Hachette Drops Woody Allen Memoir After Staffers Protest
Associated Press: Woody Allen's publisher has decided to cancel the planned release of his memoir "Apropos of Nothing." The announcement Friday followed days of criticism focused on allegations that Allen sexually abused his daughter Dylan...
News Corp Tabloid Publishes Pages to Use as Toilet Paper
Guardian: The Northern Territory News in Australia last week printed an eight-page insert that could be cut into toilet paper. The stunt came after local supermarkets were besieged by shoppers seeking toilet paper, in response to the coronavirus...
Apple, Netflix, WarnerMedia Cancel Plans to Attend SXSW
The Verge: Apple is pulling out of SXSW due to the coronavirus outbreak. Apple is following in the footsteps of Facebook, Twitter, Amazon Studios, and others in not attending the Austin-based conference. Netflix and WarnerMedia are also backing...
AT&T Readies ‘Tens of Billions’ in Cost Cuts, More Layoffs
Ars Technica: AT&T is planning tens of billions of dollars worth of cost cuts, AT&T president and COO John Stankey told investors this week. AT&T "has looked at 10 broad initiatives that we believe can generate double digits of...
Disney Former CEO Faces Pay Criticism After Leaving Job
Bloomberg: Bob Iger may not be Disney's CEO anymore, but criticism of his pay persists. Three shareholder-advisory firms are urging investors to reject Disney's executive-compensation plan at next week's annual meeting, saying it isn't...
Fox Former CEO Makes Investments to Combat Fake News
Financial Times: James Murdoch, the younger son of Rupert Murdoch, is making a seven-figure investment in start-ups aimed at combating fake news, only weeks after criticizing his father's news outlets for promoting false skepticism about climate...
Sony to Adapt PlayStation Video Game Into Series for HBO
CNET: HBO is developing a series based on the popular post-apocalyptic video game "The Last of Us." Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions are working on the project. It'll be the first TV series from PlayStation...
Comcast Posts Customer Contact Data Online in Major Error
Denver Post: Nearly 200,000 Xfinity customers nationwide who pay for their phone numbers to remain unlisted or unpublished had their contact information mistakenly posted online last fall. The issue affected 2% of Comcast's 9.9 million voice...
Disney’s ESPN Eyes NBC Sportscaster for New Dream Team
New York Post: Thinking large and outside the box, ESPN plans to attempt to acquire Al Michaels from NBC Sports for "Monday Night Football." ESPN would like to team Michaels with Peyton Manning in its dream booth, according to...
Google’s YouTube TV Yanks Yankees Network in Fee Dispute
The Verge: Local Yankees fans who relied on YouTube TV for their games will have to find a new streaming service as the Google-operated TV provider parts ways with the Yankees' YES Network. The decision comes after a dispute over...
Netflix Binge Viewing is Helping Kill the Earth, Experts Say
Daily Mail: Our Netflix binging habits and constant Instagram scrolling is as polluting to the environment as flying, according to a new documentary from BBC Three. Experts are warning about the impact a huge rise in data use could have on the...
Twitter CEO Rethinking Move to Africa Amid Ouster Threat
CNBC: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said he's reconsidering his upcoming move to Africa due to the coronavirus outbreak. "I had been working on my plans where I'd work decentralized, but in light of COVID-19 and everything else going on I need to...
AOL Former CEO Seeks $27 Million for Greenwich Mansion
Wall Street Journal: Tim Armstrong, the former CEO of AOL, is listing his waterfront home in the Riverside area of Greenwich, Conn., for $26.75 million. In 2007, the neighborhood was the testing ground for Patch, the local news platform Armstrong...
Hachette Staffers Walk Out to Protest Woody Allen Memoir
New York Post: Staff at Ronan Farrow's publisher staged a walkout in protest of their parent company's plans to publish Woody Allen's new memoir. The workers at Little, Brown and Company voiced their anger to officials at Hachette Book...
News Corp to Hire Reporters as Aussie Newswire Shutters
Guardian: More than 50 journalists at Australian Associated Press are likely to be offered jobs at News Corp Australia and Nine Entertainment as the two media giants look to boost staff ranks after pulling their millions out of the wire...
Conde Nast Staffers Work at Home to Prep for Coronavirus
@maxwelltani: Conde Nast emailed staff saying some employees will work from home as part of a "remote work trial" to prepare for possible coronavirus scenarios. The groups include GQ's editorial staff, Conde Nast's finance team, and some tech...
Hearst to Shut Down British Luxury Watch Publication QP
Watch Pro: Britain's QP magazine and its accompanying annual luxury watch show SalonQP have been closed by Hearst, which bought the brand from Telegraph Media Group in 2018. "We believe it is no longer commercially viable to carry on producing the...
Meredith Closes Production Unit Ahead of Debut on Apple
New York Post: A Meredith video production unit behind a new Apple+ show called "Home," set to debut next month, is shutting down. Bruce Gersh, the president of a Meredith division that included Four M Studios, is exiting. About 10 staffers will be laid...
Benioffs’ Time Magazine Delays ‘Women’ Event Over Virus
WWD: Time has unveiled its new 100 Women of the Year project, but there will no longer be a fancy event to launch it. Speakers are now free Sunday evening after the Marc Benioff-owned magazine decided to postpone the Manhattan party amid coronavirus...
Group Nine Media’s Thrillist Chief Departs After Two Years
Variety: Ocean MacAdams has departed Group Nine Media's Thrillist, the lifestyle digital media brand covering food, drink, travel and entertainment, after two and half years. With MacAdams' exit, Thrillist will be headed by chief content officer Meghan...
Disney, Fox Among Media Stocks Hit in Coronavirus Panic
Variety: Fears around the impact an outbreak of the coronavirus will have upon the U.S. economy saw record declines in the stock market beginning last week. The majority of companies operating in media, both big tech and traditional entertainment, felt the...
Comcast Sets Ad Sales Record for Olympics Despite Virus
Reuters: Comcast's NBCUniversal said it had sold more than $1.25 billion in national advertising for the Tokyo Olympics, a new record for any broadcaster for the games. Nearly 90% of its ad inventory for the games has been booked, said...
Liberty Media CEO Dismisses Virus Impact on Live Events
Hollywood Reporter: Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei told an investors conference about the impact from the rapidly growing coronavirus outbreak on his varied global businesses, including Live Nation Entertainment and the Formula One race car...
ViacomCBS Looks Sell Off ‘Non-Video’ Simon & Schuster
New York Post: Simon & Schuster, the venerable 96-year-old publisher of Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, has been put on the block by ViacomCBS. Simon & Schuster "is not a core asset," said ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish. "It is not...
Disney Revives Manhattan Neighborhood with New Tower
New York Times: In the two years since Disney announced it would move its New York offices to Hudson Square, the former manufacturing district has risen in stature. Hudson Square is emerging as New York's latest tech...
Google Hires Sony Exec for Games, Entertainment Studio
VentureBeat: Google has hired Sony game development leader Shannon Studstill to run a new Stadia Games and Entertainment studio in Playa Vista, California, in the Los Angeles area. Stadia is Google’s cloud-gaming service, launched in beta form last...
AT&T Says New Streamer is Family-Friendly Like Disney’s
TechCrunch: AT&T’s upcoming streaming service, HBO Max, is still on track for a May 2020 launch. Though the HBO brand tends to be associated with adult fare, WarnerMedia boss John Stankey positioned the new offering as more...
IAC Chief Casts Doubts on Apple, AT&T in Streaming Wars
NBC News: Apple and AT&T are still finding their footing in an area dominated by Netflix, says IAC chief Barry Diller. Apple is "still not in it with both feet," he said of the iPhone maker's foray into Hollywood. "They've put some capital in, but relatively...
Netflix, Hulu Face Risk of New Wave of Piracy from Gen Z
Vice News: Generation Z, who have grown up with in the age of Netflix, haven't given up on piracy. Informal conversations with about 20 Gen Zers reveal that they pirate and stream using shady websites quite a lot — and they say that their peers do,...
Quibi Raises Another $750 Million Ahead of Debut in April
Wall Street Journal: Quibi said it has closed a second round of financing worth $750 million, bringing its total investment to $1.75 billion about a month before the service’s planned launch. Quibi didn’t identify the recent...