By David Farrell
Supreme Court will hear Radio-Canada appeal on revealing anonymous sources
Radio-Canada investigative journalist Marie-Maude Denis is appealing a decision that would have forced her to reveal her sources.
The case comes alongside allegations of fraud, conspiracy and breach of trust against former Liberal cabinet minister Marc-Yvan Côté, which came about after a report by Denis. – CBC News
‘Netflix tax’ proposed to ease pressure on domestic broadcasters
If Netflix was measured like traditional broadcasters in Canada—using weekly time spent figures and reach metrics across age, gender and regions—there is little doubt it would be a challenger for the No. 1 network in the country.
Since Netflix's launch in Canada in 2010, the first non-US market the company entered, it has become a viewership juggernaut, climbing to north of 50% of the English-speaking population in most forecasts. eMarketer expects there will be 13.3 million Netflix viewers in Canada this year, with viewers defined as individuals who watch Netflix via app or website at least once per month. That figure is up 9.6% year over year. – eMarketer
Spotify’s $30B playlist for global domination
When Daniel Ek came to save the music industry, he did so with a premise that evokes the charlatan Harold Hill in The Music Man. Hill contended that anyone could learn to play an instrument if they just believed enough. Ek was convinced that if you give music away for free and make it easy and pleasant for people to listen, then they will become regular listeners. As a habit formed, these users would—almost magically—be willing to pay for what they had been getting for free. (As Ek puts it: “The more you play, the more you’ll pay.”) This counterintuitive idea continues to form the basis of Spotify’s business model, even as it has confounded music labels and artists. – Robert Safian, Fast Company
Boston Globe calls for national media stand against Trump
The Globe has reached out to editorial boards nationwide to write and publish editorials on Aug. 16 denouncing what the newspaper called a "dirty war against the free press."
As of Friday, Marjorie Pritchard, who oversees the Globe's editorial page, said about 70 outlets had committed to editorials so far, with the list expected to grow. – WBUR News
Why you shouldn’t put stock in Facebook’s future
Facebook’s current stock price (US$185.18) assumes that the unregulated social-networking industry will retain that status. It will not. Facebook already has to cope with strict privacy protections imposed by Europe this year. The U.S. will follow suit. And both jurisdictions are also investigating suspected antitrust practices at social-networking firms.
Compliance with regulations newly imposed on them will cut into profit growth at social media firms by curbing user and advertising growth rates. – David Olive, The Star
Facebook denies being in talks with banks to glean user financial data
A week ago Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook had asked several major banks to provide information like account balances and credit card activity. According to the report, Facebook asked firms like JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and U.S. Bancorp to discuss possible offerings it could provide for users on its Messenger chat platform.
Facebook declined to comment on whether it has been in talks with those companies but clarified it does work with banks to offer various services on Messenger.
"A recent Wall Street Journal story implies incorrectly that we are actively asking financial services companies for financial transaction data -- this is not true," a Facebook spokesperson told CNNMoney. "Like many online companies with commerce businesses, we partner with banks and credit card companies to offer services like customer chat or account management." – CNN
Who killed the great American cable-TV bundle?
Insiders know the cable bundle, after generating more than $1.8 trillion, has been murdered. They don’t agree on the prime suspects. Every minute, another six people cut the cord. – Gerry Smith, Bloomberg
The security app that makes browsing easier
The new Dashlane offers a password manager, a VPN and a tool to see if your personal information has been stolen. – WSJ
Millennials are old news — now it's Gen Z’s turn to kill industries
Millennials have been accused of killing so many products and industries — taxis, landlines, snail mail — that it’s become a media trope. But millennials are old news. Today, businesses and marketers are desperately anticipating the murderous whims of Gen Z, the demographic born after 1996.
Thanks to teens' murderous whims, malls, print magazines, cash and even American football's days are numbered. – Riley Griffin, Bloomberg News
Roku's plan to take on Amazon and Netflix seems to be working
Roku topped Wall Street's earnings expectations on Wednesday, posting a financially neutral quarter where analysts had anticipated a 14-cent loss per share.
The streaming company's ad business helped fuel the beat — an area Netflix and Amazon ignore. – Markets Insider
Why radio is still struggling with podcasting
A recent check of the Apple Podcast chart has only two podcasts produced by broadcast companies in the top 100, and only five in the top 200. Two are time-shifted radio programs: Dave Ramsey and iHeart’s Breakfast Club. The other three are original podcasts developed by iHeart’s podcast production team.
Public radio, which includes NPR and other producers, has been at this for years with a combination of time-shifted and original content. Currently, they have about 20 of the top 50 podcast titles, though that number has fallen as more content comes from various new pureplay producers. – Steven Goldstein, Amplifimedia
Toronto Mike's Podcast with TJ Connors
In this 366th episode, Mike chats with 97.7 HTZ-FM's TJ Connors about his career in radio and his relationship with his father, Scruff Connors.
Cridland keynoting OAB annual
James Cridland returns to the Ontario Association of Broadcasters annual conference at the Marriott Toronto Airport Hotel on Nov. 8.
His keynote, headlined 'How can we safeguard the future of radio? talks about how listener expectations are changing, and why live, linear radio is not always what the listener wants to hear.
Cridland, who launched the world's first radio station streaming app, will also argue that radio is different on headphones than speakers - and offer advice on what you can do now to ensure the long-term survival in the medium.
