ViacomCBS Makes Barron’s List of Top Stock Picks for 2020
Barron's: The recent merger of CBS and Viacom creates what Evercore ISI analyst Vijay Jayant calls a “content powerhouse,” with 20% of U.S. TV viewers and a shareholder-focused management team led by an underappreciated CEO, Bob...
Vivendi Sells Universal Music Stake to Group Led by Tencent
Reuters: A Tencent-led consortium is taking a 10% stake in Vivendi’s Universal Music Group, valuing the music label that houses Lady Gaga and the Beatles at 30 billion euros ($34 billion) and giving the Chinese firm a global backstage...
Endeavor Eyes Bloomberg Media Expat for Events Business
Bloomberg: Endeavor, the talent agency led by Ari Emanuel, is poised to acquire On Location Experiences, a high-end events business. The new owners are set to name veteran media executive Paul Caine as CEO of On...
Disney Streaming Subscriber Numbers Likely to Fall in 2020
The Information: Disney is expected to reveal by February how many subscribers its new streaming service, Disney Plus, has signed up. I’m betting the numbers will be huge. But beyond that success lies considerable...
Netflix Says Farewell to ‘Friends’ as Series Goes to HBO Max
Fox Business: Goodbye “Friends.” The popular '90s sitcom has left Netflix after a successful five years of streaming on the platform. The show’s 236 episodes will disappear from all streaming services until May 2020 when it joins HBO...
Google Veterans Say Company Has Become ‘Unrecognizable’
CNBC: Longtime Google employees, many of whom left the company in 2019, describe a massive cultural shift that percolated throughout the year. They cite changes to Google’s all-hands meetings, human resources processes and transparency from...
Amazon, Fox Chiefs Among Billionaires Losing Money in 2019
Markets Insider: Only 52 of the world's 500 wealthiest people saw their fortunes shrink in 2019, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and big names in finance, energy and other industries ended the year...
Fox’s Murdoch Wears Apple Watch, Reads Print at the Beach
Daily Mail: Jerry Hall stepped out in a blue swimsuit as she was spotted coordinating with husband Rupert Murdoch for their annual Barbados beach vacation. Murdoch was brandishing a new Apple watch while reading what appeared to be The Week...
AT&T Needs a Shakeup as CNN’s ‘Ratings Dive,’ Trump Says
Mediaite: President Trump closed out the first day of 2020 with a fresh round of attacks on a favorite target, CNN — as well as corporate parent, AT&T. In a Wednesday evening tweet, the president suggested leadership changes at both CNN and...
CNN ‘Goes Wild’ on New Year’s Eve as Journos Down Drinks
Daily Mail: CNN hosts Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen downed shots during New Year's Eve coverage in Times Square while a reporter jumped into a bath of rum with a drag queen. Viewers also caught host Cooper turning the air blue with a risque Hollywood...
Hearst Magazines Chief Predicts Revival of Old Media Brands
Mr Magazine: The world went crazy about digital, but "we had incredibly powerful brands," says Hearst Magazines head Troy Young. "New media brands that were built through this digital transition got more attention. What’s happening now is these established media...
Bauer Media Magazine Looms Large Over Hearst, Conde Nast
MediaPost: Bauer Media magazine Woman’s World sells more copies at retail than all of Meredith and more than Conde Nast and Hearst combined. Woman’s World represents 67% of all women’s service single copy sales alone....
Mansueto Taps This Old House Alum for Editor in Chief of Inc
MediaPost: In a memo to staff, Eric Schurenberg, CEO of Fast Company and Inc, announced Scott Omelianuk has been named to lead Inc as its new editor in chief. He begins his new role Jan. 6. Omelianuk joins Inc after spending nearly 12 years as top editor of This Old...
New York Times Revenue Eyed in Palin’s Defamation Lawsuit
Law & Crime: Sarah Palin filed an amended complaint in her defamation lawsuit against the New York Times on Monday. "Gov. Palin brings this action to hold James Bennet and the Times accountable for defaming...
Tribune’s Former Chicago Offices to Become Luxury Condos
Wall Street Journal: The well-documented decline of the newspaper industry, combined with the enduring popularity of city living, is having one unexpected consequence: reinvention of the urban areas these old media companies once...
Opinion: 2019 Marks End of Printed Metro Daily Newspapers
Next Pittsburgh: Historians will look back many years from now and point to 2019 as the end of the traditional metropolitan daily newspaper. The decline has been building for some time, since before the Great Recession in...
Report: Student Journalists Step Up as More Newspapers Die
Teen Vogue: The year 2019 was consequential for journalism, but less discussed are the young people who have been flexing their journalistic prowess, breaking stories and covering news in ways they felt the mainstream media was...
Disney Accounts for Nearly 40 Percent of 2019 US Box Office
CNBC: 2019 has been Disney’s year at the box office. The company had six movies surpass the $1 billion mark — has a likely seventh on the way — and has grossed more than $10 billion at the global box...
Comcast Faces $70 Million+ Loss from Movie Debacle ‘Cats’
Los Angeles Times: Comcast's Universal Pictures is bracing to lose at least $70 million after its critically panned movie “Cats” bombed over the holidays. “Cats” has drawn just $38.3 million globally so far — including $17.8 million in the U.S. and...
Fox Makes Claim of Broadcast TV Operation Crushing Rivals
Fox Business: Just in time for the turn of the decade, Fox is set to take first place in overall TV ratings among viewers age 18 to 49, thanks to the company’s current content lineup. Nielsen rankings have positioned Fox for its first win for fall programming in a...
Netflix Touts Originals as 2019’s Most Popular Programming
CNBC: Netflix’s original movies and shows were more popular than any other new releases on its streaming service in 2019. Netflix revealed that its own comedy, “Murder Mystery,” starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, topped the list of its most popular releases...
Google’s Top YouTube Star Predicts Decline of Video Leader
Reclaim the Net: In his latest video, PewDiePie predicts that YouTube won’t be the dominant online video platform in the future and that its “anti-YouTuber” decisions will be costly for the platform in terms of...
Facebook’s Efforts to Clean Up Act Dismissed as ‘Cosmetic’
Financial Times: Facebook took steps in 2019 to address concerns over its impact. But the company’s harshest critics said the social media giant’s changes have been merely “cosmetic” – ensuring that nothing jeopardizes a business model they claim is based in part on...
Amazon to Open Homeless Shelter at Seattle Headquarters
Business Insider: Amazon is building a homeless shelter on its Seattle campus. The shelter will be run by Mary's Place, a nonprofit that has worked with the company for years. Marty Hartman, the nonprofit's head, expects to move into the new space in the first...
Apple, Google to Pay for News? Old Media Keep Hopes Alive
Bloomberg: One big question for 2020 is whether Apple and Google will start paying for news like Facebook. But publishers say they’ve gotten no indications that either company is considering paying the same way Facebook...
Zenith: Internet Now Accounts for Half of All US Ad Spending
Ad Age: Internet media this year accounted for half — 49.6 percent — of U.S. ad spending, according to the December 2019 forecast from Publicis Groupe’s Zenith. The remaining half of spending was divvied up among TV and a shrinking pool of other...
Quibi New Reality Show Leads to Health Scare for Zac Efron
Daily Telegraph: Zac Efron has thanked fans for their support following the dramatic pre-Christmas medical emergency that involved being flown to an Australian hospital. Taking to Twitter, the star shared a throwback photo from his time in Papua New...
Snap Preps Debut of Personalized Bitmoji Cartoon TV Show
TechCrunch: Snapchat’s most popular yet under-exploited feature is finally getting the spotlight in 2020. Starting in February with a global release, your customizable Bitmoji avatar will become the star of a full-motion cartoon series called Bitmoji...
News Corp Gets a Boost from Turning Social Posts Into Ads
Mobile Marketer: News Corp Australia boosted ad engagement by using a technology from format management platform Polar that lets brands reformat their social media ads for websites, such as those for its Herald Sun and Australian newspapers. ...
New York Times Taps Quartz Founding Editor for Big Project
Talking Biz News: James Bennet, the editorial page editor of the New York Times, has sent out an announcement: "Kevin Delaney, the founding editor and co-CEO of Quartz, is joining Opinion for six months to help lead the department’s next big...