Mediagazer: Time Magazine expands its Time 100 Summit to two days with revenue from sponsors and access largely limited to members, who pay at least $1,750 (Todd Spangler/Variety)

2:20 PM ET, February 20, 2020

Top News:

Daniel Cooper / Engadget:

ViacomCBS to expand CBS All Access with content totaling ~30K episodes of TV and ~1K movies from Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, Paramount, and others — ViacomCBS' rumored new streaming service isn't a new service so much as a massive expansion of CBS All Access.

Discussion: Multichannel News, Variety, Broadcasting & Cable, Adweek, Broadcasting & Cable, TechCrunch, Forbes, @viacomcbs, @anibundel, Cord Cutters News, @viacomcbs, @viacomcbs and The Verge

Cynthia Littleton / Variety:

CBS All Access and Showtime have 11M subscribers; Pluto TV had 22.4M MAUs in Q4 2019, up 75% YoY; revenue from all three hit $1.6 billion in 2019 — CBS All Access and Showtime are on track to garner a combined 16 million subscribers by year's end, ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish told investors Thursday.

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Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:

ViacomCBS revenue fell 3% to 6.87M in Q4, its first post-merger quarter, with a net loss of $273M; company anticipates merger savings of $750M, up from $500M — UPDATED with stock drop: — Viacom share have plunged after quarterly numbers and a call with analysts.

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Ben Collins / NBC News:

Twitter confirms it is testing bright labels beneath lies and misinfo posted by politicians and public figures, and points-based “community badges” for users — A leaked demo features bright red and orange badges for tweets that have been deemed “harmfully misleading.”

Discussion: @oneunderscore__, @oneunderscore__, @tomfornelli, @jencyjac, @oneunderscore__, The Hill, @mcclure111, @jatayler, @oneunderscore__, @slpng_giants, @oneunderscore__, @digiphile, Talking Points Memo and Boing Boing, more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Time Magazine expands its Time 100 Summit to two days with revenue from sponsors and access largely limited to members, who pay at least $1,750 — Time is doubling down on its elite, invitation-only events business. — The mag's second annual Time 100 Summit in New York …

Kerry Flynn / CNN:

In an email to staff, The California Times, which owns LA Times, announces voluntary buyout packages for employees who have worked there for at least two years — New York (CNN Business)The Los Angeles Times is offering its staff voluntary buyouts less than two years after biotech billionaire …

Discussion: @kerrymflynn

The New York Times Company:

NYT announces it has added a breaking news team in London, expanding its Express Desk; the team of five editors and reporters will be led by NYT's Erin McCann — The New York Times continues to strengthen its presence in the U.K. with the addition of a breaking news team in London to expand The Times's Express Desk.

Discussion: Digiday, @sarahmarshall, What's New in Publishing, @adweek, @mccanner, @moorehn, @stanfordc and Adweek

Tony Romm / Washington Post:

Streamers like Roku and Hulu are subject to much less stringent political ad transparency rules than broadcasters even as campaigns and PACs buy ads on them — With more Americans cutting the cord, watchdogs worry that voters lack a full understanding of who's trying to influence them

Discussion: @geoffreyfowler and @tonyromm, more at Techmeme »

Frank Pallotta / CNN:

WarnerMedia says it has reached a distribution deal to add HBO Max to YouTube TV, bringing HBO and Cinemax content to the platform for the first time — New York (CNN Business)WarnerMedia has reached a deal that will bring HBO Max to YouTube TV customers as it tries to promote …

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, Fast Company, @lamonicabuzz and @frankpallotta

Associated Press:

President of broadcaster BeIN Sports, a major sports content buyer, is indicted in connection with Swiss bribery investigation into World Cup television rights — The Paris Saint-Germain president, Nasser al-Khelaifi, was charged on Thursday by Swiss federal prosecutors in connection …

Discussion: Reuters, CNN and New York Times

Reuters:

Sources: Thomson Reuters is close to naming former Nielsen president Steve Hasker as its next chief executive, succeeding Jim Smith — (Reuters) - Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI.TO) (TRI.N) is close to naming former Nielsen Holdings Plc (NLSN.N) president Steve Hasker as its next chief executive …

Discussion: Talking Biz News

Matthew Kassel / Mediaite:

Q&A with Chris Lehmann, who became editor of The New Republic last year, about its redesign, leaning in to its historic role as a magazine of the left, and more — When Chris Lehmann became editor of The New Republic last year, he inherited a magazine that was somewhat rudderless.

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Pew Research Center:
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Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
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Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
An Edinburgh Evening News editor will oversee six Scottish newspapers, including The Scotsman, as JPI Media restructures newsrooms to focus on digital growth

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The Hill:
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Wall Street Journal:
China revokes press credentials of three WSJ reporters, ordering them to leave the country within five days as punishment for a recent opinion piece in the WSJ

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