The Media Club · 21 April 2023 · 43 min
Bye-bye Buzzfeed News, Fox & Dominion Settle, plus Shalini Govil-Pai on Google TV
- BuzzFeed News Shutdown
- Fox & Dominion Settlement
- Streaming Subscriptions
- Netflix Live Streaming
- Google TV Free Channels
- Podcast Distribution
- Media Quiz
In this episode of The Media Club, host Matt Deegan is joined by Jane Ostler (VP Global Thought Leadership at Kantar) and Alex Hudson (Executive Editor at Newsweek) to discuss the shutdown of BuzzFeed News, the Fox & Dominion settlement, and the latest UK streaming subscription figures. The panel also covers Netflix's live streaming issues, the expansion of Gimlet podcasts beyond Spotify, and a deep dive with Shalini Govil-Pai from Google TV about their new free ad-supported TV channels. The episode concludes with the media quiz and listener survey promotion.
Key takeaways
- BuzzFeed News is shutting down as part of a 15% workforce cut.
- Fox News agreed to pay $787.5 million to Dominion Voting Systems to settle the defamation lawsuit.
- Kantar reported a net loss of 167,000 paid streaming subscriptions in Q1, with Netflix hit hardest.
- Google TV announced 800 free ad-supported channels, launching in the US with global expansion planned.
- Gimlet Media will expand distribution of some podcasts beyond Spotify's exclusivity.
In this episode
- Intro and News Roundup
- BuzzFeed News Shutdown Discussion
- Fox & Dominion Settlement
- Streaming Subscriptions and Netflix
- Deep Dive: Shalini Govil-Pai on Google TV
- Podcast Distribution and Gimlet
- Media Quiz
- Outro and Listener Survey
Notable quotes
“It's time for our annual listener survey. If you can spare five minutes to share your opinions on the show, not only will you help shape the future of the media club, but one lucky respondent will win a £50 John Lewis voucher.”
“When you first told me it was a swear word because that it seems both inevitable and a surprise.”
“It's the easy way out, isn't it? Not to have a big fight and to make the story even more public than it already was and have all the dirty laundry being aired.”
“So we just announced 800 channels on what we call free ad-supported TV. It's an industry buzzword that's gaining a lot of traction. It's fast. It's very, very fast. It's not slow. It's fast.”
“Because you need new audiences. And if you are only in this closed garden, you know, we were talking earlier, Web3, blah, blah, blah, closed garden stuff.”
“I'm going to go to Battersea Art Centre and see Hate Radio, which is a show about the construction of radio.”
Discussed
BuzzFeed · Fox News · Dominion Voting Systems · Netflix · Google · Kantar · Newsweek
Mentioned or recommended
- The Last of Us
- Clarkson's Farm
- Doctor Who
- RuPaul's Drag Race
- Destination X
- Hate Radio
- The Media Podcast
