TikTok Will Block Users From For You Feed If They Repeatedly Post ‘Problematic’ Content, Such as Sexually Suggestive, ‘Extreme Fitness’ or Sadness Videos

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Amid Paramount Global’s removal of Bob Bakish as CEO and the ongoing uncertainty of a company sale, it was business as usual for the first quarter at the media conglomerate — which included a $1.3 billion charge for content write-offs as well as layoffs. Paramount Global reported Q1 2024 earnings Monday, announcing Bakish’s exit and the installation of an unusual three-in-a-box “Office of the CEO”: CBS’s George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks, and Paramount Pictures’ Brian Robbins.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Oprah Winfrey is off the board of WeightWatchers — but she’s continuing to work with the company as part of her efforts to change the cultural conversation about weight. Winfrey will host “Making The Shift: A New Way to Think About Weight,” a three-hour event on Thursday, May 9, from 6-9 p.m.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor NBCUniversal is looking to wring more money out of Peacock subscribers, with the streamer set to raise prices this summer — one year after its last fee hike. Beginning in mid-July, the price for Peacock Premium (with ads) will increase by $2 to $7.99 per month and Peacock Premium Plus (mostly ad-free) is also going up by $2 to $13.99 per month. Peacock Premium’s annual price will increase from $59.99 to $79.99, while Premium Plus is going from $119.99 to $139.99 per year. The new prices will be effective starting July 18 for new Peacock customers and for existing subscribers with their next billing date on or after Aug.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor YouTube keeps eating up more share of the advertising pie: The Google-owned video giant posted $8.1 billion in ad sales for the first quarter of 2024, its highest Q1 total to date. The figure for YouTube ad sales, up 21% year over year, was announced as part of parent company Alphabet’s Q1 earnings. Wall Street analysts expected YouTube’s ad revenue for Q1 to come in at $7.72 billion, according to StreetAccount.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Imax fans turned up in droves to see “Dune 2” on the really big screen, helping the company top analyst earnings estimates for the first quarter of 2024. Despite the sandworm bump, it was a tough compare with the year-ago period when Imax benefited from the blockbuster success of “Avatar: The Way of Water” in 2023 to deliver its highest-grossing Q1 to date.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor TikTok could be banned in the U.S. as soon as January 2025. Here’s what the new law means for users of the popular short-form video app.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to approve a bill that would ban TikTok nationwide unless Chinese parent company ByteDance sells its stake in the popular app. The development will likely result in a court battle between the U.S.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Spotify reeled in fewer new users overall than it expected in the first quarter of 2024, but the audio-streaming giant touted “record strength” in profitability. Total monthly active users (free and paid) grew 19% year over year to 615 million, a gain of 13 million from the previous quarter — which missed its guidance by 3 million. Spotify said “moderated marketing activity” led to “more normalized growth” following 2023’s record performance (when it added 26 million new MAUs in Q1).

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor A bill that would ban TikTok — unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, divests its ownership stake — could soon become a U.S. law. TikTok is gearing up a legal fight against the measure if that happens, with plans to challenge it in court on First Amendment grounds.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor A media consultant sued Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, alleging he is owed “at least several million dollars” for work he did related to the company’s $370 million acquisition in 2022 of Redbox, the DVD kiosk and streaming company. Keith Knee, described in his legal complaint as an advisory and consulting services professional in the media industry, filed suit against Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment on Friday, April 19, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix will no longer report subscriber numbers — which has been a key metric for streaming services for years — beginning with the first quarter of 2025. The company made the announcement in releasing its first-quarter 2024 earnings Thursday. Netflix handily topped expectations for subscribers net adds, gaining 9.33 million in the period, to reach nearly 270 million globally.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor U.S. lawmakers have moved closer to enacting a countrywide ban on TikTok. Last month, the House of Representatives passed a bill by a wide margin that would ban distribution of TikTok in U.S.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Wall Street is betting that Netflix‘s stream machine continued to fire on all cylinders coming into 2024. After netting a whopping 13.1 million new subs in Q4, Netflix is riding a wave of momentum that continues to be buoyed by the paid-sharing strategy, as it converts password borrowers into paying members, according to analysts.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Max Cutler sold Parcast Studios, his scripted-audio entertainment start-up, to Spotify in 2019 under a deal in which Spotify ultimately paid nearly $90 million. Cutler went on to become Spotify’s VP, head of talk creator content and partnerships — inking exclusive licensing deals with podcasters including Alex Cooper, Emma Chamberlain and Markiplier, and managing the company’s partnership with “The Joe Rogan Experience” — before exiting last year. Now Cutler is back in the game with the launch of Pave Studios.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor TikTok inked a partnership with ticketing provider AXS to let users of the popular video app discover and buy tickets to live events. The feature is going live initially in the U.S., U.K., Sweden and Australia, with additional markets to follow at an undetermined date. Now, any certified artist on TikTok can use the in-app ticketing feature to promote their AXS live dates, according to the company.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor CAA has signed Sarah Lugor, the multihyphenate content creator, model, host, fashion influencer and musician who posts on TikTok under the handle “@shreksdumpster,” for representation. Lugor, 23, is known for her comedic videos and fashion sense. She has built a following of more than 3 million followers across platforms — including 2.5 million on TikTok — helping her gain recognition as an LGBTQ TikTok trailblazer and landing her features in Vogue and the Huffington Post.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor DoubleVerify, which provides brand-safety measurement ratings for digital platforms to major advertisers, incorrectly displayed X‘s Brand Safety Rate — a measure of how frequently ads appeared adjacent to content that met advertiser-approved criteria — on the DoubleVerify dashboard for nearly five months. From Oct. 24, 2023, to March 14, 2024, DoubleVerify’s dashboard provided the wrong data for X to advertisers.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ben Sherwood and Joanna Coles inked a deal to lead IAC’s The Daily Beast, under which the media veterans have been granted a minority stake in the news and opinion site. Effective immediately, Sherwood — one-time president of the Disney ABC Television Group — will serve as The Daily Beast’s publisher and CEO. Coles, previously Hearst Magazines’ chief content officer, is the site’s chief creative and content officer.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor YouTube is advising viewer discretion with the newly dropped trailer for Warner Bros.’ “Joker: Folie à Deux” — warning users that it “may contain suicide or self-harm topics.” As of Wednesday morning, a new message appeared before the trailer is playable on YouTube: “The following content may contain suicide or self-harm topics. Viewer discretion is advised.” Before they can watch the “Joker 2” trailer, users must click on a button that says, “I understand and wish to proceed.” The warning label did not initially appear on the trailer when it was released Tuesday evening.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney released the official vote counts from its 2024 meeting of shareholders held April 3 — in which investors decisively defeated a campaign by activist investor Nelson Peltz to win a seat on its board. According to the votes disclosed in an SEC filing Tuesday, nine of the Disney-backed director candidates received more than 90% of the shares voted in their favor.