Mediagazer

6:25 PM ET, August 4, 2020

Top News:

Joan E. Solsman / CNET:

Disney says Disney+ grew to 57.5M subs as of June 27, up from 54.5M three months ago — Between Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus, Disney's streaming services have more than 100 million subscribers combined. — Disney Plus grew to 57.5 subscribers as of June 27, up by 3 million in the last three months, Disney said Tuesday.

Discussion: TechCrunch, Multichannel News, Variety and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

CNBC:

Disney reports $11.78B in Q3 revenue vs. $12.37B est., down 42% YoY, says it has 100M+ paid subs for streaming services including Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ — - Disney reported earnings for its third quarter of 2020 after the bell on Tuesday as it continues to feel the impact of the coronavirus pandemic …

Discussion: Variety, The Wrap, The Streamable, The Walt Disney Company, INSIDER, @craigtimes, @thesharkpunch, @jessehawken, @stevekovach, @xpangler, @jonerlichman, @ericjhonsa and AppleInsider

Julia Alexander / The Verge:

Disney's Mulan, originally to be released in March but delayed due to COVID-19, will be released on Disney+ on Sept. 4 as a premium on-demand offering for $30 — Disney's live-action adaptation gets a new release date — Disney's live-action adaptation of Mulan will be released on Disney …

Discussion: The Streamable, Variety, The Streamable, The Week, @cynical_cj, @jimwaterson, @gameonysus, @constar24, @paultassi, @thekenyeung, @schaffrillas, @curtmega, @briantong, @cynical_cj, @itsandyyybitch, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia and @loudmouthjulia

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Bloomberg Media to launch a bundled subscription with The Athletic this month; Athletic journalists will also be featured on Bloomberg's QuickTake — Bloomberg Media will launch a bundled subscription with The Athletic beginning this month, sources tell Axios.

Discussion: MediaPost, Talking Biz News, @nbashaw, @charliebeckett, @csymrl and @evaneparker

Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: NBCU begins layoffs across its portfolio, expected to be less than 10% of staff, and WarnerMedia will start layoffs as early as next week — Comcast unit is the latest among entertainment giants, including WarnerMedia, to cut employees in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic

Discussion: NBC News, CNN, Multichannel News, Forbes, @jbflint, The Wrap and @alexsalvinews

Knight Foundation:

49% of Americans see “a great deal” of political bias in news; 82% worry that inaccuracies are intentional; 19% of people under 30 view the media favorably — OVERVIEW — There is a widening gulf between American aspirations for and assessments of the news media.

Discussion: Trust, Media and Democracy, Poynter, @thesamgill, @phil_sanchez, @w7voa, @sykescharlie, @hotlinejosh, The Hill, @rishikadugyala, Tangle, @jonzgreenberg, @jeffjarvis, @johnfund and Axios

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Voice of America's 76 foreign employees fear imminent removal from the US as VOA refuses to renew visas, with some fearing a return to authoritarian regimes — Bricio Segovia has less than a month before his time is up. With his visa set to expire at the end of August …

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, @malbertnews, @farhip, @karolcummins, @spytalker, @panyiszabolcs, @raju, @debrajsaunders, @kitchen5203 and @niemanreports

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

Neil Young sues Trump's campaign for copyright infringement for playing two of Young's songs at rallies, testing rules set by performance rights organizations — The legendary musician alleges that Trump lacked license to play “Rockin' in the Free World” and “Devil's Sidewalk” at a campaign rally in Tulsa.

Discussion: news.avclub.com, NPR, Breitbart, @bergmayer, @eriqgardner, @eriqgardner, @eriqgardner and The Week

Bhat Burhan / VICE:

Journalists in Kashmir say this year has been most disheartening for them as India's new media policy for Kashmir seeks to prosecute reporters for “fake news” — “You always have to be prepared,” said one reporter, “just in case something goes wrong.” — BB — SM

Discussion: @standwkashmir, @viceindia and @michaelkugelman

Scroll:

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Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

YouGov: ~14% of all in the UK subscribe to a print and/or online news source; of those, 50% are over 55, 12% are under 25, and 21% are between 25 and 39 — Half of all current news subscribers to print and online products are aged over 55, new Yougov research shows.

Discussion: @spignal, @janebsinger and @andrewnoakes

i24:

Patreon fails to stop arbitration suits in California by fans of a comedian removed for hate speech, making suits from fans of other banned accounts possible — Court sides with fans of controversial content creator, potentially exposing company to further legal trouble A California court sided …

Discussion: @tracybeanz

Kelsey Sutton / Adweek:

EyeQ, ViacomCBS' video advertising service, will unify digital video buying across CBS Interactive, Pluto TV, and Viacom video — Part of upfront talks, EyeQ will unify digital video buying across CBS Interactive, Pluto TV and Viacom video — Key insight:

Discussion: @viacomcbs, MediaPost and Ad Age

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More News:

McClatchy Washington Bureau:
McClatchy and Chatham reach a tentative agreement with creditors, removing opposition to the sale of the company and clearing the way to an exit from bankruptcy

Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
AMC Networks' Q2 net income fell to $15M, down from $129M in Q2 2019 on revenue of $646M, down 16.3% YoY, as revenue fell 18% YoY in the US and 10% YoY abroad

Discussion: The Wrap, Variety, Multichannel News and AMC Networks Inc.

Reuters:
China says it will retaliate if the US doesn't extend visas for Chinese journalists; editor of Global Times says US journalists in HK would be targeted

Discussion: Bloomberg

Caleb Potts / Android Police:
Facebook adds search feature in WhatsApp to help check viral messages for misinformation, rolling out today in Brazil, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Spain, UK, and US

more at Techmeme »

Sonny Bunch / The Bulwark:
By making mass-market mediocrities and delivering them to millions in a slightly new way, Netflix is just repackaging broadcast TV, not reinventing it

Discussion: @sonnybunch, @tbdculture, @elxgrandexgato, @billkristol, @lucas_shaw and @sonnybunch

Kavitha Iyer / Newslaundry:
Reporter describes covering India's internal migrant crisis during the lockdown, as journalists find they have to prove their worth every day amid staff cuts

Discussion: @swagata_y, @iyerkavi, @newslaundry, @newslaundry, @jkwritesstuff, @kshriniwasrao, @iyerkavi and @mnshap

Earlier Picks:

Kayleigh Barber / Digiday:
Despite the pandemic, some sports publications, like Penske Media's Sportico and Front Office Sports, are capitalizing on new opportunities, like virtual events

Discussion: @edgar_walker and Talking Biz News

Gene Maddaus / Variety:
A Norwegian reporter sued Hollywood Foreign Press Association in CA, alleging antitrust violations for denying membership to those who compete with HFPA members

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, Vanity Fair, @jorcru, @mavericksmovies, @mattdpearce, @kennethturan, @steve_venner, Bloomberg, Vulture, Screen, news.avclub.com, Los Angeles Times, Deadline and The Wrap

Max Tani / @maxwelltani:
Business Insider told staff on Friday that the company will not require employees to return to the offices until July 2021

Discussion: @alexjamesfitz, @kathryncasteel, @rainesford, @melissadahl, @jnaftulin, @benjamingoggin, @lainnafader, @grace_panetta, @rainesford, @mcpli, @katzish, @kevloria, @pdavis_llc, @aaronmehta, @scottnover and @maxwelltani

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Snap signs deals with major music companies, including Warner Music, UMG, and Merlin, to let users add music to their posts, initially in Australia and NZ

Discussion: TechCrunch, Mashable, Music Industry Blog, @joshconstine, @julienvdorland, @lucas_shaw, Billboard, 9to5Mac, Engadget, CNET, @lucas_shaw, Mashable, Forbes, Business Insider, Music Business Worldwide, Adweek, The Hill, The Verge and Variety

New York Times:
Ad analytics platform Pathmatics: Facebook's top 100 advertisers spent $221.4M from July 1 through July 29, down 12% YoY from the $251.4M they spent in 2019

Discussion: Digiday, Broadband Breakfast, @nytnational, @jamesrbuk, @patrickcrewdson, Morning Consult, @sarafischer, @deaneckles, Search Engine Land, WWD, Adweek and Axios

Angelina Chapin / The Cut:
Veteran AP reporter Errin Haines, Emily Ramshaw, and others launch The 19th, covering politics and inequality from a diverse perspective with a 99% female staff

From Techmeme:

Apple:
Greg Joswiak will replace Phil Schiller as SVP of Worldwide Marketing; Schiller becomes an Apple Fellow and will continue to lead the App Store and Apple Events

Wall Street Journal:
With a TikTok sale, China would lose control of its first global internet sensation, hardening suspicions that the US is sabotaging its tech growth

Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Apple refreshes 27" iMacs with 10th-gen Intel CPUs and a 1080p webcam, shipping from next week, and makes SSDs standard across its iMac lineup

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