Mediagazer: Sources: DOJ is organizing meetings with publishers including News Corp., Condé Nast, and NYT, seeking info about how Google operates in the digital ad market (Bloomberg Law)

Top News:

Julia Alexander / The Verge:

NBC says Peacock will launch on July 15 and have a free tier with limited programming and two premium tiers, at $4.99/month with ads and $9.99/month with no ads — Comcast is introducing three different subscription tiers — NBCUniversal's streaming service, Peacock …

Lesley Goldberg / Hollywood Reporter:
Peacock announces six series in its development slate, produced via Universal as well as from outside studios; Hatching Twitter will be the basis for one series

Discussion: Variety, Variety, Deadline, /Film, The Verge, Engadget, @nickbilton and @thr

Joe Tidy / BBC:

Following a BBC investigation, Twitter apologizes for letting ads be micro-targeted using keywords like “transphobic”, “white supremacists”, and “anti-gay” — Twitter has apologised for allowing adverts to be micro-targeted at certain users such as neo-Nazis, homophobes and other hate groups.

Discussion: @joetidy, Adweek, The Verge, @kreissdaniel, @marechalphd, @flyosity, Telegraph, @joetidy, @kreissdaniel, @sundersays, @zoejardiniere, CNET, Engadget and @rasmus_kleis, more at Techmeme »

Bloomberg Law:

Sources: DOJ is organizing meetings with publishers including News Corp., Condé Nast, and NYT, seeking info about how Google operates in the digital ad market — The U.S. Justice Department is organizing meetings with large publishing companies to seek information …

Discussion: @larakiara

Denise Petski / Deadline:

Ronan Farrow's first investigative documentary for HBO, part of a three-year-deal, will focus on threats and violence faced by journalism covering corruption — HBO has begun production on the first project in its multi-film deal with best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow.

Discussion: Vanity Fair, The Wrap, @emmalbriant, @ronanfarrow, Hollywood Reporter, Multichannel News and TVNewser

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Forecast: Netflix will spend ~$17.3B on content in 2020, up from ~$15.3B in 2019, mostly on originals; Disney has said it will spend ~$1B on Disney+ originals — Netflix is keeping its foot pressed firmly on the gas pedal in the streaming-video road race. — The streamer will invest …

Discussion: VICE, The Wrap, Multichannel News, Observer, The Streamable, The Wrap, @steph_i_will, @paul_sacca, The Playlist and Fortune

Elias Leight / Rolling Stone:

Layoffs at iHeartMedia, which controls 800+ radio stations, reflect long-term consolidation trends that silence local voices and homogenize viewpoints and music — The largest radio company in America cut a number of employees this week, dealing a blow to local radio across the country

Discussion: Free Press, @cheripreston, @kerrymflynn, @nwquah, @taylortravis15, Denver Westword, Plain Dealer, RadioInsight and Fox Business

New York Times:

Turkey lifted a two-and-a-half year ban on Wikipedia on Wednesday, restoring access after the country's top court ruled that blocking it was unconstitutional — The country's top court had ruled that the move was unconstitutional. — The Turkish government lifted a two-and-a-half-year ban …

Discussion: @wikipedia, The Verge, @ceylanwrites and @netblocks, more at Techmeme »

Miles Socha / WWD:

Harper's Bazaar editor-in-chief Glenda Bailey to step down on March 1 after 19 years; she act as a global consultant for its 29 editions — She is to become a global consultant for the fashion title's 29 global editions, and assist in finding her successor.

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, @katierosman, The Business of Fashion, Page Six and bookforum.com

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Hulu to debut one ad format letting viewers choose the ad from the brand and another allowing viewers to engage with the brand with info sent to their phones — Hulu is preparing to roll out new forms of advertising this year — one which will allow viewers to have more say in the ads that plays …

Discussion: MediaPost and The Streamable

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch urges the UK government to speed up plans for an online regulator as a bill to grant interim powers to Ofcom is introduced — Sky's chief executive has urged the Government to speed up its plans for an online regulator as a bill to grant interim powers to Ofcom was introduced in the House of Lords.

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

Telegraph Media Group pulls out of ABC circulation audit, will publish subscriber numbers each month as it aims for 10M registered users, 1M subscribers by 2023 — Telegraph Media Group, publisher of the Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, is pulling out of the ABC newspaper circulation audit …

Discussion: @thejoelycarey

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Facebook backed away from a plan to sell ads in WhatsApp but eventually plans to sell ads in its Status feature — Facebook-owned messaging service to focus on helping businesses connect with customers — Facebook Inc. FB 0.28% is backing away from efforts to sell ads in WhatsApp …

Discussion: Business Insider, @hshaban and @johnbattelle, more at Techmeme »