A look at Amazon Prime Video's appeal for advertisers, who say its ads are cheaper than Netflix's; Antenna: <10% of Prime subscribers paid for no ads, as of May (Financial Times)

Mediagazer: A look at Amazon Prime Video's appeal for advertisers, who say its ads are cheaper than Netflix's; Antenna: <10% of Prime subscribers paid for no ads, as of May (Financial Times)

Top News:

The Verge:

Perplexity is launching a program to share ad revenue with partners such as Time, Der Spiegel, Fortune, and WordPress.com, after weeks of plagiarism accusations— Perplexity is launching a program to share ad revenue with publishing partners following weeks of plagiarism accusations.
Discussion: MediaPost, Fast Company, Press Gazette, TechCrunch, Digiday, CNBC, The Information, @aravsrinivas, Talking Biz News, @kyliebytes, @mattrosoff, @pranavdixit, WordPress.com News, Semafor, Engadget, The Drum, San Francisco Chronicle, Perplexity AI, VentureBeat, @perplexity_ai, @kyliebytes and CNBC Television on YouTube, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Laurie Sullivan /
MediaPost: Perplexity Unveils Publisher Program, How It Will Sell Ads In Search

Mark Sullivan /
Fast Company: Perplexity will soon start selling ads within AI search

Charlotte Tobitt /
Press Gazette: Perplexity to share ad revenue with signed-up publishers after flurry of criticism

Rebecca Bellan /
TechCrunch: Perplexity details plan to share ad revenue with outlets cited by its AI chatbot

Kayleigh Barber /
Digiday: Perplexity's new rev-share publisher program is live, but not all pubs are sold

Stephanie Palazzolo /
The Information: AI Search Engine Perplexity Announces Partnerships With Publishers

Aravind Srinivas /
@aravsrinivas: Today, we're announcing the Perplexity Publishers Program. Our success relies on ensuring answers are factually grounded in high-quality sources of information. The most scalable and sustainable way to work with creators and publishers is to share our revenue and make our [image]

Kylie Robison /
@kyliebytes: The program will temporarily provide cash advances on revenue to publishers as Perplexity builds a long-term advertising model. “It's a much better revenue split than Google, which is zero,” @photomatt told me https://www.theverge.com/...

Matt Rosoff /
@mattrosoff: Something about this feels weird to me. A bit like, we're going to do this anyway, so take what we give you. https://techcrunch.com/... via @techcrunch @pranavdixit: Shevelenko refused to comment on the recent controversies that Perplexity has been involved in but acknowledged that onboarding publishers had become harder. “Some [of our talks] were in a great place and then the bad press hit and then they, you know, raised more questions.” WordPress.com News: Why We're Partnering With Perplexity — One of our key values at Automattic is that access to knowledge …

Reed Albergotti /
Semafor: Perplexity announces revenue sharing deal with publishers

Pranav Dixit /
Engadget: Perplexity will put ads in its AI search engine and share revenue with publishers

Webb Wright /
The Drum: Why Perplexity has agreed to share revenues with Time, Fortune & other publishers

Chase DiFeliciantonio /
San Francisco Chronicle: AI company in San Francisco unveils plan to pay publishers for their content — sometimes @perplexity_ai: A core belief at Perplexity is that everyone should have access to relevant and accurate information on the topics that matter to them. To ensure that publishers can benefit as Perplexity grows, today we're excited to launch our publishers program with our first partners: @TIME, [image]

Kylie Robison /
@kyliebytes: NEW: Perplexity is cutting newsrooms a check following plagiarism accusations as part of a new partner program Perplexity's CBO declined to share exact deal terms but said that the revenue share is a multiyear agreement with a “double-digit percentage” https://www.theverge.com/...

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:

Laura Mandaro /
The Information: CrowdStrike's Comeback Hits an Air Pocket

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. …

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/ . …

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/...

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

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]

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/...

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:

David Satin /
The Streamable: What Comes Next for Diamond Sports Group After New Carriage Deal with Comcast? Morningstar, Inc.: Diamond Sports and Comcast Reach Agreement to Return Bally Sports RSNs to Xfinity TV Customers @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

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.

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: Bally Sports channels returning to Comcast under new deal

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

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

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:
NBCSports.com: THREE-PEAT! SPECTACULAR SUNDAY OF PARIS OLYMPIC COMPETITION DRAWS MORE THAN 41 MILLION VIEWERS ON NBC, PEACOCK, AND ACROSS KEY NBCU PLATFORMS

Sabrina Quagliozzi /
The Media Leader: Peacock powers NBCU to record-breaking Olympics viewership

Bill Chappell /
NPR: Paris Olympics TV ratings are up 79% over Tokyo Games, NBC says

Silki Joshi /
ComingSoon.net: Can You Watch Cris Miró Online Free?

Erik Gruenwedel /
Media Play News: Max Generates Record European Paris Olympics Streaming Viewership

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

Michael McWatters /
Michael McWatters on LinkedIn: Well, you can't say we haven't been busy. In addition to setting a record one billion Olympics views after just two days, Max accounted for 80% of WBD's Olympics streaming audience across Europe! @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]

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— Update 7/30/24: After this story was originally published, an Anthropic spokesperson told 404 Media that CLAUDEBOT …

Discussion:

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]

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/...

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

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/...

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]

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]

Bloomberg:

WPP says Philip Jansen, former BT Group CEO, will become its chairman in January 2025, replacing Roberto Quarta who's been with the company for almost a decade— WPP Plc said that Philip Jansen, former chief executive officer of UK telecommunications company BT Group Plc, will become chairman in January.

Discussion:
MediaPost, City A.M., Financial Times and Reuters

Discussion:

Steve McClellan /
MediaPost: WPP Names Jansen To Succeed Quarta As Board Chair

Amber Murray /
City A.M.: WPP: Ad giant names former BT boss Jansen as new chair to navigate AI challenges

Financial Times:

A look at Amazon Prime Video's appeal for advertisers, who say its ads are cheaper than Netflix's; Antenna: <10% of Prime subscribers paid for no ads, as of May— Ecommerce group's ad-supported streaming service possesses the retail clout in an increasingly competitive market

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:
New York Times, @cruickshank and @sydbrownstone

Discussion:

Katie Robertson /
New York Times: The Stranger in Seattle Gets a New Owner, With Plans for Expansion

Robert Cruickshank /
@cruickshank: Potentially very good news. Especially if they start covering public schools and do so from a progressive perspective (so far they've backed the neoliberals). https://www.kuow.org/...

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:
@sherman4949 and Adweek

Discussion:

Alex Sherman /
@sherman4949: A preview of some of what's to come for CNBC Sport https://barrettmedia.com/...

Bloomberg:

The K-pop industry is betting on an internationalized business model to expand its appeal; ~50% of the K-pop songs released in 2024 had majority English lyrics— The industry is betting on a new internationalized business model that could be a make or break moment for the idol music genre.

Discussion:
Sohee Kim on LinkedIn, @soheefication, @cecianasta, @nicola_news and @lucas_shaw

Discussion:

Sohee Kim /
Sohee Kim on LinkedIn: 🎵 Bloomberg News 📢 Exclusive interviews with SM Entertainment CEOs, K-pop Idol band RIIZE, WooJin CHA, Spotify executives and more: …

Sohee Kim /
@soheefication: The business of K-pop. And the rise of @RIIZE_official. Our team put tremendous efforts to create a story that explains everything behind them. Now watch & read 🎬 https://www.bloomberg.com/... [video]

Cecilia D'Anastasio /
@cecianasta: Obsessed with @soheefication's story on why K-pop is betting on English lyrics. And the graphics treatment is SO cute. The mouse cursor is a wand! https://www.bloomberg.com/...

Stefan Nicola /
@nicola_news: Can K-pop exist without the K? With prospects for growth limited in its home market, the industry is consciously trying to become less Korean. Read The Big Take. https://www.bloomberg.com/... Great stuff via @bbgvisualdata @soheefication @jwf825 @Jeremy_CF_Lin

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:
@jeffjarvis@mastodon.social and Talking Biz News

Discussion:

Jeff Jarvis /
@jeffjarvis@mastodon.social: Puck says the FT could end up on the block. — https://puck.news/...

Chris Roush /