Saturday Evening Post: Hey, We’re Still in Business
Mr Magazine: The Saturday Evening Post will celebrate 200 years in 2021. "The challenge that we face is the lack of awareness that the publication is out there. We have a story to tell and that is that we have an extraordinarily good magazine. For the price of a...
Media Giants Lose $13 Billion in Value After Covid
Business Insider: The coronavirus pandemic took a $13 billion-wrecking ball to big media, according to an analysis of earnings reports and transcripts. That $13 billion reflects data shared by AT&T, Comcast, Disney, ViacomCBS, Fox, AMC Networks, Discovery, and...
Tech Giants Gain as Covid Reshapes Ad Spending
Wall Street Journal: For the first time, more than half of US advertising spending is set to go to digital platforms such as Google and Facebook, the world's largest ad buyer said, a reflection of marketers' strategy shift as the coronavirus pandemic pummeled the...
Hollywood Hopes for ‘In-Person’ Academy Awards
Hollywood Reporter: Contrary to other reports that the 2021 Academy Awards ceremony will take place in person, neither the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nor its Oscars broadcast partner ABC has made any such decision, according to insiders. Plans remain...
Google’s No 1 2020 YouTube Video is from Netflix
USA Today: YouTube has released its list of the top 10 trending videos in the United States for 2020. Topping off the list is Dave Chappelle's Netflix special. The video, titled "8:46 - Dave Chappelle," has amassed more than 29 million views since it was published on...
Netflix Looks to Double Content Spending in Asia
Bloomberg: Netflix plans to double its spending on original content in Asia next year to help stay ahead in a crowded streaming market. Since its Asia launch in 2015, Netflix has released over 220 original titles. "Where we have been ahead of our competitors is being...
Disney Taps Hulu Exec to Lead ABC Entertainment
Bloomberg: Disney named a new executive to oversee programming at ABC and eliminated one of its three TV studios as part of a push to streamline and focus on online video. Craig Erwich, who has headed original productions at Hulu, will also be given the title of...
ViacomCBS to Offer Showtime Sample on Pluto TV
Variety: Showtime is unlocking a selection of original programming — for free, with ads — in a new channel on Pluto TV. It's a logical bit of corporate synergy between the two ViacomCBS-owned divisions, with Showtime ultimately looking to coax free viewers into...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Faces a ‘Veritas’ Hit on CNN
TheWrap: CNN said it is involving "law enforcement" after James O'Keefe, the founder of the right-wing group Project Veritas, crashed a morning editorial call with CNN president Jeff Zucker and said Project Veritas would be releasing tapes from previously recorded...
News Corp OK for Launch of UK TV News Channel
Guardian: Rupert Murdoch's forthcoming opinionated television news channel will be called News UK TV, with media regulator Ofcom giving the go-ahead for the outlet to start broadcasting as soon as it is ready. News UK TV is racing against the rival GB News to be first...
Discovery to Unveil Details for New Video Streamer
Adweek: On Wednesday, Discovery will hold an investors day to finally unveil plans for its global streaming service, which the company has been talking about publicly since last year. Execs have privately been referring to the platform as Discovery+, though that name...
Quibi Officially Goes Dark in Crowded Video Market
Variety: The Quibi app as of Tuesday is no longer operable — marking the quick and quiet end of Jeffrey Katzenberg's ill-fated $1.75 billion quest to carve out a new corner of the subscription streaming-video market. The Quibi app will remain on users' devices until...
Chernin Invests in Surfing Media Company Surfline
Axios: TCG, a venture affiliate of The Chernin Group that invests in media, entertainment and tech businesses, is investing $30 million in Surfline, a media company that focuses on surfing coverage and live wave and weather forecasts for surfers. The business is...
Hearst Drops Magazine Discounts Amid New Surge
Press Gazette: Hearst had to take action to stem losses from discount magazine subscription offers as new subscribers jumped following the start of the pandemic. Hearst ditched its most keenly-priced trials in mid-April and "took a big deep breath and waited to see...
Meredith Hunts for Editor at Entertainment Weekly
New York Post: The top editor at Entertainment Weekly is out and a search for a successor is underway. "A national search is being conducted to fill the role.” EW has fallen on hard times recently. In June 2019, the print edition was cut back to a monthly print...
Axel Springer’s Insider Hires Pulitzer Prize Winner
Talking Biz News: Insider has hired Eric Bates as an editor focusing on stories that answer big topical questions. "They'll come in feature form and shorter. Some will take days to produce, others, months. This is very much an investment in our current and future...
New York Times Raises $4 Million for New Initiative
New York Times PR: The New York Times has raised $4 million to launch Headway, a journalism initiative to investigate global and national challenges. The Ford Foundation, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation will fund the...
Washington Post to Grow Effort in Data Journalism
Washington Post PR: Meghan Hoyer, the data editor of the Associated Press, will join the Washington Post to establish and lead a new department dedicated to data journalism. Seven data journalists will report to her and remain embedded in their current...
Politico Stars Plan Newsletter to Take On Playbook
Axio: Three of Politico's biggest reporting stars plan to launch a competitor to the company’s Politico Playbook franchise. Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer and John Bresnahan will launch a daily newsletter in 2021 as a stand-alone...
FCC Chairman to Step Down from Post in January
Associated Press: Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said he is leaving the telecommunications regulator on Inauguration Day. President-elect Joe Biden will choose a new Democratic head for the agency. A new administration typically picks a...
Facebook to Pay Publishers for UK News Offering
BBC News: Facebook will begin paying UK news publishers for some articles with the launch of Facebook News in January. The feature adds a dedicated news tab to the Facebook app, and has already launched in the United States. Facebook said it will prioritize original...
Google Former CEO to Back New Investment Fund
CNBC: Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, is one of several tech executives backing a new early-stage European venture capital fund. The tech billionaire has invested an undisclosed amount into a $111 million fund that was announced Monday by VC firm Firstminute...
Disney Veterans Begin Hunt for Media, Tech Deals
Deadline: Entertainment finance firm Forest Road and a team of A-list media insiders from Tom Staggs to Kevin Mayer have closed a $300 million IPO of a new SPAC – a special purpose acquisition vehicle they’ll use to buy a private company in media, tech or...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Hopes ‘Flight’ Lands Viewers
Wall Street Journal: HBO Max new boss Casey Bloys sees shows targeting women and younger viewers as way to stand out in a cluttered video market. "The Flight Attendant" is WarnerMedia's latest hope to attract new viewers to HBO Max. Fox Max, buzz has been sorely...
Disney’s ‘Mandalorian’ Joins Top Streaming Shows
Broadcasting & Cable: As Nielsen added Disney Plus and Hulu to its streaming measurement, "The Mandalorian," a Disney Plus show, joined Nielsen's weekly list of the most watched shows on SVOD platforms. "The Mandalorian" was No. 3, accumulating more than 1 billion...
Comcast Must Face Antitrust Lawsuit in Sports TV
Hollywood Reporter: A federal judge finds it "plausible" that Comcast is refusing to make a good offer to license Altitude, a regional sports network that telecasts most Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche games, so that it can drive this Denver-area RSN out of...
Disney Eyes Female Viewers with NFL on Freeform
Bloomberg: Disney is airing an NFL wild-card game in January on five of its TV networks, including its female-focused Freeform channel, as part of an effort to broaden football viewership. The move helps Disney get more yardage out of its contract with the National...
Spotify Woos Music Labels with Digital Age ‘Payola’
Financial Times: A new Spotify initiative lets music labels promote tracks in the music streamer's algorithm, which creates personalized radio feeds for 320 million monthly users. The quid pro quo for higher streaming volumes: reduced royalties when the song is...
iHeartMedia in Deal to Translate Global Podcasts
Radio World: Extending its investment in podcasting, iHeartMedia announced a partnership with European podcast platform Podimo to translate and adapt podcasts across the globe in multiple languages. First up is the true-crime podcast "Forgotten: Women of...
News Corp Cuts More Newsroom Jobs in Australia
Guardian: News Corp Australia has made another round of job cuts, losing 25 editorial staff at the end of a brutal year that has seen Murdoch outlets alone shed 200 journalists and photographers. "We're making a limited number of our staff redundant as we move to a...