Study: Digital Publishers Face Hurdles Amid Covid
MediaPost: Billing, data management, communication and fraud are some of the biggest challenges for digital publishers amid the global pandemic, according to a new survey by media measurement company DoubleVerify. Publishers say ad fraud is one of their top inventory...
US Media Giants Wary on TV Ad Future Amid Covid
CNBC: The TV ad market is on the mend after getting hit by a broader pandemic ad slowdown. But with Covid-19 cases on the rise, some networks are cautious about the coming quarters, even with a big boost from political ads this...
Disney CEO Hints of More Premier Streaming Films
Entertainment Weekly: Disney CEO Bob Chapek has hinted that more films could receive the premier access streaming treatment in the near future. "From a studio content standpoint, we were very pleased with the results of 'Mulan' as a premier access...
AT&T’s Warner Streamer Looks to ‘Wonder Woman’
Bloomberg: "Wonder Woman 1984," the only big movie still scheduled to debut in theaters this year, may appear on AT&T's HBO Max just a week or two after its release, a move that could help the new streaming service add subscribers quickly and keep cinemas open at...
Comcast to Fold Venture Capital Arm Into Business
CNBC: Comcast Ventures, the corporate venture capital firm, is folding into Comcast's business development division and shifting its strategy to focus only on strategic investments. Comcast Ventures will no longer invest in a broad array of...
Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ Includes Warnings on Bulimia
Daily Mail: Royal experts have criticized graphic scenes in "The Crown," which portray Princess Diana's struggle with bulimia. Some of the scenes are so graphic that viewers are given an on-screen warning at the beginning of the three episodes where her bulimia is...
Fox Corp Chief’s Daughter Donates to Arts Diversity
Reuters: Elisabeth Murdoch is giving 3 million pounds to promote racial diversity in the British visual arts as part of a $100 million endowment. The daughter of Rupert Murdoch has adopted a lower profile than her brothers Lachlan and James and held back from the race...
Newsmax Says Right-Wing News Outlet Isn’t for Sale
Variety: Newsmax may be focused on conservative audiences, but it has very liberal views of where its business can go in the future. Wall Street Journal: A private-equity firm with ties to a co-chair of the Republican National Committee has held talks about acquiring...
Endeavor Eyes Cost Cutting, Asset Sales Amid Covid
New York Post: Hollywood superagent Ari Emanuel, desperate to survive the pandemic, is quietly hatching plans to trim the fat at Endeavor. The entertainment conglomerate is exploring selling investments in profitable startups and exiting low-growth...
Bloomberg QuickTake Staffer in Gender Pay Lawsuit
WWD: Bloomberg LP is again being accused of discriminatory workplace practices, this time by a current employee who is joining the lawsuit of a former reporter. Naula Ndugga, a news producer for Bloomberg QuickTake, is now part of a discrimination lawsuit filed in...
Hearst Lays Off About 60 Staffers at Oprah Magazine
WWD: As Hearst Magazines prepares to reduce the frequency of O, The Oprah Magazine from 12 issues to four next year, it is implementing layoffs. Some 59 staffers will be laid off, starting in February. The layoffs are thought to impact mainly the print...
Conde Nast Publishes First Male Cover of US Vogue
New York Post: Harry Styles covers Vogue's December 2020 issue, making history as the first man to do so solo in the magazine's history. In classic Styles fashion, he did so wearing a ball gown, a look custom-created by Gucci and paired with a cropped tuxedo...
New York Times ‘Reinvents’ Newspaper Every Week
New York Times: A weekly "At Home" feature presents craft projects created out of the print edition of the New York Times. The projects have included paper hats, dolls, balls and even a "coronavirus piñata." So far, At Home has produced some two dozen of these...
Hearst Plots Buyouts, Office Moves for Newspapers
Connecticut Post: A group of Hearst employees in Connecticut have taken a voluntary buyout option offered by Hearst Newspapers. San Antonio Express-News: The San Antonio Express-News is moving out of the historic building it has called home for more than 90...
Forbes Attracts Celebs to Virtual Women’s Summit
WWD: Tracee Ellis Ross, Misty Copeland, Arianna Huffington, and Megan Rapinoe will all take part in the 2020 Forbes Power Women's Summit on Dec. 9. This will be the eighth summit, but the first time it will be held virtually. This year's Theme will be "Change &...
Vox Cofounder Joins Journos Jumping to Substack
MediaPost: Vox.com cofounder Matthew Yglesias is stepping down to start his own venture on newsletter publishing platform Substack. He joins a few high-profile journalists who have left media organizations to go the personal entrepreneurial route: paid...
BuzzFeed Eyes Black Culture Brand as Standalone
Digiday: BuzzFeed is building out its Black Culture brand Cocoa Butter into more of a standalone business. On Oct. 20, the publisher launched a YouTube channel for Cocoa Butter, and later this month the brand will debut its first weekly email...
Group Nine’s Online Marketplace Focuses on Mobile
Digiday: Group Nine, the publisher of The Dodo, PopSugar, and NowThis, is the latest media company to create its own online marketplace. Its new platform, Swipe.Shop, is a mobile-optimized browser that feels familiar to how consumers already use their smartphones to...
New York’s Famous Magazine Store Gets a Sponsor
Marie Claire: The West Village's Casa Magazines, currently one of the few magazine stores still standing, is sporting a new look in its windows, thanks to a new collaboration with Valentino. The fashion house just released a coffee table book, which showcases the...
Facebook CEO Tells Employees Biden Won Election
BuzzFeed News: As false claims declaring that Joe Biden isn't the president-elect flourish on his platform, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees that the Democratic nominee "is going to be our next president." He added: "The election was fundamentally...
Google’s YouTube to Cancel Rewind Video for 2020
The Verge: YouTube Rewind, the company's annual end-of-year tribute to creators and moments that defined the platform, will not happen this year. "2020 has been different," YouTube said. "It doesn’t feel right to carry on as if it weren't." YouTube started the annual...
Netflix Signs Up Top Film Director in Exclusive Deal
CNET: David Fincher is the latest superstar creator to go all-in with Netflix. The Oscar-winning director of "Fight Club" and "The Social Network" will be working exclusively with the streaming service for four years. "I'm here to deliver them 'content' -- whatever...
Disney Reveals a Jump in Subscriptions for Disney+
Los Angeles Times: Disney's gamble on streaming has paid off in a big way so far. Disney+, which costs $7 a month on its own and $13 a month when bundled with Hulu and ESPN+, hit 73.7 million subscribers as of Oct. 3, up from about 60 million three months ago, the...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Mulls Rebranding of HBO Max
Business Insider: WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar is said to be under pressure to improve the performance of HBO Max. Kilar and the marketing team have discussed a name change for HBO Max in recent weeks. It is unclear if those talks will result in a...
Sony Buys Faith-Based Streaming Service Pure Flix
Los Angeles Times: Sony Pictures is buying a streaming service launched by the makers of the "God's Not Dead" film franchise. Sony has agreed to purchase the faith-based subscription video service Pure Flix, which charges $13 a month to stream evangelical-friendly...
Fox Corp Takes a Hit Amid Talk of Rival from Trump
Bloomberg: Fox Corp. shares tumbled with speculation ramping up that President Trump might launch a rival news service after he leaves office. Trump is reportedly planning a subscription-based streaming platform similar to Fox Nation, a $6-a-month service launched two...
Liberty Chief: Digital Heralds the End of Mass Media
Hollywood Reporter: "There is going to be no more mass media," said Liberty Media chairman John Malone. "Media is going to be computer to individual." There will be a "deep database" on individuals, with companies able to use artificial intelligence to "serve, service...
Disney Digital Veteran Finds Positives in Lockdown
Wall Street Journal: Kevin Mayer: "The way that consumers access entertainment and sports has been altered for the better. Consumers have continued to be empowered to enjoy content when and where they want to, and I don't see any reason fundamentally why that would...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Ready for Reunion of ‘Friends’
Reuters: The long-delayed "Friends" reunion special is expected to shoot in March, actor Matthew Perry said on Thursday, a year after plans to get the cast back together were wrecked because of the coronavirus pandemic. "Looks like we have a busy year coming up,"...
Twitter CEO Hits the Beach with Top VC, Sean Penn
Daily Mail: Twitter's Jack Dorsey enjoyed a walk on the beach in Hawaii with a shirtless Sean Penn and Israeli venture capitalist Vivi Nevo this week. Dorsey appeared relaxed as he took a break with friends after a testy few months for the tech...