Top News:
Peter Kafka / Re/code:
Time Warner shouldn't spin off HBO because it lacks Netflix's growth and almost all of its business is tied to traditional pay TV providers — HBO Isn't Netflix. Which Is Why It Should Stay With Time Warner. — Three years ago, Netflix said it wanted to become HBO.
Discussion:
Digital Trends, @mathewi and @b_fung
RELATED:
New York Post:
Sources: activist investor Corvex Management weighs forcing a sale of Time Warner or spinoff of HBO; stock's up despite broader market tumble — Time Warner shareholders could force sale or spinoff of HBO — Is Time Warner ready for round two? — Activist shareholders are circling …
Kelsey Sutton / Politico:
Upworthy lays off 14 of its 97 employees as it focuses on growing original video content — Upworthy changes course; lays off 14 to focus resources on video — Viral news site Upworthy laid off 14 of its 97 employees today with the intention of reallocating resources toward …
Discussion:
@profjeffjarvis, @zzzzaaaacccchhh, Politico, Adweek, @moorehn, @alexhern, @abeaujon, @abeaujon, @bydanielvictor, @chickfactorzine, @caseynewton and @gabestein
Politico:
Sources: layoffs at HuffPost Live amid pivot to refocus on shareable video and long-form documentaries — A big pivot for HuffPost Video — The Huffington Post is consolidating its video operations across the site in a strategic pivot that will effectively see the end of HuffPost Live …
Discussion:
TVNewser, @joepompeo, Fortune, @daveweigel, @tmcgev, Ad Age, @jeremymbarr, @danielmarans, Media Wire Daily, @antderosa, @tmcgev, @joepompeo, Wall Street Journal and The Wrap
Jessica Toonkel / Reuters:
Exclusive: NFL to live-stream all London games, in talks with Apple, Google - sources — The National Football League is planning to live-stream all three games scheduled to be played in London next season, and Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc subsidiary Google are among the technology companies …
Discussion:
Engadget, NFL.com, AppleInsider, TrustedReviews, BidnessEtc, IR.net, Forbes, USA Today, The Verge, VentureBeat, MacRumors, The Next WebThe Next Web and TechCrunch
Mark Sweney / Guardian:
BBC launches review of news arm, saying it can't ‘afford to do everything’ — James Harding tells staff they face a ‘defining’ year in deciding how news should be delivered over next decade — The head of BBC News has launched a review to reshape the operation for the next decade …
Discussion:
BBC Blogs, TVNewser and @aboutthebbc
Peter Sterne / Politico:
Why Maxim is suing two former employees for defamation and breach of contract following a photo shoot at owner Sardar Biglari's Monte Carlo suite — The Monte Carlo Story: Maxim sues former employees for defamation — Earlier this week, Maxim filed a lawsuit against former employees Jason Feifer …
Alex Sherman / Bloomberg Business:
Sources: Yahoo reassesses whether to spinoff its main Internet business, considers outright sale — Yahoo to Reconsider Sale of Web Business Instead of Spinoff — A decision to sell would contradict Yahoo's intent to spin — Verizon has publicly stated interest in acquiring Yahoo
Discussion:
Fortune, Business Insider, @sherman4949, Seeking Alpha and Silicon Valley Business …
Mike Shields / Wall Street Journal:
Marketers offer incentives for watching ads to help combat ad fraud and viewability challenges — More Marketers Offer Incentives for Watching Ads — Delivering ads to people seeking rewards may help combat ad fraud and viewability challenges — Marketers are increasingly employing …
Discussion:
Marketing Dive
Jack Marshall / Wall Street Journal:
Bank analysts: digital media mergers and acquisitions continued to grow in 2015 in marketing and content sectors — Digital Media M&A Growth Continued in 2015 — Growth was driven by the agency and marketing and digital content sectors — Mergers and acquisitions in the digital media industry continued …
Janko Roettgers / Variety:
LG's New TVs Mix Streaming Channels from Buzzfeed, GQ & Vogue with Traditional Networks — Owners of LG's latest smart TVs will have something new to add to their channel surfing: The Korean consumer electronics giant is adding more than 50 internet streaming channels to its latest generation …
Discussion:
Tubefilter and Broadcasting & Cable
Marcin Goettig / Reuters:
Poland tells EU to keep out of Polish affairs over media law — Poland dismissed European Commission concern on Friday that a new law on state-run media threatened media freedom, warning Brussels not to interfere in its affairs on the basis of “biased and politically-engaged” reports.
Discussion:
Uatoday.tv, Associated Press and EUobserver