Top News:
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
Substack launches Substack Reader, an RSS reader for tracking newsletter subscriptions and other feeds, in beta — Substack Reader is now available in beta — If you're worried about all your newsletter subscriptions getting lost in your inbox, Substack may have a solution.
Discussion:
Substack Blog, @substackinc, @hshaban, @samueljscott, @charlesflehman, @nathanblawrence, 9to5Mac, Engadget, @alexeheath, @jaredbkeller, @luca, @rklau, @film_girl, @pratikpoddar, @jackmarshall, @caseynewton, @davewiner, @lukeoneil47, @can, @chrismessina, @carnage4life, @badastronomer, @grayblue, @alexlmiller, @stammy, @michaelroston, @jamievaron, @aripap, @davidcho, @pjvogt, @pierce and @mylesudland, more at Techmeme »
Ryan Mac / BuzzFeed News:
At an end-of-year, company-wide meeting, Facebook said it is working on TLDR, an AI tool that would summarize longform articles in bullet points — Facebook told employees on Tuesday that it's developing a tool to summarize news articles so users won't have to read them …
Discussion:
@rmac18, @rmac18, @rmac18, @bmorrissey, @jackmarshall, @mattlynley, @mattlynley, @mattlynley, @mattlynley, @mattlynley, @mattlynley, @mattlynley, @sarahjeong, @johnbattelle, @lessismoh, @dalerussellfox5, @michaelgendron, @surlybassey, @josh_posts, @joshconstine, @johnperetti, @seanhecht, @colincampbellx, @_richardhall, @dlind, @jzheel, @bendwalsh, @brooklynmarie, @ericlach, @0dansmith, @carlnatale, @samitsarkar, Medianama, @nathanblawrence, @jamespmcleod, @msamymacpherson, @briannawu, @ryandeto, @mslopatto, @hoffprof, @walldo, @audreyhasnews, @megankstack, @ericuman, @jamespmcleod, @hondanhon, @mike_conley, @danielwinlander, @ackocher, @krisgoldsmith85, @ryan_lr, @meese_james, @edzitron, @j0ncampbell, @bendreyfuss, @consultingcso, @maxkriegervg, @xpatriciah, @clancynewyork, @tomscocca, @korlis, @kevinroose, @graceclarke, @thesupermikey, @vogon, @charles_gaba, @craigawelch, @rmac18, @weischoice, @bportseasoning, @jimray, @rmac18, @mccarthyryanj, @rmac18 and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »
Axios:
Texas AG says the state and other unspecified ones are filing a lawsuit against Google today, claiming Google illegally hurt competition in the ad tech market — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Wednesday that he's leading a lawsuit against Google, accusing the search giant …
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Fox News says it has extended Laura Ingraham's contract with a “multi-year deal” — Fox News characterized the new pact as a “multi-year deal.” Ingraham joined Fox News Channel full-time in October of 2017 after establishing herself with a long-running radio program.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Mediaite, The Hill, nexttv.com and TVNewser
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Digital Content Next, a representative for NYT, NPR, Vox, WaPO, and others, joins the Coalition for App Fairness, which is pushing for regulation of app stores — A group of major U.S. news publishers have joined the Coalition for App Fairness (CAF), the advocacy group pushing …
Discussion:
About Facebook, Forbes, @carnage4life, 9to5Mac, @jeffjarvis, MacRumors and @appfairness, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Spotify signs a deal with NPR to distribute 26 podcasts in most of its 92 markets outside the US, with exceptions like Turkey and India — The streaming-audio company inked a deal with NPR to distribute 26 podcasts — including “NPR News Hour,” “Planet Money,” “Car Talk” and “Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!”
Discussion:
The Verge, MediaPost, Engadget and TechCrunch
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Google says its new Chromecast with Google TV will get an Apple TV app in early 2021, giving users access to TV+ originals and iTunes purchases — Coming in early 2021 to the Chromecast with Google TV — Google's latest Chromecast with Google TV is filling in one of its biggest missing apps …
Discussion:
The Keyword, The Streamable, The Desk, Variety, @richlightshed, Bloomberg, @richlightshed, 9to5Google, @cgartenberg, @joemaring1 and @chriswelch, more at Techmeme »
Bloomberg:
Facebook attacks Apple in full-page newspaper ads, claiming upcoming iOS 14 changes that limit data gathering and targeted ads are bad for small businesses — - Ads criticize Apple's plan to require opt-in for ad tracking — Facebook placed ads in the NYT, WSJ and Washington Post
Discussion:
Variety, TechCrunch, The Media Nut, CNBC, @kurtwagner8, Engadget, MediaPost, Business Insider, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, @johngidding, Mashable, @petersterne, @kantrowitz, New York Post, Forbes, @johnjannuzzi, @kentgoldman, @konistehrad, MacRumors, @lordstras, @wolfiechristl, Fast Company, @jeremiahjw, @_harshilshah, Protocol, @tonyromm, 9to5Mac, @flyosity, @larakiara, @pkafka, The Verge and Raw Story, more at Techmeme »
Tatiana Siegel / Hollywood Reporter:
Sources: Biden is considering Bob Iger for a key ambassadorship, either to China or the UK, and Jeffrey Katzenberg is also being considered — The Disney executive chairman is at the top of the president-elect's wish list for a diplomatic assignment with the DreamWorks and Quibi mogul also in the mix.
Discussion:
The Hill, @jrubinblogger, @joshrogin, @alexsalvinews, @jacobdfilm, @stanyeahman, @jaxalemany, @swanniontv, @sepinwall, @beijingpalmer, @matthewstoller, @robillard and The Week
Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:
Hulu + Live TV drops Sinclair's 23 local CBS affiliates, after failing to reach a deal in the latest carriage dispute — After being unable to reach a deal, Sinclair-owned CBS affiliates are no longer available on Hulu + Live TV. — Sinclair owns 23 local CBS affiliates, which tend to be outside the largest markets.
David Pierce / Protocol:
A look at Reelgood, which lets users watch content from 300+ streaming services in the same app and says it now has 6M users, up from 2M at the start of 2020 — David Sanderson's journey to fix the future of TV started with a simple and extremely familiar problem: He canceled cable and suddenly couldn't find anything to watch.
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment takes full control of Crackle Plus from co-owner Sony Pictures, which exercised its right to obtain $40M of CSSE stock — UPDATED with closing stock price. Completing one of the more surprising media deals of late, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment …
Discussion:
Yahoo Finance, Context is King, Media Play News and Variety, Thanks:@ashkan
Manuel Vonau / Android Police:
Netflix is rolling out a Video Off button at the top of the full-screen video player and an audio only mode in settings for its Android app — Netflix might not be playing nicely with Google TV for some reason, but the company is pouring tons of resources into its Android app.
Discussion:
io9, @bjhiddenjokes, @derekmross, 9to5Google, Engadget and CNET, more at Techmeme »