Top News:
New York Times:
Sources: Sony Pictures and Apollo Global formally express interest in acquiring Paramount for ~$26B; Paramount's negotiating period with Skydance ends May 3 — Paramount has been exploring a potential deal for months, talking to suitors including Skydance, producer of “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Information, Liz Spaulding on LinkedIn, Financial Times, ComingSoon.net, Inside Radio, Media Play News, Yahoo Finance, @sherman4949, Associated Press, CNBC, The Streamable, Deadline, Quartz, The Wrap, The Desk, Bloomberg, Business Insider, Variety, Radio & Television …, Next TV and Cord Cutters News
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Apple Q2: revenue from Services, which includes Apple TV+ and Apple Music, rose 14% YoY to $23.9B, vs. $23.27B estimated, an all-time record — The Apple Services segment generated $23.87 billion, up 14.2%, for the quarter ended March 30, topping analyst forecasts of $23.12 billion.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, 9to5Mac, Neowin, Deadline, CNBC, New York Times, Media Play News and AppleInsider, more at Techmeme »
Andrew Marchand / The Athletic:
Sources: MLB is in advanced talks to make Roku the new home for Sunday morning baseball this season, in what would be Roku's first major live rights deal — Major League Baseball and Roku are in advanced talks to make the service the new home for Sunday morning baseball this season …
Discussion:
Sports Media Watch, @andrewmarchand, @keshavbhat, @svg_brandon, @tvmojoe, Barrett Media, The Desk and Bleacher Report
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: the NBA is close to signing deals that would pay the league ~$76B over 11 years, including $2.6B and $1.8B a year from Disney and Amazon, respectively — The National Basketball Association is close to signing new long-term broadcasting agreements that would pay the league …
Discussion:
@lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw and @dylanbyers
Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair:
For weeks, graduate students at The Columbia Journalism School chronicled protests, and professors worked to ensure access and safety as the campus locked down — They've gotten a crash course in breaking news, capturing the Hamilton Hall occupation and the NYPD's crackdown, while surviving on pizza and operating on little sleep.
Discussion:
NBC News, @charlottetklein, The Intercept, @jordangreennc, Slate, @misstessowen, @mathewi, New Yorker, The Hill, Poynter, Associated Press and Rolling Stone
Jem Aswad / Variety:
Universal Music Group and TikTok strike a new music licensing deal to bring UMG music back to the platform, including “improved remuneration” and AI protections — The months-long standoff between Universal Music Group and TikTok over royalty payments and AI policies is finally over …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, UMG, Mumbrella, Tubefilter, Los Angeles Times, Fraser MacKenzie on LinkedIn, The Hollywood Reporter, CMU, CBS News, The Hill, Deadline, The Information, New York Times, Conrad Withey on LinkedIn, Music Technology Policy, UPROXX, Digital Music News, Android Headlines, The Wrap, Neowin, WFAA-TV, Bloomberg, Axios, The A.V. Club, 9to5Mac, Social Media Today, Consequence, The Drum, Music Business Worldwide, Financial Times, The Guardian, CNN, Engadget, Reuters, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Music Ally, TechCrunch, The Verge and The Hollywood Reporter
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
A look at 2023 media CEO pay amid industry contraction: Charter CEO Chris Winfrey, $89M; Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, $84M; WBD CEO David Zaslav, $49.7M; and more — It was a year of pain for the entertainment industry and shareholders of (many) media companies with months-long Hollywood strikes and layoffs.
Sohee Kim / Bloomberg:
Indonesia's Vidio, a local streaming competitor to Netflix, aims to double its paid subscribers to 8M in the next two to three years ahead of an IPO — - Youthful population of over 270 million a draw for streamers — Low 5G penetration remains an obstacle to increasing customers
Discussion:
Sohee Kim on LinkedIn and @lucas_shaw
Clare Malone / New Yorker:
A look at Hunterbrook, whose hedge fund makes trades based on investigations by its newsroom, and well-connected founders Sam Koppelman and Nathaniel Horwitz — The hybrid media-finance company wants to monetize investigative journalism in the public interest. Is it a visionary game changer or a cynical ploy?
Discussion:
@bgrueskin, @claremalone, @sammykoppelman, @pkafka, @pkafka, Business Insider and Talking Biz News
Jack Mirkinson / Discourse Blog:
Dana Bash's May 1 CNN monologue about pro-Palestinian student protests included lies, regurgitated others' spin, and repeated lines of pro-Israel propaganda — I have covered the U.S. media for a long time. I have watched more hours of cable news than is healthy for any human being.
Gannett:
Gannett reports Q1 revenue down 5% YoY to $635.8M, digital revenue up 8.1% to $267.5M, an $84.8M net loss including a ~$46M impairment charge; GCI closes up 27% — Gannett Co., Inc. ("Gannett", “we”, “us”, “our”, or the “Company") (NYSE: GCI) today reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.
Discussion:
Yahoo Finance, Providence Business News, AdExchanger, Gannett and MediaPost
Kyle Chayka / New Yorker:
As social media platforms pivot away from news distribution, a look at news sites like The Verge, which feel more like social media, with aggregation and more — As social networks become less reliable distributors of the news, consumers of digital journalism are seeking out an older form of online real estate.
Discussion:
Media Voices, Kyle Chayka on LinkedIn, @michaelroston, @maxrivlinnadler, @maxwelltani, @chaykak, @chaykak, @michaelluo, @voxmedia, @chrismoranuk, The Rebooting, @paul_irish@toot.cafe, @michellemanafy@journa.host, Justin B. Smith on LinkedIn, @chaykak, @chaykak, @mjnblack and The Overspill
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