Mediagazer: Sources: Gray Television makes an ~$8.5B bid for Tegna, including debt; Tegna has also attracted attention from Apollo Global Management; Tegna stock up 22%+ (Reuters)

2:35 PM ET, March 6, 2020

Top News:

HuffPost EIC Lydia Polgreen is stepping down and joining Gimlet Media as head of content “later this spring” — MOVING ON — HuffPost Editor in Chief Lydia Polgreen is leaving the news outlet to join podcasting company Gimlet Media as the head of content, The Daily Beast has confirmed.

Discussion: @lpolgreen, The Wrap, Variety, @aterkel, @jessbrammar, @bernstein, @jamesrbuk, @bellwak, @gerryfsmith and @davidfolkenflik

Julia Alexander / The Verge:

Quibi will offer a free 90-day trial for users who sign up before it launches on April 6 with 50 shows and movies; Quibi will cost $4.99 with ads, $7.99 without — Longer than what Disney Plus current offers — Quibi is finally almost here, and in an effort to entice people …

Discussion: Variety, CNET, @great_katzby and @great_katzby, more at Techmeme »

Karlene Lukovitz / MediaPost:

Quibi partners with Canadian telecom Bell, which will promote the streamer and produce a daily news program and sports update — Upcoming short-form, mobile video service Quibi and Bell, Canada's largest telecommunications company, have inked a deal making Bell the streaming platform's …

Discussion: Canadian Press

Reuters:

Sources: Gray Television makes an ~$8.5B bid for Tegna, including debt; Tegna has also attracted attention from Apollo Global Management; Tegna stock up 22%+ — (Reuters) - U.S. regional TV station operator Gray Television Inc (GTN.N) has made an offer to acquire larger peer Tegna Inc …

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, Poynter, MediaPost, The Streamable, The Wrap and Deadline

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Thrillist President Ocean MacAdams, who joined the company in 2017, is leaving; Chief Content Officer Meghan Kirsch will head the company — Ocean MacAdams has departed Group Nine Media's Thrillist, the lifestyle digital media brand covering food, drink, travel and entertainment, after two and half years, Variety has learned.

Discussion: Adweek

Washington Post:

Study: 86K+ Facebook pages ran at least one political ad that was not properly disclosed, and ~20K ads had been purchased by “likely inauthentic communities” — The Facebook ad purchased by a page called “Angry Buckeyes” in December seemed ordinary at first …

Discussion: The Verge, @rowlsmanthorpe, @jason_kint, @deborahblum, Politico, @tonyromm and @justinhendrix, more at Techmeme »

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:

The News Leaders Association, formed by merging the American Society of News Editors and Associated Press Media Editors, postpones 2020 meeting to spring 2021 — The News Leaders Association — formed by the merger of two newspaper editors' associations — has canceled its 2020 annual conference …

Discussion: @rickedmonds

Todd Spangler / Variety:

AT&T's WarnerMedia, which includes HBO, CNN, and Warner Bros., scales back its participation in SXSW, saying it decided “not to move forward with activations” — UPDATED: AT&T's WarnerMedia scaling back its participation in SXSW 2020 in Austin, Texas, joining a growing list …

Discussion: @cnnpr, @ceonyc, @jacknicas, @nineinchnails, ABC News, Washington Post, Stereogum, Dallas Morning News, CNET, Engadget, /Film, NPR, @drericding, NME and Variety

Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:

Sources: Meredith is shutting down a studio behind an upcoming Apple+ show, laying off 10 staff; it will no longer produce or license shows to outside clients — A Meredith video production unit behind a new Apple+ show called “Home,” set to debut next month, is shutting down.

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Pex, a royalty attribution startup that scans social networks for rightsholders' content, buys Dubset, which IDs tracks on DJ sets so artists can get paid — Social networks are in for a rude copyright awakening. A new European Union law called Article 17 essentially eradicates safe harbor …

Discussion: Music Business Worldwide, @larrysmiller and Music Week

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Twitter expands its rules around hateful conduct to include language that dehumanizes people on the basis of their age, disability, or disease — Last year, Twitter expanded its rules around hate speech to include dehumanizing speech against religious groups.

Discussion: Twitter, One Man & His Blog, MediaNama, @digiphile, @bubola, @terrortola, @whatthebit, @_cingraham, Adweek, Mashable, The Verge, Boing Boing and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Dominic Patten / Deadline:

Dozens of Hachette Book Group staffers stage a walkout over an imprint's plans to publish Woody Allen's memoir, in solidarity with Ronan and Dylan Farrow — Just over a month before an imprint of Hachette Book Group is set to publish Woody Allen's memoir, dozens of employees of the company have staged a walkout in New York City today.

Jon Lafayette / Broadcasting & Cable:

Negotiations break down as YouTube TV drops the YES Network along with some, but not all, Sinclair RSNs — YES Network said it is no longer on YouTube TV, which might signal a breakdown in talks between Sinclair Broadcast Group, which acquired a group of regional sports networks …

Discussion: The Streamable, @yesnetwork, @thatgirlondeck, @inthefade, The Streamable, @yankeesopranooo, @lindseyadler, The Verge, @falling_nova, @alexmsilverman, @alexweprin, Multichannel News, The Wrap, Fast Company, 9to5Google, The Desk and NextTV

Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube TV and Sinclair sign a deal for 19 RSNs, but the streamer won't carry the YES Network, Fox Sports Prime Ticket, and Fox Sports West, which airs LA games

Discussion: sbgi.net, Sports Media Watch, Barrett Sports Media, @xpangler, @randball, Tubefilter, Engadget and Awful Announcing

Jim Waterson / The Guardian:

New UK culture secretary says that it would “be crazy to throw [the BBC] away” but that it missed key recent political trends, likely referring to Brexit — Oliver Dowden says BBC should be cherished but must also do more to represent whole of UK

Discussion: American Press Institute, @tom___scott, @mandoline_blue, @jimwaterson, Press Gazette and Press Gazette

Danny Ross / Forbes:

Interview with Jeremy Erlich, Spotify's new co-head of music strategy, about its 3,000 curated playlists, Spotify's role in playlisting and editorial, and more — Whether it's New Music Friday or Ultimate Indie, a Spotify playlist selection can quite literally change an artist's career overnight and reel in significant revenue.