Mediagazer: Netflix Says It Really Didn't Want to Cut That Traffic Deal With Comcast (Peter Kafka/Re/code)

10:15 PM ET, March 20, 2014

Top News:

Reed Hastings / Netflix US & Canada Blog:

Internet Tolls And The Case For Strong Net Neutrality — The Internet is improving lives everywhere - democratizing access to ideas, services and goods. To ensure the Internet remains humanity's most important platform for progress, net neutrality must be defended and strengthened.

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Netflix Says It Really Didn't Want to Cut That Traffic Deal With Comcast — Remember last month, when Netflix and Comcast signed a deal to guarantee fast delivery of the video service's streams to the cable company's customers? — That's exactly the kind of deal Netflix shouldn't have to sign, says Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.

Discussion: The Wrap, Gigaom, @pkafka, @rsingel and @pkafka

Variety:

‘This American Life’ Loses Public Radio Distributor — After 17 years, Public Radio International announced today that it will end distribution of one of its most popular shows, “This American Life.” — The Ira Glass-hosted program, which has been distributed by PRI since 1997 …

Discussion: Current.org, @mhess4, @tomdreisbach, @digiphile and AllAccess.com

Vindu Goel / New York Times:

Twitter's new video hosting platform lets mobile users play clips with a single tap — Twitter Rolls Out Easier, Faster Video Playback — Over the past year, Twitter has worked closely with television networks and other professional video creators to upload and promote thousands …

Discussion: Variety, ReadWrite, @vivian, The Next Web, @twitterads, Marketing Pilgrim and Engadget

Chris Taylor / Mashable:

Twitter Blocked in Turkey as Prime Minister Pledges to ‘Eradicate’ It — What's This? — There's electioneering, and then there's what Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan said Thursday on the campaign trail. — “We will eradicate Twitter,” Erdoan told a rally in Bursa in the west of the country.

Discussion: @policy, Today's Zaman …, NPR, VentureBeat, Business Insider, @zeynep, @jguynn, ReadWrite, @renesys, The Verge, Reuters, Daily Dot, @cshirky, Associated Press, Variety, @quinnnorton and @mahraani

Neil Gough / New York Times:

Bloomberg Should Have Rethought Articles on China, Chairman Says — HONG KONG — The chairman of Bloomberg L.P. said in a speech here on Thursday that the company should have reconsidered articles that deviated from its core business-news coverage in light of the huge potential for its products in the Chinese market.

Discussion: @mattdpearce, @powellnyt, @prchovanec, @markadomanis, @dylanbyers, @limlouisa, @erikvance, @jeffbercovici, @johngapper, @alifitzg, @dangillmor, Kirk LaPointe's …, @comradewong, @eisingerj, @kenli729, @antderosa and @felixsalmon

Stephen Gandel / Fortune:

At financial news sites, stock promoters make inroads — Several finance websites — including Forbes.com and Seeking Alpha — have published articles by guest contributors who were allegedly paid to promote the stocks they were writing about, raising ethical concerns.

Discussion: @edmundlee, @glenncnyb, @stephengandel, @money, @prashanth_krish, @cnnmoney and Talking Biz News

Michael Learmonth / AdAge:

Tribune Company Built a Robot That Reads You The News — Shashi Seth Unveils First Product As Head of Tribune Digital Ventures — Krux — Shashi Seth loves NPR. But he would like it a lot more if he could skip stories. — That was the kernel of the idea behind Newsbeat …

Discussion: Poynter, Los Angeles Times, Variety, Tech Deals, Pocket-lint, 10,000 Words, Chicago Tribune, Re/code, Engadget, TIME, Digital Journal, VentureBeat and TechCrunch

Edmund Lee / Bloomberg:

Time Warner Cable CEO Due $80 Million as Deal Ends Short Tenure — Just months into his job as head of Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC), Rob Marcus is set to receive a severance payment of $79.9 million in cash, equity and benefits because he's selling the company to Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)

Discussion: New York Times, The Slant, @edmundlee, BuzzFeed, @bobbymacreports, Toronto Star, The Huffington Post, Deadline.com, @davidfolkenflik and BGR

Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:

‘Is It Really News?’: Cable Journos Squirm Over Flight 370 Overload — The disappearance of MA Flight 370 has proved a ratings bonanza, particularly for CNN. But with no new developments, and wild conjecture filling the void, even CNN's own journalists are questioning its coverage.

Discussion: Mediaite, AdAge, Capital New York and Inside Cable News

Jessica Lessin / Guardian:

The future of news: know thy audience — As news businesses continue to redefine themselves for the digital age, knowing their audience is essential — When we launched The Information last December, many thought we were crazy. How could a $399-a-year technology news publication compete …

Discussion: @wajahatali, @raju, @theinformation, @newswhip, @mattrosoff, @rafat and Journalism.co.uk

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

MP3Tunes Founder Michael Robertson Found Liable for Copyright Infringement — A jury finds that the once-popular website willfully blinded itself to thousands of songs being stolen. — On Wednesday, a jury in a New York federal courtroom found MP3Tunes founder Michael Robertson liable …

Discussion: Plagiarism Today, Ars Technica, Bloomberg, Techdirt and Softpedia News

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Yahoo's Tumblr First TV Ad Deal Is with Viacom — Tumblr, the blogging site Yahoo bought last year for $1.1 billion, has secured an advertising deal with Viacom, which plans to pitch cobranded campaigns on the site to marketers tied to TV programming for networks including MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central.

Discussion: MediaPost, VentureBeat, MediaPost, CNET, Wall Street Journal and The Next Web

Tara Conlan / Guardian:

Virgin Media talking to Amazon about taking its video-on-demand service — Tom Mockridge confirms cable network's interest in Prime Instant Video, which recently bought third series of Ripper Street — Virgin Media has held talks with Amazon about putting its video-on-demand service Prime Instant Video …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter and Broadband TV News

Dennis Robaugh / Joliet Patch News:

Media Organizations Stand with Patch in Confidential Source Case — Patch editor faces $300-a-day fines and jail time. Thirty-nine news organizations filed an amicus brief to the appellate court supporting Patch's case. — Patch editor Joseph Hosey, speaking to the Illinois College Press …

Discussion: Poynter and @seanrobinsontnt

Amol Sharma / Wall Street Journal:

Sony to Add Original TV Shows for PlayStation — Move Is Part of Effort to Broaden Console's Appeal Beyond Videogames — Sony Corp. is venturing into original TV programming for its PlayStation as part of an ambitious effort to make the device a home for TV and not just videogames.

Discussion: Deadline.com, Forbes, BGR, TechCrunch, Los Angeles Times, Engadget, Variety, computerandvideogames.com, Comic Book Resources, CNNMoney.com, SlashGear, Mashable, @zseward, CNET, The Verge and VG247

Edmund Lee / Bloomberg:

TV Subscriptions Fall for First Time as Viewers Cut the Cord — The U.S. pay-television market is passing its prime. — The number of Americans who pay for TV through cable, satellite or fiber services fell by more than a quarter of a million in 2013, the first full-year decline, according to research firm SNL Kagan.

Discussion: Home Media Magazine, Satnews Publishers, Variety, MediaPost, Hollywood Reporter and USA Today

John Reynolds / Guardian:

Huffington Post may charge for some content, says chief executive — As HuffPo UK is set to move into profit, Jimmy Maymann said the website would consider charging within five years — The Huffington Post's chief executive, Jimmy Maymann, believes in paid-for journalism and is open …

Discussion: FishbowlNY, The Drum, @newswhip and mUmBRELLA

Priya Ganapati / Wall Street Journal:

Time to Move on: Sony Shuts Down E-Reader Book Store … Sony is turning off the lights on its e-reader book store. The company will shut down its online store for its Reader devices at 6 p.m. ET Thursday. — Sony Reader store customers will have to transfer their library to Kobo …

Stuart Dredge / Guardian:

Screenburn raises $500k to help sell films and music on Facebook — British startup has already worked with Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones on video-on-demand films — Paul McCartney is one of the musicians to have worked with Screenburn. — British technology startup Screenburn …

Discussion: hypebot, AllFacebook and ReadWrite