy, @tcarmody.bsky.social, @dextrosity.bsky.social, @jaycockburn, @reubenr80027912, @missingthept.bsky.social and @eleanorofs.bsky.social
Liz Neisloss / GBH:
Boston-based public media outlet GBH announced layoffs of 31 staff members, or 4% of its workforce, with roughly 10% of its news staff among those laid off — GBH announced layoffs of 31 staff members on Wednesday, representing 4% of its overall workforce.
Discussion:
@brianstorms@mastodon.social, @nikdecostaklipa, The Boston Globe and Current
Sara Guaglione / Digiday:
How sending fewer emails and giving paid subscribers early access to content improved The New Yorker's onsite page views and time spent from newsletter users — The New Yorker has refocused its newsletter strategy in an effort to retain its cohort of 1.2 million paid subscribers and grow …
Dominic Patten / Deadline:
Sources: Sundance is weighing proposals from 15 locations to move the festival in 2027; a decision is expected internally around the end of September — EXCLUSIVE: The Sundance Film Festival is looking South for a potential new home, as well as in its backyard.
The New York Times Company:
Puck's Teddy Schleifer, who covers politics, billionaires, and business, has been hired by The New York Times as a correspondent on the Politics desk — Teddy, previously a David Rosenbaum reporting fellow in Washington, will be a correspondent on the Politics desk. — Folks,
Discussion:
@dylanbyers, @loudmouthjulia, @teddyschleifer, @tina_nguyen, @teddyschleifer and @shanegoldmacher
Wall Street Journal:
As TV audiences get older, media executives are focusing more on the mass-market reach of TV, and playing down the importance of age for advertisers — With viewers in their 60s, networks aren't pretending to have youth appeal; they're touting the virtues of older audiences
Discussion:
@blackamazon, @jeffjarvis and @jbflint
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
WBD and ESPN strike a five-year deal letting WBD's TNT carry two first-round college football playoff games in 2024 and 2025, adding two quarterfinals in 2026 — In a move to strengthen its sports offerings, Warner Bros. Discovery has signed a five-year sublicensing deal with Disney's ESPN …