Facebook, Google See Spike in Ad Spending from Trump
Financial Times: Donald Trump's presidential marketing campaign is retreating from the airwaves, spending solely a fraction of the huge sums Joe Biden is pouring into costly TV commercials. Nevertheless, there may be one space the place Trump is outspending Biden:...
Oracle, Walmart Win Trump’s OK for Operation of TikTok
USA Today: President Trump says he has approved a bid by Oracle and Walmart to take over TikTok's US operations in a move that would mean the app beloved by American teens won't be banned after all. The combined company is "conceptually" a great deal for the...
AT&T, ViacomCBS Win Big at 2020 Virtual Emmy Awards
Los Angeles Times: "Succession," Watchmen" and "Schitt's Creek" were big winners Sunday at the 72nd Emmy Awards. But the biggest story was the ceremony itself, a mostly virtual celebration of an industry thrown into disarray by the Covid-19...
Discovery to Unveil Own Streaming Service in Early 2021
Digiday: Discovery plans to debut its direct-to-consumer streaming service — which will be called Discovery+ — in the first quarter of 2021. Discovery+ will feature an ad-supported and an ad-free tier, and the ad-supported tier will carry a maximum of five minutes of...
Comcast’s NBC Inks Deal to Distribute Peacock via Roku
NBC News: NBCUniversal and Roku have reached a video distribution deal, breaking a months-long impasse that had NBCUniversal threatening to black out its apps on Roku in the 11th hour. The deal will keep NBC News and the rest of NBCUniversal's apps on Roku while...
AT&T’s CNN Chief in Spotlight for Helping Elevate Trump
New York Times: Tucker Carlson of Fox News recently gleefully aired recordings of conversations with Jeff Zucker that Donald Trump's fixer, Michael Cohen, had taped in March 2016. Zucker is heard speaking in flattering and friendly terms about Trump, or, as he called...
Spotify’s Joe Rogan Apologizes for Remarks on Wildfires
CNN: Joe Rogan, reportedly the highest paid podcast host in the world, has apologized for spreading misinformation to his millions of listeners about the West Coast fires during a recent episode. "I need to make an apology and a retraction," Rogan said in a video...
iHeartMedia Names MTV Alum to Black Podcast Network
Variety: The Black Effect Podcast Network, a joint venture between Charlamagne tha God and iHeartMedia, has made its first hire: Dollie S. Bishop, who joins as president of production and creative development. Bishop, a TV production veteran, will work directly with...
Playboy Mulls Return to Stock Market After Exiting Print
Reuters: Playboy magazine owner Playboy Enterprises is exploring options that include going public through a merger with a blank-check acquisition company. In recent years, Playboy has expanded beyond its media business to refashion itself as a lifestyle...
News Corp CEO Eyes Role in Recovery of New York City
Wall Street Journal: Leaders of some of the most powerful companies in New York City have offered to work with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio on a plan for the city's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The 177 signatories include News Corp CEO Robert...
Meredith to Relocate Jobs to Des Moines Amid Cutbacks
Des Moines Register: Meredith laid off 180 workers last week, but its Des Moines offices avoided most of the cuts. About 1,000 of the company's 5,000 employees work in Des Moines. "We expect to relocate some positions to Des Moines from other Meredith...
Conde Nast to Seek Revenue Growth with New Ad Metric
Digiday: Conde Nast is trying to remind advertisers that brand awareness and engagement matter too, even in a pandemic. It's hoping that a new ad measurement framework, plus a new performance marketing offering, can help them make the...
Bloomberg Industry Group Lays Off 21 Business Staffers
MediaPost: Some 21 people are losing their jobs at Bloomberg Industry Group, which publishes Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg Tax and Bloomberg Government. Most of those being let go are on the business side. CEO Josh Eastright says that the group has hired nearly 200 new...
New York Times Debuts Feature to Unmask ‘Distortions’
Nieman Lab: In an effort to cover misinformation responsibly, the New York Times has debuted a new feature that will debunk and contextualize misleading information after it has gone viral or created “offline harms.” Daily Distortions will appear as a swipeable...
McClatchy Newspapers Unlikely to Endorse Candidates
New York Times: Readers of newspapers like the Miami Herald and the Kansas City Star will probably have to choose a presidential candidate in November without the help of their local editorial boards, according to a memo circulated by the company that owns the...
BuzzFeed Unveils File Trove Claiming Global Corruption
New York Times: A cache of thousands of reports shows that top banks helped suspected terrorists, drug dealers and corrupt foreign officials move trillions of dollars around the world. The documents were obtained by BuzzFeed News and shared with a worldwide consortium...
Opinion: Publishers at Risk from Deals with Tech Giants
The Information: "You don't need to look far to find examples of tech companies refusing to pay publishers, even while they are striking one-off deals ... It would be naive to assume that stronger financial ties between publishers and tech platforms won't change...
Facebook CEO: Social Giant ‘Likes’ the Republican Party
Bloomberg Businessweek: Mark Zuckerberg seems keenly aware of the risks of President Trump losing reelection. He has told employees that Facebook is likely to fare better under Republicans. Facebook’s internal data shows that conservative voices are consistently the...
Amazon’s Shelved Woody Allen Film Coming to Theaters
Associated Press: After being shelved for two years, Woody Allen's "A Rainy Day in New York" will finally land in US theaters next month. MPI Media Group and Signature Entertainment announced that the companies will release "Rainy Day" in North American theaters on...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Restarts ‘The Batman’ After Covid
Associated Press: The UK production of "The Batman" is starting up again after being shut down earlier this month when an individual tested positive for Covid-19. Filming has resumed after a hiatus for quarantine precautions. The studio has not identified the person...
Discovery Nears Debut of Global Pay-Streaming Service
TheWrap: Discovery chief David Zaslav says his company is "very close" to launching its own global pay-streaming service — like a Disney+ for Mike Rowe, Bobby Flay and "90 Day Fiancé" fans. "You'll hear from us soon. I think one of the keys is getting partners to...
ViacomCBS Pays to Help Younger Americans Vote Early
Axios: MTV will pay for the printing and postage of any ballot application requested through websites linked to its new voter initiative campaign. Studies shows that many Americans want to vote early given the limitations of the pandemic, but some may not be familiar...
Comcast, ViacomCBS News Brace for US Election Chaos
Vanity Fair: Newsrooms are preparing for an unprecedented November, with Americans voting in a pandemic and a conspiracy-addled president sowing distrust. "It's hard to imagine a more consequential moment for our country," says NBC News head Noah...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia CEO ‘Concerned’ About TMZ, ‘Ellen’
BuzzFeed: WarnerMedia executives on Thursday addressed allegations of workplace misconduct made by former and current employees against executives at the studio's "Ellen DeGeneres Show" and TMZ. "I am both concerned and disappointed," says WarnerMedia CEO Jason...
Netflix Star Arrested on Charge of Producing Child Porn
Chicago Tribune: Jerry Harris rocketed to fame earlier this year as the breakout star of the Netflix docuseries "Cheer," parlaying his contagious exuberance into talk show appearances, an Oscars gig and more than a million Instagram followers. But the young star's...
Quibi New Series ‘Wireless’ Lets Viewer Become Editor
Associated Press: The series "Wireless" on the mobile-platform Quibi employs an ingenious way to tell a story on a smartphone: You see different things on the screen depending on whether you hold your phone vertically or horizontally. That means each viewer sees a...
ByteDance Circles Instagrammer for New CEO of TikTok
New York Times: TikTok is hunting for a permanent CEO to replace Kevin Mayer, who resigned in late August, citing the changing political pressures of the role. Among those whom TikTok has talked to about the job is Kevin Systrom, a founder and former CEO of Instagram....
Imagine Entertainment Secures Funding for Accelerator
TechCrunch: Imagine Impact, a content accelerator that launched two years ago under production powerhouse Imagine Entertainment, has raised a Series A round of funding from Benchmark, the venture capital firm that has backed Uber, Twitter, Dropbox, Snapchat and many...
Paradigm Talent Agency Permanently Cuts 180 Staffers
Los Angeles Times: Paradigm Talent Agency says it will permanently lay off 180 employees, roughly 70% of the staffers who were temporarily let go from their jobs in March. The layoffs are the latest sign of the economic stress in the agency business, which has been...
Chernin’s Barstool Sports Introduces Fans to Gambling
Bloomberg: Barstool Sports faces its first challenge to turn loyal followers into devout gamblers with the debut of its online betting app. The sports and pop-culture outlet's Barstool Sportsbook is capping off a three-day test in Pennsylvania ahead of an official...