Top News:
Ben Fritz / Wall Street Journal:
Google invests in independent movie studio A24 as part of a new AI partnership; sources say Google is investing $75M, equal to what Thrive invested in 2024 — Search giant is putting about $75 million into the film company as part of an artificial-intelligence research partnership
Discussion:
/Film, Reuters, IndieWire, The Wrap, The Next Web, Los Angeles Times, Gizmodo, The Keyword, The Verge, Screen, Neil Parris on LinkedIn, Consequence, Variety, Digital Trends, Hindustan Times, Decrypt, Helena Malikova on LinkedIn, How-To Geek, The Hollywood Reporter, @discussingfilm.net, Deadline, Ben Fritz on LinkedIn, World of Reel, Proactive, Sherwood News, Far Out Magazine, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, Showbiz411, Yahoo Finance and The Decoder, more at Techmeme »
Max Tani / Semafor:
The Atlantic ramps up its video podcasts, doubling its video team from ~10 to ~20, and says its podcast revenue is up 104% YoY and downloads rose ~50% YoY — One of America's oldest magazines is investing in video after seeing notable growth in its audience in recent months.
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
ABC is airing direct appeals to its audience for The View and for stations it owns, asking viewers to comment on FCC actions challenging the show and stations — The spots, which will start airing on Monday, are the latest pushback from The Walt Disney Co. and the network …
New York Times:
People Inc., a major food content creator, is ramping up social media video production that emphasizes human-made recipes and testing to stand out from AI slop — People Inc., the home of Food & Wine and Southern Living, publishes more food content than anyone else.
Ben Sisario / New York Times:
Clive Davis, one of music's most powerful executives who guided Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, and Whitney Houston's careers, dies at 94 — He rose from a midlevel position at Columbia Records to become one of music's most powerful executives, shepherding stars like Barry Manilow and Whitney Houston.
Discussion:
HuffPost, Billboard, Reuters, The Wrap, Forbes, RADAR, Instapundit, @katiestereo.bsky.social, The Forward, Hypebot, KFOR-TV, Mirror, Vanity Fair, VINnews, @canaansdad1987.bsky.social, The Stranger, Vibe, Daily Mail, E! Online, HELLO!, TODAY.com, Daily Star, Fox News, Bossip, Us Weekly, TMZ.com, The Detroit News, Suggest, Los Angeles Times, The Gateway Pundit, Page Six, The Sun, Just Jared, The Daily Caller, @larrytenney.bsky.social, KOIN.com, The Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone, CBS News, Deadline and WPXI-TV
Echo Wang / Reuters:
Sources: Vimeo owner Bending Spoons seeks to raise ~$1.62B in a US IPO, selling 58M shares at $26 to $28 apiece, at a valuation of $19B at the top of the range — Bending Spoons, an Italian technology company that acquires and revamps software businesses, is seeking to raise as much as $1.62 billion …
Discussion:
Finimize, more at Techmeme »
Borys Kit / The Hollywood Reporter:
Netflix wins rights to the Sesame Street movie; Rideback, the production company behind live-action Lilo & Stitch and Aladdin movies, will produce the feature — Rideback, the production company behind the billion-dollar live-action “Lilo & Stitch” and “Aladdin” movies, brought it to the studio and will produce.
Discussion:
Gizmodo, IGN, Just Jared, @rwmead.bsky.social, World of Reel and The InSneider
Associated Press:
Staff of Czech public broadcasters stage a warning strike, protesting government plans to shift funding from license fees to the state budget starting next year — Journalists and other employees formed a human chain around the Czech public radio in Prague on Monday as part of a warning strike …
Discussion:
The Guardian and Newser
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Disney plans an interactive hub called ESPN Fan House alongside ESPN's College GameDay in August, with fan experiences like live polls and merchandise showcases — Disney wants to help advertisers reach more of the sports fans under its own roof. — The entertainment giant this August …
Discussion:
Sports Business Journal, ESPN Press Room U.S., MediaPost and Deadline
Mallory Moench / BBC:
Israeli strikes kill Al Jazeera correspondent Ahmed Wishah, claiming he was “a sniper operative”; Al Jazeera says it “strongly condemns” the killing of Wishah — Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed at least six people, including an Al Jazeera cameraman and at least one child …
Discussion:
The Guardian, @simonrosenberg.bsky.social, Al Jazeera, RTÉ, New York Post, The Times of Israel, NBC News, Associated Press and Arab News
Martin Peers / The Information:
WPP Media expects ad revenue from AI search and chatbots to reach $5.1B in 2026 and $101B in 2030, but notes lack of historical data makes forecasting difficult — If you've wanted to visit the South of France, this might be the week. The annual Cannes Lion ad festival …
Discussion:
The American Bazaar, Digiday and The Verge
Katie Kilkenny / The Hollywood Reporter:
Instagram is testing horizontal video on Instagram for TV, plans to experiment with longer-form storytelling and episodic series, and launches on Samsung TV — The Meta-owned company is going decidedly retro by experimenting with time-honored video formats with its creators.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Meta Newsroom, The Wrap, Neowin, WeRSM, @kennysmith.org, The Next Web, iThinkDifferent and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Mark Bergen / Bloomberg:
Getty Images signs a licensing deal with OpenAI, letting its image library appear in ChatGPT's search and discovery features; GETY jumps 120%+ and is up 5%+ YTD — Shares of Getty Images Holdings Inc. jumped about 200% in premarket trading on Monday after the photography repository announced a licensing deal with OpenAI.
Discussion:
Benzinga, Yahoo Finance, The Decoder, Digital Trends, The Decoder, Proactive, GlobeNewswire News Room, @danyahenninger.bsky.social, Engadget, The Next Web, ZeroHedge News, Blockonomi, Forbes, PetaPixel, @kennysmith.org, Fast Company, Zeina Tabbara on LinkedIn and iThinkDifferent, more at Techmeme »
