Alphabet, Facebook Eclipse Old Media in News Biz
Press Gazette: Ten years ago, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp was the biggest news media company in the English-speaking world. Today, the biggest three news and information companies in the world are Google-owner Alphabet, Facebook and...
Facebook Girds for Onslaught of Antitrust Lawsuits
Reuters: A group of US states is investigating Facebook for possible antitrust violations and plans to file a lawsuit against the social media giant next week. More than 40 states plan to sign on to the lawsuit, one source said, without naming...
Apple to Make Mobile Movie Screens Even Smaller
CNBC: Apple's latest iPhone update includes a new picture-in-picture option that lets you continue watching a movie, TV show or FaceTime video chat while you're doing other stuff on your iPhone. The video just plays in a small window instead of full...
AT&T to Stream All Warner Films in Seismic Shift
CNBC: WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar doesn't think he just destroyed the movie theater industry with the decision to release the company's entire 2021 slate of films directly on HBO Max at the same time they hit theaters. "Everyone should take a...
Disney Lays Off TV Staffers, Shutters Disney Radio
Deadline: Disney's Television Group is set to cut a significant swathe of roles following its major restructures over the past few weeks. On Thursday morning, Radio Disney said its was ceasing operations, which is believed to be part of the...
Fox Corp Bets on Billion-Dollar Deal with FanDuel
Fox Business: Flutter Entertainment said it will acquire a minority shareholder's stake in FanDuel as sports gambling continues to explode across the US. Fox Corp holds a stake in Flutter. "Fox's audiences [are] highly engaged with wagering...
ViacomCBS Vows $250 Million for Diversity at MTV
Associated Press: MTV Entertainment Group says it's making a $250 million commitment to spur reality production over the next three years by companies owned and operated by women and people of color. MTV will provide funding, staff and other...
Comcast Sees ‘Shepard Smith’ Fall Short at CNBC
Washington Post: Since his debut in late September, "The News With Shepard Smith" has averaged a modest 280,000 viewers each weeknight at 7 pm. That's a fraction of the 2 million-plus viewers that CNN, Fox and MSNBC each attract at the same...
Fox Corp News Host Tests Positive for Coronavirus
New York Times: Juan Williams, a veteran Fox News personality who co-hosts the popular afternoon talk show "The Five," tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday and is isolating himself. Williams taped a live episode of "The Five" on...
Hearst Corp Retiree Becomes a Hyperlocal Blogger
Poynter: When Lincoln Millstein retired as senior assistant to Hearst CEO Steven Swartz, he faced a familiar dilemma for those leaving high-powered executive positions: What next? Millstein found an answer: become a hyperlocal...
Playboy to Reboot ‘Playboy Interview’ as Podcasts
Hollywood Reporter: Playboy Enterprises and Audio Up will launch a scripted podcast based on Playboy's archive of nearly 500 interviews. The format will see actors re-enacting some of the magazine's most iconic...
Conde Nast Taps Veteran for New Chief in Europe
WWD: More corporate changes are afoot at Conde Nast's European operations. Following the September exit of chief operating officer Wolfgang Blau, the publisher just revealed that Natalia Gamero del Castillo will step into the newly created position of managing...
Meredith Braces for Union Battle Across Magazines
New York Post: The News Guild of New York said more than 90 percent of the editorial staff at Entertainment Weekly, Martha Stewart Living, Shape and People TV have opted to be represented by the union. But Meredith is digging in and said it will not voluntarily...
The Atlantic Names Wired Magazine Editor as CEO
New York Times: The Atlantic has selected a new chief executive after a yearlong search: Nicholas Thompson, the editor in chief of Wired, the tech-focused magazine published by Conde Nast. Thompson, 45, has spent 15 years working as a writer and editor for Conde...
Guardian News CEO Departs to Head Up SoulCycle
New York Post: SoulCycle has named Evelyn Webster, CEO of Guardian News and Media's international operations, as the new chief executive of the trendy spin-studio chain. At the Guardian, Webster oversaw the British newspaper's growth in the US and...
Time Magazine Extends ‘Person of the Year’ to Kids
USA Today: Time magazine has selected 15-year-old scientist and inventor Gitanjali Rao as its first-ever Kid of the Year. The magazine has named a Person of the Year for 92 years. This year, Time partnered with Nickelodeon in a search to find the most influential kid...
BuzzFeed Names Beyoncé Company Exec to Board
Variety: Janet Rollé, general manager of Beyoncé's Parkwood Entertainment, is joining BuzzFeed's board — the first woman and the first person of color to serve as a director on the digital media company's board. At Parkwood, Rollé leads the media and management...
Amazon in Talks to Acquire Podcast Firm Wondery
Wall Street Journal: Amazon is in exclusive talks to purchase podcast startup Wondery, as the tech giant pushes further into the growing audio sector. The talks value Wondery at over $300 million. Wondery's last funding round, in June 2019, valued the company at $100...
Google’s YouTube Tops Media in ‘Brand Intimacy’
PR Newswire: The media and entertainment industry ranks first out of the 10 industries featured in a new study of brands based on emotional connections during the pandemic. YouTube is the No. 1 category brand, followed by Amazon Prime, Disney, and Netflix,...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Names New Financial Officer
World Screen: Jennifer Biry has been named WarnerMedia's new chief financial officer, leading all financial operations for the company. Biry will report directly to WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar. She is replacing Pascal Desroches, who will be moving into the role of...
Discovery to Enter ‘Plus’ Wars with New Streamer
Broadcasting & Cable: Discovery has taken the veil off its new subscription streaming service, which goes by the now somewhat pedestrian moniker, Discovery Plus (or, discovery+ as the company stylistically prefers). Discovery Plus will debut in the US on Jan....
Disney Former CEO Says He’d Mull Job with Biden
Bloomberg: Bob Iger said he would consider a role in the administration of incoming US President Joe Biden, if the right position came along. "Giving back in some fashion -- serving our country in some fashion -- is certainly something that I would consider seriously....
Fox Corp’s News Channel ‘Protected’ from Trump
Bloomberg Opinion: President Trump and two fledging conservative news networks seem intent on taking down Rupert Murdoch's Fox News. But do they have a shot? One America News isn't even carried on packages offered by Charter, Comcast or Dish...
ViacomCBS Nearly Sold Out of Ads for Super Bowl
Ad Age: Despite Covid-19 ravaging the National Football League this week, CBS has still been able to offload a large part of its Super Bowl ad inventory. The network is about 75% to 80% sold out of commercial time in Super Bowl LV, with about eight to 10 spots left,...
AT&T Streamer Finds New Hits in ‘Undoing,’ ‘Flight’
Associated Press: "The Undoing" has generated more conversation on social media than any other new scripted television series this year, Nielsen said. Coupled with the streaming-only series "The Flight Attendant," HBO Max had its biggest week since the service was...
Verizon, Charter May Return Cash to Pay-TV Users
Bloomberg: More than $1 billion will soon start to flow back to US pay-TV subscribers in the form of refunds and credits, compensating them for the year’s many pandemic-related sports cancellations. Pay-TV providers kept collecting sports-programming fees even as...
Comcast Warns Home Users of New Cyber Threats
Advanced Television: Internet users in the US vastly underestimate how often their home networks are targeted by cyber threats. That's one of the key findings of the first-ever "Xfinity Cyber Health Report," which combines data from a new consumer survey with actual...
Meredith Names Digital Exec to Oversee Magazines
New York Post: For the first time in its 119-year history, Meredith has tapped a female executive to lead the nation's largest magazine division, with titles that include People, Better Homes & Gardens and Martha Stewart Living. Catherine Levene, 50, only joined...
Conde Nast’s Corporate Creative Director to Depart
WWD: Raúl Martinez, head creative director at Conde Nast, is joining lingerie giant Victoria's Secret as its new head creative director, starting in January. Martinez has served as Conde Nast's corporate creative director since 2015, working closely with Anna Wintour...
Gannett Retiree: I’m Optimistic About Newspapers
USA Today: "American newspapers strike me as finally having found a bottom. Most have gone to a digital subscription basis and are showing some impressive increases in paid readership, even amid a recession-driven collapse in advertising revenue. They are reaching...