Top News:
Sydney Ember / New York Times:
New York Times overall subscription revenue, which now accounts for 60% of total revenue, rose to more than $1B for 2017; Q4 revenue rose 10% YoY to $484M — In a tough environment for journalism, The New York Times Company continued to post significant subscriber growth, propelling the company to a healthy 2017.
Selina Wang / Bloomberg:
Twitter Q4: profit of $91.1M, its first ever, revenue of $731.6M, up 2% YoY, vs. $686.4M est.; MAUs up 4% YoY but flat QoQ at 330M vs. 333M est.; stock up 10%+ — Revenue rises to $732 million, topping analysts' estimates — Efforts to fight spam, bots limited gains in user numbers
Discussion:
Recode, Recode, Wall Street Journal, VentureBeat, The Verge, TechCrunch, Fortune, TechCrunch, Fast Company, NPR, New York Magazine, AdExchanger, VentureBeat, BloombergQuint, @leliosimi, @theoptionoracle, Forbes, @richbtig, @twitterir, @espnmichele, 9to5Google and The Week, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Filing: Hulu lost $920M in 2017, compared to $531M in 2016, as owners invested $1B, vs. $733M in 2016; analyst estimates losses will climb 80% in 2018 to ~$1.7B — Hulu dropped deeper into the red last year as it boosted spending on originals and launched its live TV service — and the losses are expected to mount in 2018.
Discussion:
9to5Mac, Cord Cutters News, Ubergizmo and The Verge
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Associated Press:
Knight Foundation grants $1.9M to Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism over three years to support innovation in TV news — https://apnews.com/515391b73ece4c83beaa d5f943edcdf0 — PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona State University's journalism school on Thursday …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, TVSpy, Broadcasting & Cable and ASU Now
Claire Atkinson / NBC News:
Newsweek Media Group's head of sales resigns, and a source says the company has lost “hundreds of thousands” in ad commitments since reports it bought traffic — The Newsweek Media Group is reeling. — Ed Hannigan, the company's head of sales, resigned on Tuesday.
Discussion:
@jfxm, @jchaltiwanger, @linleyann, Mic, @melinadelkic, @journo_christal, @linleyann, @rachelcbrody, @jasonabbruzzese, @jaysunsilver, @sulliview and @claireatki
Jeff John Roberts / Fortune:
Everipedia, a rival to Wikipedia that plans to use tokens to permit editing and reward users, raises $30M from investors including Galaxy Digital — Do we need a more lively Wikipedia for the Snapchat generation? The founders of a fast-growing site called Everipedia …
Jeff Baumgartner / Multichannel News:
SEC filing: T-Mobile paid about $325M for Denver-based Layer3 TV, to help launch T-Mobile's new TV service later this year — Will use acquisition to launch ‘disruptive’ OTT TV service later this year — T-Mobile paid about $325 million to acquire Layer3 TV, the Denver-based MVPD …
Discussion:
FierceCable, more at Techmeme »
Ricardo Bilton / Nieman Lab:
Substack, a platform that offers tools for writers to create and monetize their own newsletters, opens to all for free, takes 10% cut if newsletters charge fees — “People will always pay for news they can put on the company credit card, but we've always believed that that it's far from the only thing people will pay for."
Andrew Liptak / The Verge:
Scribd, now with 700K subscribers, brings back unlimited subscriptions for $8.99/month and ends Scribd Select, but will throttle voracious readers — But there's a small catch for voracious readers — Two years after shifting away from its unlimited subscription model in favor of monthly credits …
Discussion:
Fast Company and Publishers Weekly
Sahil Patel / Digiday:
NBCUniversal and BuzzFeed launch Playfull, a millennial parenting channel on Facebook that marks the first time both companies have co-owned a publishing brand — NBCUniversal and BuzzFeed are creating a new millennial parenting channel together called Playfull, hoping to replicate BuzzFeed's success …
Harper Neidig / The Hill:
The Internet Association, representing Facebook, Google, and other internet firms, pushes for a Senate vote to reverse FCC repeal of net neutrality laws — A trade group representing internet giants including Google and Facebook is throwing its support behind a bill that would reverse …
Discussion:
@fawfulfan, @realstevecox, Internet Association and Reuters, more at Techmeme »
Reuters:
Viacom quarterly revenue drops 7.6% YoY to $3.07B due to a drop in cable TV fees, though net profit increased from $386M to $535M, or $1.33 per share — (Reuters) - Viacom Inc (VIAB.O), the owner of MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, reported a 7.6 percent fall in quarterly revenue on Thursday …
Discussion:
Broadcasting & Cable, Radio & Television …, Bloomberg and Hollywood Reporter
Ken Doctor / Nieman Lab:
Analysis of LA Times deal: factors that led to sale now, speculation on Soon-Shiong 's future strategy, a look at price, and a theory on a future Gannett role — Tronc is getting a big premium for its flagship asset, and the Times is getting a return to private, local ownership.
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Sara Fischer / Axios:
Snapchat says it generated $100M in revenue for Discover's publishing partners in 2017, up from $58M in 2016 and $10M in 2015 — Snapchat says it generated $100 million in revenue for content partners on Discover in 2017, up from $58 million in 2016 and $10 million in 2015.
Discussion:
Recode
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Wall Street Journal:
Snapchat is launching to tool to let TV networks pipe snippets of live broadcasts directly into the app, starting this Saturday with NBC's Olympics coverage
Snapchat is launching to tool to let TV networks pipe snippets of live broadcasts directly into the app, starting this Saturday with NBC's Olympics coverage
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Digiday, Ad Age, TechCrunch, TechCrunch, ZDNet, Recode, The Keyword, Crain's New York Business, Variety and Business Insider