Disney’s ‘Mulan’ Fuels Optimism About Streaming Growth
Bloomberg: Disney shares rose the most in more than in a month, fueled by optimism that the online release of "Mulan" will bolster the company's position in streaming. "Mulan," a live-action remake of the 1998 animated hit, was released online Friday after the...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Eyes Pairing Ads with Classic Films
Variety: A WarnerMedia marketing survey sent to consumers suggests ads on HBO Max could surface alongside content from the media giant's other TV networks; in original series that launch on HBO Max only; and in older films, which include classics shown commercial-free...
DAZN Slashes Jobs Amid Challenges at Sports Streamer
Financial Times: Online video streaming group DAZN is dismissing dozens of employees as the company aiming to be the "Netflix of sports" reshuffles its business in the Americas. The job cuts affect roughly 2 percent of the London-based company's workforce and...
Oscars Unveil Diversity Rules for Best-Picture Nominees
Los Angeles Times: In the latest step in its effort to boost diversity both within its own ranks and across the film industry, the film academy announced new representation standards for films to be eligible to compete for best picture. The standards encompass both...
Comcast’s E! Reveals End of ‘Kardashians’ via Instagram
BuzzFeed News: "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" is ending after its upcoming season. In lengthy Instagram posts, Kim Kardashian West, Kris Jenner, and Khloe Kardashian said Season 20, the final season, is set to air in early 2021. "We are beyond grateful to all of...
Oprah Preps Book Club Series Launch as Apple Podcast
TechCrunch: Apple and Oprah plan to launch the "Oprah's Book Club" podcast, an eight-episode series that will explore themes related to Oprah's Book Club pick "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents," by Isabel Wilkerson. The podcast is the first to cross over from...
iHeartMedia Signs Former President Clinton for Podcast
Deadline: Former President Bill Clinton is partnering with iHeartMedia to launch a new podcast in early 2021. The podcast will build on one that Clinton hosted last year for the Clinton Foundation, which is also a partner in the new project. The podcast will be...
Hearst Boston Reporter Stabbed While Working on Story
Boston Globe: Ted Wayman, a reporter for WCVB-TV Channel 5, is recovering after he was stabbed in Copley Square while reporting on a story Sunday night, according to the station. Wayman was taken to a local hospital and is "going to be fine," says a spokeswoman for...
Gannett Names Spotify Exec as Marketing, Strategy Chief
USA Today: Gannett has named a new chief marketing and strategy officer who is a veteran of tech companies Spotify and Freshly. Mayur Gupta, 42, has relinquished his duties as a board member of Gannett to join the media company in the new executive...
Conde Nast’s New Yorker Fest Goes Virtual for First Time
New York Times: The 21st New Yorker Festival will, for the first time, be a mostly virtual affair. A dozen talks, panels and performances will be live streamed on the festival website from Oct. 5 to 11. This year's lineup is packed with stars like Chris Rock, Steve...
Penske Media Sees Peter Travers Depart at Rolling Stone
Showbiz411: Peter Travers has exited Rolling Stone as full time movie critic after 36 years. "My contract was up and they wanted 'new voices' across the platform. No arguments from me on that score. I'll just be riding a new horse into a future none of us can...
Vox Media CEO Talks Digital Media, Ad Market, Facebook
The Information: Vox Media has "taken a lot of risks and grown, but what we haven't done is we haven't been reckless.” Digital media startups, such as Mic and Mashable, either shuttered or were sold for a fire sale price. "Now that the tide has gone out, you can see...
G/O Media CEO Talks Up Commitment to Diversity Hiring
PR Newswire: "G/O Media believes that the sum of its parts makes the company stronger and that diverse talent gives us a multifaceted view through which the team can be better storytellers and journalists," says Jim Spanfeller, CEO, G/O...
Taboola, Outbrain End Talks to Merge After Nearly a Year
CNBC: Nearly a year after announcing a deal to unite, merger talks between digital advertising companies Taboola and Outbrain have ended. The companies place content boxes with headlines such as “8 Celebs Who Have Severe Illnesses” and also deliver traditional web...
Apple Hires Hollywood Dealmaker to Push Video Service
Telegraph: Tim Connolly, a former executive at Disney and streaming start-up Quibi, has joined Apple's TV division. Connolly helped launch the live TV offering from Disney's Hulu internet video service, striking deals that brought major networks on board. He also...
Facebook’s Top Media Pages Led by Breitbart, Fox News
@oliverdarcy: "Breitbart and Fox News over the past week had more share of the voice than the next eight US media pages combined (CNN, NBC News, The Hill, ABC News MSNBC, The Daily Caller, The New York Times, and NPR). ... Facebook's own tool measures popularity on...
Google: Murdoch Helped Siphon Newspaper Ads, Not Us
ZDNet: Google, in a new blog post, argues that it "supports" Australia's news business and does not steal news content. The search giant also says it is not to blame for the decline in newspaper revenue in Australia, citing a study linking revenue losses to online...
Netflix CEO Talks Up Streamer’s ‘No Rules’ in New Book
Financial Times: Reed Hastings's new book, "No Rules Rules," explains — and debates — Netflix's smash-the-conventions tradition, which the co-CEO sees as central to the streaming company's extraordinary success. "If you happen to simply say no guidelines, then it's...
Disney Sees Surge in Streaming Downloads from ‘Mulan’
Bloomberg: Downloads of Disney's streaming app rose 68% to 890,000 over the weekend, a sign its unorthodox online release of "Mulan" helped drive demand for the service. "Mulan,” a live-action remake of the 1998 animated hit, was released online Friday after the...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia ‘Tenet’ Tests US Return to Theaters
Los Angeles Times: As theaters in key US cities like New York and Los Angeles remain shuttered, Christopher Nolan's "Tenet" opened with an estimated $20.2 million in North American receipts through the Labor Day holiday, in the biggest test yet of Americans'...
Chernin Warns of Pain, Disruption for US Movie Industry
Variety: Top media investors and advisors warn of years of pain still to come in the US theatrical movie business. The disruption brought on by the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated some existing trends and already wrecked many studios' business...
Comcast Taps Veteran for Programming at NBCUniversal
Los Angeles Times: NBCUniversal has narrowed its search for a top TV programmer to Susan Rovner, a longtime Warner Bros. studio executive. Rovner is to oversee programming for the NBC broadcast network, cable channels including Bravo, E!, Syfy and USA, as well as the...
Discovery Buys Broadcaster MediaWorks in New Zealand
World Screen: New Zealand's MediaWorks has agreed to sell its TV operations to Discovery. The deal will add to Discovery's New Zealand portfolio the entertainment channels Three and Bravo, the streaming service ThreeNow and the multiplatform news and current affairs...
Fox Corp Stifles Own Journalist in News Story on Trump
Showbiz411: Jennifer Griffin scored the scoop of a lifetime by working her sources. She posted to Twitter a series of posts confirming the reporting in The Atlantic magazine by Jeffrey Goldberg that President Trump thinks the military is full of "suckers" and...
News Corp’s UK Newspapers Hit with Delay After Protest
BBC News: Extinction Rebellion activists delayed the distribution of several national newspapers after blocking access to three printing presses owned by Rupert Murdoch. Protesters targeted Newsprinters presses at Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, Knowsley in Merseyside,...
iHeartMedia Poll Says Most Trustworthy Source is Radio
Radio World: A survey conducted for iHeartMedia found that radio continues to rank very highly as a trustworthy medium. In fact it found radio to be number one in terms of trust and also two times more trustworthy than social media. As a major owner of radio stations,...
Conde Nast to License Magazine Brand for Sex Products
MediaPost: Self magazine is expanding into licensing, with the announcement of an upcoming product line with sexual-wellness brand JimmyJane. Self's collaboration with JimmyJane will include an exclusive line of products for sexual health and care, available for...
Meredith’s People Interviews ‘Sexiest Man’ for BlackPrint
People: John Legend, People's reigning "Sexiest Man Alive" title holder, reveals who he thinks should take the crown during a conversation with Meredith's :BlackPrint, and opens up about the "fun" year he's had with the superlative: "I've truly enjoyed just making fun...
Atlantic Magazine Owner Faces Trump Call for Retaliation
NBC News: President Trump called on his fans to inundate The Atlantic's co-owner Laurene Powell Jobs with messages after the magazine reported that he once called American service members killed in combat "losers" and "suckers." The magazine "spews FAKE NEWS &...
New York Times ‘1619 Project’ Sparks New Trump Threat
Daily Mail: President Trump threatened to defund schools in California that use the New York Times's "1619 Project" in the public school curriculum. On Sunday Trump retweeted a message from an unverified account saying the project would be taught in schools and...