A look at the battle among streamers for stand-up comic specials, as Amazon, Hulu, and Max challenge Netflix's dominance of the genre (The Hollywood Reporter)

Mediagazer: A look at the battle among streamers for stand-up comic specials, as Amazon, Hulu, and Max challenge Netflix's dominance of the genre (The Hollywood Reporter)

Top News:

Reuters:

News Corp puts its 65% interest in Australian pay TV company Foxtel up for sale, citing third-party interest and a strategic review— Australian pay television company Foxtel, controlled by the Murdoch family and partly by local telecom firm Telstra (TLS.AX), has been put …
Discussion: Sydney Morning Herald, The Hollywood Reporter, The Guardian, ABC, Mumbrella and Australian Financial Review

Discussion:

Calum Jaspan /
Sydney Morning Herald: Foxtel put up for sale by News Corp

Patrick Brzeski /
The Hollywood Reporter: Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Considering Sale of Australian Pay TV Company Foxtel

Jonathan Barrett /
The Guardian: News Corp considers selling off Australian pay TV operator Foxtel ABC: News Corp is looking to sell off Foxtel, its pay TV and streaming service, chief executive tells shareholders

Sam Buckingham-Jones /
Australian Financial Review: News Corp puts Foxtel up for sale after reviewing its assets

RELATED:

Reuters:

News Corp reports Q4 revenue up 6% YoY to $2.58B vs. $2.49B est., net income of $71M, Dow Jones revenue up 4% to $566M, and book publishing revenue up 15%— Media conglomerate News Corp (NWSA.O) beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter revenue on Thursday, helped by digital subscription growth …

Discussion:
New York Post, Talking Biz News, The Wrap, News Corporation

Discussion:

Alexandra Steigrad /
New York Post: News Corp beats revenue estimates as digital subscriptions grow

Natalie Korach /
The Wrap: News Corp. Reports 6% Boost in Q4 Revenue to $2.58 Billion, Touts OpenAI Deal

Natalie Korach /
The Wrap: News Corp. Touts 150,000 ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ Books Sold Within 24 Hours of JD Vance Being Named Trump's VP

Business Insider:

Email: the World Federation of Advertisers discontinues activities of its nonprofit, GARM, following X's antitrust lawsuit, but intends to contest X's claims— - The World Federation of Advertisers is ‘discontinuing’ the activities of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media.

Discussion:
New York Times, The Verge, Ars Technica, Digiday, AdExchanger, Reclaim The Net, Michael Follett on LinkedIn, @repdanbishop, Courtney Radsch, PhD on LinkedIn, Adweek, @judiciarygop, @larakiara, Affiverse, Marc Zander on LinkedIn, PRWeek, @lindayax, Bloomberg, Fox Business, Wall Street Journal, Sarah Kay Wiley on LinkedIn, @jalefkowit@vmst.io, Claire Atkin on LinkedIn, New York Post, @mac_ryan_@threads.net, MediaPost, Breitbart, @daveleebbg@threads.net, @catthekin@threads.net, The Guardian, Engadget, @renee.diresta@threads.net, Quartz, Arielle Garcia on LinkedIn, @crumbler@threads.net, Ruben Schreurs on LinkedIn, @lauren@mastodon …, @chronotope.aramzs.xyz, Lara O'Reilly on LinkedIn, Barrett Media and Inside Radio, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Elizabeth Lopatto /
The Verge: Ad group sued by Elon Musk reportedly disbands

Jon Brodkin /
Ars Technica: Ad industry initiative abruptly shuts down after lawsuit filed by Elon Musk's X

Michael Follett /
Michael Follett on LinkedIn: Here's a well researched and well sourced article from a well respected news outlet about how Elon Musk's ludicrous lawsuit against WFA's Global Alliance for Responsible Media has led to its closure. …

Rep. Dan Bishop /
@repdanbishop: 🚨🚨🚨 Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

Courtney Radsch, PhD /
Courtney Radsch, PhD on LinkedIn: The Global Alliance for Responsible Media is ‘discontinuing’ after Elon Musk's X filed what can only be described as a SLAPP lawsuit disguised …

Kyle O'Brien /
Adweek: WFA Is Shutting Down GARM After X Lawsuit @judiciarygop: #BREAKING: The “Global Alliance for Responsible Media” is discontinuing. Big win for the First Amendment. Big win for oversight.

Lara O'Reilly /
@larakiara: Scoop: The World Federation of Advertisers told members on Thursday that it's discontinuing the Global Alliance for Responsible Media initiative following an antitrust lawsuit filed by Elon Musk's X against the company earlier this week https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...

Simon Theakston /
Affiverse: Elon Musk's X and Rumble sue advertisers over alleged boycott

Marc Zander /
Marc Zander on LinkedIn: What sad news — GARM has done a great job over the last few years and I ( like many others) would like to thank them for all their hard work. …

Brandon Doerrer /
PRWeek: GARM's discontinuation ‘sad day for industry,’ brand safety experts say

Linda Yaccarino /
@lindayax: No small group should be able to monopolize what gets monetized. This is an important acknowledgement and a necessary step in the right direction. I am hopeful that it means ecosystem-wide reform is coming. Fox Business: News Corp CEO takes aim at now-defunct GARM's media boycott efforts: Its ‘harm has been real’

Sarah Kay Wiley /
Sarah Kay Wiley on LinkedIn: Using courts to bully and intimidate is straight out of the authoritarian playbook - especially when it concerns free expression and choice. …

Jason Lefkowitz /
@jalefkowit@vmst.io: Elon Musk's lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media drove the organization to dissolve itself today. — https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...

Claire Atkin /
Claire Atkin on LinkedIn: UPDATE: The WFA has shut down the Global Alliance for Responsible Media. What does this mean? Did he win? It depends what his goal was. …

Thomas Barrabi /
New York Post: Shadowy ad cabal GARM shuts down after Elon Musk's X files antitrust suit over censorship

Ryan Mac /
@mac_ryan_@threads.net: Musk and X will parade this as a major victory for “free speech,” but we shouldn't forget how/why GARM was formed: to hold social platforms like Twitter and Facebook accountable after they were used to spread a 2019 video of a white nationalist's massacre of 51 people in Christchurch.

Colin Kirkland /
MediaPost: X Removes All Ads For Premium Subs Following GARM Shutdown

Lucas Nolan /
Breitbart: A ‘Win for the First Amendent:’ GARM Shuts Down in the Wake of Elon Musk's Antitrust Lawsuit

Dave Lee /
@daveleebbg@threads.net: Does this affect the lawsuit, though? GARM isn't a defendant — WFA + the companies are. You can't make a lawsuit go away by shutting down a department.

Claire Atkin /
@catthekin@threads.net: This is what is happening, in no particular order: A) a bunch of European advertisers don't want to deal with the Texas legal system B) they don't want to deal with Elon C) they don't want to have their brand safety decisions aired out in public no matter what they are There are no winners here. …

Claire Atkin /
@catthekin@threads.net: Definitey does not make the lawsuit go away. They are doing what they can to make it easier (I'm not sure that's the legal strategy I would have taken, personally)

Kari Paul /
The Guardian: Advertisers axe corporate responsibility scheme after lawsuit from Musk's X

Renee DiResta /
@renee.diresta@threads.net: This corporate sloganeering implies that monetization is something a company is owed, and that one platform is available for free expression. Both are bullshit. The alarming impact to free speech is that a congressman and oligarch are bullying others into association and compliance by chilling …

William Gavin /
Quartz: GARM, the so-called ‘advertising cartel’ sued by Elon Musk's X and Rumble, is shutting down

Arielle Garcia /
Arielle Garcia on LinkedIn: WFA's decision to shut down GARM is horrible news for advertisers, and for the communities they serve. …

Casey Newton /
@crumbler@threads.net: This is X (and Jim Jordan)'s version of “free speech”: bullying organizations out of existence for choosing not to associate with violence and hate speech https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...

Ruben Schreurs /
Ruben Schreurs on LinkedIn: This is a major setback for global progress towards a more responsible media industry. — Very sad news, but I understand the difficult decision made by the WFA. …

Lauren Weinstein /
@lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org: After Musk lawsuit, tiny staff anti-hate advertising group closes down. — Musk is demanding that advertisers buy ads on X. — https://www.businessinsider.com/ ... [image]

Aram Zucker-Scharff /
@chronotope.aramzs.xyz: The WFA just tripping ass backwards but I guess GARM was always basically a cut out. It's just a shame they can't even stand up for their own declared ethics here. [embedded post]

Lara O'Reilly /
Lara O'Reilly on LinkedIn: SCOOP: The Global Alliance for Responsible Media's activities are being “discontinued.” — It comes after Elon Musk's X filed a lawsuit … Barrett Media: World Federation of Advertisers to Discontinue GARM Ad Buying Standards After Pushback From Conservative Media

The Verge:

Substack now lets users publish posts and collect subscribers directly from their profile without setting up a publication, on the web or in its app— Anybody with a Substack account can now publish posts on Substack's web and mobile app, the company announced on Thursday …

Discussion:
Substack Reads and @simondowens@threads.net

Discussion:

Hamish McKenzie /
Substack Reads: Substack in the palm of your hand

Variety:

Paramount Global says it will cut 15% of its US workforce, or about 2,000 employees, in the next few weeks, after cutting about 800 positions in February— Paramount Global will cut 15% of its U.S. workforce in the next few weeks — a round of layoffs that will affect about 2,000 employees …

Discussion:
IGN, TVNewsCheck, The Wrap, The Guardian, Deadline, @hadas_gold, IndieWire, AdExchanger, CNN, StreamTV Insider, Los Angeles Times, Next TV and Deadline

Discussion:

Taylor Lyles /
IGN: Paramount Plus Finally Profitable, But Company Announces Layoffs Following Billions in Losses

Dade Hayes /
Deadline: Paramount Global To Cut 15% Of U.S.-Based Workforce, Co-CEO Chris McCarthy Confirms

Hadas Gold /
@hadas_gold: yikes, Paramount says “we are reducing our US based workforce by approximately 15%”

Brian Welk /
IndieWire: Paramount to Lay Off 15% of Its U.S. Workforce

Allison Schiff /
AdExchanger: Paramount To Lay Off 15% Of US Workforce As Streaming Generates Its First-Ever Profit

Bevin Fletcher /
StreamTV Insider: Paramount plans to cut 15% of US workforce

Jon Lafayette /
Next TV: Paramount Claims $1 Billion In Upfront Streaming Commitments Deadline: Paramount Global Steels Itself For New Round Of Layoffs As Q2 Earnings Hit, End Of Skydance “Go-Shop” Period Nears

RELATED:

CNBC:

Paramount reports Q2 revenue down 11% YoY to $6.81B vs. $7.21B est., its first ever streaming profit, of $26M, and a $5.98B impairment charge for cable networks— Paramount Global is cutting 15% of its U.S. workforce, or about 2,000 jobs, part of a broader cost-cutting plan as it prepares for a merger with Skydance Media.

Discussion:
Paramount, The Desk, Business Insider, Cord Cutters News, Next TV, The Information, The Wrap, The Streamable, Media Play News, IndieWire, Reuters, Variety, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline

Discussion:

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: Paramount Will Lay Off 15% of Its US Employees as Cord Cutting Grows

Jon Lafayette /
Next TV: Paramount Reports $5.4 Billion Loss As It Writes Down the Value of its Cable Networks

Martin Peers /
The Information: Paramount Global Takes $6 Billion Writedown

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Paramount Global Q2 Net Loss Balloons to $5.4 Billion as Company Takes $5.98 Billion Impairment Charge on Cable Networks

David Satin /
The Streamable: Paramount+ Drops 2.8 Million Subscribers to Land at 68 Million, but Made $26 Million in Profit

Erik Gruenwedel /
Media Play News: Paramount Streaming Turns Q2 Profit, Loses Subs

Tony Maglio /
IndieWire: And Now Paramount Has Lowered the Value of Its Cable Channels by $6 Billion

Dawn Chmielewski /
Reuters: Paramount Global writes down value of cable networks, posts first streaming profit

Brian Steinberg /
Variety: Paramount Takes $5.98 Billion Write-Down on Cable Networks in Q2 Tied to Skydance Deal While Streaming Turns First Profit

Hannah Miller /
Bloomberg: Paramount Takes $6 Billion Writedown on Cable TV Networks

Caitlin Huston /
The Hollywood Reporter: Paramount Plans Cost Savings Moves as Streaming Finally Hits Small Profit

Variety:

Lionsgate reports a Q1 net loss of $59.4M vs. a $70.7M net loss a year ago and revenue down 8% YoY to $834.7M vs. $857.5M est.; Starz shed 500K subscribers— Lionsgate, still feeling ripple effects from last year's twin Hollywood strikes, reported a decline in sales and while narrowing …

Discussion:
Media Play News, Deadline, Jericho Wilson on LinkedIn, The Wrap and The Hollywood Reporter

Discussion:

Thomas K. Arnold /
Media Play News: Lionsgate Revenue Down 8% in Quarter Amid 500K Subscriber Drop at Starz

Jill Goldsmith /
Deadline: Starz & BritBox Launching New Bundle, Lionsgate On Track To Split By Year End, CEO Says After Mixed Earnings Report

Jericho Wilson /
Jericho Wilson on LinkedIn: Lionsgate, still feeling ripple effects from last year's twin Hollywood strikes, reported a decline in sales and while narrowing its net loss for the June quarter …

The Hollywood Reporter:

A look at the battle among streamers for stand-up comic specials, as Amazon, Hulu, and Max challenge Netflix's dominance of the genre— What industry contraction? Platforms from Hulu to Amazon are spending wildly to woo comedians like Nate Bargatze and Bill Burr and put a dent in Netflix's dominance.

The Information:

TikTok and Pinterest partner with Amazon to let users buy items from Amazon ads without leaving the social media apps— Amazon's e-commerce business is huge but slow-growing, while shopping on social media has been taking off. That's prompted Amazon to look for ways to team up with popular social media apps.

Discussion:
Affiverse, esports.gg and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Press Gazette:

Victoria Newton, editor of The Sun, defends her outlet's early coverage of the BBC's Huw Edwards and criticizes the Met's delay in revealing charges against him— The Sun's Victoria Newton has revealed she felt “quite lonely” at times in her capacity as editor in the wake of the paper's revelation …

Discussion:
@pressgazette, Mark Stephens CBE on LinkedIn and BBC

Discussion:
@pressgazette: Sun editor Victoria Newton on the secret arrest of Huw Edwards: “We all tried. We went to the Met, and with various other newspapers the rumours went round, and I was certain that it was true. But until you have the Met confirm it, you can't go with it.” https://pressgazette.co.uk/...

Mark Stephens Cbe /
Mark Stephens CBE on LinkedIn: Interesting inside story on the Sun coverage of Huw Edwards story from Sun editor Victoria Newton.

CNN:

ABC says Trump and Harris have agreed to debate on September 10; at a press conference, Trump also says he has agreed to debate on Fox and NBC— Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are set to debate on ABC on September 10 after the former president said Thursday he had agreed to the faceoff, along with two others next month.

Discussion:
New York Times, Billboard, Breitbart, The Hill, Iowa Capital Dispatch, Fox News, Los Angeles Times, Mediaite, Vanity Fair, Metro.co.uk, Adweek, The Daily Beast, New Republic, RADAR, Politico, Associated Press, Axios, Variety, CBS News, New York Post, The Wrap, Rolling Stone, Deadline, New York Daily News and TVNewsCheck

Discussion:

Michael M. Grynbaum /
New York Times: ABC Says Trump and Harris Have Agreed to Debate on Sept. 10

Wendell Husebø /
Breitbart: Harris Refuses to Comment on All Three of Trump's Debate Challenges

Jonathan Easley /
The Hill: Evening Report — Trump seeks more unscripted moments from Harris

Ariana Figueroa /
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Trump agrees to Sept. 10 debate with Harris, claims two more upcoming

Jenny Jarvie /
Los Angeles Times: In rambling news conference, Trump lashes out at Harris, agrees to Sept. 10 debate

Kipp Jones /
Mediaite: Kamala Harris Responds to Trump Debate Schedule in a Way That Still Leaves Uncertainty

Bess Levin /
Vanity Fair: Trump Spews Lies, Disparages Harris's Intelligence, Insults Jews, and Rambles About “Insane Asylums” in Unhinged Press Conference

Jessica Kwong /
Metro.co.uk: Donald Trump agrees to debate Kamala Harris - and challenges her to two more

Mark Mwachiro /
Adweek: The ABC News Presidential Debate Will Proceed as Scheduled

Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling /
New Republic: Attention-Seeking Trump Desperately Flip-Flops on Debating Kamala

Kelly Hartog /
RADAR: Trump and Harris Agree to September 10 ABC Showdown — as VP Leads Him by 5 Points and After He Was Mocked for ‘Running Scared’ From Face-Off

Jared Mitovich /
Politico: Trump re-commits to debating Harris on ABC after backing out

Sareen Habeshian /
Axios: Trump backs down after bailing on debating Harris

Gene Maddaus /
Variety: Donald Trump Will Debate Kamala Harris on ABC on Sept. 10

Kathryn Watson /
CBS News: Trump and Harris will debate on Sept. 10, as Trump proposes two more dates

Nikki McCann Ramirez /
Rolling Stone: Trump Agrees to Debate, Rants About Harris During Unhinged Presser

Dominic Patten /
Deadline: Donald Trump And Kamala Harris Agree To ABC Debate, Network Says; Former President Floats Two Other Dates — Update

Dave Goldiner /
New York Daily News: WATCH: Trump calls for three debates with Kamala Harris as Democrat rises in polls

Kevin Breuninger /
TVNewsCheck: Trump Challenges Harris To Debates In September On NBC, Fox & ABC

Bloomberg:

Sources: the UK is considering revisiting parts of the Online Safety Act to give authorities more power to force social media companies to curb harmful content— - Starmer has few existing levers to curb incendiary content — Officials consider revisiting key parts of Online Safety Act

Discussion:
The Hill, The Guardian, The Verge and Deadline

Discussion:

Miranda Nazzaro /
The Hill: UK agency urges social media companies to crack down on violent rhetoric

Jess Weatherbed /