A look at Intelligencer Today, a pro-Russian, anti-vaccine website with editorial board members tied to Trump and contributors tied to Kremlin state media (Matt Bernardini/The Guardian)

Mediagazer: A look at Intelligencer Today, a pro-Russian, anti-vaccine website with editorial board members tied to Trump and contributors tied to Kremlin state media (Matt Bernardini/The Guardian)

Top News:

New York Times:

Amazon joins the Motion Picture Association, after a long courtship; the lobbying group's other members are Disney, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Universal, and WBD— The Motion Picture Association has been wooing the company for years. The addition gives the group a lot more muscle.
Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, The Wrap and Deadline, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Alex Weprin /
The Hollywood Reporter: Amazon Prime Video and MGM Studios Join Motion Picture Association

Sean Burch /
The Wrap: Amazon Joins Motion Picture Association

Wall Street Journal:

Amazon's new competition TV show, debuting October 30, will have entrepreneurs pitch judges, including Amazon execs; finalists' product will be sold on Amazon— In competition show, sellers compete in front of Amazon executives and celebrity judges — Coming soon: Amazon.com sellers duking …

Discussion:
Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

The Hollywood Reporter:

Ted Sarandos calls on streaming rivals to release their viewership numbers, says Netflix can double its viewership with live events and Christmas Day NFL games— The executive added that he believes the streaming giant can double its viewership thanks to programming like live events and the Christmas Day NFL games.

Discussion:
Quartz, IndieWire, TVNewsCheck, The Wrap and Deadline

Discussion:

Bruce Gil /
Quartz: People watched a whopping 94 billion hours of Netflix in the first half of 2024, CEO says

Brian Welk /
IndieWire: Ted Sarandos Calls on Other Streamers to Be as ‘Transparent’ as He Says Netflix Is

Sean Piccoli /
TVNewsCheck: Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos Calls On All Streamers To Be Transparent With Viewership Data

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Netflix's Ted Sarandos Calls for Streaming Viewership Transparency Ahead of Data Dump

The Wrap:

Fox News fires Robert Samuel, a nearly 20-year network veteran who was an executive producer for Sean Hannity's show, after allegations of sexual harassment— Robert Samuel was terminated last week, according to Brian Stelter's “Reliable Sources” — Fox News has fired “Hannity” …

Discussion:
TVNewsCheck

Discussion:

Press Gazette:

The Economist introduces AI translations into French, German, Mandarin, and Spanish for Espresso, its budget-friendly, “snack-sized” journalism app— The Economist has deployed AI-translated content on its budget-friendly “snack-sized” app Espresso after deciding the technology had reached the “good enough” mark.

Discussion:
Ludwig Siegele on LinkedIn

Discussion:

Bloomberg:

Sources: Byron Allen's media group is planning deeper cost cuts as it faces debt repayment deadlines, including one in February 2025— - The company has retained Moelis and Kirkland as advisers — Its $840 million term loan quoted about 65 cents on the dollar

Discussion:
Adweek

Discussion:

Kevin Eck /
Adweek: Allen Media Group Planning More Cuts

The Guardian:

A look at Intelligencer Today, a pro-Russian, anti-vaccine website with editorial board members tied to Trump and contributors tied to Kremlin state media— George Papadopoulos and others involved in Intelligencer, increasingly popular source of news in rightwing circles

Discussion:
@brian_whit, emptywheel, New Republic, Raw Story and @mattbernardini7

Discussion:

Brian Whitaker /
@brian_whit: @MattBernardini7 More background here about Papadopoulos and his Russian connections during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. https://brian-whit.medium.com/ ...

Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling /
New Republic: Trump's Surprising Ties to Another Russian Disinfo Scheme

Travis Gettys /
Raw Story: Bevy of Trump allies now working to promote Kremlin propaganda to U.S. conservatives

TechCrunch:

Amazon launches an AI-powered video generator, available for some US advertisers in beta, which turns a single product image into a few-seconds-long video clip— Like its rival, Google, Amazon has launched an AI-powered video generator — but it's only for advertisers at the moment, and somewhat limited in what it can do.

Discussion:
MediaPost, About Amazon, The Desk and Tv Technology, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Laurie Sullivan /
MediaPost: Amazon Releases AI Video Generator For Ads About Amazon: New generative AI empowers advertisers to elevate creativity, crafting ads that captivate audiences.

George Winslow /
Tv Technology: Spectrum Reach Becomes a Local Reseller for Amazon Ads

The Verge:

YouTube says it has “widely rolled out Pause ads to all advertisers” after a “strong advertiser and strong viewer response”; YouTube piloted Pause ads in 2023— It's been nearly six years since we warned you that ads were coming for your pause button …

Discussion:
New York Times, BGR, Thurrott, AdExchanger, Android Authority and Search Engine Land, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

New York Times:
On YouTube, Major Brands' Ads Appear Alongside Racist Falsehoods About Haitian Immigrants

Chris Smith /
BGR: YouTube will start showing even more ads soon

Laurent Giret /
Thurrott: YouTube Makes ‘Pause Ads’ Available to All Advertisers

Reuters:

The EU's General Court annuls a €1.49B antitrust fine imposed on Google in 2019 for abusing its dominance to prevent websites from using non-AdSense ad brokers— Alphabet (GOOGL.O) unit Google won a legal challenge on Wednesday against a 1.49 billion euro ($1.7 billion) …

Discussion:
Android Central, @adrianweckler, @eucourtpress, The Register, Android Authority, The Information, Global Competition Review, Search Engine Land, Courthouse News Service, Thurrott, BBC, Wall Street Journal, The Information, Neowin, Engadget, Financial Times, CNBC, TechCrunch, Bloomberg, Reuters, Associated Press, Politico and RTÉ

Discussion:

Adrian Weckler /
@adrianweckler: Rare win for big tech in EU — ECJ rules against European Commission on advertising sector abuse (AdSense), cancels the €1.5bn fine https://curia.europa.eu/... @eucourtpress: #EUGeneralCourt annuls the @EU_Commission's decision to fine @Google almost €1.5 billion #AdSense 👉 https://curia.europa.eu/...

Brandon Vigliarolo /
The Register: Google dodges €1.5B EU ads antitrust fine after appeal win

Stephen Schenck /
Android Authority: Google just dodged a massive EU antitrust fine

Francesca McClimont /
Global Competition Review: General Court overturns EU Google AdSense decision

Anu Adegbola /
Search Engine Land: Google wins $1.7B EU antitrust fine appeal

Alexandra Brzozowski /
Courthouse News Service: In surprise ruling, EU court scraps $1.65 billion antitrust fine against Google

Paul Thurrott /
Thurrott: EU General Court Tosses Out a Google Antitrust Fine

Tom Gerken /
BBC: Google scores rare legal win as 1.49bn euro fine scrapped

Mauro Orru /
Wall Street Journal: Google Wins Fight to Scrap $1.7 Billion EU Antitrust Fine Over Ads

Amir Efrati /
The Information: Google Reportedly Proposed Selling its Ad Exchange to End EU Antitrust Attacks

Karthik Mudaliar /
Neowin: Google overturns €1.49 billion antitrust fine by the EU over digital ad market practices

Mariella Moon /
Engadget: Google wins appeal against $1.7 billion EU fine for ‘abusive’ advertising practices

Javier Espinoza /
Financial Times: Google wins appeal against €1.5bn EU competition fine

Arjun Kharpal /
CNBC: Google wins court challenge to the EU's $1.7 billion antitrust fine over ad product

Samuel Stolton /
Bloomberg: Google Wins Fight Over €1.5 Billion EU Fine for Ads Abuse Associated Press: Qualcomm loses court appeal against European Union antitrust penalty in chipset case from 2019

Edith Hancock /
Politico: Google scores surprise court win on EU antitrust fine

RELATED:

Reuters:
Sources: Google tried to end an EU antitrust probe by offering to sell its ad marketplace AdX, or Ad Exchange, but European publishers rejected the proposal

Discussion:
The Verge, The Information, Engadget, Breitbart and Associated Press, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Anna Washenko /
Engadget: Report: Google offered to sell AdX to end EU antitrust suit

Lucas Nolan /
Breitbart: Google Trial 2.0: Internal Documents Show Internet Giant Used Exclusivity Deals to Maintain Ad Empire

Associated Press:
Google wins legal bid to overturn 1.5 billion euro antitrust fine in EU digital ad case

New York Times:

Axel Springer strikes a deal with KKR and CPP to split into two, with control of the publishing giant's classified ads business going to the PE firms— The deal values all of Axel Springer at roughly $15 billion, with the company's publishing assets worth about $4 billion.

Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Information, Axios, Reuters, Financial Times, Bloomberg and MediaPost

Discussion:

Martin Peers /
The Information: Axel Springer Splits in Two

Sara Fischer /
Axios: KKR, Axel Springer reach deal to break up the media giant

Ray Schultz /
MediaPost: Axel Springer To Split Off Classifieds Business To KKR

NBC News:

Analysis: Elon Musk, apparently unaware of Tenet Media's alleged Russian funding, replied to or reposted content from accounts tied to Tenet at least 60 times— Musk, apparently unaware of the company's Russia funding source, engaged with content from Tenet Media and its creators at least 60 times.

Discussion:
Mother Jones, The Federalist and New Republic, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Anna Merlan /
Mother Jones: What Did Lauren Chen Want? — The most striking thing about Lauren Chen, in hindsight, is how she managed to be everywhere.

T.J. Harker /
The Federalist: DOJ's Russia Indictment Exists To Associate Conservative Media With Putin

Edith Olmsted /
New Republic: Russian Disinfo Influencer Whines Harris Ruined His Podcast

Variety:

TelevisaUnivision names Daniel Alegre as its new CEO, replacing Wade Davis, who will become the company's vice chairman and continue as a member of the board— TelevisaUnivision CEO WadeDavis will hand the reins of the Spanish-language media giant to Daniel Alegre, the Activision Blizzard …

Discussion:

Veronica Villafañe /
Forbes: New Boss At TelevisaUnivision: Daniel Alegre Named CEO As Wade Davis Exits

Adam Jacobson /
Radio & Television Business Report: Wade Davis Relinquishes CEO Role at TelevisaUnivision

George Winslow /
Tv Technology: Daniel Alegre Appointed as CEO of TelevisaUnivision

Jon Lafayette /
Next TV: Daniel Alegre Replaces Wade Davis As CEO of TelevisaUnivision

Dominic Patten /
Deadline: TelevisaUnivision CEO Wade Davis Out As Ex-Activision Blizzard Boss Daniel Alegre Takes Over ASAP

Ross A. Lincoln /
The Wrap: TelevisaUnivision Names Daniel Alegre as New CEO, Wade Davis Steps Down

Dominic Patten /
TVNewsCheck: TelevisaUnivision CEO Wade Davis Out, Ex-Activision Blizzard Boss Daniel Alegre To Take Over

Kristin Brzoznowski /
WORLD SCREEN: TelevisaUnivision Names New CEO

Cassandra Garrison /