1 big thing: Scoop... Advance returns to Gulf after Times-Picayune purge

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2. 🏈 Scoop: XFL and USFL in talks to merge

3. Hollywood slims down

4. Conservative content bans spread from classroom to web

5. Exclusive: Time doubles down on Opinion


6. Hollywood agency merger frenzy

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7. Measurement is in chaos right now

8. 💰1 Musk thing: Pay up!

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Situational awareness: Facing pushback, Bill Maher, Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Hudson have all reversed recent decisions to resume their live talk shows during the ongoing writers strike.

The Writers Guild and the group representing Hollywood studios plan to resume negotiations on Wednesday, as the strike approaches its fifth month.

👻 I will be interviewing Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel at the Global Emerging Tech Summit in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. The conversation is open to the public. Register.

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1 big thing: Scoop... TikTok eyes more social

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2. Scoop: Biden to air new ad during NFL kickoff

3. 🚨 Bundle breakdown

4. Hollywood strikes spread

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5. Major websites starting to block AI bots

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6. 📺 New cable boss

7. Truth Social lives to see another day

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Today's Media Trends, copy edited by Sheryl Miller, is 1,498 words, a 6-minute read. Sign up.

Mark your calendar: Axios' BFD business conference, hosted by Dan Primack, is returning to NYC on Oct. 12.

I will have an exclusive sit down interview with the new president and CEO of CBS News and Stations Wendy McMahon. Register here. 

📺 1 big thing: MSNBC's Trump bump

2. Exclusive: Media heavyweights form new research group to support free press

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3. 📺 Exclusive: Cox launches local streaming network

4. Community rounds are all the rage

5. Bloomberg shake-up sparks succession chatter

6. Newsroom AI standards take shape

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7. 🎙️ Majority of iHeart's podcast downloads come from radio

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1 big thing: Scoop... New NYT union drama

2. Scoop: Jeff Zucker in talks to invest in Front Office Sports

3. Yahoo's Apollo Renaissance

4. Exclusive: Daily Wire to debut new movie on X after initial fallout 

5. TV networks at war with Nielsen over ratings

6. CNN tries streaming, again

Today's Media Trends, copy edited by Sheryl Miller, is 1,806 words, a 7-minute read. Sign up.

Situational awareness: The CEOs of the most powerful U.S. tech companies are all heading to Capitol Hill next month for Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's first AI insight forum, Axios' Ashley Gold and Maria Curi report.

1 big thing: Freedoms backslide

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2. Exclusive: The Economist will paywall its podcasts

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3. 📺 Disney-Charter deal represents new era for TV bundles

4. ⚾ Exclusive: The Sporting News raises $15M, more than a century after launch

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5. Google heads to court for historic antitrust trial

6. 🗞️ Largest philanthropic push ever for local news

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Situational awareness: UFC-owner Endeavor has officially closed its previously announced deal to acquire the WWE and take it public with the UFC under one publicly traded company called TKO Group Holdings.

National

Billionaire Rupert Murdoch announced Thursday he will step down as chairman of Fox Corp. and News Corp., ending his reign as one of the wealthiest media moguls of all time.

Why it matters: Murdoch, 92, built his fortune through a series of pragmatic and ruthless maneuvers that earned him a reputation as one of the most successful dealmakers in the media industry. 

Murdoch, who will become chair emeritus of both companies in mid-November, has a net worth of roughly $8.3 billion, according to an estimate from Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The big picture: The Australian native, who later became a U.S. citizen, never considered himself a Hollywood insider, despite owning one of the largest movie studios in America for decades. The news industry is his true passion.

His entry into the media business began in his early twenties, when he inherited a small family-owned Australian newspaper business after his father's death in 1952. 

Murdoch expanded his print empire throughout his home country during the 1950s before turning his attention to the British media market.

His dealmaking made him one of Australia's top newspaper barons by the time he acquired his first British tabloid, News of the World, in 1968. 

A year later, he bought The Sun, formerly the Daily Herald, and transformed the struggling, liberal daily broadsheet to the U.K.'s most popular conservative tabloid. 

More than a decade later in 1981, he acquired another set of struggling papers, Times of London and the Sunday Times, adding hard news assets to his U.K. portfolio. 

By the time Murdoch acquired 20th Century Fox in 1985, he was worth roughly $300 million, making him one of the richest men in the U.S., according to Forbes. 

The deal to acquire 20th Century Fox, was made through Murdoch's ever-expanding News Corp. publishing empire. 

Between the lines: Murdoch expanded News Corp.'s TV and film portfolio in the U.S. and the U.K. throughout the '80s. 

He acquired a handful of U.S. local broadcast affiliates in 1985 and a year later launched a national broadcast network, Fox, to compete with CBS, NBC and ABC. He launched Sky TV in the U.K. in 1989. 

Perhaps the most significant addition to his TV empire came in 1996, when Murdoch launched a 24/7 cable news network, Fox News Channel, to compete with CNN. 

Be smart: Fox News became one of Murdoch's most profitable and influential assets. It has been the leader in cable news ratings for decades. 

Fox News and The Wall Street Journal are considered Murdoch's crown jewel assets in the U.S. The two outlets wield enormous political power for America's conservatives.

Murdoch acquired Wall Street Journal parent Dow Jones in 2007 for $5 billion. 

Zoom in: By 2013, Forbes listed Murdoch as the richest foreign-born person in the U.S., with a net worth of more than $13 billion. 

Later that year, Murdoch split News Corp. into two separate, publicly-traded companies: 21st Century Fox — which included all of his U.S. TV, film and entertainment assets — and News Corp. — which included all of the company's global print publishing assets. 

News Corp. retained HarperCollins, a book publishing behemoth created by Murdoch through the acquisitions of two book publishers in 1987. News Corp. acquired Move. Inc., a leading online real estate business, in 2014. 

Murdoch sold all of the entertainment assets within Fox Corp. in 2019, including 21st Century Fox, for $71 billion. At 88, that transaction marked Murdoch's largest accrual of wealth in his nearly 70-year career. 

Murdoch's net worth following the transaction ballooned to $19 billion, according to Bloomberg. But it decreased to about $7 billion, after he distributed the deal's proceeds among his children.

What to watch: News Corp. and Fox Corp. have operated separately on the Nasdaq for the past ten years. 

The boards of both companies announced last year they were exploring a deal to possibly recombine the assets, citing the potential for value creation for shareholders. The effort was called off in early 2023. 

What's next: A possible merging of the two firms last year sparked succession chatter. 

His son, Lachlan Murdoch, will replace him as chairman of both firms, per Thursday's announcement.

Four of Murdoch's children — Lachlan, Elisabeth, James and Prudence — are equal beneficiaries of a trust that own a 39% voting stake in News Corp. and a 42% voting stake in Fox Corp.

How media mogul Rupert Murdoch made his billions

By 2013, Forbes said Murdoch was the richest foreign-born person in the U.S.

 Murdoch attends the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in February 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Fox News

Media

Billionaire Rupert Murdoch announced Thursday he will <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="step down" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/21/rupert-murdoch-steps-down-fox-corp-news-corp" data-vars-content-id="0e5391bd-8bd4-4cb9-95b8-0515538fd8eb" data-vars-headline="How media mogul Rupert Murdoch made his billions" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/21/rupert-murdoch-steps-down-fox-corp-news-corp" target="_self">step down</a> as chairman of Fox Corp. and News Corp., ending his reign as one of the wealthiest media moguls of all time.Why it matters: Murdoch, 92, built his fortune through a series of pragmatic and ruthless maneuvers that earned him a reputation as one of the most successful dealmakers in the media industry.

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

Amazon on Friday said it would introduce a limited number of ads to movies and television shows on its Prime Video streaming service beginning next year. 

Why it matters: Selling ads will allow the company to continue investing in compelling content "over a long period of time," Amazon said.

Details: The new ads will be introduced in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Canada in early 2024, followed by France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia later in the year, the company said. 

It vowed to serve "meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers," but it didn't specify how many it planned to integrate into its programming. 

The new ads won't change how much Amazon currently charges subscribers, the company said.

Amazon Prime members can access Prime Video as a part of their $14.99 monthly package. Amazon Prime Video subscribers can still access the video service as a standalone for $8.99.

Between the lines: The tech giant also announced that U.S. subscribers could pay an additional $2.99 for an ad-free option.

While it didn't offer an exact launch date, the company said it would email Prime members "several weeks before ads are introduced into Prime Video with information on how to sign up."

The company plans to share pricing for its ad-free tier in other countries at a later date, it said. 

Zoom out: Most major streaming services have started to introduce ad tiers as a way of luring subscribers as the market becomes more saturated.

In many cases, ad tiers can also be more lucrative, because they can increase the amount of revenue made per subscriber. 

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that the $2.99 tier will be free of ads (not ad-supported).

Amazon to run commercials on Prime Video

It's also rolling out a $2.99 monthly ad-supported tier in the U.S.

Photo: Katja Knupper/Die Fotowerft/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

Media trends

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Amazon" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/06/07/amazon-prime-video-ads" data-vars-content-id="56be9a75-8a96-45f9-9c47-8a5a32619118" data-vars-headline="Amazon to run commercials on Prime Video" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/06/07/amazon-prime-video-ads" target="_self">Amazon</a> on Friday <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="said" data-vars-click-url="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/entertainment/prime-video-update-announces-limited-ads" data-vars-content-id="56be9a75-8a96-45f9-9c47-8a5a32619118" data-vars-headline="Amazon to run commercials on Prime Video" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/entertainment/prime-video-update-announces-limited-ads" target="_blank">said</a> it would introduce a limited number of ads to movies and television shows on its Prime Video streaming service beginning next year. Why it matters: Selling ads will allow the company to continue investing in compelling content &quot;over a long period of time,&quot; Amazon said.

Billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as chairman of Fox Corp. and News Corp., effective mid-November, he announced Thursday.

Why it matters: Murdoch, 92, is considered one of the most influential media figures in the modern era.

His son, Lachlan Murdoch, will replace him as chair of both firms.

Rupert Murdoch will be appointed chair emeritus of both companies.

Details: In a note to staff, Murdoch said, "For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change."

"But the time is right for me to take on different roles, knowing that we have truly talented teams and a passionate, principled leader in Lachlan who will become sole Chairman of both companies."

The big picture: Murdoch steps down at a time of major transition. 

Fox Corp. sold its entertainment assets to Disney for $71 billion in 2019, leaving it mostly focused on live television news and sports, as the cable industry continues to face record cord-cutting. 

News Corp's business has expanded in recent years to include more business data and services. Its publishing business faces a looming threat from artificial intelligence. 

Rupert Murdoch stepping down as chairman of Fox Corp. and News Corp.

Murdoch, 92, is considered one of the most influential media figures in the modern era.

Rupert Murdoch at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 19, 2013. Photo: Drew Angerer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as chairman of <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Fox Corp. and News Corp." data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/pro/media-deals/2023/01/24/rupert-murdoch-drops-fox-news-corp-merger-talks" data-vars-content-id="b9e940c2-0e7e-4153-9f9b-d45a727a4f9d" data-vars-headline="Rupert Murdoch stepping down as chairman of Fox Corp. and News Corp." data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/pro/media-deals/2023/01/24/rupert-murdoch-drops-fox-news-corp-merger-talks" target="_self">Fox Corp. and News Corp.</a>, effective mid-November, he announced Thursday.Why it matters: Murdoch, 92, is considered one of the most influential media figures in the modern era.

Snap Inc. has promoted former Meta executive Patrick Harris to the position of President of Americas, overseeing sales and key business operations, according to an internal note sent Friday to staff and obtained by Axios. 

Why it matters: Harris replaces Rob Wilk, who was hired for the role in March. 

Wilk, who formerly served as Microsoft's head of advertising, was the first person to ever hold the President of Americas position in Snap.

Details: In addition to his new role, Harris will continue to lead the company's partnerships team for Snap, according to the note sent by Snap chief operating officer Jerry Hunter.

Harris was hired earlier this year as vice president of partnerships. 

He previously served as vice president of global channels at Meta, where he worked for more than a decade. 

"In his time at Snap, Patrick has proven to be a highly valuable leader with a keen strategic sense," Hunter wrote. 

The big picture: The shakeup comes amid a broader leadership overhaul at the company over the past year. Many of Snap's longtime executives who had been with the firm since its earliest years exited and new, seasoned leaders from competitive platforms were brought in. 

The company's longtime partnerships lead Ben Schwerin and its longtime growth and product lead Jacob Andreou left both left earlier this year. Ad executives Jeremi Gorman and Peter Naylor departed for Netflix last year. 

Snap in June hired Eric Young from Google as its new head of engineering. It brought on Ronan Harris from Google to lead its Europe, Middle East and Africa business and Ajit Mohan from Meta to lead its Asia Pacific business last year. 

What they're saying: "Patrick was one of my most outstanding leaders at Meta," said Carolyn Everson, former president of Instacart and vice president of the global business group at Meta, then Facebook, Everson noted that he is "well versed on the technology side and can be an excellent translator between the market needs and what product and engineering needs to build."

Scoop: Snap promotes Patrick Harris to president of Americas role as Rob Wilk exits

Harris replaces former Microsoft Advertising lead Rob Wilk, who was hired for the role in March.

Snapchat

Snap Inc. has promoted former <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Meta executive Patrick Harris" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/pro/media-deals/newsletters/2023/06/03/media-monthly-movers" data-vars-content-id="c7881a8a-f1c3-4624-acbc-1c53d2166f9a" data-vars-headline="Scoop: Snap promotes Patrick Harris to president of Americas role as Rob Wilk exits" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/pro/media-deals/newsletters/2023/06/03/media-monthly-movers" target="_self">Meta executive Patrick Harris</a> to the position of President of Americas, overseeing sales and key business operations, according to an internal note sent Friday to staff and obtained by Axios. Why it matters: Harris replaces Rob Wilk, who was hired for the role in March.

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Technology

Rupert Murdoch's decision to step down as chair of both his global television and publishing empires Thursday marks the start of a new world order in media.

Why it matters: In naming his eldest son Lachlan as his successor, Murdoch, 92, has ensured that Fox Corp.'s and News Corp.'s conservative editorial bent will live on — but maybe not forever. 

The big picture: Murdoch built his media empire on a decidedly old-school foundation of newspapers and cable television. Now it'll be up to his son Lachlan to maintain that empire without Rupert Murdoch's personal influence or dealmaking, and in a dramatically different era for media.

The intrigue: Four of Murdoch's children — Lachlan, Elisabeth, James and Prudence — are equal beneficiaries of a trust that own roughly 40% of voting stakes in News Corp. and Fox Corp. 

After Murdoch's death, the future of both firms will be left to his children, who are politically divided. 

James Murdoch, who was once considered a contender to take over the family business, resigned from the board of News Corp. in 2020, citing disagreements over editorial content published by the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.

Details: Murdoch built his fortune through a series of pragmatic and ruthless maneuvers that earned him a reputation as one of the most successful dealmakers in media history.

His decision to go all in on NFL rights in the 1990s helped him successfully build a fourth broadcast competitor to CBS, NBC and ABC. 

News Corp.'s $5 billion acquisition of The Wall Street Journal's parent company, Dow Jones, in 2007 cemented Murdoch's dominance in U.S. publishing.

And Murdoch personally netted $12 billion after selling his entertainment empire to Disney in 2019, for $70 billion.

Yes, but: High-profile scandals have altered his legacy.

The U.K. phone hacking scandal led to the 2011 closure of Murdoch's News of the World tabloid, one of Britain's oldest newspapers. It also cost Murdoch and News Corp. shareholders more than $1.4 billion, per Press Gazette.

More recently, Fox News' historic $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over the airing of election lies marked the largest media defamation settlement in history. Fox now faces another $2.7 billion case brought by election technology company Smartmatic over election falsehoods. 

Zoom out: Murdoch's close Republican ties have long shaped global politics. For decades, presidents, prime minsters and policymakers have leaned on him for political support.

But Donald Trump turned that legacy on its head.

While Fox News had long been known as a right-leaning cable network, its coverage of Trump's candidacy, and later presidency, shifted its reputation further into hard-right politics. Later, when the network called the 2020 election for Joe Biden, it faced blowback from hard-liners.

Murdoch gives way to a new world order in media

Lachlan Murdoch must now keep an old-school empire alive.

Photo illustration of Rupert Murdoch throughout the years collaged with newspaper images and court documents

Photo illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios. Photo:  Yvonne Hemsey, Stan Meagher, Bettmann/Getty Images

Rupert Murdoch

Rupert Murdoch&#x27;s decision to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="step down as chair" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/21/rupert-murdoch-steps-down-fox-corp-news-corp" data-vars-content-id="ce5f3605-e6bb-48dc-b3d6-c9b1c7806b4d" data-vars-headline="Murdoch gives way to a new world order in media" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/21/rupert-murdoch-steps-down-fox-corp-news-corp" target="_self">step down as chair</a> of both his global television and publishing empires Thursday marks the start of a new world order in media.Why it matters: In naming his eldest son Lachlan as his successor, Murdoch, 92, has ensured that Fox Corp.&#x27;s and News Corp.&#x27;s conservative editorial bent will live on — but maybe not forever.

Sara Fischer

Stories

Scoop: Snap promotes Patrick Harris to president of Americas role as Rob Wilk exits

Amazon to run commercials on Prime Video

Murdoch gives way to a new world order in media

How media mogul Rupert Murdoch made his billions

Rupert Murdoch stepping down as chairman of Fox Corp. and News Corp.

Newsletter editions

Axios Media Trends: ⚜️ Scoop: Post-purge return

Axios Media Trends: 🗞️ Freedoms backslide

Axios Media Trends: 👀 Scoop... TikTok eyes social

Axios Media Trends: Scoop... New NYT union drama

Axios Media Trends: 📺 MSNBC's Trump bump