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Today's Media Trends is 1,896 words, a 7 minute read. Sign up here.
Axios request: To help us serve content that's relevant to you, please take this short survey to about what you like — it should take less than 5 minutes. Thank you for your help.
Streaming companies are accruing more debt to sustain heavy investments in content.
Why it matters: While most analysts agree that the debt loads at most of these companies are manageable for now, some firms are beginning to feel investor pressure to manage rising debt before it gets out of hand.
AT&T is in a precarious position, argues Jonathan Chaplin, an analyst and Managing Partner of New Street Research.
Yes, but: "Some companies can justify debt because they have defensible niches and stable cash flow," says Michael Pachter, a research analyst at Wedbush Securities.
Netflix, on the other hand, has seen its free cash flow dwindle this year.
What's next: Netflix is under increasing pressure to grow its user base if it ever hopes to offset its massive debt.
The bottom line: The thing that Netflix has going for it is that businesses that is "genuinely raising debt to face the shift in distribution models," argues Chaplin.
Go deeper: How Netflix burns $10 million a day
ESPN
With the death of ESPN The Magazine comes the birth of ESPN's "Cover Story," a 21st century version of a magazine cover story that will air monthly across every ESPN platform.
Why it matters: The new franchise will be the focal point of ESPN's editorial ambitions moving forward.
Details: Each month on a Wednesday, ESPN will release one cover story.
Some people that you can expect to see anchoring future cover stories include ESPN names like Wright Thompson, Ramona Shelburne and Marc J. Spears.
The first-ever cover story will be presented by Mina Kimes, the recently-announced host of ESPN's new morning podcast.
Go deeper: A special edition of Axios Sports featuring some of Kendall Baker's favorite ESPN The Magazine covers.
Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios
News companies are taking advantage of the interest surrounding the impeachment saga by building pop-up newsletters, podcasts, and sections solely to cover the day-to-day developments of the impeachment process.
The big picture: We've seen this strategy play out with other special news cycles.
The bottom line: If there's an appetite for more coverage, news companies these days can build products pretty quickly to satisfy it.
Axios Visuals
Vox Media now has more than 200 active podcasts that it publishes through the Vox Podcast Network, up from 75 in January, executives tell Axios.
By the numbers: Vox Media Studios President Marty Moe told Axios in February upon signing a multi-million dollar deal with Stitcher that Vox Media’s podcast business is an eight figure business.
The big picture: Over the past year, Vox Media has develop its own podcast network, that it can use to distribute its own content, as well as eventually distribute others.
What's next: The company is hosting its first-ever Podcast Upfront Tuesday in New York City where it will announce several new shows and updates to its podcasting slate.
NBCUniversal has extended its partnership with Apple News to now be the exclusive seller of ads in Apple Stocks, as well as Apple News, executives tells Axios.
Why it matters: The multi-year partnership means that NBCU can sell ads against all the stories in the main feed of Apple Stocks, as well as Apple News for several years. Other publishers can still sell ads again their own articles.
Details: NBCU struck its exclusive Apple News sales partnership with Apple in January of 2017, and as part of its renewal, it now expanding to sell Stocks exclusively as well.
By the numbers: Krishan Bhatia, NBCU's EVP of Business Operations & Strategy, declined to say how much money the company makes off of its Apple New partnership, but "it's a very meaningfully-sized business compared to what we do on Youtube, Twitter or Snapchat."
Be smart: Bhatia has found that the verticals that sell well on Apple News are the same that tend to frequent print magazines, like financial services, luxury, and entertainment.
Yes, but: While NBCU is making money, most smaller publishers Axios has spoken with say they aren't. It's common to hear publishers say they get millions of monthly views on Apple News, but rarely make any real money off of them.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
While satellite pay-TV services are in a death spiral, modern satellite-powered broadband services are raising big investments and a lot of high expectations. Axios' Kim Hart, Miriam Kramer and I write.
What's new: A new crop of satellites are being launched to beam down broadband services to wider swaths of populations on Earth.
Why it matters: The satellite industry is undergoing a sea change.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Several highly-visible fights are playing out in the media space right now.
1) NBC News execs vs. Ronan Farrow: NBC News president Noah Oppenheim and NBC News Chairman Andy Lack are on the defense over allegations they engaged in a cover-up to hide sexual misconduct by former "Today" show host Matt Lauer.
2) Sen. Elizabeth Warren vs. Mark Zuckerberg: The battle between Facebook’s chief executive and the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate is escalating as the election inches closer.
3) Fox News vs. Fox opinion: Longtime Fox News anchor Shep Smith announced on Friday that he is stepping down from his position as Fox News after 23 years.
Editor's note: NBC is an investor in Axios and Andy Lack, chairman of NBC News and MSNBC, is a member of the Axios board of directors.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Private equity's newest political headache came last Thursday, when G/O Media shut down Splinter News, Axios' Dan Primack writes.
Why it matters: Warren's plan to change private equity likely wouldn't impact Great Hill Partners' ownership of G/O Media.