A look at Sony's entertainment unit, which accounted for ~60% of Sony revenue in FY 2023, up from 30% a decade ago, ahead of a potential Paramount deal (Jacky Wong/Wall Street Journal)

Mediagazer: A look at Sony's entertainment unit, which accounted for ~60% of Sony revenue in FY 2023, up from 30% a decade ago, ahead of a potential Paramount deal (Jacky Wong/Wall Street Journal)

Top News:

Chattanooga Times Free Press:

Carpenter Media acquires 10 newspapers in Alabama and Georgia and a Georgia printing facility from Community Newspaper Holdings— The Carpenter Media Group announced Thursday it has acquired the Dalton Daily Citizen in North Georgia as part of an acquisition of 10 newspapers and a Valdosta …
Discussion: Editor and Publisher, The Tribune-Democrat and Media Nation

Discussion:

Wall Street Journal:

A look at Sony's entertainment unit, which accounted for ~60% of Sony revenue in FY 2023, up from 30% a decade ago, ahead of a potential Paramount deal— Company aims to make better use of intellectual property across gaming, films and more — Sony is well known for gadgets …

Discussion:
Deadline, The Streamable, Reuters and The Wrap

Discussion:

Jill Goldsmith /
Deadline: Sony & Paramount Sign Non-Disclosure Agreement Allowing Deal Talks To Start, But It's Not Looking Like A $26 Billion Bid For Whole Company Anymore

David Satin /
The Streamable: Sony ‘Rethinking’ Paramount Bid as List of Suitors for the Company Dwindles

Mrinmay Dey /
Reuters: Sony and Apollo move ahead with Paramount bid process but reticent about earlier plan, NYT reports

Northwest Asian Weekly:

The publisher of Seattle's Northwest Asian Weekly sells the outlet to four local partners, seven months after donating the Seattle Chinese Post to a nonprofit— After decades of nurturing one of the most influential Asian American community media publications in the Pacific Northwest …

Discussion:
@nwasianweekly and Northwest Asian Weekly

Discussion:
@nwasianweekly: After four decades, #Seattle publisher Assunta Ng is selling @nwasianweekly and passing the torch to a group of local partners. Stay tuned for the next chapter of https://nwasianweekly.com/ ! https://nwasianweekly.com/... . @seattletimes @aaja [image]

Lowpass:

Comparisons between streaming bundles and the cable bundle are misplaced: the latter was much more expensive and had channels viewers didn't want and junk fees— Like comparing apples to a $125 fruit salad — In light of this week's news that Comcast is now offering a bundle of Netflix …

Press Gazette:

UK passes the Media Bill, repealing the not-yet-enacted Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act, which required publishers to pay all court costs, win or lose— The Media Bill has been passed removing the threat of state-backed press regulation and modernising broadcasting regulations for the streaming age.

RELATED:

Press Gazette:
A bill strengthening the CMA, UK's competition watchdog, heads toward approval; the CMA could push tech giants to pay publishers for news linked on their sites

Discussion:
The Verge, Engadget, AppleInsider, TechCrunch and Game Developer

Discussion:

William Gallagher /
AppleInsider: UK rushes through Digital Markets Act copycat to regulate mostly US big tech

Natasha Lomas /
TechCrunch: ‘Pro-competition’ rules for Big Tech make it through UK's pre-election wash-up

Wall Street Journal:

Trump says that if he's elected, Russia would release WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich; the Kremlin denies any contact between Putin and Trump on the matter— Kremlin says Russian leader isn't in contact with former U.S. president about journalist — Former President Donald Trump …

Discussion:
Washington Post, The Nation, Newser, @dicktofel, Mediaite, The Guardian, New York Times, Metro.co.uk, Reuters, The Atlantic, New Jersey Online, The Daily Beast and The Hill

Discussion:

Patrick Svitek /
Washington Post: Trump claims he'd use relationship with Putin to free detained reporter

Jeet Heer /
The Nation: Will Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu Bless Donald Trump With an October Surprise?

Arden Dier /
Newser: Trump: Elect Me, Putin Will Give Me Gershkovich

Richard Tofel /
@dicktofel: I hope everyone understands that this amounts to “Russia, if you're listening [which they are], please continue to hold this innocent person prisoner for another six months as a political favor to me” [image]

Colby Hall /
Mediaite: Overhead Shot of Trump's Bronx Rally Tells a Different Story About Crowd Size

Michael Gold /
New York Times: Trump Plays Up His Putin Ties in Claiming He Could Get Gershkovich Released

Allison Quinn /
The Daily Beast: Putin Admits Prigozhin Was Right With Wild New Purge

Committee to Protect Journalists:

Q&A with Gaza journalist Shrouq Al Aila, on the difficulty of her outlet Ain Media's work given a dearth of equipment and the cost of internet, and more— Gaza journalists Shrouq Al Aila and Roshdi Sarraj were on a work trip in Saudi Arabia last fall when their home became a war zone.

Discussion:
Doja Daoud on LinkedIn

Nieman Lab:

Documented, which covers immigration in New York City, experiments with posts on Nextdoor to reach Caribbean immigrants and uses WeChat and WhatsApp for others— “We are bringing onto this platform — where people usually talk about their lost cat or that they're looking for an apartment …

Variety:

Sony India's head NP Singh plans to step down months after merger with Zee collapsed, citing age and personal reasons; Singh has been with SPNI for 25 years— NP Singh, the well-respected head of Sony's entertainment businesses in India, is to step down. — The announcement was made on Friday local time.

Discussion:
Deadline

Discussion:

Variety:

Leave the World Behind was the most-watched title on Netflix globally in H2 2023, with 121M views, while One Piece was the most-watched series, with 71.6M views— Dystopian thriller “Leave the World Behind” was the most-watched film — and title overall — on Netflix globally in the second half of 2023 …

Discussion:
Screen Rant, About Netflix, Davy Cox on LinkedIn, Deadline, Marion Boeri on LinkedIn, @marypot, @joshacarpenter, Adam Woodgate on LinkedIn, @zonozi, @kasey__moore, Jerome Mazandarani on LinkedIn, @whatonnetflix, @jgolden5, @kasey__moore, @emohorgan, @jake_kanter, @podkatz, @shamankingnews, @loudmouthjulia, Business Insider, Polygon, Business Insider, The A.V. Club, Benzinga, Screen Rant, Deadline, The Streamable, Next TV, Digital Trends, Deadline, Media Play News, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Bollywood and The Wrap

Discussion:

Greg MacArthur /
Screen Rant: Netflix's Apocalyptic Thriller Accomplished Something In 3 Weeks That Most Movies Can't Do In A Year

Davy Cox /
Davy Cox on LinkedIn: I love Netflix myself, and we all need time to switch off, but 90 Billion hours watched by all of us over the 6 last months of 2023 is maybe not a great evolution as a society. …

Katie Campione /
Deadline: Netflix Releases Another Batch Of Viewership Data, Touting ‘Leave The World Behind’ & ‘One Piece’ — See The Latest Insights

Mary /
@marypot: Shadow and Bone S1 and 2 have 3.3/3.2M views (22.5/26.4M hours) and those aren't shabby figures. What @netflix needs to realise is that YA fantasy shows with strong fan bases bring loyalty and growth potential. Not everything is mainstream. #SaveShadowAndBone #SixOfCrowsSpinoff

Josh Carpenter /
@joshacarpenter: Netflix released its second half results for 2023 today. From July-December, Season 1 of “Full Swing” had 800,000 views and 4.9 million hours watched. For the first half of 2023 (debuted in Feb.), Netflix reported 53.1 million hours viewed. It did not release total views [image]

Adam Woodgate /
Adam Woodgate on LinkedIn: It's almost June '24 and Netflix has released it second edition of “What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report” covering 99% of all viewing on the streamer between July and December 2023. …

Amir Zonozi /
@zonozi: Why is Netflix investing more in sports? 184M Views on Sports Docs in 2023 https://about.netflix.com/... H/T @GeoffTBlosat [image]

Kasey Moore /
@kasey__moore: Well that Netflix engagement report came out of nowhere... They've changed the way they rank titles by adding views and ranking by that instead of viewing hours like in the first report. Into the bunker!

Jerome Mazandarani /
Jerome Mazandarani on LinkedIn: Netflix have just dropped their “What We Watched Second Half of 2023” total hours viewed report and it's fascinating. … @whatonnetflix: Netflix has just released the most-watched titles of the second half of 2023! 1. ONE PIECE: Season 1 (71.6M views) 2. Dear Child: Limited Series (52.5M views) 3. Who is Erin Carter? (50.1M views) 4. Lupin: Part 3 (49.7M views) 5. The Witcher: Season 3 (47.9M views) 6. Sex [image]

@whatonnetflix:
The Most Watched Movies on Netflix Globally in the Second Half of 2023 (July to December) 1. Leave the World Behind (121M Views) 2. Heart of Stone (109.6M Views) 3. Leo (96M Views) 4. Nowhere (86.2M Views) 5. The Out-Laws (83.8M Views) 6. Hidden Strike (73.3M Views) 7. Reptile [image]

Jess Golden /
@jgolden5: Netflix is out with its “What We Watched” for the second half of 2023 report. *Sports shows/series amassed a combined 184M views. *Favorites include: Beckham (44M), Untold: Johnny Football (14M), and Quarterback (13M).

Kasey Moore /
@kasey__moore: @Nina_Metz Views is Netflix's completed viewing equivalent, which takes the hours watched and divides them by the runtime. It allows you to compare titles better against each other and takes the advantage away from shows with loads of hours to watch.

Emily Horgan /
@emohorgan: Netflix just dropped their next half year worth of data! Headlines for kids... 1. Kids and family represented 15% of all viewing, with titles like Gabby's Dollhouse (90M), Family Switch (62M), and The Monkey King (43M). 2. CoComelon still reigns with nearly 200M “views”.

Jake Kanter /
@jake_kanter: Want to gauge the UK's global creative influence? Look at the top 10 shows on Netflix: 1. Produced by ITV-owned firm 3. Courtesy of The Crown indie Left Bank 5. Filmed in Surrey 6. Shot in Wales by UK's Eleven 7. Made in Britain; about English icon 8. From kids TV giant Moonbug [image] @podkatz: The latest @netflix “What We Watched” report is out. Very grateful to those who spent 40,900,000 hours on #ThePopesExorcist over this period. Awesome to see us up there among all the family movies in the non-worldwide film leaders. Highest horror title at first look as well. 🙏🛵 @shamankingnews: The Shaman King (2021) anime had 600,000 views and 12,100,000 hours streamed on Netflix between July through December 2023. It was the 2763 most popular TV series on the platform worldwide. Previously the series had 19,300,000 hours streamed between January-June 2023.

Julia Alexander /
@loudmouthjulia: Not enough time to do any kind of actual analysis with this list, but it is striking to me (as it is each week) that the only show that appears five times in the Netflix ~global~ top 50 (views) only has ONE of those seasons available outside of the US. And it's a YouTube series

Matt Patches /
Polygon: Gal Gadot and Boss Baby are actually huge for Netflix

Lucia Moses /
Business Insider: Netflix's most-watched series and movies slumped in viewership in its latest engagement report

William Hughes /
The A.V. Club: The human race watched 62,000 years of One Piece on Netflix last year

Hayden Buckfire /
Benzinga: Netflix Releases Second Engagement Report: Everything You Need To Know

Adam Bentz /
Screen Rant: Netflix's Apocalyptic Movie Was Their Most-Watched Title From 2nd Half Of 2023

Matt Grobar /
Deadline: Animated Films Are 33 Of The Most Watched In Netflix's New Data Dump: How Streamer's Originals Stacked Up Against Licensed Titles

Ben Bowman /
The Streamable: What the New Netflix Data Dump Reveals

Daniel Frankel /
Next TV: ‘One Piece’ Wins Audience Crown in Netflix's Second Half of 2023 ‘Engagement Report’

Dan Girolamo /
Digital Trends: Leave the World Behind, One Piece top Netflix's most-watched list for second half of 2023

Nellie Andreeva /
Deadline: Netflix's Live Sports Efforts Got To Very Modest Start With The Netflix Cup, Viewership Data Shows

Erik Gruenwedel /
Media Play News: Netflix: Subscribers Consumed 183 Billion Hours of Content in 2023

Peter White /
Deadline: How German Miniseries ‘Dear Child’ Became Netflix's Second Biggest Series Of Second Half Of 2023 Bollywood: Indian series and films get over 1 billion views in 2023 as per the second edition of What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report

The Hollywood Reporter:

Paramount and Charter reach a new multiyear carriage deal, adding the ad-supported versions of Paramount+ and BET+ for free to Charter subscribers later in 2024— The news comes at a critical moment for the entertainment company.

Discussion:

Jaspreet Singh /
Reuters: Paramount, Charter Communications sign new content distribution deal

Meg James /
Los Angeles Times: With new Charter Spectrum distribution deal, Paramount breathes a sigh of relief

David Satin /
The Streamable: Paramount, Charter Announce New Deal to Give Customers Free Streaming Services

Bevin Fletcher /
StreamTV Insider: Charter, Paramount strike carriage deal, includes ad-supported BET+, Paramount+

Mansha Daswani /
WORLD SCREEN: Paramount Global Clinches New Charter Deal

Wayne Friedman /
MediaPost: Charter/Paramount Ink TV Carriage Deal — Including Paramount+

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: Charter inks new deal with Paramount with streaming perks for Spectrum TV customers Charter Communications, Inc.: PARAMOUNT GLOBAL AND CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS ANNOUNCE NEW MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT FOR DISTRIBUTION OF PARAMOUNT'S LINEAR NETWORKS, CBS OWNED-AND-OPERATED STATIONS …

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Paramount Global, Charter Ink Multiyear Renewal That Will Bring Paramount+, BET+ to Spectrum TV Customers

Lekha Gupta /
Benzinga: Entertainment Unleashed: Charter's Spectrum To Offer Ad-Supported Paramount+ & More At No Extra Cost

Erik Gruenwedel /
Media Play News: Paramount Global, Charter Expand Distribution to Include First-Time Access to Paramount+ Streaming Service

Daniel Frankel /
Next TV: Charter to Offer Pay TV Customers Paramount Plus at No Extra Charge with New Carriage Deal

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: Spectrum TV Customers Will Soon Get Free Paramount+ & BET+ As They keep Paramount Channels

Jill Goldsmith /
Deadline: Paramount, Charter Extend Carriage Deal With Hotly Anticipated Multiyear Agreement That Includes Paramount+

Bloomberg:

Sources: Alphabet and Meta have talked to Hollywood studios about licensing content for AI video generation tools; Disney and Netflix aren't willing to license— - Studios seek to harness AI's promise without losing control — Warner weighs licensing content; Disney, Netflix say no

Discussion:
Tubefilter, Lauren Neal on LinkedIn, Emil Protalinski on LinkedIn, The Ankler, @lucas_shaw, Shelly Palmer, @loudmouthjulia, Benzinga, @lucas_shaw, Engadget, The Information, @tv-ma.bsky.social, @villagegenius.bsky.social, @framethenarrative.bsky.social, @causamdicere.bsky.social, @rickywlmsbong.bsky.social, @coachfinstock.bsky.social, @sababausa.bsky.social, @tomlommel.com, @intelwire.bsky.social and @zitron.bsky.social

Discussion:

Sam Gutelle /
Tubefilter: Alphabet and Meta, like OpenAI, are holding conversations about AI with Hollywood studios

Lauren Neal /
Lauren Neal on LinkedIn: “No major studio has so far sued a tech company over AI, despite fears that many of these models have already been trained on their copyrighted material. …

Emil Protalinski /
Emil Protalinski on LinkedIn: Hollywood would be smart to not get greedy about AI deals. Alphabet, Meta, and OpenAI have reportedly talked to studios about licensing their content for AI video generation tools. …

Sean McNulty /
The Ankler: ☀️PAR Protects Cable TV Biz, PAR+ in CHARTER Deal

Lucas Shaw /
@lucas_shaw: News: Alphabet and Meta have been talking to Hollywood studios about licensing their libraries (and data) for AI training. They are offering plenty of $$. No one has done a deal yet, but some are intrigued. https://www.bloomberg.com/...

Julia Alexander /
@loudmouthjulia: Grain of salt since it's early, and noting that it would be meaningful to struggling companies, if your biggest concern was the increase in time spent on YouTube, the low cost structure of YouTube's content, and advertisers -> YouTube, I wouldn't help YouTube train their AI tools

Kaustubh Bagalkote /
Benzinga: Nvidia's Stellar Turnaround To Propel Google, Meta, TSM, And ASML Amid Rapid AI Advancements, Says Gene Munster

Lucas Shaw /
@lucas_shaw: News: Alphabet and Meta have been talking to Hollywood studios about licensing their libraries (and data) for AI training. They are offering plenty of $$. No one has done a deal yet, but some are intrigued. https://www.bloomberg.com/...

Karissa Bell /
Engadget: Meta and Google want to make AI deals with Hollywood studios @framethenarrative.bsky.social: It's almost like they know stealing other people's content is illegal. — They just think they can get away with it when they steal from normal people. [embedded post] @causamdicere.bsky.social: How soon before everyone gets cheery “welcome to the Matrix! You're gonna love it here!” videos autoplaying in their insta feeds [embedded post] @rickywlmsbong.bsky.social: looking forward to george clooney as danny ocean telling me to marinate my steak in armor all wipes [embedded post] @coachfinstock.bsky.social: Meta: Hey can we steal your stuff to make rip-offs — Netflix: No — Disney: No — David Zaslav: Tell me more [embedded post] @sababausa.bsky.social: if OpenAI is so sure training data is non-infringing fair use, why are they paying Rupert Murdoch $250 million? 🤔 [embedded post]

Tom Lommel /
@tomlommel.com: CLICK HERE to generate an Animaniacs episode from data scraped off your Instagram Reels — wheee whooo wheeee [embedded post]

J.M. Berger /