How podcasting is turning into an industry of megastars with huge deals and the biggest audiences; Edison: the top 25 podcasts reach ~50% of US weekly listeners (Anne Steele/Wall Street Journal)

Mediagazer: How podcasting is turning into an industry of megastars with huge deals and the biggest audiences; Edison: the top 25 podcasts reach ~50% of US weekly listeners (Anne Steele/Wall Street Journal)

Top News:

Wall Street Journal:

How podcasting is turning into an industry of megastars with huge deals and the biggest audiences; Edison: the top 25 podcasts reach ~50% of US weekly listeners— The top shows are adding video, merchandise and live tours and signing megadeals with Spotify, Sirius and Amazon.
Discussion: 9to5Mac, @robenfarzad, @samro, @joshthomastn, @davidharsanyi, @ckwitt3, @wsj and Mediaite, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Roben Farzad /
@robenfarzad: “Nearly 100 million Americans 12 and older listen to #podcasts every week...Podcast #advertising revenue is projected to grow 12% to $2+ billion this year and hit nearly $2.6 billion by 2026.” 📌 [still seems small vs other advertising] https://www.wsj.com/... #audio #media

Sam Ro /
@samro: there are ~450,000 active U.S. podcasts, WSJ reports https://www.wsj.com/... [image]

Josh Thomas /
@joshthomastn: Fascinating article about podcasts in the @WSJ. There are 450,000 podcasts and 25 have 50% of all listeners. Also 449,000 have essentially zero audience. It's just talking into the void. https://www.wsj.com/... [image]

David Harsanyi /
@davidharsanyi: I don't think this piece is surprising. One could probably make the same claim about books, movies, and music.

Conor Witt /
@ckwitt3: @itsurboyevan Fat tail dynamics across every category of creator verticals...a few blockbuster podcasts make all the money “There are ~450k active podcasts that published recent episodes. But the top 25 podcasts reach nearly half of U.S. weekly listeners” https://www.wsj.com/... [image] @wsj: Podcasting is turning into an industry of megastars who command the most money and the biggest audiences. But the top 25 podcasts reach nearly half of U.S. weekly listeners, according to Edison Research. https://www.wsj.com/... https://www.wsj.com/...

Alex Griffing /
Mediaite: Tucker Carlson Dethrones Joe Rogan From Atop The Coveted Spotify Podcast Rankings

Deadline:

Nielsen and Adobe Analytics: the Paris Olympics opening ceremony drew 28.6M viewers on NBC and Peacock, up 60%+ from Tokyo, plus 666K on Telemundo Deportes— Good news for NBCUniversal: The Paris Olympics are off to a great start with a big win out of Friday's Opening Ceremony.

Discussion:
Outsports, The Hollywood Reporter, TVNewsCheck, Axios, New York Times, Forbes, Sports Media Watch, Bloomberg, NBCSports.com, HuffPost, Sportico, TVLine, The Desk, The Wrap, Variety and Reuters

Discussion:

Jon Holmes /
Outsports: Olympics Opening Ceremony director says ‘Last Supper’ wasn't inspiration, amid anti-LGBTQ backlash

Rick Porter /
The Hollywood Reporter: TV Ratings: Olympics Opening Ceremony Draws Biggest Audience Since 2012

Sara Fischer /
Axios: Paris Olympics opening ceremony watched by nearly 29M

Richard Deitsch /
New York Times: Olympic opening ceremony draws total audience of 28.6 million viewers, most since 2012 NBCSports.com: THE OLYMPICS ARE BACK! PARIS OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY ON NBC AND PEACOCK IS MOST WATCHED SINCE 2012, WITH 28.6 MILLION VIEWERS

Matt Webb Mitovich /
TVLine: Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony Delivers Nearly 29 Million Viewers — Grade It!

Loree Seitz /
The Wrap: Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony Hits 28.6 Million Viewers Across NBC, Peacock - 60% More Than Tokyo

William Earl /
Variety: Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony Delivers 28.6 Million Viewers for NBCUniversal, Most Watched for Summer Games Since 2012

Radio & Television Business Report:

BIA Advisory Services: 2024 US local media ad spending is expected to rise 9.5% YoY to $173.7B, with the gap between traditional and digital media spend closing— In October, BIA Advisory Services' initial forecast for 2024 had local advertising revenues hitting $175.6 billion.

Discussion:
Aspire, The Desk and Inside Radio

Semafor:

A look at Kamala Harris' efforts since early 2022 to improve her relationship with the national media, increasing the cadence of her interactions with reporters— The News — Kamala Harris has spent her last two years as vice president repairing a difficult relationship with the national media …

Discussion:
@semaforben and HuffPost

Bloomberg:

Thelma, Longlegs, and Civil War are some of at least a half a dozen independent films to break out at the box office in 2024, a much needed boost for the sector— The decline of the independent film business has been a major concern among Hollywood producers and executives in recent years.

Discussion:
Dexerto and @lucas_shaw

Discussion:

Daisy Phillipson /
Dexerto: Longlegs just beat record held by one of the greatest movies of all time

New York Times:

Sources detail how Elon Musk undermined CEO Linda Yaccarino's efforts to repair X's business over the past year; X's US revenue fell 53% YoY to $114M in Q2— Linda Yaccarino, the C.E.O. of X, has worked hard to bring back advertisers and fix the platform's business.

Discussion:
@alexandregiess@threads.net, @renee.diresta@threads.net, @lessin@threads.net, @goldman@threads.net, @lessin@threads.net, @rmac18, @documentingmeta@threads.net, @lindayax, @renee.diresta@threads.net, @pkafka@threads.net, @renee.diresta@threads.net, @tvmojoe, Awful Announcing, @carnage4life@mas.to, @so_treu, @reddirtsport, @ron_fournier, @jeffjarvis, @hay_banda, @amydiehl@mstdn.social, @elistuy@threads.net, @crumbler@threads.net, @moskov@threads.net, @renee.diresta@threads.net, @hunterwalk@threads.net, @cachiporra.bsky.social, @nonlinear@social.praxis.nyc and @self.agency, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Alex Giess /
@alexandregiess@threads.net: The Ivanka PR strategy

Renee DiResta /
@renee.diresta@threads.net: And X simply doesn't want to. Remember - labels are “censorship”. Fact-checking is “censorship”. Downranking. Etc. Everyrhing is “censorship”. Community Notes, another context-adding option, have been proposed on this particularly manipulated media content, but aren't being added (a small army fights labeling Elon's posts.) …

Sam Lessin /
@lessin@threads.net: This story is fascinating from a meta-narrative perspective ... if not planted, linda clearly cooperated at a minimum - shaping it to be “i am good elon is the problem” against the backdrop of “I is deeply loyal to elon...”- quite a needle to thread!

Jason Goldman /
@goldman@threads.net: And if approx 2500 people in media stopped using it, the remaining value would evaporate as well.

Sam Lessin /
@lessin@threads.net: of course... what it looks like to me is the telltale signs of very sophisticated cooperation / not run of the mill ... but that what i would expect from her, ari, etc. I think she really has failed hard in the role, but if there is one thing i would be willing to give her the benefit of the doubt on it would be managing an article like this around her personal reputation ...

Ryan Mac /
@rmac18: After Musk embraced the Great Replacement theory, Media Matters released a report showing Nazi content next to X ads. It led major co's to pause ads. The following weekend happened to be Linda Yaccarino's daughter's wedding. We heard internal audio in which Yaccarino suggested [image]

Ryan Mac /
@rmac18: Key X business figures in here: -Musk and Yaccarino say advertisers are returning or reactivating, but never give sales numbers. We obtained internal figures showing US Q2 sales was $114m, down 53%(!!!) yoy. -As Musk gets more political, X plans on making $8m from political ads @documentingmeta@threads.net: Watching Elon do a speedrun of all the things that haven't worked in social media over the past 2 decades, has been fascinating. He simply can't comprehend that people aren't rockets and you can't just make it work

Linda Yaccarino /
@lindayax: So much debate on so many important topics today. 🔥

Renee DiResta /
@renee.diresta@threads.net: Did you see that FT piece last week suggesting Nick P was going to get her job?

Peter Kafka /
@pkafka@threads.net: It's a good piece. The thing about guessing about sourcing and motivation is that often you will be right but you can also be wrong a lot. I don't see any of the telltale signs about the subject cooperating in the background. But I have no idea.

Renee DiResta /
@renee.diresta@threads.net: Deepfake audio content of politicians is political speech and is largely unregulatable. Anyone now has the ability to create it. Soon, everyone will be. The barrier now is distribution. Social media platforms' manipulated media policies are supposed to add context — labels, in most cases. … @tvmojoe: From widely respected head of advertising for NBCUniversal to radical extremist figurehead CEO of a far right propaganda arm. Everything Trump touches...

Andrew Bucholtz /
Awful Announcing: X saw 53 percent Q2 revenue decline while friends ‘have begged’ CEO Linda Yaccarino to quit

Dare Obasanjo /
@carnage4life@mas.to: Twitter's US revenue has dropped -83% from $661M in Q2 of 2022 to $114M in Q2 of 2024. — Every attempt Linda Yaccarino has come up with to generate revenue has been scuttled by impulsive behavior from Elon Musk. It's the greatest destruction of value in tech this decade. … @jeffjarvis: Just like writing puff pieces about Usha Vance and Melania Trump: Horrid men and the women who support them. How Do You Solve a Problem Like Elon? https://www.nytimes.com/... @hay_banda: LOL, so much for “free speech”🙄. A “free-speech absolutist” as long as the free speech isn't directed at him and doesn't require him to answer uncomfortable questions. Effing lily-livered hypocritical man baby. Plus a fascist in bed with war criminals. https://www.nytimes.com/...

Amy Diehl, Ph.D. /
@amydiehl@mstdn.social: Elon is a problem. But notice the framing of this headline, picture and article. Assigning responsibility for fixing him to a woman, his workplace subordinate. — https://www.nytimes.com/...

Ethan Illfelder /
@elistuy@threads.net: NYT says X US revenue fell 53% YoY in their Q2 to $114M. This is down from $661M, dropping 83% from 2Q22- the last report before Elon took Twitter private. 💸 https://www.nytimes.com/...

Casey Newton /
@crumbler@threads.net: Linda Yaccarino torched her reputation so she could be “CEO” of a company whose revenues declined 53 percent year over year. A down side of a career spent sucking up to power is that power doesn't care about your problems, and will happily spit you out when the time comes

Dustin Moskovitz /
@moskov@threads.net: Just last week someone said “Twitter proved you can cut 80% of staff and it's fine” and I responded “but they also lost 80% of revenue”. The next turn in the conversation is usually to insist the two facts have nothing to do with each other and I think that radically misunderstands the *business* purpose of trust and safety, among other things.

Renee DiResta /
@renee.diresta@threads.net: “The mark of a good C.E.O. is not how many punches you can throw, but how many you can take. She is the Muhammad Ali of C.E.O.s,” said Ari Emanuel, the chief executive of the entertainment agency Endeavor, which is an investor in X. Except those punches usually come from, you know, your competitors — not members of your own exec team. … @hunterwalk@threads.net: “After the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, for instance, Ms. Yaccarino told several major advertisers that she and X would work to fight antisemitism. The next month, Mr. Musk approvingly replied to an antisemitic theory on the site.” after some point, you're not a victim, you're complicit @cachiporra.bsky.social: In case you need the nuts and bolts timeline of how Linda Yaccarino became a lead roach in Trump's media operations, here it is. Stop defending her. — cw: The New York Times [embedded post] @nonlinear@social.praxis.nyc: @Mediagazer oh well, she was a figurehead and she knew it. dude would brainstorm new rules on mic, and she'd only know when journalists told her. — there's no way she didn't know that. I hope she got her coins, because she traded for her reputation. @self.agency: this is an article about how the ambitiousness of otherwise decent people will cause them to compromise all their values and relationships in the pursuit of feeding their ego [embedded post]

Variety:

WGA West: TV and film writer earnings fell ~32% to $1.29B in 2023, the lowest level since the 2007-08 strike, and employment fell 19.5% to 5,501 working writers— TV and film writer earnings fell $603 million last year, or about 32%, as the end of “Peak TV” coincided with a 148-day strike by the Writers of Guild of America.

Discussion:
Writers Guild America West, WGA Contract 2023, The Wrap and Deadline

Discussion:
WGA Contract 2023: What We Won — We set out in this negotiation to address critical issues across our membership …

The Guardian:

In a documentary, Prince Harry said his choice to take legal action against UK tabloid newspapers was a “central piece” contributing to the rift with his family— Duke of Sussex tells ITV documentary that legal battles against newspapers ‘central’ to deterioration in relations

Discussion:
Associated Press, NBC News, CNN, Los Angeles Times and New York Times

Discussion:

Brian Melley /
Associated Press: Prince Harry says his crusade against British tabloids has contributed to royal family rift

Aurora Almendral /
NBC News: Harry says battles with British press contributed to rift with the royal family

Maija Ehlinger /
CNN: British tabloid battle was ‘central piece’ in rift within royal family — Prince Harry

Nardine Saad /
Los Angeles Times: Prince Harry opens up about tabloid fight, says it contributed to royal family rift

Wall Street Journal:

Filing: the US DOJ says TikTok collected data about its users' views on gun control, abortion, and religion, and censored content at ByteDance's direction— Justice Department defends new law requiring the sale or ban of the popular app — TikTok collected data about its users' views …

Discussion:
The Information, The Register, The Hill, @tiktokpolicy, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Financial Times, CNN, New York Times, Reuters and Toledo Blade

Discussion:
@tiktokpolicy: Our statement on the DOJ brief filed today: “Nothing in this brief changes the fact that the Constitution is on our side. The TikTok ban would silence 170 million Americans' voices, violating the First Amendment. As we've said before, the government has never put forth proof of CNN: Justice Department responds to TikTok lawsuit, argues algorithm could allow Chinese government to influence US elections

David Shepardson /
Reuters: USDOJ tells court to reject TikTok challenge to crackdown law Toledo Blade: Justice Department argues TikTok algorithm could allow Chinese government to influence elections

RELATED:

Bloomberg:
How TikTok is trying to fend off a potential US ban, including through ad campaigns, lobbying, and funding lawsuits by creators

Discussion:
@jamietarabay, Associated Press, The Hill and Variety

Discussion:

Jamie Tarabay /
@jamietarabay: Backed by its Chinese parent company, @tiktok_us is deploying lawyers, lobbyists and social-media influencers to reverse a new US law barring the popular video-sharing app unless its Chinese owner divests https://www.bloomberg.com/... via @technology Associated Press: TikTok collected US user views on issues like abortion and gun control, Justice Dept. claims

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Kamala Harris Joins TikTok

The Telegraph:

Sources: Apple met with UK TV ratings body Barb to discuss options for tracking ads on Apple TV+, in another sign that it plans to introduce ads on the service— Apple has held talks with the UK's TV ratings body in the latest sign that the tech giant is planning to introduce adverts on its streaming service.

Discussion:
9to5Mac, @tvgrimreaper and @carnage4life@mas.to, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Michael Burkhardt /
9to5Mac: Apple continuing work on ad-supported TV+ plan; in discussions about UK advertising @tvgrimreaper: Seems like they'd want to get people to watch Apple TV+ before bothering with ads. Apple TV+ was just 0.24% of US viewing on smart TVs in June. [image]

Dare Obasanjo /
@carnage4life@mas.to: Apple TV+ is the only major streaming without ads but it looks like that will soon be changing. The company met with UK TV ratings company to discuss options for tracking ad viewership on its platforms. — So much for the “privacy is a human right” slogan if they go down this path. …

The Hollywood Reporter:

WBD sues the NBA over the league's “unjustified” decision to sell a package of media rights to Amazon, to which WBD claims to have a “contractual right”— The company had sought to match a proposal from Amazon Prime Video, but the league said that it “did not match the terms” of the deal.

Discussion:
@wallachlegal, Puck, Wall Street Journal, @wallachlegal, @brandonthurston, @pkafka, @morningbrew, @sherman4949, @mmccarthyrev, @bkoo, New York Times, The Information, Washington Post, Bloomberg Law, USA Today, Axios, Associated Press, Forbes, Yahoo Finance, ESPN, Front Office Sports, Variety, New York Times, Quartz, Sports Media Watch, Business Insider, Los Angeles Times, Mediaite, Sportico, CNBC, Deadline, New York Post, CNN, The Wrap, Awful Announcing, The Streamable, Los Angeles Times, Awful Announcing and Reuters

Discussion:

Daniel Wallach /
@wallachlegal: BREAKING: TBS and Warner Brothers Discovery have just filed a lawsuit against the NBA in New York County Supreme Court over the league's rejection of WBD's attempted match of the Amazon media rights bid (h/t @ls87NY) [image]

John Ourand /
Puck: How Zaz Lost the NBA

Daniel Wallach /
@wallachlegal: WBD and TBS are seeking the following relief: 1) Declaratory judgment that it matched; 2) Specific performance by the NBA; and 3) Preliminary and permanent injunctive relief (if the issues presented in the Complaint not be resolved well in advance of the 2025-26 NBA season). [image]

Brandon Thurston /
@brandonthurston: WBD's TV rights contract with the NBA has been filed as an exhibit to the lawsuit WBD is filing against the league. Most of the other filings are sealed. https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/ ... [image]

Peter Kafka /
@pkafka: I wrote about the potential outcomes for WBD in its lawsuit with the NBA. One is bad. The others are very bad. [image] @morningbrew: Warner Bros isn't giving up the NBA without a fight WBD filed a lawsuit today that says TNT should be able to broadcast games after matching Amazon's winning bid this week Charles Barkley is less than pleased about all of it [image]

Alex Sherman /
@sherman4949: Reading this WBD lawsuit: For a company that said “we don't have to have the NBA,” most of this lawsuit argues why Turner Sports has to have the NBA.

Michael McCarthy /
@mmccarthyrev: Here's NBA' statement on WBD lawsuit via league spokesman Mike Bass: “Warner Bros. Discovery's claims are without merit and our lawyers will address them.”

Ben Koo /
@bkoo: Regarding the WBD NBA lawsuit, I wrote this in mid May and could already tell this was going to be a major clusterfuck. https://awfulannouncing.com/ ... [image]

Andrew Marchand /
New York Times: Charles Barkley to consider ESPN, NBC, Amazon deals if TNT doesn't honor full $210 million contract

Martin Peers /
The Information: Why Warner's NBA Suit Is Pointless

Tim Baysinger /
Axios: Warner Bros. Discovery sues NBA over media rights dispute

Antonio Pequeño IV /
Forbes: Warner Bros. Discovery Sues NBA Over Amazon Deal

Alexandra Canal /
Yahoo Finance: Warner Bros. Discovery sues NBA over ‘unjustified rejection’ of matching media rights bid

Baxter Holmes /
ESPN: Warner Bros. Discovery sues NBA over losing rights to Amazon

Brian Steinberg /
Variety: Warner Bros. Discovery Launches Stealth Marketing Campaign Against NBA, Amazon

Tania Ganguli /
New York Times: Warner Bros. Discovery Sues N.B.A. Over Rights Deal

Jon Lewis /
Sports Media Watch: WBD files suit against NBA

Peter Kafka /
Business Insider: WBD is suing the NBA so it can stay in business with the NBA. Yikes.

Stephen Battaglio /
Los Angeles Times: Warner Bros. Discovery sues NBA over new media rights deal, saying it matched Amazon

Ahmad Austin Jr /
Mediaite: TBS, Warner Bros. Discovery File Lawsuit Against NBA Over Media Rights Deal

Deadline:
NBA Slams Warner Bros Discovery Suit Over TV Rights As “Without Merit”; Media Giant Accuses League Of “Direct Breach” In Awarding Games To Amazon - Update

Ryan Glasspiegel /
New York Post: Warner Bros. Discovery sues NBA over matching rights clause with league preferring Amazon to TNT

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Warner Bros. Discovery Sues Over NBA's ‘Unjustified’ Rejection of Matching Rights Proposal

David Satin /
The Streamable: The Ball Is in Your Court! Warner Bros. Discovery Files Lawsuit Against NBA Over Broadcast Rights

Meg James /
Los Angeles Times: Benched by the NBA, Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav faces tough questions

TorrentFreak:

Music industry group IFPI has been working to get Musi, a free streaming app that sources music from YouTube, removed from the App Store and weighs legal action— App stores are littered with apps that promise free access to music, but only few live up to expectations. Musi is one of them.

CBC News:

Canada's Postmedia plans to buy the SaltWire newspaper chain, which has been under protection from creditors since March, and hopes to close the deal in August— SaltWire would remain committed to local journalism, Postmedia says — Postmedia has entered an agreement to purchase SaltWire …

Discussion:
@ashzade_@threads.net, @nziafati, @dantheeditor, @ty_olsen, @robhoadley, CWA Canada, Canadian Press and Postmedia

Discussion:

Ash Zade /
@ashzade_@threads.net: American-owned company continues to buy all Canadian print and web news.

Noushin Ziafati /
@nziafati: This is big news — yet another newspaper company on the east coast being acquired by Postmedia. Brunswick News Inc. was acquired by Postmedia back in 2022.

Dan Leger /
@dantheeditor: Extremely bad news. As a former Herald editor, this realizes a longstanding fear, soulless right-wing dark money buying the fine old paper. So much for 150 years of history & a vicious blow to local coverage. Plus more garbage Post columnists.

Tyler Olsen /
@ty_olsen: PostMedia is not a great company. It's beholden to its investors. Yet, I'm not out there buying newspapers basically for free b/c I don't want the job of doing the things that seem to be necessary to (temporarily) ‘save’ papers. There's no good future for papers and it's sad.

Rob Hoadley /
@robhoadley: It's probably fine that a single right wing American hedge fund controls almost all Canadian print media. It's also probably fine that the next government wants to shut down the CBC and gut local news in places like New Brunswick. We'll be reliant on this one single news outlet CWA Canada: Postmedia-Saltwire deal: Media Union CWA Canada will protect members and local journalism