Your Media Morning: Time Inc’s Digital Hits And Misses, AMI Could End up With Us Weekly, Vice Developing Shows For Snapchat

TV AMBITIONS  THIS IS HOW SNAPCHAT IS PITCHING SHOWS TO ADVERTISERS Original shows on Snapchat Discover might be the differentiator Snap needs to fend off competition from Instagram, according to advertisers. Snap has been talking up its “Snapchat Shows Initiative” to ad agencies as the company looks to bring more exclusive programming to its Snapchat Discover media section   WAIT. SAY WHAT NOW? "We thought we’d been saved from the slaughterhouse, and now it looks like we face the bloodbath that would come from AMI acquiring us" -US WEEKLY STAFFER ABOUT POSSIBLE AMI TAKEOVER Post it Tweet it Share it Forward it Good Media Morning to you. Here's what's happening:  MASSIVE LAYOFFS COULD FOLLOW A DEAL  TRONC DROPS BID FOR US WEEKLY, AMERICAN MEDIA INC IS BELIEVED TO BE BACK IN It is a stunning turn of events that has sent a new round of panic through the ranks at Us Weekly, currently owned by publishing magnate Jann Wenner. The fear is that up to 100 layoffs may ensue. Survivors are also worried about the editorial environment as they move from the left-leaning Wenner Media operation into one controlled by American Media Chief Executive David Pecker, an ardent supporter of President Trump.  WATCH THIS  RECODE'S KARA SWISHER INDUCTED INTO THE SXSW INTERACTIVE HALL OF FAME Kara Swisher is getting her own spot in the SXSW Hall of Fame. We really don’t need to tell you why the folks at South by Southwest would want to have Recode’s executive editor as their sixth honoree. FACEBOOK AND TWITTER FACE FINES OVER HATE SPEECH POSTS Social media giants including Facebook and Twitter are not doing enough to curb hate speech on their platforms and could face fines of up to $53 million if they do not strengthen their efforts to delete illegal posts, a German government minister said on Tuesday. ALL OF TRIBUNE'S TV STATIONS ARE BEING ACQUIRED BY SINCLAIR Sinclair Broadcast Group appears ready to acquire all of Tribune Media Co.’s assets, which include stakes in the Food Network and the WGN cable network, as well as 42 local TV stations nationwide. TIME INC BIDS ARE DUE NEXT WEEK WHICH MEANS THIS THING COULD BE COMING TO A CLOSE The wild card in the race is the bid by Jahm Najafi, a part owner of the Phoenix Suns in a joint bid with Pamplona Capital, first reported by the Wall Street Journal Friday. One Time Inc. investor speculated that those private equity players are “fronting” for another interested party with media experience. Who that could be remains unknown. NEW JOB POSTING INDICATES NEW YORK TIMES WANTS TO BUILD CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH ITS READERS “The readers of The New York Times are one of our greatest strengths,” the recruitment post said. “Their financial support pays for our newsroom, allowing us to hire the best journalists and deploy them around the globe. In the social media age, our readers’ voices often amplify what we stand for: the power of information, ideas and debate to shape the world and inspire change.” VICE DEVELOPS "HUNGRY HEARTS" THE FIRST OF MANY SHOWS BEING PRODUCED EXCLUSIVELY FOR SNAPCHAT Snapchat continues to beef up its lineup of premium short-form shows: Snap Inc. and Vice Media have struck an expanded deal under which Vice will produce shows exclusively for Snapchat. The first show under deal is “Hungry Hearts with Action Bronson,” a dating series hosted by rapper-chef Action Bronson (whose real name is Arian Asllani) developed by Viceland. The eight-episode show will hit Snapchat later in 2017, expected to be distributed in English-speaking countries. NETFLIX HIRES MOVIE HEAD Netflix is upping the ante at its movie business. The streaming company has hired veteran producer and former executive at Comcast-owned Universal Pictures Scott Stuber to run its movie operations. Stuber also had his name in the hat to run Viacom’s Paramount Pictures, but turned down the job. SNAPCHAT'S AD REVENUE FORCAST SLASHED The 2017 advertising revenue forecast for Snap’s Snapchat has been trimmed by $30 million due to higher than expected revenue sharing with its partners, digital marketing firm eMarketer said in its latest ad spending forecast. Snap depends on advertising dollars for the bulk of its overall revenue. INDICTMENTS COMING DOWN IN YAHOO HACKING U.S. officials are said to be planning to issue indictments related to the hacking attacks against Yahoo. The Department of Justice is accusing four people of participating in massive online security breaches that compromised hundreds of millions of user accounts. GOOGLE AND FACEBOOK WILL CONTINUE TO DOMINATE DIGITAL ADS A new eMarketer study estimates Google and Facebook will continue to devour the $83 billion U.S. digital ad market, with Facebook growing to account for 1/3 of all display advertising and Google growing to take 78% of all search ad revenue this year. Google and Facebook have an effective “duopoly” over digital ad revenue. MEREDITH AND CONDE NAST BUDDY UP ON 'BOOKAZINES' Meredith is creating two “bookazines” for newsstand sale this year that are based on the House & Garden brand. Under a licensing agreement with Condé Nast, Meredith is handling content creation; advertising sales and marketing; and production and distribution. Don't forget to share this morning's issue with colleagues and friends by clicking/tapping the button below SUBSCRIBE

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