Apple-Disney Merger Could Have Happened, Disney CEO Says
MarketWatch: Apple and Disney could have merged had Steve Jobs not died, Disney CEO Bob Iger believes.Vanity Fair on Wednesday published an excerpt from Iger’s upcoming autobiography, in which he detailed his close relationship with Jobs, who died of cancer in...
Netflix Plans to Pay Bonuses to Filmmakers, Actors, Producers
Bloomberg: Netflix plans to pay filmmakers, actors and movie producers a bonus if their films are successful, a new incentive aimed at winning projects that might otherwise go to rival studios. The measure of success would depend on the...
AT&T Mulls Possible Sale of DirecTV Amid Subscriber Losses
Wall Street Journal: AT&T is exploring parting with DirecTV, a sharp reversal from CEO Randall Stephenson’s strategy to make the $49 billion bet on the satellite provider a key piece of the telecom's future. AT&T has considered various options, including a...
CBS Names Amazon Studios Exec as Chief Marketing Officer
Deadline: In a significant changing of the marketing guard, CBS will hand the main duties of promoting its shows to Mike Benson, who has spent the past four years as marketing chief for Amazon Studios. George Schweitzer, will pass the baton to Benson at the end of the...
Fox Signs Multi-Year Deal with Bartiromo at Business Network
Fox Business: Fox News announced on Wednesday that it has re-signed Fox Business Network anchor and Global Markets Editor Maria Bartiromo to a new multi-year deal. "Maria Bartiromo has been a pioneer in business journalism for 30...
AT&T’s CNN Digital Says Trump Doesn’t Drive Traffic Success
Variety: No subject might get as much attention across CNN’s digital properties as Donald Trump, but that doesn’t mean the news network is dependent on him for web traffic. “The biggest drivers of traffic for CNN digital are stories that are not related to...
Nielsen Takes Minority Stake in Brand-Safety Firm OpenSlate
Wall Street Journal: Nielsen has acquired a minority stake in brand-safety measurement company OpenSlate in an effort to help marketers avoid advertising in environments that don’t fit their desired image. The deal values OpenSlate at more than $100...
Disney’s Hulu Faces Doubts as Media Brands Start Streaming
The Verge: NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia aren’t completely abandoning Hulu, but they’re now directly competing with the service. That means it’s going to be tougher for people to get all of their favorite shows in one place. Many financial analysts now see Hulu as an...
Comcast Tries to Boost Streaming TV Device by Giving It Away
Associated Press: As big entertainment companies prepare to launch new streaming services, Comcast is trying to bolster its Flex streaming TV device by giving it away. Comcast said that one box would now be free for its home internet...
Facebook Unveils Video-Chat TV Clip-On Camera Called Portal
TechCrunch: Facebook wants to take over your television with a clip-on camera for video calling, AR gaming and content co-watching. If you can get past the creepiness, the new Portal TV lets you hang out with friends on your home’s biggest...
Amazon FireTV, Roku Send Sensitive User Data to Tech Giants
Financial Times: Researchers from Northeastern University and Imperial College London found that a number of smart TVs, including those made by Samsung and LG, and the streaming dongles Roku and Amazon’s FireTV were sending out data to Netflix and third-party...
Apple’s PR Chief to Step Down After 16 Years at the Company
Vox: Steve Dowling, who has headed Apple’s communications for the last five years, is leaving the company. Dowling previously was Apple’s head of corporate public relations for 10 years. According to a memo he sent this week to staff, Dowling wrote, “it’s...
Facebook, Google Cozy Up to Publishers as Regulators Circle
Wall Street Journal: Google and Facebook are making concessions long sought by news publishers whose business has been hurt by the platforms’ dominance, moves that some in the media industry see as an effort to preempt a potential regulatory...
Google to Invest Millions in UK Local News Publisher Archant
Financial Times: Google is investing “several million dollars” into a joint venture with a British local news publisher, its first such project outside the US. The venture called Project Neon will be fully funded by Google but controlled by Archant, a publisher behind...
Microsoft’s LinkedIn: We Will Become a Major News Channel
The Drum: LinkedIn editor-in-chief Dan Roth: "We will become a major distribution channel for news -- maybe the first place people turn to in the morning for B2B news. However, after that, they will go somewhere else. We are not a threat to...
New York Media Expands Magazine Coverage with App Redo
The Drum: New York magazine is backing up its Big Apple coverage with a big app to suit after collaborating with app development specialists Mazz to overhaul its mobile presence. The fruits of this collaboration have now been revealed in the form of a fully revamped...
Conde Nast’s Glamour Unveils Annual Issue About Television
Glamour: "If TV is a reflection of where we are as a society, then the fall 2019 season should give you hope. YouTube influencer Lilly Singh is taking over the male-dominated world of late night with NBC's 'A Little Late With Lilly Singh.' Even the idea of a TV star...
Hearst Teams with P&G on Body Confidence Campaign in UK
FIPP: Hearst UK is partnering with Procter & Gamble in a body confidence campaign after its largest ever research piece revealed how negatively women think about their bodies. Over 2,500 women, aged 18-65, took part in targeted surveys, kept diaries and attended...
Media Giants See Old Sitcoms as Key Prize for New Streamers
Bloomberg: As media giants roll out streaming services, classic sitcoms have emerged as a key prize. New online platforms from Comcast’s NBCUniversal and AT&T’s WarnerMedia are racing to lock down popular shows, hoping to launch their services with well-known...
AT&T’s HBO Max Wins Streaming Rights to ‘Big Bang Theory’
CNBC: HBO Max has won the exclusive rights to blockbuster comedy series “The Big Bang Theory” as it works to beef up the new direct-to-consumer streaming service. The five-year deal is estimated to be worth billions of...
Comcast’s NBC to Name Its New Streaming Service ‘Peacock’
NBC News: NBCUniversal’s new streaming service will be named “Peacock,” the company announced Tuesday. The ad and subscription-supported service will roll out in April 2020 with a content slate including “The Office” and “Parks and...
AT&T CEO Defends Strategy, Possible Media Boss Successor
TheStreet: AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson addressed activist pressure on Tuesday morning at a Goldman Sachs telecom and media conference, calling the recommendations a "mixed bag" and arguing that the telecom and media giant is on its way to achieving its...
Viacom CEO Expects CBS Merger Deal to Close in December
CNBC: Bob Bakish, the head of a newly combined CBS and Viacom, said those companies’ share prices aren’t rallying the way he hoped. “Clearly we’re disappointed with how the stocks are reacting.” Bakish said Tuesday that he expects the deal to close in...
Disney-ABC News Legendary Journo Cokie Roberts Dies at 75
ABC News: Renowned ABC News journalist and political commentator Cokie Roberts has died at the age of 75. Roberts won countless awards, including three Emmys, throughout her decades-long career. She was named a "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress in...
Amazon’s Twitch Co-Founder Supports New ‘ESPN of Esports’
Associated Press: A new venture backed by many of video gaming’s biggest publishers is unveiling a network that hopes to be to esports what ESPN has been to traditional sports. VENN is set to launch in 2020 and aims to give the fragmented esports scene a home base for...
Google Offers Ability to Find Key Moments in YouTube Videos
Variety: Google has introduced a new way to find exact moments in YouTube videos through its search engine, with initial partners including CBS Sports. Search results now will provide links to key moments within the...
Amazon Launches Premium High-Def Music Streaming Service
Financial Times: Amazon has launched a premium high-definition music streaming service as it tries to differentiate itself in a competitive landscape dominated by Spotify and Apple. Amazon says it will deliver songs to smartphones at CD-quality sound or...
Snap Talks with Publishers About News Section for Snapchat
The Information: Snap is in early talks with media companies about powering a dedicated news section inside the Snapchat app. The planned news section represents a do-over of sorts for its efforts to present real-time, breaking news from a handful of trusted news...
Facebook Details Guidelines for New Content Oversight Board
CNET: Facebook just can't seem to win when it comes to what content it leaves up or pulls down from the social network, constantly drawing scrutiny. So the world's largest social network has been working on a potential solution: creating an independent...
Washington Post Unveils Ad Network to Help Battle Big Tech
Axios: The Washington Post has unveiled Zeus Prime, a product that will allow companies to buy automated ads in real-time, similar to Big Tech platforms. Zeus will also support a new ad network that will include other...