Entertainment
Taylor Swift boosts NFL ratings, showing star’s halo effect has staying power
Some 27 million people tuned in to watch the Kansas City Chiefs play the New York Jets on Sunday night, a strong ratings performance that broadcaster NBC attributed partly to the attendance of pop star Taylor Swift, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Isabella Simonetti.
The event was the second-most-watched National Football League game of the season, behind the Sept. 7 season opener that drew 27.5 million viewers, said NBC, part of Comcast’s NBCUniversal. Sunday’s Chiefs-Jets game got significantly higher ratings than the year-earlier Week 4 matchup, a star-studded game featuring quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City and Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that was watched by 22.2 million people.
Business of Media
EU lawmakers back tough media law against Big Tech’s content removal decisions
EU lawmakers on Tuesday voted for draft rules targeting Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O), Meta Platforms (META.O) and other large online platforms’ content moderation restrictions after some media outlets complained about arbitrary decisions removing their content, reports Reuters’ Foo Yun Chee.
The draft rules require online platforms to carry news content for 24 hours before taking it down if this breaches their content moderation rules.
Campbell Brown, who led Facebook News, leaves Meta
When Facebook was being battered in 2017 for distributing false and misleading news, the social network turned to Campbell Brown, a veteran journalist, to smooth over its relationships with the media, reports The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullen and Mike Isaac.
Six years later, Ms. Brown is departing the company, now known as Meta, as top executives have become less concerned about what the news media thinks about it.
International
Delhi police search journalists’ homes in latest raids on media
Police have carried out early morning raids on a news portal office and the homes of almost 50 journalists, activists and comedians across India under anti-terrorism laws, deepening concerns over a crackdown on freedom of expression in the country, reports The Guardian’s Hannah Ellis-Peterson.
Netflix
Netflix Plans to raise prices after actors strike ends
Netflix plans to raise the price of its ad-free service a few months after the continuing Hollywood actors strike ends, the latest in a series of recent price increases by the country’s largest streaming platforms, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Jessica Toonkel and Sarah Krouse.
The streaming service is discussing raising prices in several markets globally, but will likely begin with the U.S. and Canada, according to people familiar with the matter. It couldn’t be learned how much Netflix will raise prices by or when exactly the new prices will take effect. Netflix declined to comment.
Netflix shakes up C-Suite: ad chief Jeremi Gorman exits, streamer taps new tech and product leaders
Netflix is making changes to its C-Suite, naming new executives to oversee its nascent advertising business, as well as its technology and product divisions, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s Alex Weprin.
For starters, Netflix says that Jeremi Gorman will be departing as its head of ad sales, after about a year leading its ads business. Amy Reinhard, a seven-year veteran of the company (most recently working as VP studio operations), will become president of advertising.
David Beckham takes family to premiere of candid new Netflix documentary about his life
David Beckham turned the premiere of his new Netflix documentary into a family affair on Tuesday as the former footballer was joined by his wife, fashion designer Victoria Beckham, and their four children on the red carpet in London’s Mayfair, reports Reuters’ Hanna Rantala.
“Beckham” is a four-part mini-series tracking the British soccer star’s rise from humble beginnings to one of the most recognisable players of his time both on and off the pitch.