Top News:
Abid Rahman / The Hollywood Reporter:
Sony Pictures reports Q1 revenue up 4% YoY to ~$2.26B, operating income up 76% YoY to $129M, and motion pictures unit revenue down 13% YoY to $742M — The studio's releases in the period included ‘28 Years Later’ and ‘Karate Kid: Legends.’ … SPE comprises the motion pictures division, television productions and media networks.
Discussion:
Variety, Sony Group Corporation, Sony Group Corporation and Deadline
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Glenn Peoples / Billboard:
Sony Music reports Q1 revenue up 5.3% YoY to $3.22B, operating income up 8% YoY to $641.8M, and USD-denominated streaming revenue up 7.3% YoY to $1.36B — Bad Bunny, SZA, Sleep Token and Tate McRae had Sony Music Entertainment's top albums in the quarter ended June 30.
Glenn Kessler / By Glenn Kessler:
Glenn Kessler likens working at WaPo now to the Titanic, sinking and aimless under Will Lewis, who asked Kessler for advice on attracting Fox News viewers — “Democracy Dies in Darkness” — but what if the lights are going out from within? — My decision to leave The Washington Post …
Julian Wyllie / Current:
PBS North Carolina says it will offer voluntary buyouts as it anticipates an annual loss of $4.8M in federal funding and may also lose $4M in state funding — PBS North Carolina announced Tuesday that it will offer voluntary buyouts to staff due to an anticipated revenue shortfall caused by the loss of federal funding.
Discussion:
PBS North Carolina, Triangle Business Journal and WCNC-TV
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Katcy Stephan / Variety:
Memo: Paramount Global co-CEO Brian Robbins announces his departure from the company following the Skydance merger, calling the transition “bittersweet” — Brian Robbins is Co-CEO of Paramount Global, and President and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Animation Magazine, Reuters, The Wrap and TVNewsCheck
Liz Reid / The Keyword:
Google says total organic click volume from Search to websites has been “relatively stable” YoY and it's sending “slightly more quality clicks” than a year ago — We continue to send billions of clicks to the web every day and are committed to prioritizing the web in our AI experiences in Search.
Discussion:
Puck, The Indian Express, The Hans India, B&T, Social Media Today, Moneycontrol, @kasey__moore, Engadget, @nickleroy, @btabke, @gaganghotra_, WinBuzzer, @ethanhays, Greg Sterling on LinkedIn, @realtaylorkurtz, BMI, Ars Technica, TechCrunch, MediaPost, Matthew Rivard on LinkedIn, 9to5Google, Scott Sinclair on LinkedIn, Debbie W. on LinkedIn, Lily Ray on LinkedIn, The Verge, Search Engine Land, Search Engine Journal, @glenngabe.bsky.social, Search Engine Roundtable and Digital Journal, more at Techmeme »
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Report for America says for 2024-25, 55% of the 181 reporters in the program were hired into permanent positions; since 2018, RFA has placed 759 corps members — Eight years after Report for America launched, its graduates are more often than not accepting permanent positions in their newsrooms.
Discussion:
Report for America
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Disney says it is “fully integrating” Hulu into Disney+, plans to launch a “unified” Disney+ and Hulu app in 2026 and migrate Hulu's live TV subscribers to Fubo — Hulu will replace the Star brand on Disney+ internationally this fall
Discussion:
Cord Cutters News, PhoneArena, MacRumors, Ars Technica, @localcelebrity.bsky.social, Mediaweek, HELLO!, iDrop News, iDownloadBlog.com, Gene Cho on LinkedIn, Marketing Brew, ZDNET, Android Headlines, The A.V. Club, Collider, The Shortcut, AdExchanger, Digital Trends, TheDesk.net, TechRadar, PCMag, Gizmodo, How-To Geek, MediaPost, ABC7, Comic Book, Pocket-lint, KIII-TV, New Jersey Online, Decider, GamesRadar, Engadget, The Verge, JJ Sawyer on LinkedIn, Tom's Guide, The Streamable, Screen Rant, Adweek, Bleeding Cool News, The Information, PCWorld, Consequence, 9to5Mac, Business Insider, The Wrap, TVLine, Android Authority, CBS News, New York Daily News, Just Jared, Oh No They Didn't! and Game Rant, more at Techmeme »
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Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
Disney reports Q3 revenue up 2% YoY to $23.7B, operating income up 8% YoY to $4.6B, streaming revenue of $6.2B, profit of $346M; Disney+ and Hulu hit 183M subs — In an early look at the numbers, Evercore ISI analyst Kutgun Maral called it a “healthy quarter with upside where it matters most, theme parks & DTC profitability.”
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Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:
Disney plans to launch its new flagship sports streaming service ESPN on August 21 for $29.99 per month or $35.99 per month when bundled with Disney+ and Hulu — ESPN will launch its new flagship streaming service — also named ESPN — on August 21. — Disney's ESPN has been working …
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, ESPN Press Room U.S., Fast Company, Forrester, ESPN Front Row, Plain Dealer, TheDesk.net, Decider, Droid Life, One America News Network, Engadget, Thurrott, Los Angeles Times, CNN, PCWorld, ABC7, 9to5Google, Orlando Sentinel, Yahoo Finance, Android Headlines, How-To Geek, TVLine, KTFT, 9to5Mac, The Streamable, Streaming Better, The Verge, Awful Announcing, TVNewsCheck, The Wrap, Variety, Reuters, Bloomberg and NBC News, more at Techmeme »
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
The New York Times reports 11.88M subscribers in Q2, total revenue up 9.7% YoY to $685.9M, and adjusted operating profit up 28% to $133.8M; NYT closes up 15.5% — The company added 230,000 digital-only subscribers in the second quarter. It now has 11.88 million total subscribers.
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
ESPN signs a deal to show the WWE's biggest live events, including WrestleMania, from 2026; sources say ESPN will pay $325M on average per year for five years — The WWE is coming to ESPN. — The Disney-controlled sports and entertainment business will pay an average of $325 million per year …
Discussion:
ESPN Press Room U.S., Yahoo Finance, @wrestleops, Fox News, Wrestlezone, Awful Announcing, Fortune, Greg Stern on LinkedIn, Associated Press, TODAY.com, Comic Book, Sherwood News, South Shore Press, New York Post, Front Office Sports, @kennysmith.bsky.social, The Streamable, Bleeding Cool News, The Information, Sports Media Watch, Sports Business Journal, al.com, Puck, TVNewsCheck, Wall Street Journal, Variety, City A.M., Deadline, NewsMax.com and WPXI-TV
Clyde Haberman / New York Times:
Longtime WNYC radio talk-show host Leonard Lopate, who was fired in 2017 for inappropriate behavior that he vehemently denied, died on Tuesday at 84 — He mastered the art of the interview over 32 years on public radio, at WNYC. He was fired in 2017 amid allegations of sexual harassment, which he vehemently denied.
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