Sources: ad-tech startup Hudson MX, controlled by UK holding company Ascential, discontinues operations; Ascential had been trying to find a buyer for Hudson MX (Joe Mandese/MediaPost)

Mediagazer: Sources: ad-tech startup Hudson MX, controlled by UK holding company Ascential, discontinues operations; Ascential had been trying to find a buyer for Hudson MX (Joe Mandese/MediaPost)

Top News:

New York Times:

Diamond Sports Group, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, says in 2025 it will stop carrying all but one of the 12 MLB teams it now televises— Embattled broadcaster Diamond Sports Group says in 2025 it will stop carrying all but one of the 12 MLB teams it now televises …
Discussion: CNBC, TVNewsCheck, Awful Announcing, The Desk, Sportico, KSTP-TV, Orange County Register, Front Office Sports, The Streamable, Streaming Better, Radio & Television …, @vtuss, @jluckhaupt.bsky.social, Cord Cutters News, @crupicrupicrupi, @matthewkeyslive, @2xaught7.bsky.social and @jasoncollette.bsky.social

Discussion:

Matthew Keys /
TVNewsCheck: Diamond Sports To Drop Most MLB TV Deals

Daniel Kaplan /
Awful Announcing: Bally Sports rejects all of its MLB team contracts, except for Atlanta Braves

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: Diamond Sports to drop most Major League Baseball TV deals

Anthony Crupi /
Sportico: Diamond Sports Group Plans to Drop All MLB Teams Except Braves

Jeff Fletcher /
Orange County Register: Angels say they don't expect Diamond Group bankruptcy to disrupt broadcast experience for fans

Eric Fisher /
Front Office Sports: DSG Could Drop Seven MLB Teams, Paving Way for Manfred's Media Plan

John Finn /
Streaming Better: Bally Sports Set To Drop All Remaining MLB Teams Except Atlanta Braves

Adam Jacobson /
Radio & Television Business Report: Diamond Sports Group Seeks To ‘Reject’ 2025 MLB Deals

Vince Tuss /
@vtuss: MLB sandbagged by a broadcaster? Quelle surprise ...

Joel Luckhaupt /
@jluckhaupt.bsky.social: Welp. Looks like we'll probably have a different sports book name next year on the Reds broadcast or something. [embedded post]

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: Bally Sports Will Drop TV Rights to 11 MLB Teams As Its Bankruptcy Continues

Anthony Crupi /
@crupicrupicrupi: Diamond Sports counsel tells the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas that it plans to drop nearly all of its remaining MLB contracts, with a plan to retain only the Atlanta Braves.

Matthew Keys /
@matthewkeyslive: Diamond Sports Group plans to drop all Major League Baseball telecast agreements, except for its contract with the Atlanta Braves. https://thedesk.net/... @2xaught7.bsky.social: And there it is, Cardinals fans: no more Bally's for your club. Only the Braves will remain on the DIamond Sports entity. [embedded post]

New York Times:

Q&A with The New York Times media reporter Ben Mullin about building relationships with sources, challenges of the media beat, social media, and more— To report on the business of media, the journalist Ben Mullin says he is “endlessly curious” about the people populating his own industry.

Discussion:
@semaforcomms

Variety:

Memo: Disney's ABC News and local TV stations cut staff; source: about 75 staffers will be let go, split about evenly between national news and the TV stations— Employees were notified Wednesday of the staff reductions, according to a person familiar with the matter …

Discussion:
Adweek, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, The Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg, The Desk, The Wrap, @jbflint, TVNewsCheck and Deadline

Discussion:

Kevin Eck /
Adweek: Layoffs Reported at ABC Stations

Stephen Battaglio /
Los Angeles Times: More cuts at Disney as ABC News and TV stations shed 75 jobs

Alexandra Steigrad /
New York Post: ABC News hit with 75 layoffs as corporate parent Disney slashes costs: ‘Tough decisions’

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Disney Lays Off Roughly 75 Staffers Across ABC News, Owned Stations

Joe Flint /
@jbflint: Layoffs at ABC News and station group. New president Almin Karmehmedovic says in staff email that “we must occasionally make tough decisions, adding that the unit is challenged to shape a team that “embraces the new media landscape and evolves along with it.” 75 people let go.

Ted Johnson /
Deadline: ABC News And Stations Job Cuts Impact 75 Employees

Bloomberg:

YouTube channel Dude Perfect hires former NBA executive Andrew Yaffe as CEO; Yaffe had been the NBA's head of social, digital, and original content— - Ex-NBA executive Andrew Yaffe to lead digital media company — The channel has more than 60 million followers on YouTube

Discussion:
Variety, Andrew Yaffe on LinkedIn, @danprimack, The Wrap and The Hollywood Reporter

Discussion:

Todd Spangler /
Variety: YouTube's Dude Perfect Taps NBA Exec Andrew Yaffe as CEO

Andrew Yaffe /
Andrew Yaffe on LinkedIn: I am so excited to join Dude Perfect as its first-ever CEO. What they've built over the last 15 years is an unbelievable platform …

Dan Primack /
@danprimack: Andrew Yaffe has spent the last decade expanding the audience for the NBA across digital and social platforms. Now he's tackling a company with an even larger online fan base on YouTube: Dude Perfect. https://www.bloomberg.com/...

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Disney to Combine Hulu, ABC's Scripted Drama and Comedy Teams Under Simran Sethi

@maxwelltani@threads.net:

Source: Politico and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza agreed that he will take a leave of absence during an internal investigation, after Olivia Nuzzi's lawsuit— Scoop: Politico and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza have mutually agreed that he will take a leave of absence while an investigation is conducted following today's news.

Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Business Insider, New York Post and DNyuz

Discussion:
Business Insider: New York magazine's Olivia Nuzzi accuses her ex-fiancé of blackmail amid the RFK Jr. scandal New York Post: Olivia Nuzzi accuses ex-fiancé of blackmail over RFK Jr. tryst, gets no-contact order against him

RELATED:

CNN:
Filing: New York Magazine writer Olivia Nuzzi accuses her ex-fiancé, Politico journalist Ryan Lizza, of harassment and blackmail; Lizza denies the accusations

Discussion:
Mediaite, DNyuz, New York Post, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, New York Times, Fox News, @katie_robertson, Newser, Page Six, @foster_type, @nataliemj10, Adweek, HuffPost, Business Insider, Salon, The Independent, The Wrap, @amandamarcotte.bsky.social, @coachfinstock.bsky.social, @celebrityhottub.bsky.social and @mitchellepner.bsky.social

Discussion:

Diana Falzone /
Mediaite: Exclusive: Multiple Women Claiming Romantic Relationships With RFK Jr. Threaten His Standing in Trump Orbit

David Propper /
New York Post: Olivia Nuzzi's ex-fiancé to take leave of absence from Politico after being accused of blackmail amid RFK Jr. affair

Herb Scribner /
Washington Post: Reporter Olivia Nuzzi accuses ex-fiancé Ryan Lizza of blackmail, harassment

Corbin Bolies /
The Daily Beast: Olivia Nuzzi Calls in FBI Over Harassment Claims Against Ex, Ryan Lizza

Katie Robertson /
New York Times: Olivia Nuzzi, Reporter Linked to R.F.K. Jr., Accuses Ex-Fiancé of Harassment Fox News: Politico's Ryan Lizza on leave after ex Olivia Nuzzi accuses him of harassment, blackmail amid RFK Jr. tryst

Katie Robertson /
@katie_robertson: NEW: New York Mag's Olivia Nuzzi, who accused her ex Ryan Lizza in court filings of hacking her devices and waging a harassment campaign, has also made a similar complaint to the FBI. Lizza has strongly denied all accusations https://www.nytimes.com/...

Evann Gastaldo /
Newser: Olivia Nuzzi: My Ex-Fiance Leaked News of RFK Jr. Relationship

Sara Whitman /
Page Six: Olivia Nuzzi gets no-contact order against ex Ryan Lizza, accuses him of exposing her tryst with RFK Jr.

Foster /
@foster_type: Not now Beltway Hot Goss.

Natalie Jackson /
@nataliemj10: I'm guessing he discovered the relationship with RFK Jr, broke up with her, and told her he would report the ethics breach if she didn't (and then possibly followed through). I mean, there may be more ugliness to it, but that seems like the baseline here.

Lydia O'Connor /
HuffPost: Olivia Nuzzi Accuses Ryan Lizza Of Blackmail Amid RFK Jr. Relationship: Report

Lucia Moses /
Business Insider: New York mag has hired a top law firm to investigate the Olivia Nuzzi-RFK Jr. relationship

Griffin Eckstein /
Salon: Nuzzi accuses ex-fiancé of tipping off employer about alleged RFK Jr. affair

Mike Bedigan /
The Independent: Olivia Nuzzi accuses ex-fiance of orchestrating blackmail campaign after RFK Jr relationship revelations

Amanda Marcotte /
@amandamarcotte.bsky.social: I would say that the whole point of the Shitty Media Men list was to let women know who to avoid, but it seems that Nuzzi has a type so she wouldn't have listened. — www.cnn.com/2024/10/01/m... @coachfinstock.bsky.social: Ryan Murphy is absolutely going to turn this into a series and it's gonna be amazing [embedded post]

Ryan Nanni /
@celebrityhottub.bsky.social: Beginning to think, given the opportunity, I would not date Olivia Nuzzi or Ryan Lizza

Mitchell Epner /
@mitchellepner.bsky.social: If anyone has a link to the filing by Olivia Nuzzi referenced in this article, please provide in the comments. — Once again, I'm asking journalists to link to publicly-filed documents that are quoted in their stories. At a minimum, please provide the case caption. — www.cnn.com/2024/10/01/m...

MediaPost:

Sources: ad-tech startup Hudson MX, controlled by UK holding company Ascential, discontinues operations; Ascential had been trying to find a buyer for Hudson MX— Editor's Note: An initial version of this story incorrectly reported that Comcast's FreeWheel division had acquired certain assets …

TechCrunch:

TechCrunch unveils a redesign with a better UI, fresh color palette, more modern aesthetic, and new ways to show breaking news, after its last redesign in 2018— Sometimes, you have to start from scratch to make something amazing. Sometimes, you already have most of the ingredients …

Discussion:
@zeffmax

Discussion:

Max Zeff /
@zeffmax: New site new site new site

Business Insider:

Q&A with Matthew Yglesias about leaving Vox, launching his own Substack, and more; Yglesias says Slow Boring has ~18,000 subscribers paying ~$80 per year— - Matthew Yglesias, a prolific political writer, co-founded Vox in 2014. Six years later, he left to run his own Substack newsletter.

Discussion:

Manuel Roig-Franzia /
Washington Post: Technology columnist Taylor Lorenz leaves The Washington Post

Renee DiResta /
@renee.diresta@threads.net: “There's an incredible niche-ification of media writ large. And this is kind of an example of that — that by unbundling, a certain number of us have been able to unlock a lot of economic value. And now some people like Bari Weiss are re-bundling.” …

Peter Kafka /
@pkafka@threads.net: Not sure about “has to” happen. A great thing about the internet is that it's really good about connecting people passionate about their niche. And there are still free/affordable options for generalists. I think the two can coexist quite nicely. Also don't know you put it back in the bottle: how do convince matt to forgoe that revenue? …

Renee DiResta /
@renee.diresta@threads.net: There will be some superstars, obviously, and if it's working for Matt, he can keep right on going. But how many Substacks do you currently pay for? What's your monthly news budget? Are you paying for news or commentary?

Peter Kafka /
@pkafka@threads.net: I pay for a couple news subscriptions - substack or otherwise - and my employer pays for a few more. I'm lucky - and it's also my job to consume this stuff. But I think it's wrong to lump matt and most substackers in the “news” category. I think for most people it's something they feel passionate about, for better and for worse. …

Peter Kafka /
@pkafka: Two versions of my chat with @mattyglesias: Here's an excerpt about running a small, lucrative ($1.4mm) business on substack: https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...

Nieman Lab:

The New York Times launches its biggest app overhaul since 2008, adding personalized recommendations and content from The Athletic, The Wirecutter, and others— It's the first major redesign since the app launched in 2008. — I've had the New York Times app on my phone for pretty …

Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, @michaelsocolow, @duncanwc and Fast Company

Discussion:

Alex Weprin /
The Hollywood Reporter: The New York Times launches its biggest app overhaul since 2008, adding personalized recommendations and content from The Athletic, The Wirecutter, and others

Michael Socolow /
@michaelsocolow: “The redesign takes inspiration from social media...” Saddens me to learn that, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, & Tik Tok, @nytimes redesigned mobile app algorithmically downgrades news reporting. It feels like a surrender. https://www.niemanlab.org/...

Duncan W Craig /
@duncanwc: The New York Times redesigns its app to highlight a universe beyond just news | Nieman Journalism Lab https://www.niemanlab.org/...

Depth Perception:

Q&A with Ben Collins on moving from a disinformation reporter to running The Onion, reviving its print edition and video newscast, expansion plans, and more— In April, the archly named company Global Tetrahedron, owned by Jeff Lawson, a co-founder and former CEO of the tech company Twilio …

Financial Times:

Amazon plans to increase the number of ads on Prime Video in 2025 after not seeing a sharp drop in subscribers since adding advertisements in January 2024— Ecommerce group attempting to win over more brands as it steps up push into ad-funded streaming services in 2025

Discussion:
Quartz, Digiday, Engadget, @raydouglasuk, Deadline and The Media Leader, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Bruce Gil /
Quartz: Expect more ads on Amazon Prime Video

Seb Joseph /
Digiday: With 19 million viewers in its ad tier, Amazon makes a case for Prime Video's ad business in the U.K.

Lawrence Bonk /
Engadget: More ads are coming to Amazon Prime Video

Ray Douglas /
@raydouglasuk: Amazon to increase number of advertisements on Prime Video, writes @DanielThomasLDN Revenues from its digital advertising business rose a fifth year on year to $12.8bn during the second quarter of 2024 FT https://www.ft.com/...

Jesse Whittock /
Deadline: Prime Video Reveals Ad-Supported UK Reach Of 19 Million In First Disclosure Of Its Kind

Jack Benjamin /
The Media Leader: Amazon Prime Video now reaches 19m in the UK

TechCrunch:

Livestream marketplace Whatnot says its GMV passed $2B+ in 2024 and its top 500 sellers each sold $1M+ on the platform; 66% of its sellers earn $10K+ per month— Whatnot, the livestream marketplace platform for trading card collectors and sneakerheads alike, is offering a bit of positive news …

Discussion:
News & Whatnot

Discussion:

The Verge:

Automattic demanded an 8% cut of WP Engine's monthly revenue to use the WordPress trademark in a seven-year deal proposed on September 20; WP Engine declined— Automattic, the parent company of WordPress.com, asked rival hosting service WP Engine to hand over 8 percent of its revenue each month …

Discussion:
Automattic and @j12t@j12t.social, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Johannes Ernst /