Digital

The Obamas say they “couldn’t be more excited” about the projects they’re announcing Tuesday for their Netflix production company. The lineup includes a series about food aimed at preschoolers, a scripted drama about the post-World War II fashion world and a documentary film focused on American factories.

What’s left for the media empress and icon of inspiration? In a wide ranging interview, Winfrey explains her streaming strategy (including a possible interview series), who she’s eyeing for 2020 (“I’d like to see what’s up with Butta” — aka Pete Buttigieg) and the creative fire that fuels her now.

Altice USA has signed a deal to buy the youth-skewing business news startup Cheddar for $200 million in cash. The acquisition will bolster the broadband and cable giant’s Altice News service as Cheddar offers youth-skewing news content around business, technology, culture and politics. Altice USA last year began offering Cheddar via its Altice One platform and was an early investor in the digital-first company.

Dave Francois of E.W. Scripps.; Anthony Katsur of Nexstar; Erin Overstreet of Gray Television; and Alan Blackburn of KSL-TV Salt Lake City will offer insights into their experiences in “Monetizing OTT: Ad Sales and Subscriptions” at TVNewsCheck’s annual conference on June 11.

When the internet TV service Philo led by CEO Andrew McCollum launched in November 2017, it had the cheapest pay-TV bundle on the market in the US. For $16 per month, people could buy a smattering of 45 entertainment TV channels, such as AMC, HGTV, Food Network, MTV and Comedy Central, and add on a small collection of other networks for an extra $4 per month. A year-and-a-half later, the streaming TV company still has one of the most affordable options for live TV services in the U.S. but is being forced to scrap its least expensive offering.

Alphabet’s first-quarter revenue missed analysts’ estimates, sparking concern that advertisers are shifting some spending from Alphabet’s Google subsidiary to digital rivals. Revenue from Google advertising rose 15% from a year earlier. That was down from 24% year-over-year growth in the first quarter of 2018.

Quietly, NBC’s Andrew Lack, news chairman, has been the key person behind Mississippi Today, an online news site that has been operating for three years. It is one of several experimental approaches to journalism seeking traction during a painful time of retrenchment for local news.

The California-based broadcaster’s digital acquisitions have turned heads, but the company’s revenues primarily come from 116 radio stations in 39 markets.

Growing digital video media apps/platforms will try to make an impact in the traditional TV upfront buying market this year. But don’t expect much, if any dramatic shifts in dollars.

Amazon reported a record $3.6 billion in profit during the first quarter of 2019, more than doubling its profit from a year ago and continuing its streak of record-breaking earnings. The company’s lucrative advertising and cloud computing businesses notched the bulk of its profits and helped boost margins even as sales growth slowed. Overall, first-quarter sales rose 17 % to $59.7 billion, compared to sales growth of 46% last year.

After losing one of its founding members, WarnerMedia’s Turner group, the TV network advertising consortium OpenAP said it has expanded its advanced advertising efforts, starting a centralized premium video marketplace called OpenAP 2.0.

In a new study conducted by the Institute for the Future, a California-based nonprofit think tank, researchers found more than 80% of journalists admitted to falling for false information online. The data was based on a survey of 1,018 journalists at regional and national publications in the United States.

Disney and Comcast are holding talks about working out a deal for Comcast’s 30% stake, according to people familiar with the matter. Comcast is now weighing the pros and cons of doing a deal now rather than later, said these people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. It’s still unclear if a deal will transpire.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said the company is “exploring” the launch of a global news channel co-branded with NBC and Sky by the end of 2019. “We look at this as a way to grow our company and power our company for decades to come,” Burke said during a conference call with analysts Thursday.

Facebook Inc. on Wednesday blew past Wall Street profit estimates in the first quarter and set aside $3 billion to cover a settlement with U.S. regulators, calming investors who had worried about the outcome of a months-long federal probe.

DirecTV Now, AT&T’s streaming video app, has seen sharp customer declines in recent months that all but wiped out a year’s worth of subscriber growth, according to the company’s latest earnings report.

Red Bee Media will provide Videa with textual metadata aimed at providing a comprehensive source for programming and ratings estimates for automated TV sales.

CNN’s Rajin Persaud, CBS Interactive’s Christy Tanner, Newsy’s Blake Sabatinelli and Fox News Channel’s John Fiedler will speak on the “Creating the Right News Content Nationally” panel at TVNewsCheck’s OTT News Summit on June 11.

YouTube and Verizon have minted a distribution deal that will cross-promote both the telecom giant’s offerings, including 5G and broadband, and the internet-delivered pay-TV service. Under the deal, Verizon will offer promotions on YouTube TV to customers regardless of the service they get.