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WBD reports Q1 revenue down 10% YoY to $8.9B, net income down 53% to $453M, $2.6B streaming revenue, $339M streaming adjusted EBITDA, and 122.3M streaming subs — Even so, the company had to contend with dips in all of its traditional streams of revenue, including advertising and distribution …
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WBD says it'll start getting “more assertive” about blocking password sharing later in 2025 and Max password-sharing feature will fully roll out in 12-18 months — That lets a primary account owner share their Max account by inviting a friend or family member outside of their household …
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, Business Insider, Cord Cutters News, Deadline, Media Play News and The Hollywood Reporter
Tony Maglio / The Hollywood Reporter:
CNBC's David Faber: sources say WBD is moving toward a split that would see its linear cable networks spun off from the studio and Max
CNBC's David Faber: sources say WBD is moving toward a split that would see its linear cable networks spun off from the studio and Max
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, Mediaite, Seeking Alpha, Los Angeles Times, @dylanbyers, Yahoo Finance, @tvgrimreaper, CNBC, Reuters and Cord Cutters News

President Trump's threatened 100% tariffs on foreign films causes anxiety in the UK industry; nearly 90% of the £5.6B spent on 2024 production came from abroad — After struggling through pandemic shutdowns and twin Hollywood strikes, the British film and TV industry is worried that duties will wreak devastation.

Jefferies expects the global anime market to hit $60.1B by 2030, up from $31.2B in 2023, as Hollywood searches for IP; Japanese studios capture <10% of revenues — Stay informed with free updates — Simply sign up to the Media myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.
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@simondowens@threads.com

Mark Lazarus says Versant, Comcast's cable TV spinoff, will have its own sports strategy, and has held talks with the NWSL and MLB on acquiring live game rights — Comcast's spinoff of most of NBCUniversal's cable portfolio has a new name - Versant. This week, I had a chance to speak …
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Alex Sherman on LinkedIn, Sports Media Watch and Washington Examiner

The Wikimedia Foundation says it is taking legal action to challenge the UK's Online Safety Act, saying it could threaten the safety of its volunteer editors — Wikipedia is taking legal action against new Online Safety Act regulations it says could threaten the safety of its volunteer editors …
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Engadget, @openrightsgroup, Silicon UK, The Verge, City A.M., Diff and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »

Rolling Stone announces CEO Gus Wenner will assume the role of executive chairman and Julian Holguin, the former president of Billboard, will become the new CEO — Rolling Stone has announced that Gus Wenner will assume the role of executive chairman, and Julian Holguin will become the brand's CEO.
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter and Julian Holguin on LinkedIn

Meta says it will start testing video ads on Threads with a “small number” of advertisers, and “Reels trending ads”, which will be shown next to trending Reels — Instagram Threads will begin testing video ads, Meta announced on Thursday.
Discussion:
Adweek, Deadline and @devonheinen.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »

Sources: NYT reporter Rob Copeland filed a HR complaint against editor Ellen Pollock after she threatened to “kill” him if a Harvard story exceeded 2,000 words — Pamela Paul's new gig; Keith McNally censored; VERSANT vs Vaulter — In partnership with … Newsrooms plus pressure equals... more drama.
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New York Post, @danack@threads.com, @joemenn.bsky.social, @lachcartwright, @chadloder.bsky.social, The Independent, @lopatto.bsky.social, @joolia.bsky.social, The Post Millennial, @markgongloff.bsky.social, @robhanna.bsky.social, @petersterne.com, @paris.nyc, @choire.bsky.social and Talking Biz News

India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting orders all streamers and OTT companies operating in India to pull Pakistani content, citing national security — The order was published today by India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. In an X caption along with the order …
Discussion:
The Economic Times, Times of India, @globalaffairs, The Indian Express, @ani, BMI and Fortune India

Nexstar reports Q1 revenue down 3.9% YoY to $1.23B, primarily due to reduced political advertising revenue and net income down 42% to $97M — Save this article for later! Login or create a Free Member Profile to bookmark it. — That $50 million drop to $1.23 billion was “primarily due to reduced political advertising revenue.”
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The Desk, Sportico, Variety, @tvgrimreaper, Yahoo Finance, Barrett Media and Nexstar Media Group, Inc.

Clarence O. Smith, co-founder and president of Essence, the first general circulation magazine directed at Black women, has died at age 92 — As president, he helped persuade companies like Estée Lauder and Ford to advertise in the pages of the first mass-circulation magazine directed at Black women.
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Essence