Axel Springer Takes Subscription Pricing Cues from Netflix
Digiday: Axel Springer, publisher of popular tabloid Bild and newspaper Welt, is bullish about the prospect of growing its reader revenue this year. On Welt Plus, it now offers two rather than three pricing bundles. "I don't see three prices on Netflix. Our lesson is...
McClatchy Gets Closer to National Enquirer in Bankruptcy
Bloomberg Law: McClatchy last week filed for bankruptcy in New York with plans to hand majority ownership of one of the industry’s largest newspaper publishers to hedge fund Chatham Asset Management, owner of the scandal-plagued tabloid National...
Conde Nast Defends Vanity Fair Editor Amid Ouster Rumor
Daily Beast: The power players at Conde Nast have moved swiftly to shoot down internal speculation that Vanity Fair editor in chief Radhika Jones is headed for the exit. Internal chatter about a potential ouster moved around the Conde Nast offices at a frenzied pace...
American Media in Deal to Sell Muscle & Fitness Magazine
Generation Iron: There has been a changing of the guard as American Media announces the sale of its fitness-media assets, including Muscle & Fitness magazine and the Olympia trade show. Buyer Jake Wood is a fitness industry insider whose portfolio includes...
Maven Media Eyes Diversity for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit
Daily Mail: The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue has revealed the final six picks for its 2020 #SISwimSearch — and they include a bald bombshell from Pennsylvania, a plus-size stunner from Maryland, and a 56-year-old knockout from California. These six women will...
Newsweek Former Owner Avoids Jail After Fraud Scheme
New York Post: A $35 million fraud and money-laundering scandal that ensnared Newsweek magazine wrapped up on Friday. Etienne Uzac, former co-owner of IBT Media, which owned Newsweek, and William Anderson, former CEO of Christian Media, both pleaded...
Vox Media Takes New York Magazine ‘Sex Diaries’ to HBO
Hollywood Reporter: The Cut's voyeuristic "Sex Diaries" series is set to bare even more. HBO is developing a verité docuseries based on the sex-and-dating column with "The Fourth Estate" producer and co-director Jenny Carchman set to direct. Vox Media Studios is...
Drudge Report in Spotlight After Bloomberg-Clinton Story
Politico: Matt Drudge, the famous news aggregator and internet provocateur, shattered the lull of an otherwise calm Saturday morning with a big-if-true bombshell: "BLOOMBERG CONSIDERS HILLARY RUNNING MATE." News of the possible Bloomberg-Clinton ticket drew swift...
Report: Blogger Rakes in Cash from Right-Wing Fake News
AFP: Christopher Blair produces false stories he insists are easily identifiable as satire rather than news. His pages can rack up millions of views, and at least part of that audience believes the material is true. "The truth is no longer important to them. All they...
Apple’s Former HBO Chief Hires Book Pro for Movies, TV
Financial Times: Former HBO boss Richard Plepler has hired well-connected New York literary agent Heather Karpas for his new company, as he builds a production hub to make movies and television shows for Apple. Karpas, from ICM Partners, is set to move to Plepler’s...
Disney Plans Redo of Old Film for New Streaming Service
Fatherly: The beloved 1990s hit movie "The Mighty Ducks" is getting a reboot — this time as an episodic series on Disney+. Production has already begun, and the new show will premiere on the Disney streaming service later this year. And Emilio Estevez will be hitting...
AT&T’s Struggling DirecTV Sees Leading TV Exec Resign
Los Angeles Times: DirecTV is experiencing another defection: Dan York, one of the highest-ranking AT&T execs based in El Segundo, is leaving the company after two decades. York has been one of the most powerful execs in television, serving as evp and chief...
Vivendi Preps IPO of Universal Music Before Early 2023
Reuters: Vivendi said on Thursday it planned to list its most-prized asset, Universal Music Group, by early 2023 at the latest. A consortium led by China’s Tencent bought 10% of the music label last December, in a deal that valued Universal at 30 billion...
Oracle Founder Ellison to Host Big Fundraiser for Trump
Desert Sun: President Trump will attend a campaign fundraising event at Oracle chairman Larry Ellison's Rancho Mirage, Calif., estate on Feb. 19, less than two weeks before California's Super Tuesday primary election. Ellison will host supporters on a golf outing at...
Fox Corp Communications Chief Returns to White House
Associated Press: Hope Hicks, one of President Trump's most trusted and longest-serving aides, is returning to the White House as the president works to surround himself with loyalists as his reelection campaign moves into high gear. Hicks left the White House in...
AT&T WarnerMedia CNN Boss to Sell Home Amid Divorce
New York Post: Jeff Zucker is selling his New York City apartment on the Upper East Side for $17.5 million. The 54-year-old CNN head and his wife, Caryn Nathanson, purchased the 11-room apartment in 2007 for $12.3 million from the late actress Kitty Carlisle...
Comcast’s NBC Blankets the Internet with ‘Zoey’s Playlist’
Vulture: In early January, NBC premiered the first episode of its quirky new musical-drama "Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist." On Sunday night, the network will finally air the show's next episode. This is not how things usually work in TV — but there is a purpose...
Netflix Aims to Fend Off New Rivals in Deal with Samsung
TechCrunch: Netflix is hoping a new partnership with Samsung will help it fend off rivals. At Samsung’s Unpacked event this week, the mobile device maker announced a deal with Netflix that will bring to its Galaxy smartphones special bonus content associated with...
Amazon’s Audible Enters Deal for Memoir with Kaepernick
New York Post: Quarterback-turned-activist Colin Kaepernick will collaborate with Audible on the audiobook of his forthcoming memoir and other projects. The deal will let Audible exclusively release the audio version of the book — described as "part political...
Microsoft’s LinkedIn to Grow Editorial Team in News Push
The Drum: LinkedIn has become very serious about news. It has grown its editorial team to 65, serving 17 markets in nine languages. The audience, potentially, is vast: there are 675 million members globally. The task of the LinkedIn newsroom is to keep those members...
Forecast: US Digital Political Ad Spending to Top $1 Billion
CBS News: Spending on U.S. digital political advertising in the current electoral cycle will likely top $1 billion for the first time, according to a new report from eMarketer. Spending on digital political ads this election cycle amounts to more than three times the...
McClatchy to Seek Digital Do-Over in Filing for Bankruptcy
McClatchy DC: McClatchy filed for bankruptcy Thursday, a move that will end family control of America's second largest local news company. Under a plan outlined in its bankruptcy filing, about 55 percent of McClatchy's debt would be eliminated as the news...
Clarity Media Ousts Senior Editors at Washington Examiner
Mediaite: Bloodletting at the Washington Examiner continued this week with the dramatic ouster of managing editor Toby Harnden, days after the conservative publication fired breaking news editor Jon Nicosia for sharing a lewd video. Harnden exited after being accused...
News Corp’s Storyful Unveils Video Licensing Marketplace
MediaPost: Storyful has launched a video licensing marketplace, called Storyful Video, that will allow media outlets and production houses to buy content directly from its archive of user-generated videos for broadcast or digital publication. Storyful has nearly...
Hearst Nabs Bonnier Editor to Oversee Automobile Group
Folio: Hearst Magazines has hired Joe Brown as group editorial director of its Hearst Autos division, which includes Car and Driver, Road & Track and Autoweek, among other titles, starting March 2. Brown moves to Hearst Autos from Bonnier, where he served as...
Conde Nast Expat Admits Doctoring Quotes, Fake Bylines
The Wrap: The former editor of Conde Nast's Details magazine admitted to years of chaotic leadership that included hiding an addiction to opioids, publishing articles with doctored quotations, and at least one instance of a column with a faked byline, in a new memoir...
Bauer, Hearst UK Magazines Suffer Big Circulation Losses
Campaign: Cosmopolitan UK failed to revive its fortunes, suffering the greatest circulation loss among the top 50 titles with a nosedive of 23% in actively purchased copies. Hearst said it continues "to evolve across a multitude of platforms including print, digital,...
ViacomCBS Plans Two Rounds of Layoffs in Coming Weeks
Variety: ViacomCBS is preparing for the first of two rounds of layoffs. The first round of cuts, which would affect around 100 people, could take place as early as Feb. 26 — six days after the company issues its quarterly earning report. A second set of cuts is...
AT&T Sets Up Sibling Rivalry with Warner Bros, Streaming
Hollywood Reporter: As WarnerMedia's new streamer HBO Max prepares for a launch in May, a newly announced film division will become a direct pipeline and could spark awkward internal politics. Industry veterans fear that another legacy studio — Warner Bros. — is...
Comcast Faces Call to Review Sexual Harassment ‘Failures’
Philadelphia Inquirer: An activist investor has called on Comcast to conduct an independent investigation into the company's "failures to prevent workplace sexual harassment." Arjuna Capital cites NBC's 2017 firing of former "Today" show host Matt Lauer over sexual...