Disney’s ESPN Content Chief Departs Amid Layoffs
New York Post: Connor Schell, the No. 2 in charge at ESPN, is leaving his position at the network at the end of the year. Schell is exiting on his own accord as he is going to start his own non-fiction production company, according to...
ViacomCBS to Shutter Niche Streamers in Refocus
Variety: ViacomCBS has announced the sunsetting of its smaller streaming services, such as MTV Hits. While the company would not confirm which of its platforms would get the axe, NickHits, Comedy Central Now and Noggin are likely being eyed...
Netflix Goes Direct with Scheduled TV-Film Offering
Variety: Netflix has chosen France to test its first channel offering. Named Direct, the linear channel — which is only available to subscribers — will air French, international and US feature films and TV series that are available on the streaming...
AT&T’s Warner Dumps Star at Major Film Franchise
USA Today: Johnny Depp will no longer be starring in the "Fantastic Beasts" film series, the actor announced Friday. Depp posted a statement on Instagram alleging that Warner Bros., the studio behind the movie, asked him to resign "in light of recent...
Sony Mourns Death of Longtime Host of ‘Jeopardy!’
Associated Press: Alex Trebek, who presided over the beloved quiz show “Jeopardy!” for more than 30 years with dapper charm and a touch of schoolmaster strictness, died Sunday. He was 80. Trebek announced in 2019 that he had advanced pancreatic cancer....
Comcast-NBC ‘Today’ Weatherman Reveals Cancer
NBC News: Al Roker announced Friday on "Today" that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and will be undergoing surgery. The 66-year-old weatherman and co-host explained he wanted to publicly reveal his diagnosis to spotlight prostate...
Nexstar Election News Disappoints at ‘News Nation’
Robert Feder: "News Nation," the Chicago-based startup launched in September by Nexstar Media Group, barely registered during election week. At the height of election night coverage Tuesday, "News Nation" delivered only 95,000...
Comcast-MSNBC Prime-Time Star Enters Quarantine
New York Post: MSNBC's Rachel Maddow is in quarantine after she came in contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus. The news host was not on the air Friday after taking a key role in the network's coverage of the election throughout the...
News Corp Hit with Covid-19 Whistleblower Lawsuit
Hollywood Reporter: A former New York Post photographer alleges that the tabloid and its parent company, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., failed to provide him and other employees adequate Covid-19 personal protective...
Bloomberg to Unveil TV Streamer Built on QuickTake
Wall Street Journal: Bloomberg is launching a streaming TV channel, built around its social-media brand QuickTake, which will go beyond the company's core areas of finance and markets, with greater focus on general-interest and lifestyle...
New York Times Media Columnist Talks Tech, Trump
Sydney Morning Herald: "Both social media and traditional media have grown more sophisticated about their roles in spreading misinformation, and have reacted very aggressively during this period," says New York Times columnist Ben...
News Corp’s Editor of New York Post Editor to Retire
New York Times: Col Allan, the Australian tabloid wizard, plans to call an end to his career of more than 40 years at Murdoch papers in New York and Sydney. "The Post is not perfect," he says. "But it articulates a view that is not obedient to liberal...
Conde Nast Loses Vogue Staffer to Lingerie E-Tailer
WWD: Lingerie e-tailer Cuup has tapped Vogue writer Marjon Carlos to lead the brand's online editorial content. The former senior fashion writer at Vogue now leads Cuup's editorial team, focusing on the start-up’s content for Cuup's weekly...
Hearst’s Oprah Magazine is Out with Favorite Things
USA Today: Oprah Winfrey has released her holiday favorite things list for 2020, putting a spotlight on Black-owned businesses. "Black-owned" and "Black-led" business tags denote items ranging from lipstick and blankets to dolls and...
Uzabase to Sell Business Site Quartz to CEO, Editor
Wall Street Journal: The co-founder of Quartz and its editor in chief have agreed to buy the business news website from Japanese financial data firm Uzabase, a deal that comes as Quartz has suffered from the economic fallout from the...
Opinion: News Media is the Big Loser in US Election
Washington Post: "Many in the media could not imagine that half the country was not as disgusted by President Trump as they were," writes columnist Marc Thiessen. "Is it any wonder that a lot of Americans don’t trust the media to call the...
Amazon CEO Beats Lawsuit from Girlfriend’s Brother
Courthouse News: Jeff Bezos beat a defamation lawsuit filed against him by his girlfriend's brother, who is cited in news stories as the source of leaked text messages sold to the National Enquirer. Michael Sanchez's defamation claim against Bezos was found to be...
Facebook to Display Projected Winner of US Election
Bloomberg: Facebook says that when a winner of the US presidential election is projected, its platforms will display a notice for users to help combat misinformation about the outcome. "We will rely on a majority opinion from Reuters as well as decision desks at major...
Twitter, YouTube Remove Steve Bannon After Threat
TechCrunch: Former presidential advisor Steve Bannon had his show suspended from Twitter and an episode removed by YouTube after calling for violence against FBI director Christopher Wray and the government’s leading pandemic expert, Dr. Anthony...
Disney to Cut More Than 500 Jobs Including at ESPN
Los Angeles Times: ESPN is slashing 500 jobs as cost pressures from the Covid-19 pandemic are accelerating the sports media company's move into streaming. The cuts, which include 300 layoffs, were revealed Thursday in a memo from president Jimmy...
Lionsgate to Lay Off 70 as Pandemic Hits Hollywood
Los Angeles Times: Lionsgate is laying off 15% of staff in its film division as the studio adapts to massive changes in the film business that have been accelerated by the pandemic. "The significant change we are experiencing is not temporary or slowing...
Fox Corp Says TV Sportscasters in Covid Quarantine
New York Post: Due to Covid-19 quarantine protocols, the entire on-air crew of the Fox Sports college football pregame show "Big Noon Kickoff" will be off the air this Saturday. Fox Sports did not say if any of the on-air broadcasters had...
Comcast Drops Trump’s Election Speech on MSNBC
USA Today: President Trump wrongly claimed victory in the US election in a televised speech, which led some networks to drop coverage to correct the misinformation. MSNBC moved fastest, with anchor Brian Williams cutting in just 35 seconds into Trump's...
Discovery Readies News on New Streaming Service
Variety: Discovery plans to offer full details on its soon-to-launch streaming service in December, formally launching the owner of Food Network, HGTV and the Discovery Channel into the media industry’s rough-and-tumble streaming...
IAC Considers Spinoff of Vimeo After Top Valuation
CNBC: IAC-owned Vimeo has raised $150 million in equity from Thrive Capital and GIC, valuing the video company at $2.75 billion. IAC is also considering a spinoff of its ownership stake in Vimeo, which has seen a boost in demand due to the Covid-19...
Liberty Expects Re-Up of Howard Stern at SiriusXM
Deadline: Liberty Media CEO and SiriusXM chairman Greg Maffei says the satellite broadcaster’s star host Howard Stern, whose contract ends this year, is likely to re-up and apologized that a recently announced top management reshuffle was handled too...
iHeartMedia Wins OK for Rise in Foreign Ownership
Reuters: The US Federal Communications Commission has approved a petition for iHeartMedia investors to exceed the US 25% foreign investment cap. The FCC says the petition will "enable iHeart to be in a stronger financial condition...
News Corp Pursues Asset Sales in Bid to Streamline
Wall Street Journal: News Corp has been moving to shed noncore assets. This year it has sold off coupon firm News America Marketing and ad business Unruly. Asked about potential divestitures, CEO Robert Thomson says: "We are obviously constantly reviewing the...
Gannett Inks Deal to Sell Business Publishing Outfit
Arizona Republic: BridgeTower Media, the parent company of publications and marketing operations geared to business audiences, has been acquired by private equity firm Transom Capital Group for an undisclosed price. BridgeTower was Gannett's business-to-business...
New York Times Warns Digital Growth is Likely Brief
Reuters: The New York Times warns its robust digital growth may not be sustainable going ahead, easing expectations after reporting a strong quarter that benefited from a news coverage storm around the Covid-19 pandemic and the US election. "2020 is an outlier...