Business of Media
Warner Bros. Discovery faces more rounds of layoffs
On Monday, Warner Bros. Discovery had a big night at the Emmy Awards. The company’s premium cable network, HBO, had the strongest night of any television outfit, claiming prizes in both the best drama (Succession) and limited series (The White Lotus) categories. And Ted Lasso, the Apple TV+ series produced by the Warner Bros. television studio, won for best comedy, reports the New York Times’ John Koblin.
By Tuesday morning, painful business realities sunk in.
Roughly 100 employees at Warner Bros. Discovery were laid off on Tuesday, mostly from the ad sales division in the United States, two people with knowledge of the cuts said. After Discovery merged with WarnerMedia in April, executives pledged to find $3 billion in savings, and telegraphed that job cuts, particularly in duplicative areas like ad sales, would be coming. The company has a debt load of more than $50 billion.
Last month, HBO and HBO Max laid off roughly 70 staffers, which mostly affected the HBO Max unscripted and live-action family departments. And earlier this year, Warner Bros. Discovery pulled the plug on CNN+, which also resulted in a wave of cuts.
Google faces €25bn lawsuit in UK and EU over digital advertising
Google faces a €25bn (£21.6bn) lawsuit in the UK and EU that accuses the tech firm of anticompetitive conduct in the digital advertising market, reports The Guardian’s Dan Milmo.
The company, which is a key player in the online ad market as well as being a dominant force in search, is accused of abusing its power in the ad tech market, which coordinates the sale of online advertising space between publishers and advertisers.
“Publishers, including local and national news media who play a vital role in our society, have long been harmed by Google’s anticompetitive conduct,” said Damien Geradin, of the Belgian law firm Geradin Partners, which is involved in the EU case.
“It is time that Google owns up to its responsibilities and pays back the damages it has caused to this important industry. That is why today we are announcing these actions across two jurisdictions to obtain compensation for EU and UK publishers.”
Twitter shareholders approve sale to Elon Musk, leaving lawsuit as final hurdle for deal
In a special meeting of shareholders Tuesday, holders of Twitter stock voted to approve the company’s sale to Tesla CEO Elon Musk for $54.20 per share, reports the Hollywood Reporter’s Alex Weprin.
The vote in favor was expected, but is important as it is the final pro forma hurdle to closing the sale to Musk, with regulators having already signed off on the deal. Now the only thing standing in the way of closing is Musk’s lawsuit, with a trial date tentatively set for next month.
Of course, Musk’s lawsuit is no small obstacle. The billionaire is looking to have the $44 billion deal unwound, while Twitter wants to force him to close.
While Musk initially based his suit on Twitter’s public claims around bots, it has since expanded following the disclosures of Twitter whistleblower Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, who previously Twitter’s head of security.
Advertising environment won’t get any worse, says iHeartMedia CEO
iHeartMedia Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman believes the advertising pullback seen across the media and entertainment industry won’t get any worse than it is now, reports the Hollywood Reporter’s Caitlin Huston.
“I don’t sense that there’s something looming, I think we’re in it,” Pittman said Tuesday.
Pittman was speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference, and notably took that position after iHeartMedia, which owns more than 850 radio station as well as a podcasting business, beat second-quarter earnings expectations and saw its revenues grow 11 percent year over year. The year has not been as “robust” as expected, Pittman said, though iHeartMedia is still on track for its best EBITDA year on record.
In May, Pittman said the company saw a downturn in advertising in April, but expected May and June to climb higher.
Paramount considers discontinuing Showtime streaming service, merging with Paramount+
Paramount Global is considering discontinuing its Showtime streaming service and shifting its content into Paramount+, according to people familiar with the situation, a move that would streamline the company’s offerings amid a crowd of competitors, reports the Wall Street Journal’s Jessica Toonkel.
Showtime’s $10.99-per-month service features programming from the premium channel including Billions and Yellowjackets. Discussions inside the company to fold that service into Paramount+ are still early, the people said.
It is becoming more difficult for smaller streaming services such as Showtime to compete in a sector full of options for consumers, from established players such as Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. to newer entrants such as NBCUniversal’s Peacock and Paramount+.
News Brands
Noel Pearson to deliver ABC Boyer Lectures
Indigenous leader Noel Pearson will deliver his second Boyer Lecture series in less than three decades in a historic first for the national broadcaster and the distinguished public intellectual, reports News Corp’s Nicholas Jensen.
On Tuesday, the ABC announced the lawyer, academic and land rights activist would deliver the 2022 Boyer Lecture series. It follows his lecture in 1993 in the wake of the Mabo decision a year earlier.
ABC chair Ita Buttrose said it was a significant moment for an Indigenous leader of Pearson’s standing to accept the invitation given the national discussion about the referendum for an Indigenous voice to parliament.
The Boyer Lecture series, named after former ABC chairman Sir Richard Boyer, is a series of radio lectures from a prominent Australian invited to express their thoughts on major social, cultural, scientific or political issues.
Television
Emmy snubs, and should Olivia have been included as In Memoriam?
Not everyone can be a winner at the Emmy Awards yesterday, reports TV Tonight.
But fans of Better Call Saul are disappointed the show was not a winner in its final season, especially for stars Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn.
Only Murders in the Building also missed out, settling on 3 wins from its 17 nominations in the Creative Arts ceremonies.
Stranger Things, similarly, scored 13 nominations, but only five wins, all outside of the main telecast.
Emmys viewership in the US drops to a new low
The Oscars, Grammys and Tonys all had viewership gains this year, reversing recent declines, reports the New York Times’ John Koblin.
But not the Emmy Awards.
Viewership for Monday night’s Emmys dropped to a record low, with 5.9 million tuning in to watch the ceremony, according to Nielsen.
That was about 1.5 million fewer than for last year’s ceremony, and it was lower than in 2020, when the mostly virtual ceremony garnered 6.1 million viewers, which had been the record low.
Part of the Emmys ratings drop can be explained by its Monday night time slot, which generally depresses viewership totals. NBC broadcast this year’s Emmy Awards — the four major broadcast networks rotate airing the annual ceremony — and slotted it for a Monday night to avoid a conflict with the network’s Sunday Night Football rights. In both 2018 and 2014, the last two times NBC aired the Emmys on a Monday, viewership totals dropped from the Sunday night ceremony the year before.
Queen Elizabeth dead: The Crown season one breaks Netflix top 10
The first series of The Crown has entered the Netflix global top 10 for the week of September 5-11, it has been revealed, report News Corp’s Kathy McCabe and Charles Miranda.
The series landed in seventh position with nearly 17.6 million hours viewed globally.
The weekly post stated: “HRH Queen Elizabeth II was in the hearts and minds of viewers.
“Fans revisited Season 1 of The Crown, which entered the list for the first time in the seventh spot with 17.57 million hours viewed.”
Claire Foy starred as the Queen in the first series, which debuted to rave reviews in November 2016, alongside Matt Smith as the Duke of Edinburgh and John Lithgow as Winston Churchill.