X names former Tubi CFO Mahmoud Reza Banki as its CFO; Trump pardoned Banki in January 2021 for making false statements; a source says he joined X in November (Wall Street Journal)
Mediagazer: X names former Tubi CFO Mahmoud Reza Banki as its CFO; Trump pardoned Banki in January 2021 for making false statements; a source says he joined X in November (Wall Street Journal)
Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
Disney reports Q4 revenue up 6% YoY to $22.6B, TV network revenue down 6% YoY to $2.5B, and a $321M DTC streaming profit, up from a $387M loss in Q4 2023— Streaming profit and studio are bright spots, while income from cable and theme parks declines — Disney's streaming business …
Discussion: Reuters, The Wrap, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, @thetranscript_, Business Wire and Rafael Brown on LinkedIn
Discussion:
Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Disney Swings to Streaming Profit of $321 Million in Q4, $134 Million for 2024
Thomas Buckley /
Bloomberg: Disney Profit Beats Expectations as Movies, Streaming Post Gains
Samantha Masunaga /
Los Angeles Times: ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ and ‘Inside Out 2’ propel Disney studio earnings
Alex Weprin /
The Hollywood Reporter: Streaming and ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Power Disney Fiscal Q4 Earnings @thetranscript_: Disney CEO: “In Q4 we saw one of the best quarters in the history of our film studio, improved profitability in our streaming businesses, a record-breaking 60 Emmy Awards for the company, the continued power of live sports...” $DIS: +2.4% Pre-Market [image] Business Wire: The Walt Disney Company Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year Earnings for Fiscal 2024
Rafael Brown /
Rafael Brown on LinkedIn: I highly doubt that Disney really wants a videogame exec who doesn't know film/TV or theme parks as their CEO. …
RELATED:
TechCrunch:
Reliance and Disney complete their $8.5B Indian media merger, creating India's largest media group with $3.1B in annual revenue and 50M+ streaming subscribers— Reliance and Disney have completed their landmark Indian media merger, creating an $8.5 billion entertainment behemoth …
Discussion:
Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter
Discussion:
New York Times:
In its Q4 report, Disney, which rarely offers guidance, shares growth expectations to 2027, including a ~$700M operating profit in DTC streaming in 2025— The company, which does not typically release guidance to investors, said that profit would jump over the next three years.
Discussion:
Yahoo Finance, Financial Times and @brianstelter
Discussion:
Michelle Chapman /
Yahoo Finance: Disney Q4 adjusted profit tops estimates on strong results from entertainment unit, streaming
Christopher Grimes /
Financial Times: Disney boosted by ‘Deadpool’ and ‘Inside Out 2’
Wall Street Journal:
Spotify plans to pay incentives to video creators who hit certain viewing thresholds and, in January 2025, to let Premium users view podcast videos without ads— Audio-streaming giant plans to pay hosts to make podcast videos and allow premium subscribers to watch them without ads
Discussion:
Stuart Dredge /
Music Ally: Spotify launches new ways for video podcasters to earn money @spotifycreator: Today Spotify for Podcasters is becoming Spotify for Creators—and the platform is getting an upgrade with a series of new offerings to help creators like you grow an audience and monetize your content on Spotify, whether you're making audio or video. [video] @spotifynews: From our LA campus to your feed, we just announced 🆕 video features and offerings to help creators connect with fans, grow, and monetize. https://newsroom.spotify.com/ ...
Alex Kantrowitz /
@kantrowitz: Fascinating comments from Spotify co-president Gustav Söderström about how the platform views AI-generated music and podcasts, and whether they'll replace the stuff us humans create. Full episode: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/... Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/... Etc. [video]
Alex Heath /
@alexeheath: I'm at Spotify event in LA where the company just announced that it's removing ad breaks from video podcasts and will soon start paying creators directly based on engagement. The goal is to compete more directly for YouTube's video creators https://www.theverge.com/...
Paul Roetzer /
@paulroetzer: Very thoughtful responses. Balance of insights and uncertainty. I like to believe he's right on humans valuing human experiences and creativity even more in an age of AI content abundance / overload.
John Buckley /
@johnbuckley.bsky.social: Spotify to pay creators for videos in Australia as revenue grows www.capitalbrief.com/briefing/ spo...
Danny Gallagher /
Engadget: Spotify unveils a new payout model for creators with popular videos
Wendy Lee /
Los Angeles Times: Spotify woos video and podcast creators with new tools to better compete with YouTube
Aisha Malik /
TechCrunch: Spotify will start paying video podcast hosts based on how well their videos perform Spotify: Spotify Unveils Uninterrupted Video Podcasts, Audience-Driven Payments, and the New Spotify for Creators Platform
Spotify:
Biggest. Change. Ever. Go Inside Spotify for Creators, the New Home of Podcasting on Spotify
RELATED:
Axios: Spotify projects its first full year of profitability ever in 2024; CEO Daniel Ek says profitability is the new normal for Spotify
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Digiday, Investor's Business Daily, @sarafischer, CMU, Digital Music News, MEDIANAMA, Fortune and Music Ally
Discussion:
Caitlin Huston /
The Hollywood Reporter: Spotify Hits 252M Premium Subscribers, On Track For First Full Year of Profitability
Sam Bradley /
Digiday: Media buyers say programmatic spend on Spotify is increasing as platform builds its own SSP
Patrick Seitz /
Investor's Business Daily: Spotify Stock Soars As Analysts Crank Up Volume Of Bullish Ratings
Sara Fischer /
@sarafischer: NEW: @Spotify projects first full year of profitability ever — CEO @eldsjal told me consistent profitability is new normal — Ek plans to reinvest record free cash flow in AI but says $SPOT won't spend as liberally as it used to — “You should not expect that we're going to go back
Sam Taylor /
CMU: Spotify's Ek puts a damper on ‘super premium’ hype, bigs up AI and innovation as the future
Dylan Smith /
Digital Music News: Why Stop At $400? Spotify Stock Tops $465 Per Share Following Q3 Earnings Release — Execs Target ‘First Full Year of Profitability’
Sharveya Parasnis /
MEDIANAMA: Spotify Sees Profit Rise By 40% YoY To 1.24 Billion Euros
Ryan Hogg /
Fortune: Daniel Ek says Spotify has ‘never been in a stronger position’ as music streamer caps remarkable 2024 turnaround
The Hollywood Reporter:
CEOs at Nexstar, Sinclair, and Tegna, plus some analysts, say they expect deregulation and consolidation in the broadcast TV industry under Trump's FCC— Flush with political ad dollars and anticipating a deal-friendly environment, moguls are eyeing big moves to roll up lucrative local broadcasters.
Discussion:
@mediaevan and @WarnerCrocker@mastodon.social
Discussion:
Evan DeSimone /
@mediaevan: It's not clear to me what a “massive TV station land grab” does except slow the decline of the industry slightly while piling on a bunch of debt. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Variety:
Don Lemon, who sued Elon Musk and X after a deal fell apart, says he's leaving X on November 15, citing X's new ToS that moves legal disputes to Texas courts— Don Lemon, a one-time business partner of Elon Musk who's now suing the tech mogul, is done with X.
Discussion:
Zachary Leeman /
Mediaite: Don Lemon Announces He's Quitting Twitter: Not a Place For ‘Honest Debate’
Derek Hunter /
Townhall: Democrats Quitting X Will Be Missed...By Someone...Probably
Cullen Linebarger /
The Gateway Pundit: HAHA: Disgraced Former CNN Host Don Lemon Gets Brutally Roasted After Explaining Why He's Ditching X/Twitter (VIDEO)
Mike Bedigan /
The Independent: Don Lemon highlights alarming change to X's terms of service as he leaves the platform Barrett Media: Don Lemon Announces Departure From X: ‘No Longer Serves Purpose’ as Free Speech Platform
Lily Mae Lazarus /
The Daily Beast: Don Lemon Quits X After Feud With Elon Musk
Candace McDuffie /
The Root: Black Folks Are Asking Is it Time To Leave Black Twitter For Real Now That Elon Musk, Trump Are Working Together
Blake Wolf /
One America News Network: Don Lemon Announces Departure From X, Users Troll In Response: ‘I Love That You Think You Will Be Missed’
Nicki Cox /
Page Six: Jamie Lee Curtis and Don Lemon quit X after Elon Musk joins Donald Trump's Cabinet
Clare Duffy /
CNN: Don Lemon and the Guardian left Elon Musk's X after the election. But is it a mass exodus? Don't be so sure
Taylor Herzlich /
New York Post: Ex-CNN anchor Don Lemon says he is quitting X over new terms of service
Dominick Mastrangelo /
The Hill: Don Lemon quitting X: ‘I once believed it was a place for honest debate’
Asher Notheis /
Washington Examiner: Don Lemon leaving X due to platform not serving ‘purpose’ of free speech
Walter Einenkel /
Daily Kos: Journalists begin new exodus from Elon Musk's X
Music Business Worldwide:
German royalty licensing group GEMA sues OpenAI and subsidiary OpenAI Ireland in Munich Regional Court, claiming ChatGPT violates copyrights of lyrics— OpenAI, the $157 billion-valued US-based AI giant behind ChatGPT, has been sued by German collection society and licensing body GEMA.
Discussion:
gema.de, ai fray, Digital Music News, Jeff Rabhan on LinkedIn, The Decoder, CMU, @konkrit@mastodon.social, Billboard and Music Ally
Discussion:
ai fray: Biggest non-U.S. AI copyright lawsuit filed in IP litigation hotspot Munich by German collecting society GEMA against OpenAI
Dylan Smith /
Digital Music News: GEMA Sues OpenAI for Copyright Infringement Amid Broader AI Regulatory Push: ‘A Test Case to Clarify Numerous Legal Issues’
Jeff Rabhan /
Jeff Rabhan on LinkedIn: They will all limp to the courtroom eventually, most are hoping Universal will foot the bill and they can piggyback across the finish line. …
Matthias Bastian /
The Decoder: German music rights group GEMA sues OpenAI over unlicensed song lyrics in ChatGPT
Chris Cooke /
CMU: GEMA sues OpenAI
Kristoffer Patrick Cornils /
@konkrit@mastodon.social: 2024 has been an interesting year for music industry lawsuits. looking forward to this one, i doubt that openai will walk away from this unharmed. https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/ ...
Marc Schneider /
Billboard: GEMA Sues OpenAI Over Song Lyrics In a First for PROs
Stuart Dredge /
Music Ally: German collecting society GEMA sues OpenAI over song lyrics
Variety:
In Q4, Disney added 4.4M Disney+ Core paid subscribers, reaching 120M in total, Disney+ Hotstar subscribers rose 1% YoY to 35.9M, and Hulu subscribers hit 52M— Disney ended its 2024 fiscal year with 122.7 million Disney+ Core paid subscribers, an increase of 4.4 million subs …
Discussion:
IndieWire, WHEC.com, Cord Cutters News and Benzinga
Discussion:
Tony Maglio /
IndieWire: Disney Had a Much Better Summer Than Spring WHEC.com: Disney Q4 bolstered by strong results from streaming, ‘Inside Out 2’ and ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’
Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: Disney+ Sees Ad Revenue Jump 14% Helping Drive Profitability at Disney
New York Times:
Nielsen: since Trump won, MSNBC has averaged 550K viewers, down 39% on October, and its prime time audience is down 53%; Fox's prime time audience is up 21%— Prime-time viewership at MSNBC has fallen 53 percent from October, and jumped 21 percent on Fox News.
Discussion:
@pierogie.bsky.social, HotAir and New York Post
Discussion:
@pierogie.bsky.social: People are tired from the non-stop bombardment of awfulness coming from the trump cam. MSNBC will spike again once he takes office and we switch from the thought of upcoming garbage to actual garbage inc.
Wall Street Journal:
X names former Tubi CFO Mahmoud Reza Banki as its CFO; Trump pardoned Banki in January 2021 for making false statements; a source says he joined X in November— Mahmoud Reza Banki, former Tubi finance chief, joins platform amid financial challenges — Elon Musk's X Corp. named Mahmoud …
Discussion:
Fortune, Business Insider, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Sheryl Estrada /
Fortune: Why the CEO of Nasdaq says the ‘renaissance period’ for tech in finance will last another decade
Beatrice Nolan /
Business Insider: X's new CFO received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump
Matt Grobar /
Deadline: CAA Names John Storey Chief Financial Officer
Erik Hayden /
The Hollywood Reporter: CAA Hires New Chief Financial Officer
The Verge:
The WSJ is testing AI-generated article summaries at the top of new stories in a “Key Points” box to see how readers respond, following Gannett and others— The Wall Street Journal is experimenting with AI-generated article summaries that appear at the top of its news stories.
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck and MediaPost
CNBC:
Amazon Prime Video will offer Diamond Sports Group's 16 regional sports networks, newly branded as FanDuel Sports Network, as add-on subscriptions— Diamond Sports reached a deal with Amazon's Prime Video that will allow its 16 regional sports networks to be made available on the streaming platform.
Discussion:
Tom Friend /
Sports Business Journal: MLB, Braves withdraw objection to Diamond's proposed reorganization plan
Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: FanDuel Sports Networks Strikes Deal with Amazon to Stream RSNs on Prime Channels
Alden Gonzalez /
ESPN: Diamond Sports Group reaches agreement with Amazon Associated Press: FanDuel Sports Network regional channels will be available as add-on subscription on Prime Video
Joey Morona /
Plain Dealer: FanDuel Sports Network, television home of the Cavs, is coming to Prime Video
Anthony Crupi /