AT&T Plans Lower-Priced Version of HBO Max with Ads
Bloomberg: AT&T will debut an ad-supported version of HBO Max next spring at a lower price, a bet that it can broaden the appeal of a hallowed entertainment brand without eroding its cachet. The new version of HBO Max will have a “light ad...
Comcast Touts 15 Million Signups at New NBC Streamer
CNBC: NBCUniversal streaming service Peacock has 15 million signups, a 50% increase in six weeks, says Comcast CEO Brian Roberts Peacock is Comcast's plan to monetize broadband-only subscribers through...
Disney Streaming Users on Track to Best Hulu by 2024
Fast Company: Disney+ viewership is expected to continue to surge over the coming years, according to a new report from eMarketer. Matter of fact, by 2024, Disney Plus will overtake another Disney majority-owned streaming service,...
ViacomCBS Streaming Service Rebrands as Paramount+
Associated Press: ViacomCBS will rebrand its CBS All Access streaming service as Paramount+, set to debut early next year with new, original shows. The expanded streaming service has been in the works since...
Fox Corp: Trump Suggests a Regular Morning Show Gig
TheHill: President Trump said twice on Tuesday morning that he will appear on "Fox & Friends" on a weekly basis through Election Day, but co-host Steve Doocy said Fox News has not committed to the proposal. "We're gonna do it every...
Netflix Faces Rise in US Cancellations After ‘Cuties’ Flap
Fox Business: Netflix's churn, or the amount of customers who choose not to renew their subscription, began to substantially increase following the release of the controversial film "Cuties." The churn could continue to grow in the coming...
AMC Networks Names Dolan Chief as Father Steps Aside
Hollywood Reporter: Charles Dolan will step down as executive chairman of AMC Networks, with the 93-year old shifting to a chairman emeritus role. Dolan's son James Dolan will become chairman of the owner of AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel and BBC...
SiriusXM Satellite Radio Names Sales Chief as New CEO
Reuters: SiriusXM has named sales head Jennifer Witz its new chief executive officer and hired AMC Networks finance head Sean Sullivan as chief financial officer. Witz will succeed James Meyer, who will retire on Dec....
New York Times New CEO Optimistic on Future in Audio
Deadline: Meredith Kopit Levien, the new CEO of the New York Times, says the company would consider acquisitions to expand offerings like its highly successful games and cooking apps and continue to grow in audio – which is a better fit for print than...
Hearst’s Marie Claire Editor in Chief Exits for Pinterest
WWD: After just nine months as editor in chief of Marie Claire, Aya Kanai is moving on to the tech world, taking on the new role of head of content and editorial partnerships at Pinterest. Her decision to leave Marie Claire is understood to have come completely out of...
Conde Nast Launches News Show ‘Good Morning Vogue’
Vogue: Vogue's new fashion news show, "Good Morning Vogue," was conceived in response to the tumultuous year. The 12-part series, airing every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of the spring 2021 collections, will explore challenges facing today's...
Meredith Takes a Hit as Covid Strikes Magazine Industry
Seeking Alpha: Meredith's acquisition of Time Inc. could be the media company's "greatest mistake." The 2018 deal "resulted in billions in debt with essentially nothing to show. ... Meredith operates in a slowly but steadily dying...
Report: Covid Turns America Into Nation of Freelancers
Bloomberg: More than a third of the American workforce did at least some work on the side this year as the Covid-19 pandemic decimated jobs and wages. That translates to 59 million people, or 2 million more than in 2019, according to the Freelance Forward...
Alphabet Unveils TikTok Copycat Called YouTube Shorts
The Verge: YouTube is rolling out a new short-form video creator that the company hopes will take some attention away from TikTok. The company is launching YouTube Shorts in beta in India. Shorts will let people make 15-second videos which can be set to...
Facebook is Aware of Political Manipulation, Staffer Says
BuzzFeed News: Facebook ignored or was slow to act on fake accounts that were undermining elections worldwide, according to an explosive memo sent by recently fired data scientist Sophie Zhang. "I know that I have blood on my hands by...
Disney Bets on Deals with Caesars, DraftKings for ESPN
Fox Business: DraftKings and Caesars Entertainment are entering separate deals with Disney-owned ESPN. The sports network will use Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill as its sponsor for fantasy products and DraftKings as its partner for fantasy sports...
Comcast Start-Up Accelerator to Target Future of Work
Philadelphia Inquirer: Comcast's mentorship program says it is seeking start-up companies working on connectivity breakthroughs. Specifically, Comcast says the program will focus in part on the future of work, as well as innovative...
Fox Corp News Stars Face Grilling on Debunked Reports
Daily Beast: Sean Hannity will have to answer questions under oath about Fox News's coverage of the death of Seth Rich, the murdered Democratic National Committee staffer. Hannity is to be deposed with other Fox staffers over the network's debunked...
ViacomCBS Talks Trump with Head of Simon & Schuster
Bloomberg: Simon & Schuster is the publisher of Bob Woodward's "Rage," Mary Trump's "Too Much and Never Enough," Sean Hannity's "Live Free or Die," and Brian Stelter's "Hoax." Says new publishing head Dana Canedy: "People are reading...
Vice Media Inks Disney Deal to Bring TV Content to Hulu
Deadline: Vice's fledgling TV distribution division is off to a productive start with a big package deal with Hulu. The US streamer has picked up 100 hours of Vice TV shows including the likes of breakout wrestling doc series "Dark Side of the...
CAA Claims New Deal to End Standoff with Writers Guild
Los Angeles Times: Creative Artists Agency says it reached a deal with the Writers Guild of America, potentially ending a standoff that has lasted more than a year. But the WGA says it has not yet reached a deal with CAA and called the agency's statement "not...
Netflix to Take Crown for Spending on Films, TV in 2020
Financial Times: Netflix's spending on films and programming is expected to rise by $3 billion to $13.6 billion in 2020, edging out its closest rivals ViacomCBS, Disney and NBCUniversal when sports rights purchases are...
Spotify Podcaster Offers Four-Hour Trump-Biden Debate
New York Post: President Trump jumped on an offer from Spotify podcast host Joe Rogan to moderate a four-hour debate with former Vice President Joe Biden. "I do," Trump responded on Twitter to a post from Tim Kennedy, a retired MMA...
Quibi Advertisers Say ‘Quick Bites’ Aren’t Meeting Goals
AdAge: Early advertisers of Quibi say they are in talks with the company to consider how the service can improve. One of the suggestions that has emerged is longer episodes. "Their bet on a mobile-only, short-form entertainment environment hasn't paid...
New York Times Invests in Transcription Software Tool
Silicon Canals: Trint, a London-based speech-to-text transcription platform, is announcing a Series A acceleration round led by the New York Times. Trint will be deployed to journalists across the Times. "Trint has already struck a chord with thousands of...
News Corp’s Australia Chief to Quit ‘Dangerous’ Twitter
Australian Financial Review: News Corp. Australasia head Michael Miller is deleting his Twitter account, saying the lack of regulation of content on the platform has moved beyond offensive to dangerous. Twitter "has become a dark place for destructive...
Nikkei’s Financial Times Editor Touts Solid Digital Model
Financial Times: "These have been challenging months, but we remain in robust financial shape thanks to the loyalty of our subscribers. Our business model — with its reliance on digital subscription revenues — has proven its value and...
Tribune Job Cuts Spark City Council Plea to Hedge Fund
Hartford Courant: The Hartford, Conn., City Council is backing a resolution urging Alden Global Capital to end the layoffs that have "decimated" the staff of the local Hartford Courant and to return the newspaper to local ownership. Alden is called a "destroyer of...
Conde Nast Sees Departure of Vogue ’73 Questions’ Guy
Variety: Joe Sabia, best known as the host of Vogue's "73 Questions" interview series, says he is leaving Conde Nast on good terms. Sabia says he's setting up shop as an independent creative video producer to "go back to my roots as an...
Hearst: Remote Work is Dulling Creative Edge of Staffers
FIPP: While media companies embrace remote working, there's a growing desire for face-to-face brainstorming. "We are allowing teams to come and work as groups because that is something our people are saying they are really missing," says Hearst UK CEO James Wildman....