Broadcasting Star Larry King in Hospital with Covid
CNN: Legendary talk show host and former CNN interviewer Larry King has Covid-19. King, 87, has been hospitalized at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for more than a week. Due to protocols at the hospital, King's three sons have been unable to visit...
Roundup: 2020 is a Year of Reckoning Across Media
NBC News: Audio, streaming, diversity, newsletters and layoffs were among the hot topics in the media business in 2020. The year was largely dominated by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic — and left the industry indelibly altered. "This was a huge year for...
Netflix Co-CEO’s Wealth Jumps by $2 Billion in 2020
Bloomberg: Reed Hastings has collected enough cash in 2020 to produce all four seasons of "The Crown," all six seasons of "Peaky Blinders" or the equivalent of about 4.7 million annual Netflix subscriptions. Netflix's co-CEO has seen his wealth increase about $2.2...
Disney, Fox Corp Veterans to Hit Job Market in 2021
Business Insider: Big media's massive restructurings and pandemic-driven business troubles have thrust experienced talent in the TV and film industries onto the job market. Across the US media landscape, a staggering 28,637 jobs were slashed this year through...
AT&T Hazy on Streaming Data for ‘Wonder Woman’
CNBC: AT&T's WarnerMedia premiered "Wonder Woman 1984" on Christmas Day, the first movie in its experiment to release its films simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. The result? Some $16.7 million in box office sales in the US and Canada. The streaming...
Fox Corp Extends Streak with Cable Record in 2020
Reuters: Ratings for Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Channel topped all news and basic cable channels for a fifth straight year in 2020, according to Nielsen data. Newsmax's audience jumped after the election, though its overall audience remained much smaller than Fox's...
Comcast Adds Data Caps for Home Internet in 2021
Fox Business: A new year means another round of higher TV and Internet prices. Starting Jan. 1, Comcast will hit customers with an extra charge for using too much data, a hike that has become an annual holiday tradition for some of the biggest cable...
Amazon, Twitch Score with Streaming of NFL Game
MediaPost: Saturday's NFL regular-season game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals posted 4.8 million "average minute" viewers on Amazon Prime Video and its live video-gaming platform Twitch, according to the league -- the highest ever for a...
Spotify Streaming Record Slapped by Mariah Carey
Jezebel: Mariah Carey referenced Spotify's stinginess while celebrating the new single-day streaming record she set on the platform with her 1994 Christmas classic "All I Want for Christmas Is You." The pop star tweeted: "Li'l secret: artists make very little from...
Yahoo Founder is Behind Top US News App of 2020
Press Gazette: Local-news focused news aggregator News Break was the most downloaded app in the US in 2020. The app has seen huge success since it was launched in 2016 by Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang and Chinese tech executive Jeff...
Vice Media Takes Steps Away from Bad-Boy Culture
Digiday: After years of building its name — and a $1.4 billion war chest of venture capital — by pitching itself as the next great youth culture brand, Vice Media Group has been busy rebalancing and refocusing itself more as a 21st century news...
Chernin’s Barstool Sports Boosts Small Businesses
WFLA: Barstool Sports has raised over $6 million this holiday season for small businesses struggling amidst lockdowns and the pandemic. The company announced on Christmas that its fundraising effort surpassed $6 million from 57,404 donors. Founder Dave Portnoy...
New York Times Predicts Audio ‘Gold Rush’ in 2021
Adweek: The New York Times isn't short on ambition when it comes to audio advertising. "2021 is going to be a gold rush for the New York Times and audio,” said Sebastian Tomich, svp and global head of advertising. "It's a new medium and a new...
Tribune Offers Workers Another Round of Buyouts
Crain's Chicago Business: Tribune Publishing has planned another round of buyouts in the Chicago Tribune newsroom, its second this year. Tribune's largest shareholder, hedge fund Alden Global Capital, is known for making deep cuts to newsrooms. "We're dismayed that...
News Corp Tabloid Urges End to Trump’s ‘Charade’
Mediaite: The New York Post's shocking front page plea to President Trump to "Stop the Insanity" opened eyes throughout the industry on Monday. In a scathing rebuke, the Post's editorial board implored Trump to give up his attempt to overthrow the election: "You're...
Conde Nast ‘Elitist’ Magazines Get Bashed by Trump
Daily Mail: President Trump took time out on Christmas Day to hit out at the nation's glossy magazines for failing to give Melania Trump a cover while she was first lady. Michelle Obama appeared on12 covers during her eight years in the White House while Melania has...
Meredith Leads in New Magazine Launches for 2020
New York Post: The number of new print magazines launched in the US dropped by more than half in 2020 to 60, compared to 139 a year earlier. But in a surprise move, the pace of new launches accelerated in the second half of the year with food, home and fitness titles...
Politico to Buy Energy Trade Publication E&E News
Wall Street Journal: Politico is acquiring E&E News, a high-price subscription trade publication focused on the energy industry and environmental news. The deal will substantially expand Politico's footprint in the energy news space and is part of a bigger move to...
Group Nine Circles Targets for Potential SPAC Deals
Variety: Group Nine Media is open to its SPAC merging with or acquiring businesses in adjacent industries like social media and e-commerce, although it has not named specific targets. Possible targets could include the likes of Bustle Digital Group and...
Newsmax Becomes Fastest Growing News Website
Press Gazette: Controversial US media outlets Newsmax and Gateway Pundit became two of the world's largest news websites last month, new research has found. Newsmax and Gateway Pundit made it into the list thanks to year-on-year growth of 613% and 306%...
Roundup: Many Media Businesses Shuttered in 2020
Digiday: The global pandemic threw an unexpected wrench into the business plans of media companies large and small, and for the unlucky, caused them to shut their doors — or shut down their websites — completely. Among them: Man Repeller, Great Big Story, The...
PR Impresario Howard J Rubenstein Dies at Age 88
New York Times: Howard J. Rubenstein polished the tarnished images of the rich, the famous and the flawed, with clients that included Donald Trump, Rupert Murdoch and George Steinbrenner. The founding chairman and president of Rubenstein Associates was sometimes...
Apple, Amazon Likely to Cold-Shoulder Sale of MGM
Los Angeles Times: MGM is exploring a sale a decade after the company exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Apple and Amazon have previously been pegged as potential buyers, but MGM's valuation has long been seen as a sticking...
Google’s Top YouTuber Reveals Viral Video Secrets
Bloomberg: Jimmy Donaldson dropped out of college to try to solve one of the biggest mysteries in media: How exactly does a video go viral on YouTube? He appears to have cracked the code. The 22-year-old became the top creator on YouTube this...
Facebook Offers to Help Start Rival Social Network
Washington Post: Facebook offered to license its powerful code to creating another social network as part of its campaign to battle back US antitrust lawsuits. Investigators rejected the idea, believing it failed to fully address competition...
AT&T’s ‘Wonder Woman’ Preps Controversial Debut
Reuters: Comic book hero Wonder Woman returns to the screen on Christmas Day with a hefty mission: bring holiday cheer to pandemic-weary audiences, provide a boost to struggling movie theaters, and lure new viewers to the HBO Max streaming...
Sony: We’re Benefiting from AT&T Bet on HBO Max
TheVerge: Sony Pictures saw a "bit of a boom" in interest from Hollywood creatives who want to work with a studio committed to theatrical releases, according to CEO Tony Vinciquerra. Sony is betting on theaters, and talent, to drive its...
Disney Spinoff of ESPN Among Predictions for 2021
Reuters Breakingviews: An ESPN spinoff would keep Disney ahead of the game. It would be a bold play to make Disney more agile in its battle with Netflix. Also: Netflix and Amazon to buy cinema chains? Bundling subscriptions with theater access might serve as a key...
Fox Corp’s News CEO Airbrushes Ailes from History
Daily Beast: Fox News boss Suzanne Scott has yet to face accountability for her role in enforcing Roger Ailes' legacy of paranoia and sexism, current and former staffers say. "Scott was definitely part of the Ailes club. She carried out all of his directives of...
Discovery Increases Stake in Oprah Winfrey Network
New York Post: Oprah Winfrey has swapped most of her interest in OWN for a small ownership in Discovery. Winfrey nabbed a stake worth less than 1 percent of the $35 million-plus Discovery, as part of a deal that boosted the company's holding in OWN from 73% to...