Mediagazer: Comcast-TWC merger looks less likely amid growing opposition, concern over state of US broadband (Jeff John Roberts/Gigaom)

3:30 AM ET, December 29, 2014

Top News:

Homicide Watch D.C. will shut down Wednesday after failing to find a local partner or owner — The death of Homicide Watch D.C.: Bloggers take their last case — Homicide Watch D.C., a much-praised combination of true crime blog, case log, document dump and victim memorial …

Discussion: @rafat, @lauranorton, @derekwillis, @kev097, @chanders, @lisabonos, @walldo, @derekwillis, @gregorykorte, @amlwhere, @raju, @aschweig, @mdhecker and @eyeseast

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Apple Starts Streaming “The Interview”, Too — It took Apple a few days, but it's joining the club: Starting today, iTunes users in the U.S. and Canada and rent and purchase “The Interview”, Sony's controversial comedy. — The movie became available at Apple's store at 1pm eastern today.

Discussion: Business Insider, Variety, CNNMoney.com, Los Angeles Times, AppleInsider, @pkafka, MacRumors, BetaNews, VentureBeat, The Inquisitr News, New York Times, 9to5Mac, Engadget, @jeffjarvis, TechCrunch, The Verge, SlashGear, App Advice, The Next Web, The Wrap, Polygon and Mashable

Jeff John Roberts / Gigaom:

Comcast-TWC merger looks less likely amid growing opposition, concern over state of US broadband — As Comcast merger enters final phase, deal may be on thin ice — Credit: André P. Meyer-Vitali/Flickr CC — Credit: André P. Meyer-Vitali/Flickr CC

Nicole Levy / Capital New York:

Buzzfeed gets $4 M. tax credit to expand (and stay) in New York — New York's chief economic development agency has entered an agreement with Buzzfeed that gives the company $4 million in tax credits to promote the creation and retention of in-state jobs, the agency said in a statement today.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal

Reuters:

Court allows Aereo to auction TV streaming technology assets — A bankruptcy court has allowed defunct video streaming company Aereo Inc to auction its TV streaming technology assets, according to court papers published on Friday. — The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan ruled on Wednesday …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, VatorNews, Deadline and Engadget

Wall Street Journal:

Facebook, Twitter, and Google resist Russian regulator's orders to remove information on rally supporting opposition leader Navalny — U.S. Social-Media Giants Are Resisting Russia Censors — Facebook, Twitter, Google Wrestle With Kremlin Orders to Erase Content

Discussion: @darrellissa, @mathewi and Engadget

Michelle Moghtader / Reuters:

Iran to expand Internet “smart filtering” to censor content without banning entire websites — Iran expands ‘smart’ Internet censorship — (Reuters) - Iran is to expand what it calls “smart filtering” of the Internet, a policy of censoring undesirable content on websites without banning …

Discussion: RT and Trend.Az

Mike Shields / Wall Street Journal:

NFL to post game highlights and other video clips on Facebook with Verizon Wireless ads, share ad revenues with Facebook — Facebook Scores NFL Video Clips With Ads From Verizon — Facebook has scored a big partner as it ramps up its online video ambitions: the National Football League.

Jim Romenesko:

Claim: New York Observer story on the Times is ‘innuendo-laden’ and ‘laughably wrong’ — Warning: I am about to indulge in a long screed. If you don't care about media covering media (and I wouldn't blame you), look away. — The New York Observer's recent article on The New York Times Company …

Discussion: @howardweaver and @joehagansays

Voice of America:

Radio Free Europe Bureau Raided by Azerbaijan Authorities — State prosecutors in Azerbaijan raided the offices of a U.S.-government funded media outlet on Friday, saying they have a court order to close the facility. — Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said Friday at least 10 prosecutor's …

Discussion: Reporters Without Borders, Panorama.am, presstv.ir, Voice of America, Arutz Sheva, Bloomberg, The Moscow Times, Agence France-Presse, BBC, The Huffington Post and Associated Press

Agence France-Presse:

Mauritania sentences blogger to death for article deemed blasphemous of Islam, for the first time since its independence in 1960 — Mauritania issues first apostasy death sentence — 18 hrs ago — Nouakchott (AFP) - Mauritania has delivered its first death sentence for apostasy since independence …

Discussion: The Age, Voice of America, New York Times and DW.DE

Ben Sisario / New York Times:

Interlude targets YouTube with more engaging “choose your own adventure” music videos — YouTube Challenger Lets Music Fans Call the Shots — Five years ago Yoni Bloch, an Israeli rock star, wanted to make a music video that would let viewers choose what happened as the story unfolded.

Discussion: BuzzFeed and @interludevideo