 Jeffrey Katzenberg |
NewTV, the mobile video startup from Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, has attracted $1B in seed financial from investors including Sony, MGM, Viacom and Madrone Capital, which is led by Walmart chairman Greg Penner. The venture, which is scheduled to launch by the end of 2019, will consist of short-form programming tailored to be viewed on smartphones. According to Katzenberg, there will be a two-tiered subscription structure: a plan that will carry no advertising plus what is being referred to as an “advertising-light” option. The focus on smartphone viewing, Katzenberg says, means that NewTV will not be a competitor with such services as Hulu, Netflix or the broadcast networks. “It’s a completely different use case,” he told Variety. The service is projected to feature both scripted and nonscripted shows in a number of genres, but it will not include live TV. The company will not produce its own shows, instead relying on licensed programming.
 Bob Iger |
The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger says that its new streaming service, slated for next year, will likely be positioned as a lower-cost option to Netflix. One reason for that is what Iger says is the smaller amount of content the service will have in relation to the streaming giant. “They’re in the high-volume game,” Iger said, “but we don’t really need to do that.” In addition to titles from Pixar, Lucasfilm and Marvel, the Disney service will include ESPN+, the sports network’s streaming service that was launched in April, and Hulu, which Disney now controls following its recent acquisition of a significant portion of Fox. It will also generate such original programming as a live-action Star Wars series and new Marvel content. Iger says that the company feels little need to rush to acquire more content, since “the only place people will be able to get Disney-Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel product will be here.”
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Snapchat lost two million daily users in the second quarter, the company says, the first quarterly drop it has reported. Analysts had expected a gain of nearly two million users. The drop is being interpreted as a possible sign of slowing growth for social media. A portion of the blame is being placed on a poorly received redesign in February, which had been intended to lead users toward watching more videos on the site. Snapchat has also been impacted by the growing prominence of Instagram Stories, which reports that it has 300 million daily active users. Despite the user shortfall, Snap’s revenues maintained their upward trend. With average revenue per user increasing to $1.40 from $1.05 a year ago, Snap brought in $262 million, topping the average estimate of $250.43 million. And the fact that Snapchat has more users than Instagram in the 12-to-24 demographic may be a sign of future growth.
Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. has replaced CEO and former California Congressman Devin Nunes with Kevin McGurn, a seasoned media sales executive.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is being bought by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a nonprofit that is the parent organization of the Baltimore Banner... The British Broadcasting Corporation is axing approximately 2,000 jobs, about 10 percent of its work force... Snap, the company behind Snapchat, is also succumbing to layoff fever, announcing plans to lay off 16 percent of its employees, about 1,000 people.
CBS News Radio will go off the air on May 22, part of the axe-swinging managerial plan put into play by CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss... The Economist, which was first published in 1843, is changing hands. Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith has agreed to acquire a 26.9 percent stake in the publication from Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, her family and family foundation... Nexstar Media Group says it has closed its acquisition of TEGNA, the broadcast, digital media and marketing services company that was formed in 2015, when the Gannett Company split into two publicly traded companies.
USA TODAY brings on Jamie Stockwell as VP of news, effective March 30. Stockwell was most recently deputy managing editor of news for the Washington Post... YouTube expands its likeness detection capabilities to a pilot group of government officials, journalists and political candidates... The AP Fund for Journalism adds 50 news organizations to its local news program, bringing the total number of participating newsrooms to 100. 
Versant Media Group, the NBCUniversal cable TV spin-off, today reported its first financial results as 2025 revenues dipped 5.3 percent to $6.7B and standalone EBITDA dropped 9.1 percent to $2.2B.
