Opinion: Google, Facebook Must Cede Control Over News Media
New York Times: "To save democracy and the free press, we must eliminate Google and Facebook’s control over the information commons. That means decentralizing these markets and splitting information utilities from one another so that search, mapping, YouTube and...
Netflix Downplays Threats as Apple, Disney Rivals Near Launch
Fox Business: Netflix downplayed concerns about increased competition from the upcoming launches of rival services from Apple (Nov. 1) and Disney (Nov. 12) even as it released mixed quarterly results in its final report before their debut. Netflix warned of “some...
Disney CEO Makes Big Bet on Company Revamp for Streaming
Hollywood Reporter: Over the past two years, Bob Iger has been focused on reorienting Disney for its streaming future. He's invested $2.6 billion to acquire the technology, shuffled his executive ranks to create a direct-to-consumer division, and even spent $71.3...
Viacom Quietly Unveils Conservative News Channel on Pluto TV
Business Insider: Viacom has denied a report of exploring options for a conservative-leaning news network that would compete with Fox News. However, a rep for the Viacom-owned streaming service Pluto TV said that a new conservative channel, called "The First," had a...
Fox Corp CEO Says Company’s New Focus is Live News, Sports
Hollywood Reporter: Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch: "Fundamentally, the traditional metrics of the business are all incredibly strong. ... And with further investment into SVOD, there's going to be more and more choices. So for us, we focus on live sports, live...
Lionsgate’s Starz Loses Cable Subscribers in Spat with Comcast
New York Post: Premium cable channel Starz is losing subscribers after cable provider Comcast decided to replace 17 Starz channels in its Xfinity TV package with movie channel Epix. The change, which takes effect Dec. 10, sent shares of Starz’s parent Lionsgate down...
Comcast’s NBC News to Double Podcasts in Deal with Wondery
Adweek: NBC News and Wondery are teaming up to develop a slate of news and politics podcasts beginning in 2020. As part of a multiyear deal the companies will work together on news and politics podcast series based on reporting from NBC News’ slate of investigative...
iHeartMedia in Podcast Deal with Powerhouse Producer Rhimes
Associated Press: Television powerhouse Shonda Rhimes is moving aggressively into the burgeoning podcast world. Rhimes’ company, Shondaland, said that she will serve as executive producer for podcasts to be distributed by...
Quibi Continues Downpour of New Deals with Weather Channel
Deadline: Quibi’s torrential downpour of programming deals continues. Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman’s shortform digital platform is teaming with the Weather Channel to be its exclusive source for weather content. The deal includes daily weather-related...
Facebook is Bad for Us — Like Cigarettes, Salesforce CEO Says
CNET: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has taken aim at Facebook, saying the social media giant must be held accountable for information posted on its site. "Facebook is a publisher. They need to be held accountable for propaganda on their platform. FB is the new...
Benioff Marks First Year of Owning Time Magazine with Essay
Time: "A free and vibrant press ... helps us understand our world and the stories of our fellow human beings," writes Time magazine owner Marc Benioff. "We are inspired — and moved to action. ... That’s why my wife Lynne and I decided to become the owners of Time one...
Gannett Denies Report of Killing Off Print Edition of USA Today
Poynter: Gannett and USA Today leaders have called for a staff meeting on Thursday to dispute an article reporting USA Today is about to undergo a major restructuring that will include phasing out the print edition. The print edition "remains an important part of our...
Meredith to Fold Family Circle Magazine After 87 Years in Print
Des Moines Register: Meredith announced that it will cease publication of its venerable Family Circle magazine after the December 2019 issue. Family Circle was one of the so-called "seven sisters" — a group of magazines that were aimed at women in an era when most...
News Corp’s British Tabloid Sun Plans Online Expansion in US
Press Gazette: The Sun is expanding its digital operation to the US and claims to have “ambitious plans for growth.” The title, which is the most-read news brand in print and online in the UK, confirmed the US launch in a job ad for a head of audience based in New...
New York Times ‘Modern Love’ is Panned by Washington Post
Washington Post: "They’ve made the New York Times’s weekly 'Modern Love' column into a quasi-fictionalized TV series (streaming Friday on Amazon Prime), and it is so syrupy sweet that it should come with options for a dental...
Los Angeles Times in Historic Agreement with Newsroom Union
Los Angeles Times: The Los Angeles Times on Wednesday reached a tentative labor agreement with the guild that represents about 475 members of its newsroom, a milestone for a newspaper that for generations was known as a bastion of...
Meredith Unveils Podcast Shows Based on People, InStyle, EW
MediaPost: Meredith hasunveiled a new slate of shows leveraging the popularity of magazines such as People, Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, and Parents. Shows set to launch at Meredith include: “Ladies First,” hosted by InStyle editor in chief Laura...
Group Nine Media Taps Vice Alum for Editor in Chief of Thrillist
Variety: Thrillist, part of Discovery-backed Group Nine Media, has named food writer and journalist Helen Hollyman its new editor-in-chief. Hollyman will be based in Thrillist’s New York headquarters, reporting to chief content officer Meghan Kirsch, a former Vice...
Vox Media, Bustle Digital Among Likely Next M&A Dealmakers
Digiday: If more digital media M&A announcements are to follow before the year is out — as many observers predict will be the case — it’s a safe bet the acquirers will be one of six companies: Vox, Vice, Group Nine, Bustle, J2’s Ziff Davis and IAC’s DotDash....
Apple Spends $15 Million an Episode on Show for New Streamer
Hollywood Reporter: By several accounts, AppleTV+ already has well outspent its initially projected $1 billion annual content budget. "Morning Show" alone costs $15 million an episode for a total of $300 million for two seasons, per sources, due in large part to the...
AT&T, Netflix Wrestle with Major Debts from Streaming Offerings
Axios: Streaming companies are accruing more debt to sustain heavy investments in content, and their leverage is historically high. While most analysts agree that the debt loads at these companies are manageable for now, some firms are beginning to feel investor...
AMC Theatres Unveils Service for Buying, Renting Digital Movies
Fox Business: AMC Theatres, the movie theater giant, will now allow its AMC Stubs members to buy or rent around 2,000 films on its website, as well as its mobile and smart TV apps through its Theatres On Demand service. The move comes as theaters continue to battle...
Disney’s Marvel Boss Adds Creative Role in Big Structural Shift
Deadline: A major structural shift is taking place at Marvel. As the brand looks to put even more of its stamp on Disney with the upcoming launch of Disney+, all of Marvel’s creative personnel is moving under Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, who will be adding...
Viacom Mogul Visits Trump, Denies Plan for a Rival to Fox News
Hollywood Reporter: As the merger of Viacom and CBS awaits regulatory approval, a spokesperson confirms that mogul Shari Redstone quietly visited President Trump in the White House recently but denies reports to launch a conservative TV network. A former CBS-Viacom...
Fox News Host Footage Appears in New Ailes Movie ‘Bombshell’
Daily Beast: Viewers got their first look at the upcoming film "Bombshell" when the full trailer premiered Tuesday. Among the revelations in the two-minute clip are that director Jay Roach used actual footage of current "Fox & Friends" co-hosts Steve Doocy and...
Chernin’s Barstool Sports Emerges as Major Podcast Publisher
Cheddar: Barstool Sports was founded in 2003 as a New England centered print magazine offering fantasy sports projections and gambling advice. Over the last 16 years the sports blog has expanded into all things pop culture and now reaches over 66 million monthly...
iHeartMedia to Join Ferrell on New Podcast Network for Comedy
Adweek: Will Ferrell — actor, producer and occasional anchorman — is partnering with iHeartMedia to create a new comedy podcast network called Big Money Players Network. The company expects to create 10 podcasts over the next two years with “top comedic talent,” who...
Comcast’s NBC Extends Deal as Exclusive Ad Seller with Apple
Axios: NBCUniversal has extended its partnership with Apple News to now be the exclusive seller of ads in Apple Stocks, as well as Apple News. The multi-year partnership means that NBCU can sell ads against all the stories in the main feed of Apple Stocks, as well as...
Apple, Facebook Square Off Over New Office Space in New York
New York Post: Facebook is facing off with Apple over posh Manhattan office digs slated to open next year inside a grandiose former post office. Mark Zuckerberg’s social media company has been in talks to take over all 740,000 square feet of office space being built...
Google Unveils Plan for New Smartphone, Smart-Home Devices
CNBC: Google unveiled its newest smartphone, the Pixel 4, alongside a revamped pair of Pixel Buds and several new Nest smart home devices at its annual hardware event in New York on Tuesday. Google’s event follows a flurry of hardware announcements from competitors...