Warner Bros. Discovery's CFO says NBA talks were a "triggering event" to reevaluate the company and take a $9.1B impairment charge, but weren't the only factor (Kayla Cobb/The Wrap)

Mediagazer: Warner Bros. Discovery's CFO says NBA talks were a “triggering event” to reevaluate the company and take a $9.1B impairment charge, but weren't the only factor (Kayla Cobb/The Wrap)

Top News:

The Verge:

Disney CEO Bob Iger says the company's password sharing crackdown will kick off “in earnest” in September, after announcing paid sharing in February 2024— Disney Plus will soon no longer let you share your password with people outside your household.
Discussion: Awful Announcing, 9to5Mac, TechRadar, Digital Trends, @billbrasky2620, Wired, BGR, PhoneArena, @2xaught7.bsky.social, Deadline, Business Insider and TVNewsCheck, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Tom Power /
TechRadar: The Disney Plus password crackdown is coming in September, and I'm fed up of streaming services taking me for a ride

Phil Nickinson /
Digital Trends: Disney's password-sharing crackdown goes big in September

Bill Brasky /
@billbrasky2620: Disney+ finally went into profit, but boy did they have to suffer through a lot of bad PR to get there.

Angela Watercutter /
Wired: A Disney+ Password-Sharing Crackdown Is Coming in September

Dade Hayes /
Deadline: Bob Iger On ESPN Partnership Talks, “Tremendous Value” In NBA Rights Extension Despite Price Tag

Lauren Edmonds /
Business Insider: Disney's full crackdown on password sharing is coming

RELATED:

CNBC:

Disney reports Disney+ Core subscribers up 1% YoY to 118.3M and its combined streaming business turned a profit, a first, but without ESPN+ reported a $19M loss— WATCH NOW — Disney reported its fiscal third-quarter earnings Wednesday, topping analyst estimates as its combined streaming …

Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Independent, Front Office Sports, AdExchanger, NBC Bay Area, Yahoo Finance, Adweek, UPI, New York Times, Awful Announcing, The Verge, The Wrap and Screen Rant

Discussion:

Robbie Whelan /
Wall Street Journal: Disney Raises Prices of Most Streaming Plans

Katie Hawkinson /
The Independent: Disney posts profit on streaming for first time but warns of downturn in theme park visits

David Rumsey /
Front Office Sports: ESPN+ Leads Disney's Streaming to First-Time Profit Despite High Costs

Alyssa Boyle /
AdExchanger: ESPN Is Making Disney+ Profitable

Alex Sherman /
NBC Bay Area: In a reversal, Disney's media assets are starting to generate more excitement than its parks

Alexandra Canal /
Yahoo Finance: Disney earnings: Streaming unit turns first profit while parks business lags

Mark Stenberg /
Adweek: Disney Streaming Turns First Profit, Driven By Ad Growth and ESPN+

Jessica Inman /
UPI: Disney streaming services become profitable for first time

Brooks Barnes /
New York Times: Disney's Parks Struggle, Exposing a New Trouble Spot

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Disney Swings to First-Ever Combined Streaming Profit of $47 Million in Q3

Variety:
Disney reports Q3 revenue up 4% YoY to $23.2B, operating income up 19% YoY to $4.2B, DTC revenue up 15% YoY to $6.4B, and a $47M DTC profit as Disney+ grows

Discussion:

Alex Weprin /
The Hollywood Reporter: Disney Turns a Profit in Streaming as Entertainment Income Soars Business Wire: The Walt Disney Company Reports Third Quarter and Nine Months Earnings for Fiscal 2024

Robbie Whelan /
Wall Street Journal: Disney Posts First-Ever Streaming Profit, Warns of Pressure on Theme-Parks Business

Alex Sherman /
@sherman4949: Disney CEO Bob Iger says the Disney streaming password sharing crackdown will begin in earnest in September.

Brendan Schema /
@brendanschema: $DIS Disney's combined streaming business turned a profit this quarter - with the help of ESPN+. Interestingly in the previous quarter, ESPN+ was a drag on streaming profitability. Q2: ($19m) combined streaming loss Q3: $47m combined streaming profit

Erik Gruenwedel /
Media Play News: Disney Posts First-Ever DTC Streaming Profit Despite Mixed Q3 Subscriber Results @scottgustin: NEW: Disney's overall streaming business turned a profit for the first time - but the parks segment income slipped 3% (YOY) due to “moderation of consumer demand” that exceeded the company's expectations. Disney says weak Q3 demand could hurt results for “the next few quarters.” [image]

Alex Sherman /
@sherman4949: Disney says it is still having conversations with strategic partners for ESPN. These conversations have been going on for more a year now.

Dylan Smith /
Digital Music News: Sony Music Entertainment Reports Double-Digit Calendar Q2 Revenue Jump Amid Publishing Growth and Favorable Exchange Rates

Peter Kafka /
@pkafka: “The good news is the Olympics are over in a couple weeks” says Disney CFO. (Disneyland Paris business has been slow, which Disney blames on the games.)

Tony Maglio /
IndieWire: Disney Finally Turns a Profit at Streaming

Jill Goldsmith /
Deadline: Ka-ching! Disney Turns Streaming Profit For First Time And Ahead Of Schedule

Variety:
Disney says the “outcome of the Hulu deal arbitration is uncertain” and it might have to pay up to $5B more to complete the buyout of NBCUniversal's 33% stake

Discussion:
Reuters, @tvgrimreaper, Chris Heatherly on LinkedIn, The Information, The Wrap, Deadline and Next TV

Discussion:
@tvgrimreaper: We're approaching the one year anniversary of the start of this process (October). Imagine the investment banker's fees! [image]

Chris Heatherly /
Chris Heatherly on LinkedIn: Big bet. Disney is banking on the bundle reducing churn considerably and making them into the next Netflix. …

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Disney Could Pay Up to $5 Billion More for Comcast's Hulu Stake

Jill Goldsmith /
Deadline: No Surprise, Disney & NBCUniversal Disagree On Hulu Valuation With $5 Billion In The Balance

The Wrap:

Warner Bros. Discovery's CFO says NBA talks were a “triggering event” to reevaluate the company and take a $9.1B impairment charge, but weren't the only factor— However, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels notes the reevaluation wasn't “a response to one individual factor”

Discussion:
Sportico, Deadline, IndieWire and The Information

Discussion:

Anthony Crupi /
Sportico: WBD Takes $9.1B Impairment Charge as NBA Hopes Fade

Brian Welk /
IndieWire: Warner Bros. Discovery Says Its TV Channels Are Worth $9 Billion Less Than It Thought

Sahil Patel /
The Information: Warner Bros. Discovery Writes Down $9.1 Billion, Suffers Steep Losses

RELATED:
Deadline:

WBD reports Q2 revenue of $9.7B, and a net loss of $9.986B, taking an impairment charge of $9.1B for networks; global streaming subs rose 3.6M to reach 103M— The value of the linear assets when Discovery and Warner Media merged two and half year ago was significantly higher …

Discussion:

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Crumples to Near All-Times Lows After Huge Q2 Impairment Charge

Sean Keeley /
Awful Announcing: Warner Bros. Discovery stock freefalls over $9.1 billion charge, uncertainty around sports rights renewals

Alexandra Canal /
Yahoo Finance: Warner Bros. Discovery sinks after taking massive $9.1 billion impairment charge on its cable business

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: WBD grows streaming subscribers, takes impairment charge after losing NBA rights

Lillian Rizzo /
CNBC: Warner Bros. Discovery stock falls as it writes down $9.1 billion, misses estimates

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Warner Bros. Discovery Q2 Net Loss Widens to $9.9 Billion as Company Records $11.2 Billion in Impairment, Restructuring Charges

Justin Carter /
Game Developer: Report: WB Discovery looking to sell off games, other divisions to prevent total breakup

Meg James /
Los Angeles Times: Warner Bros. Discovery takes $9-billion write-down from TV networks amid struggles

Matt Tamanini /
The Streamable: Warner Bros. Discovery Climbs Over 103.3 Million Streaming Customers Amidst Disastrous Financial Quarter

Maria Heeter /
@heetermaria: 🚨+📺+ 💸 = ☹️ Warner Bros Discovery reports nearly $10BN loss The co weighed a breakup in a bid to raise its sinking share price, but has since concluded that this is not the best option at this time, per @FT @annaknicolaou https://www.ft.com/... [image]

Jennifer Maas /
Variety: Warner Bros. Discovery Takes $9.1 Billion Balance Sheet Hit for Massive Drop in TV Network Values

Anna Nicolaou /
@annaknicolaou: WBD says their TV channels are worth $9bn less than they were just 2 years ago. feels like a moment for the end of cable television

Etan Vlessing /
The Hollywood Reporter: Warner Bros. Discovery Takes Major Impairment Charge Over Linear TV While Streaming Makes Minor Gains

Jill Goldsmith /
TVNewsCheck: Warner Bros. Discovery Takes Massive $11.2B In Write-Downs & Charges In Q2 After Losing NBA Wall Street Journal: Sources: the NBA's deal with Amazon has several provisions that WBD can't match, including promotion of the NBA during Amazon's NFL streaming telecasts

Discussion:
Fox News: Charles Barkley reverses retirement decision, vows to stay with TNT long-term: ‘This is the only place for me’

Andrew Marchand /
New York Times: The eye-popping $77 billion haul that shook up the NBA landscape — and the future of media

Chuck Schilken /
Los Angeles Times: Charles Barkley isn't retiring or joining another network. TNT ‘is the only place’ for him

Mike D. Sykes /
USA Today: 5 things (NHL!) Charles Barkley can still do with TNT when Inside the NBA leaves the network

Jason Clinkscales /
Sportico: Charles Barkley ‘Reaffirms’ Long-Term Commitment to WBD

Ben Axelrod /
Awful Announcing: Charles Barkley cancels retirement to remain with TNT Sports long-term

Dave Nemetz /
TVLine: Charles Barkley Walks Back Retirement Decision as Warner Bros. Discovery Fights to Retain NBA Games

Michael McCarthy /
Front Office Sports: Charles Barkley Un-Retires From TV, Says He's Staying With TNT

Ryan Glasspiegel /
New York Post: Charles Barkley does about-face on TV retirement with TNT commitment

Alex Sherman /
CNBC: Charles Barkley commits to staying at Warner Bros. Discovery's TNT Sports no matter what happens to NBA

New York Times:

The NYT reports adding 300K digital subscribers in Q2, for 10.8M in total, and digital ad revenue up 7.8% YoY to $79.6M; The Athletic losses fell to $2.4M— The publisher added about 300,000 digital subscribers in the latest quarter, and now has more than 10.8 million subscribers.

Discussion:

Simon Owens /
@simondowens@threads.net: The New York Times keeps adding more subscribers in a single quarter than 99% of publications do through the entire lifetime of their digital subscription products. — https://www.nytimes.com/...

Katie Robertson /
@katie_robertson: New: The New York Times added another 300,000 subscribers in the last quarter, now has almost 11 million total https://www.nytimes.com/...

Peter Kafka /
@pkafka: The New York Times has spent $3 million in legal fees suing Microsoft and OpenAI this year. For context: last year the paper earned $232 million in profits.

Noah Kulwin /
@nkulw: Monopolist paper that killed the competition and is rearranging its innards to be more stupid and facile all the time

Shannon Busta Riches /
Shannon Busta Riches on LinkedIn: Delighted to see The New York Times finding continued success in such a turbulent media landscape. Nearly half of our 10.8 million subscribers …

Claudio E. Cabrera /
Claudio E. Cabrera on LinkedIn: A few highlights but starting off with my beloved The Athletic: — Revenue at The Athletic grew to $40.5m which is up 33% from last year. …

Natalie Korach /
The Wrap: The New York Times Adds 300,000 Digital Subs in Q2 as Total Revenues Rise 6% to $625 Million

RELATED:
The New York Times Company:

The NYT reports Q2 revenue up 5.8% YoY to $625.1M, subscription revenue up 7.3% YoY to $439.3M, and operating profit up 13.6% YoY to $104.7M— NEW YORK, August 7, 2024 - The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) announced today second- quarter 2024 results. Key Highlights

Discussion:
Nieman Lab and @tvgrimreaper

Nieman Lab:

A look at the ambitions of The Assembly, which has been buying and partnering with small NC outlets and envisions itself as a state-level The Atlantic magazine— “I was fixated on trying to build a place that could pay good writers good money to spend more time than normal on big stories.”

Discussion:
INDY Week, Robert Frederick on LinkedIn, @anniema15, Bill Horner III on LinkedIn and @joekilliannc

Discussion:

Robert Frederick /
Robert Frederick on LinkedIn: So needed... “to spend more time than normal on big stories.”

Annie Ma /
@anniema15: The Assembly is essential NC reading!! Been a subscriber since my days in Charlotte — local news deserves beautifully written, deeply reported pieces as much as any national story, and it's been so great to see this being fulfilled.

Bill Horner III /
Bill Horner III on LinkedIn: Great reading from Nieman Lab... I've watched the evolution of our industry for 40+ years. The traditional business model is in disarray …

Wired:

NBC's fragmented-yet-seamless coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics, offering live events on Peacock plus primetime recaps, leads to strong viewership numbers— With a big assist from Peacock, the 2024 Summer Olympics broadcast is fragmented in all the right ways.

Discussion:

Richard Deitsch /
New York Times: Will Snoop Dogg return to NBC for future Olympics? 'I think we'd be really thrilled'

Abby Marks /
Abby Marks on LinkedIn: Beyond amazed with what the entire NBCUniversal Peacock and Comcast organization has put together across every Olympics touchpoint, that includes TODAY …

Jason Weitzel /
Jason Weitzel on LinkedIn: What an incredible three weeks for Peacock. The Olympics are a defining moment for the platform and suddenly there's focus on all Peacock has to offer. …

Derin Basden /
Derin Basden on LinkedIn: Yet another stellar review of the Olympics on Peacock, this time from Wired. Never thought the work I directly worked on would be called …

Peter Sblendorio /
Mercury News: NBC would be ‘really thrilled’ to have Snoop Dogg back for future Olympics

New York Times:

Netflix is filming three documentary projects at the Paris Olympics, focusing on running, gymnastics, and basketball, as the streamer grows into sports content— New seasons of documentaries about running, gymnastics and basketball are being filmed this summer as part of a partnership with the International Olympic Committee.

Discussion:
Screen Rant and Gianina Thompson on LinkedIn

Discussion:

Kayla Laguerre-Lewis /
Screen Rant: What Happened To Every Olympian Gymnast In Netflix's Simone Biles Rising Documentary

TechCrunch:

Ofcom publishes an open letter to social media platforms raising concerns about the use of their tools to incite violence, following days of rioting in the UK— The U.K.'s internet regulator, Ofcom, has published an open letter to social media platforms raising concerns about the use of their tools to incite violence.

Discussion:
Financial Times, ofcom.org.uk, The Sun, Metro.co.uk, Reuters, Bloomberg, New York Times and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Gill Whitehead /
ofcom.org.uk: Open letter to UK online service providers The Sun: Social media bosses warned as Ofcom demands immediate action to tackle surge of online hate amid UK riots

Sarah Hooper /
Metro.co.uk: ‘Foreign-backed actors’ using social media to share anti-immigration narratives in UK

Martin Coulter /
Reuters: Musk stirs UK divisions, sparks calls for faster rollout of online safety laws

TechCrunch:

Meta says Facebook creators who violate Community Standards for the first time will be given the option to take a training course to remove their warning— Facebook creators are being given a new option that will help them avoid jail — “Facebook jail,” that is — upon their first violation, and at various times after.

Discussion:
Facebook for Creators, The Information, @michaelbishop.me and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Julia Hornstein /
The Information: The Paris Olympics Is Minting New Creators

Michael Bishop /
@michaelbishop.me: driving school for Facebook [embedded post]

Karissa Bell /
Engadget: Facebook will let creators remove account warnings if they complete ‘educational training’

The Verge:

Instagram is making views the primary metric across all of its formats, letting creators track the same metric across Reels, Stories, photos, and more— Instagram is making “views” the primary metric across all of its formats, meaning that creators will be able to track the same metric across Reels, Stories, photos, and more.

Discussion: