An interview with and profile of CNBC media and entertainment reporter Alex Sherman, who is helping build the new CNBC Sport vertical to reach younger audiences (Derek Futterman/Barrett Media)

Mediagazer: An interview with and profile of CNBC media and entertainment reporter Alex Sherman, who is helping build the new CNBC Sport vertical to reach younger audiences (Derek Futterman/Barrett Media)

Top News:

Puck:

Sources: several Nikkei boardmembers push for consideration of a sale of the Financial Times as they have grown impatient with its economic performance— But first... 🗞️ Will the Financial Times head to the block?: Might the FT, the august salmon-hued internationalist business broadsheet, eventually hit the market?
Discussion: Talking Biz News

Discussion:

Chris Roush /
Talking Biz News: Is the Financial Times headed for a sale?

Wall Street Journal:

Podcasting is becoming an industry of megastars with huge deals and the biggest audiences; Edison: the top 25 podcasts reach nearly 50% of US weekly listeners— The top shows are adding video, merchandise and live tours and signing megadeals with Spotify, Sirius and Amazon.

Discussion:
The Media Leader, Max Cutler on LinkedIn, 9to5Mac, @robenfarzad, @samro, @joshthomastn, @davidharsanyi, @ckwitt3 and @wsj

Discussion:

Sabrina Quagliozzi /
The Media Leader: How Podcasts became big business.. for a very few (WSJ)

Max Cutler /
Max Cutler on LinkedIn: The Wall Street Journal recently published a story this past weekend about the evolving podcast landscape and how podcasts are creating …

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]

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Twitch remains unprofitable a decade after Amazon's acquisition; Docs show Twitch generated ~$667M in ad revenue and $1.3B in commerce revenue in 2023— The live-video service has slowing user growth, and workers are expecting more layoffs, changes ahead

Discussion:

Salvador Rodriguez /
Salvador Rodriguez on LinkedIn: There's an assumption among some that when Big Tech companies acquire popular up-and-coming start-ups that it's a sure-fire recipe for success. …

Salvador Rodriguez /
@salrodriguez@threads.net: Nearly 10 years since Amazon bought it for $1 billion, the live-streaming service Twitch remains unprofitable and insiders worry that its at risk of more layoffs. Some are concerned it could become a “zombie brand” at Amazon, which are internal projects or acquisitions that have been sidelined because they haven't lived up to expectations, like the app Goodreads. …

Travis Vocino /
@vocino@threads.net: I remember when Amazon acquired Twitch for $970M in 2014. Their office was near our startup in San Francisco and we would see them for coffee all the time. Despite soaring to $3B revenue in 2023, Twitch still isn't profitable. Twitch gives $AMZN access to a young male audience for ad, high costs of hosting live video are dragging down margins. …

Austin Johnsen /
@eaustinj@threads.net: Delivering video globally is phenomenally expensive. Twitch was only going to get profitable with scale and live is too niche to hit that scale (people want to watch what they want when they want it, not watch a 10 hour stream waiting for something interesting to happen, which is why on demand is 10x+ the scale of live) https://www.wsj.com/...

David Amador /
@djlink@mastodon.gamedev.place: Rarely use twitch these days but I was under the impression it was doing well, did YouTube picked up pace or maybe poor financial management. https://www.wsj.com/... [image]

Virginia Glaze /
Dexerto: Twitch CEO Dan Clancy defends trips & dinners with streamers amid employee backlash

Ian Whittaker /
Ian Whittaker on LinkedIn: This looks to be a classic acquisition ie #Twitch by #Amazon which is not going anywhere. Twitch seems to have several issues at least/ . …

Simon Owens /
@simondowens@threads.net: It's ironic that live programming is the only thing propping up the cable bundle right now, and yet the largest live streaming platform online is struggling to reach profitability. — https://www.wsj.com/...

404 Media:

Some popular sites like Condé Nast's titles and Reuters.com modified robots.txt to block Anthropic's bots, but Anthropic has just made new bots with other names— Hundreds of websites trying to block the AI company Anthropic from scraping their content are blocking the wrong bots …

Discussion:

Thomas Claburn /
The Register: Automation needed to fight army of AI content harvesters stalking the web

Joseph Cox /
@josephfcox: New from 404 Media: hundreds of websites are trying to block the AI company Anthropic from scraping their content, but are blocking the wrong bots, in part because AI companies are constantly launching new scrapers. Cat and mouse game https://www.404media.co/... [image]

Bastian Greshake Tzovaras /
@gedankenstuecke …: «companies are constantly launching new ‘AI’ crawler bots with different names that will only be blocked if website owners update their robots.txt.» — Which is exactly the same behavior every other run-of-the-mill spammer would use too in order to bypass anti-spam... https://www.404media.co/... @dreid@wandering.shop: Great, a fucking arms race. — We really are going to need a shared blocklist that doesn't rely on putting your website behind Cloudflare. — https://www.404media.co/...

Neil Sweeney /
@neilsweeneyceo: As if publishers didn't have enough on their plate, they are now in an arm's race with AI bot scrappers. #Wack-a-mole. I would like to hear what pubs and consultants think about this & how to fix it. @ReklaimYours https://www.404media.co/...

Joseph Cox /
@josephcox@infosec.exchange: New from 404 Media: hundreds of websites are trying to block the AI company Anthropic from scraping their content, but are blocking the wrong bots, in part because AI companies are constantly launching new scrapers. Cat and mouse game https://www.404media.co/... [image]

Variety:

WBD says Max and Discovery+ have pulled in more unique viewers in the first two days of the Paris Olympics than in the entirety of the Tokyo games in 2021— In just two days, Warner Bros. Discovery's Max and Discovery+ streaming services pulled in more unique viewers for the Paris Olympics …

Discussion:
Broadband TV News, Deadline, Advanced Television, Pressroom, @tvgrimreaper, Media Play News and ComingSoon.net

Discussion:

Julian Clover /
Broadband TV News: Warner Bros Discovery Olympics coverage nears one billion views after two days

Jesse Whittock /
Deadline: Paris Olympics: WBD Says Max Drove Streaming Views Of Games Past Tokyo 2020 Total After Just Two Days Pressroom: Max Drives Record Warner Bros. Discovery Olympics Coverage to Near One Billion Views After Only Day Two @tvgrimreaper: This isn't the boast Variety thinks it is. 1 billion minutes is about the viewing that #SundayNightFootball does in the US in an HOUR, and it was over two days(?) of Olympics coverage. [image]

Erik Gruenwedel /
Media Play News: Peacock Tops Tokyo Olympics Total Viewership in First 72 Hours of Paris Games

Disheeta Maheshwari /
ComingSoon.net: Can You Watch The Vow (2020) Online Free?

RELATED:
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

Discussion:

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

Apoorv Rastogi /
ComingSoon.net: Why Did the Paris Olympics' Organizers Apologize? Explained

Bevin Fletcher /
StreamTV Insider: NBC, Peacock capture 28.6M viewers for Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Sabrina Quagliozzi /
The Media Leader: NBCUniversal strikes gold with Paris Opening Ceremony

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

Sara Fischer /
Axios: Paris Olympics opening ceremony watched by nearly 29M NBCSports.com: THE OLYMPICS ARE BACK! PARIS OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY ON NBC AND PEACOCK IS MOST WATCHED SINCE 2012, WITH 28.6 MILLION VIEWERS

Richard Deitsch /
New York Times: Olympic opening ceremony draws total audience of 28.6 million viewers, most since 2012

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

Sheila Dang /
Reuters: Paris Olympics opening ceremony draws 28.6 million US viewers, most since 2012

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

Deadline:

Diamond Sports Group and Comcast reach a carriage deal to restore 15 RSNs to Xfinity Ultimate TV subscribers on August 1, ending a three-month blackout— Bankrupt regional sports network operator Diamond Sports Group has reached terms with Comcast on a carriage deal restoring 15 RSNs to Xfinity pay-TV systems.

Discussion:
Morningstar, Inc.: Diamond Sports and Comcast Reach Agreement to Return Bally Sports RSNs to Xfinity TV Customers

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: Bally Sports channels returning to Comcast under new deal @spacemnkymafia: Congratulations to Diamond Sports for blacking out 15 RSNs for three months only to capitulate to Xfinity and get absolutely nothing out of it. Elite negotiating

Anthony Crupi /
Sportico: Diamond Sports RSNs, Comcast Settle Carriage Dispute

Lillian Rizzo /
CNBC: Diamond Sports, Comcast reach a deal to return Bally regional sports to cable customers

Alden González /
@alden_gonzalez: I'm told Xfinity customers who upgrade to “Ultimate TV” by Aug. 30 will get it free for three months, after which it's $20 more a month. So essentially if you sign up when it launches on Thursday (Aug. 1), you can watch your baseball team for free through the end of the season.

Alden González /
@alden_gonzalez: Comcast and Diamond Sports Group announced they've reached a new carriage deal today. Under the agreement, fans who subscribe to Xfinity's “Ultimate TV” package can watch MLB games again beginning Thursday. They can also stream on the Bally Sports app using Xfinity credentials.

Alden Gonzalez /
ESPN: Comcast, Bally Sports announce carriage deal set for August

The Information:

LinkedIn and Pinterest are testing programs that let publishers sell ads on their videos and pages, respectively, in exchange for a cut of the resulting revenue— Social media platforms such as Pinterest, TikTok and LinkedIn are trying a new tack to gain a bigger share of digital advertising …

Discussion:

Jeremy Jankowski /
Jeremy Jankowski on LinkedIn: A huge thank you to The Information for covering the second year of our signature Pinterest Red Standard program. …

Jack Benjamin /
The Media Leader: OpenAI seeks to reassure publishers over SearchGPT

Nieman Lab:

Substack lets writers add embeds from predictions market startup Polymarket; Polymarket claims news prediction helps fight against clickbait and propaganda— Are prediction markets “the best tool we have to fight back against bullshit, clickbait, and propaganda,” or “just a euphemism for online gambling”?

Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, Semafor, On Substack and The Oracle

Discussion:

Matúš Kostolný /
Columbia Journalism Review: This is what happens when a leader who hates the press is shot

Ben Smith /
Semafor: 🟡 Harris' media campaign | Semafor

Polymarket /
The Oracle: Welcome to The Oracle by Polymarket

KUOW News & Information:

Brady Walkinshaw, a former state lawmaker, bought several Index Media publications, including Seattle's longtime alternative media outlet The Stranger— The Stranger, Seattle's longtime alternative media outlet and self-proclaimed “only newspaper” has new ownership.

Discussion:
@sydbrownstone

Discussion:

Barrett Media:

An interview with and profile of CNBC media and entertainment reporter Alex Sherman, who is helping build the new CNBC Sport vertical to reach younger audiences— “This package of material that is not bound by the cable bundle is essential for CNBC to survive and flourish with a younger audience that is not tied to the cable bundle."

Discussion:
Adweek

Discussion:

Financial Times:

Sources: WBD is in talks with rivals, including Virgin Media, to carry Max content as part of their bundles in the UK after WBD's deal with Sky runs out in 2025— US group's discussions raise questions over its exclusive agreement with Sky to show programmes such as ‘Game of Thrones’

Discussion:
The Desk, Advanced Television and Broadband TV News

Discussion:

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: WBD could launch Max in UK after Sky deal runs out

The Verge:

Twitch rolls out a revamped iOS and Android app, which now shows a TikTok-like feed of recommended content when it's opened, instead of a “Following” list— Twitch's mobile app is getting a major update that puts its TikTok-like feed front and center.

Discussion: