Comcast, Disney Hold Precarious Leads as Top Media Giants
Forbes: Comcast and Disney once again snagged the top two spots in Forbes's ranking of the world's largest media companies, but that could very well change next year as the pandemic throws the entertainment industry into chaos. Netflix moved up a spot and is now the...
ViacomCBS Reveals 450 Layoffs Hit Workforce in New York
WWD: ViacomCBS has laid off 450 staffers in New York since January, according to a filing with the state. The newly formed media company let go of 88 employees at Showtime, 27 at CBS Television Stations, 41 at CBS Corp., 16 at CBS Network, 271 at Viacom International,...
Fox Corp Revamps Billboards to Thank Covid Aid Workers
Deadline: The main gate at the Fox Studios lot in Century City is typically adorned with promotional billboards for Fox Entertainment's biggest shows. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the company is using the billboards at a major West Los Angeles intersection to highlight...
AT&T Chief Floats Merger of Pay-TV Service, New HBO Max
Next TV: AT&T chief John Stankey told a virtual industry audience that its upcoming subscription streaming service, HBO Max -- set to debut on May 27 -- could eventually be paired with its new IP-based pay TV service, AT&T TV, as the TV business continues to...
Comcast’s New Peacock Called ‘Half Baked’ in Early Review
Bloomberg: "Overall, for a giant media company wading into a ferociously competitive battle for attention, the service gives off a surprisingly half-baked vibe. But complaining about Peacock would be petty and besides the point. Better to cram it away in the back of a...
Disney Ready to Become No 2 Global Streamer After Netflix
World Screen: Disney+ is expected to add 176 million subscribers to reach 202 million customers by 2025, according to Digital TV Research. Disney+ will be the second-largest global platform by 2025 behind Netflix, which is projected to have 258 million...
Netflix Acquires MGM Film After Virus Upends Theater Plan
Bloomberg: Netflix has acquired the slapstick comedy film “Bad Trip” from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, snapping up a project that was stuck in limbo when the coronavirus closed movie theaters. “Bad Trip” was supposed to premiere at the South by Southwest Film...
Facebook’s Instagram Influencers Lose Income to Covid-19
WWD: Some 65 percent of influencers have posted less sponsored content in the eight weeks starting March 12 in comparison to the eight weeks prior. That dip in sponsored content has resulted in an average loss of $20,537 in potential...
BuzzFeed to Shut Down News Operations in UK, Australia
BBC News: BuzzFeed plans to close its UK and Australian news operations, citing "both economic and strategic reasons." BuzzFeed said it would be focusing on news that "hits big in the United States during this difficult...
Meredith Names BuzzFeed Veteran for New Board Member
Seeking Alpha: Meredith has added Greg Coleman to its board, effective at the August board meeting. Coleman most recently was president at Criteo. He previously served as BuzzFeed's president, and now is a board adviser for that...
New York Times Veteran Turns Up at Streamer Fox Nation
Daily Beast: Fox News has aired a one-off documentary on its streaming platform from coronavirus skeptic Alex Berenson, the one-time New York Times reporter who has recently been embraced by right-wing media for his contrarian...
Advance Vows Shake-Up Won’t End Cleveland Plain Dealer
CJR: Advance has laid off the four reporters who had remained at the Plain Dealer. The final four Plain Dealer staffers were offered positions at Cleveland.com, whose staff will continue to publish online and in a daily paper that uses the Plain Dealer...
Conde Nast: No Magazines Will Shut Down or Go All-Digital
Daily Mail: No Conde Nast magazines will be closed or will transition to digital-only publications, a spokesperson said, as the publisher announced plans to lay off nearly 100 US employees due to a sharp decline in ad revenue spurred by the coronavirus...
Meredith’s People Magazine Digital Team Seeks to Unionize
Hollywood Reporter: Ninety-six percent of People's digital group employees nationwide who are eligible have signed cards indicating their interest in forming a union with the NewsGuild The print side of People unionized with the NewsGuild in the...
Hearst Gets Pumped for Virtual Workout Benefit Fundraiser
Adweek: Men’s Health and Women’s Health teamed up on Relay for Relief, which they described as “the world’s largest virtual workout relay to benefit Covid-19 response and recovery.” Relay for Relief will feature 48 consecutive 30-minute fitness...
Forbes Ends $500 Guarantee in Pay Redo for Contributors
Forbes: Forbes quietly restructured its pay scale for contributors amid the coronavirus pandemic, ending the $500 guarantee for any writer who had seven posts published per month and reducing the repeat-reader bonus from five cents to one...
New York Magazine’s Logan Lawsuit is Tossed from Court
WWD: Lara Logan has failed in her self-proclaimed attempt to “send a message” to “so-called journalists” by suing New York Magazine and one of its former writers for millions of dollars. The former CBS correspondent filed at the end of last...
Poll: Most Americans Need a Break from Coronavirus News
Associated Press: A Pew Research Center survey taken the third week of April found that 71 percent of Americans said that they need to take breaks from coronavirus news. To watch something else. To do something else. To breathe a...
Conde Nast to Lay Off About 100 Staffers, Furlough Others
Wall Street Journal: Conde Nast is laying off just under 100 US staffers, reflecting the continued impact of the coronavirus pandemic. A similar number of people will be temporarily furloughed and a small number will have reduced work schedules....
ViacomCBS, Vice CEOs See Virus Changing Media Business
Business Insider: Ten media CEOs, including the leaders of ViacomCBS, Vice, Bloomberg, Complex, and Barstool Sports, were asked to describe how their businesses and the world have changed due to the coronavirus. Their insights range from remote work to changes in...
Fox Corp, Discovery Stocks Favored Amid Covid Challenges
Hollywood Reporter: What stocks does Credit Suisse analyst Douglas Mitchelson recommend? "For media, we believe Fox's and Discovery's high margins, lack of studio exposure, free cash flow generation and valuations present interesting relative value...
Disney’s ‘Hamilton’ Skips Theaters for July Streaming Debut
CNBC: The filmed version of the Tony Award-winning musical “Hamilton” will arrive on Disney’s streaming platform on July 3. The film was initially set to hit theaters in October 2021. It has been reported that Disney paid $75 million for the worldwide rights to the...
AT&T, Comcast to Test $2 Classic Films as Theaters Reopen
Wall Street Journal: With some states preparing to reopen movie theaters but few new releases on the books for months, Hollywood studios are offering exhibitors popular films including “Jaws” and “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” to entice wary audiences back to...
Report: Big Advertisers Look to Cancel Commitments to TV
Wall Street Journal: Big advertisers from General Motors to PepsiCo to General Mills are seeking to walk back spending commitments they made to broadcast and cable networks, a dynamic that is testing the industry’s five-decade-old way of doing...
ViacomCBS: Simon & Schuster’s Visionary CEO Dies at 71
Associated Press: Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy, who presided over her company with steady force and a passion for books during a time of frequent change, died Tuesday at age 71. “Carolyn was both an exemplary leader and a supremely visionary publishing...
Lupa Systems, from Murdoch, to Invest in Morning Consult
Bloomberg: James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems is making an investment in market research startup Morning Consult, known for its surveys and modernizing political polling. The company raised $31 million in its first institutional investment round since launching in...
Luminary Media Raises $30 Million+ for Podcasting Startup
Bloomberg: Luminary Media, the money-losing podcasting startup, has raised more than $30 million in a new round and is seeking more funding as it tries to ride out the global pandemic. Luminary investors include former HBO executive Richard...
Broadway Theaters to Extend Shutdown Through Labor Day
Reuters: Broadway theaters have extended their closures because of the coronavirus pandemic through Sept. 6, the Broadway League industry group said. Among the most-visited tourist attractions in New York, the theaters had previously set a tentative reopening of June...
Twitter CEO Allows Staffers to Work at Home Permanently
BuzzFeed News: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey emailed employees telling them that they’d be allowed to work from home permanently, even after the pandemic lockdown passes. Some jobs that require physical presence will still require employees to come...
Apple Readies Audio Versions of Articles for News Service
Digiday: Apple has been asking the publishers participating in its year-old Apple News+ premium program for permission to produce audio versions of the stories distributed there. Apple will handle production costs, and compensate publishers in the same way it...