Top News:
Vox Media:
Vox Media launches Vox Video Lab on YouTube, a two-tiered video subscription program starting at $4.99 with access to extended interviews, Q&As, and more — New Membership Program Launched with Support from Google News Initiative — Today we're happy to introduce the latest project …
Discussion:
Business Insider
Juliet Chung / Wall Street Journal:
Moonbug, a London-based startup that recently acquired YouTube channel Little Baby Bum, raises $145M to buy and develop more programming for kids — Entertainment company wants to acquire popular shows, invest in production — Children's entertainment company Moonbug Entertainment …
Discussion:
TechCrunch and Deadline
Sahil Patel / Digiday:
Forbes Media CEO says overall revenue and profit are up 18% and 42% YoY, respectively, and that it plans to invest in or acquire one of two companies per year — Forbes said it just had its most profitable year since it became Forbes Media in 2006. And now, the company …
Thanks:@steverubel
Jon Russell / TechCrunch:
iflix, a Netflix-like streaming service targeting emerging markets, is selling its Africa business to concentrate on Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines — Iflix, the emerging market Netflix competitor that's backed by Sky, is leaving Africa to double down on its business in Asia.
Tara John / CNN:
UK's Advertising Standards Authority announces companies will be banned from including gender stereotypes that could cause offense in ads beginning June 2019 — London (CNN)Depictions of girls as less academic than boys or men being belittled for “unmanly” behavior will be soon be a thing of the past in British commercials.
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Independent and The Week
Lucinda Southern / Digiday:
Schibsted says its video platform Stream, now used in 40 newsrooms and 30 newspapers in Norway, had 2.6B views across its videos in 2018 — Nordic media giant Schibsted has a heritage of developing core products in one newsroom and spinning them out to dozens of its own titles and beyond.
Lucinda Southern / Digiday:
Three French broadcasters, France Télévisions, M6, and TF1, have created Sygma, a common standard for buyers to access VOD inventory in hopes of reducing fraud — In France three broadcasters, France Télévisions, M6 and TF1, have created a common standard …
Jessica Davies / Digiday:
Q&A with Guardian CRO Hamish Nicklin on Martin Sorrell's S4, long-term effects of GDPR, the Rubicon settlement, and the growth of premium programmatic ads — As we close out 2018, the Guardian is just over three months away from the deadline of its three-year plan to break even.
Ilana Kaplan / Digiday:
Q&A with NYT CEO Mark Thompson on podcasting plans, subscription strategy for 2019 after reaching 4M subs in 2018, and its “cordial” relationship with Facebook — This article appears in the latest issue of Digiday magazine, a quarterly publication that is part of Digiday+.
Discussion:
@filip_struharik and @geninnovate, Thanks:@steverubel
Washington Post:
Ex-Senate staffer James Wolfe gets two months in prison for lying to FBI; he had been linked to a NYT reporter after DOJ seized her phone and email records — A longtime aide to the Senate Intelligence Committee was sentenced Thursday to two months in prison for lying to FBI agents …
Discussion:
BuzzFeed News, @rachelweinerwp, @mattzap, emptywheel, CBS News and Fox News
John Eggerton / Broadcasting & Cable:
Times Square News Year's Eve will officially celebrate journalists and press freedom; the event's official charity will be the Committee to Protect Journalists — News media figures will trigger iconic ball-drop — When the ball drops in Times Square New Year's Eve, it will be aimed …
Discussion:
@jrezaian, @pressfreedom, @senatormenendez and @pressfreedom
Erik Pedersen / Deadline:
Adam Sharp, Twitter's former head of news, has been named president and CEO of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the group that runs the Emmys — The organization behind the International, Daytime, Sports and News/Documentary Emmy Awards has a new leader.