Mediagazer: AT&T is upping DirecTV prices, with a base package hike of $10/month, for the second time since it argued its Time Warner merger would allow it to lower prices (Todd Spangler/Variety)

3:40 PM ET, March 13, 2019

Top News:

Stuart Dredge / Music Ally:

Spotify files an anti-trust complaint against Apple with the European Commission, claiming App Store rules limit choice and stifle competition — Spotify is filing a complaint against Apple with the European Commission, accusing the latter company of anticompetitive behaviour in the way it manages …

Discussion: Spotify, RAIN News, Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Recode, The Verge, @pkafka, @guardiannews, @spotifynews, @jamesliamcook, @neilcybart, @viticci and @m4tt, more at Techmeme »

Bloomberg:

Sources: Apple's video service will feature mostly content from partners at launch, with the first slew of its own shows coming later in the year — - IPhone maker is said to push for HBO, Showtime and Starz deals — Magazine bundle, Apple Pay upgrades are also coming this month

Discussion: USA Today, Fast Company, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, TechCrunch, @markgurman, VentureBeat, Engadget and Fortune, more at Techmeme »

Todd Haselton / CNBC:

Apple Music arrives on Amazon's Fire TV for US users, following its launch on Amazon's Echo smart speakers last year — Apple Music launched on Amazon Fire TVs in the United States on Wednesday. It is the latest sign of Apple's continued push to get its services, including Apple Music, in front of as many people as possible.

Discussion: MacRumors, more at Techmeme »

Caroline O'Donovan / BuzzFeed News:

Gimlet Media, the podcasting startup with 83 staff that Spotify acquired for a reported $230M in February, is unionizing with the Writers Guild of America — The 83-person staff of Gimlet Media, a podcasting startup acquired by music streaming service Spotify for $230 million in February …

Discussion: Fast Company, Variety, The Verge, @mattdpearce and Boing Boing

Christine Schmidt / Nieman Lab:

Capitol News Illinois, an Illinois Press Foundation service, provides state newspapers with statehouse coverage, joining similar initiatives in OR, FL, and PA — Serving the thousand or so people of Roseville, Illinois, the Roseville Independent is an “occasional” newspaper with 143 subscribers …

Discussion: IllinoisPress

Todd Spangler / Variety:

AT&T is upping DirecTV prices, with a base package hike of $10/month, for the second time since it argued its Time Warner merger would allow it to lower prices — - AT&T Confirms DirecTV Now Price Hikes, Launches New ‘Slimmer’ Bundles With HBO That Omit Many Cable Channels

Discussion: Business Insider, Variety, MediaPost, @variety, MacRumors and Fortune, more at Techmeme »

Lucinda Southern / Digiday:

Hearst UK to double its video team in the coming months to create more original content for YouTube, says its on-site pre-roll revenue grew 1000% in 2018 — Hearst UK is investing more in its video team, nearly doubling the headcount from five to nine over the next few months after seeing viewer and revenue gains in 2018.

Jeanine Poggi / Ad Age:

NBC Universal, CBS, Disney Media Networks, Discovery, AMC, and others launch Project OAR, a consortium to establish an open standard in addressable advertising — NBCU, Turner, CBS, Disney, among media companies forming yet another industry consortium — Yet another consortium …

Discussion: Adweek, @digitalshields, Engadget, What's New in Publishing and Broadcasting & Cable

Mike Farrell / Multichannel News:

Tribune Media's shareholders overwhelmingly approve its acquisition by Nexstar Media Group, a deal that will create the largest TV station group in the US — $6.4B purchase will create country's largest station group — Tribune Media said its shareholders overwhelmingly approved …

Discussion: Deadline

Financial Times:

Sources: News Corp and Axel Springer are expected to bid for the financial news company Acuris, which owns Mergermarket and could be valued at more than £1B — Traditional media companies, including Rupert Murdoch's news business, and the world's largest rating agencies are set to enter …

Discussion: @bondhack, @sirthomaswynne and Talking Biz News

Etan Vlessing / Hollywood Reporter:

PBS launches video-on-demand platform PBS Living on Amazon's Prime Video Channels for $2.99/month with shows like Antiques Roadshow and No Passport Required — The $2.99-a-month offering, launching Thursday, will feature classic PBS series like ‘The French Chef,’ ‘This Old House’ and 'Antiques Roadshow …

Media Matters for America:

Media Matters study: nearly one-third of climate change coverage by the networks came from a single episode of Meet the Press on December 30 — For this study, Media Matters examined 2018 news coverage of climate change on broadcast TV networks, counting and analyzing segments devoted …

Discussion: @blkahn, @mmfa, @weatherprof, @marisakabas, @ericgeller, @ue, @billmckibben, @drjoehanson, @jayrosen_nyu and @bruce_arthur

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More News:

Bloomberg:
Venezuelan police have released journalist Luis Carlos Diaz after holding him overnight, accusing him of taking part in a plot to cause a nationwide blackout

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Luke Mullins / Washingtonian:
How lobbyists are using geofencing of ads on digital platforms and hiring TV pundits to send policy messages to the president and those who influence him

Discussion: @annalecta, @douglevin, @jeffsmithmo, @lmullinsdc, @sbg1, @jonathanchait, @asmith83, @mollymckew, @washingtonian, @crewcrew, @crewcrew, @digiphile and Slate

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The Information:
Sources: Vice Media is seeking to raise up to $200M, possibly through a mix of debt and equity, and aims for profitability in the next 12 months

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Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
CBS buys out Lionsgate's 50% ownership of the Pop TV cable channel, formerly the TV Guide Network, gaining full control

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Earlier Picks:

Joe Concha / The Hill:
Three Democratic lawmakers reintroduce the Journalist Protection Act, which would make it a federal crime to physically assault journalists

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Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Twitter has launched its first ever podcast, “Character Count”, a series about its advertising business with interviews with companies like Dropbox

Discussion: Adweek

Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Seven organizations are receiving $750K in funding for projects combining AI and news, including The Seattle Times

Discussion: American Press Institute, AI Initiative, @timhwang, Poynter, @mantzarlis, @degarciaknight, @jeffjarvis, @pilhofer, TechCrunch and Muckrock News

Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
Disney says its acquisition of 21st Century Fox is expected to close on Wednesday, March 20

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Cristiano Lima / Politico:
Facebook pulled ads from Sen. Warren's campaign calling for the breakup of Facebook and other tech giants, citing policy violations, but is now restoring them

Discussion: @ewarren, Hit & Run, CNN, @noahcrothman, Washington Post, Music Ally, @yashar, Fast Company, Sludge, @ewarren, Mediaite, The Stranger, Breitbart, BuzzFeed News, @ne0liberal, @evansiegfried, @aravosis, Techdirt, Splinter, TechCrunch, Forbes, @aoc, MediaPost, The Wrap, @slpng_giants, Business Insider, The Verge, Vanity Fair, USA Today, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Fortune and Engadget

From Techmeme:

Alex Heath / The Verge:
Meta details Llama 3: 8B- and 70B-parameter models, a focus on reducing false refusals, and an upcoming model trained on 15T+ tokens that has 400B+ parameters

David Pierce / The Verge:
Google announces a new Platforms and Devices team overseeing Pixel, Android, Chrome, Photos, and more, to integrate AI across its products, led by Rick Osterloh

Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer:
Europol and 19 countries make 37 arrests and disrupt phishing-as-a-service platform LabHost in a year-long operation with help from Microsoft, Intel, and others

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