Top News:
Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
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
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
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 »
RELATED:
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
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 »
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, NME, @drericding and Variety
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
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.
Discussion:
Page Six, @publisherswkly, @kieleraymond, @maddiecalls, @ceciliatan, @levine_alison, @pronounced_ing, @ponderosa121, @levine_alison, @dongwon, Bookseller News, Notes from a Small Press, Publishers Weekly, @kbeccaandrews, @clarajeffery, @rereadsclosely, @mcsnugz, Hollywood Reporter, Vox, Vanity Fair, IndieWire, EW.com, Jezebel and Slate
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 …
RELATED:
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
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