Top News:
Lukas I. Alpert / Wall Street Journal:
Politico announces it is acquiring E&E News, a high-price subscription trade publication focused on the energy industry and environmental news — Purchase comes as Politico looks to expand its overall professional news business — Politico is adding some energy to its game.
Discussion:
@lydiadepillis, @tmannwsj, @digitalbond, @jaycodon, @bradplumer, @michellemanafy, @bbuchman_cns, @rafat, @yayitsrob, @lalpert1, @joshluger, @harrispolitico, @politicopress, @reddy, @harrispolitico, @timothy_cama, @sammy_roth, @natbullard, @jakesherman, @vtg2, @tonyromm, @bdayspring, @rickdunham, The Hill, @cbudoffbrown, @bkingdc and Talking Biz News
Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:
Over Christmas holiday, Apptopia says HBO Max had ~554K app signups; Sensor Tower says Disney+ had ~2.3M global app installations, up 28% from prior weekend — AT&T Inc.'s HBO Max streaming platform set a single-day record for downloads of its mobile app following the release of the superhero sequel …
Discussion:
The Streamable, ScreenRant and Variety
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Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Profile of Walter Hamada, who runs DC Films and is aiming to release comics-based movies like Batman and Wonder Woman at a much faster pace — Walter Hamada, who runs DC Films, is overseeing a dizzying number of projects, part of a swarm of comics-based stories coming from Hollywood.
Rebecca Rubin / Variety:
AT&T says that nearly half of HBO Max's retail subscribers viewed Wonder Woman 1984 on Friday alone, the same day the movie debuted in theaters
Discussion:
TechCrunch, ScreenRant, Slate, @petersuderman, @cityofthetown, @michael_calia, @edmundlee, The Information, CNBC, Mediaite, The Streamable, Gizmodo, The Playlist, CNET, Bloomberg and MediaPost
Will Thorne / Variety:
First ever NFL game streamed exclusively had an average minute audience of 4.8M on Prime, Twitch, and others, almost as much as traditional TV viewership — The first ever NFL game to be shown exclusively on streaming platforms scored solid numbers, showing encouraging signs for future streaming-only games.
Discussion:
@crupicrupicrupi, The Streamable, Sports Business Daily, @richarddeitsch, MediaPost, @jason_kint and @aquinas82nd
McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:
Washington reporters, including Olivia Nuzzi, Jim Acosta, and Yamiche Alcindor, on being recast as “resistance heroes” during the Trump era and what comes next — The day after the 2016 election, I got a phone call from an old friend. Neither of us had slept much …
Discussion:
@kenvogel, @mckaycoppins, @kylegriffin1, @mckaycoppins, @dandarling, @exumam, @jchaltiwanger, @mattdizwhitlock, @jayrosen_nyu, @senhorraposa, @wajahatali, @bobsalera, @mckaycoppins, @stevekrak, @emptywheel, @yossigestetner, @omriceren, @jchaltiwanger, @hadleyfreeman, @holden114, @byronyork, @theatlantic, @schmittnyc, @tzipshmil, @jackmjenkins, @mckaycoppins and Fox News
Emily Birnbaum / Protocol:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is tying the fate of $2,000 stimulus checks to the repeal of Section 230 — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is tying the fate of $2,000 stimulus checks to the repeal of Section 230, an effort that will likely doom both pieces of legislation in the Senate.
Discussion:
Washington Post, @chrismessina, @waveturtlejake, Daily Herald, Al Jazeera, New York Times, Reason, Washington Post, National Review, @jimmy_wales, @jimmy_wales, @lexalexander, @dangillmor, @jess_miers, @jimmy_wales, @yashar, @ryanunderdev, @jank0, Techdirt, @oneunderscore__, CNBC, @chutry, The Verge, @lpackard, The Guardian, @dangillmor, @dangillmor, @birnbaum_e, @protocol, @oneunderscore__, @dangillmor, @jimmy_wales, @martinsfp, @dangillmor, Gizmodo, @jimmy_wales and @jimmy_wales, more at Techmeme »
Kristin Robinson / Variety:
A loophole in Spotify's copyright infringement detection tactics is allowing unauthorized remixes and bootlegs of songs to be uploaded as podcasts — Spotify has joined the ranks of streaming services like SoundCloud and YouTube as a hub for bootlegs of popular songs.
Discussion:
Engadget and @delgotloud
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
Ampere: UK streaming subscribers grew 34% YoY in 2020, with a combined 32.4M for Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+, the top three services — Britons spent 40% of their waking hours watching TV during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, fuelling the biggest year for new subscribers to streaming services.
Discussion:
Matt on Audio
Inside Radio:
Univision sale to Searchlight Capital is formalized, and Wade Davis becomes CEO; FCC granted an exception to a cap on foreign ownership, as Televisa holds 36.1% — Less than a week after getting the green light from the FCC, the sale of Univision Communications to private investment firm …
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap and Awful Announcing
DW.COM:
A sustained cyberattack over Christmas forced several German newspapers published by The Funke Media Group to cancel or curtail editions; the attack is ongoing — Hackers knocked out one of Germany's biggest news organizations over the Christmas holiday. Such criminal attacks …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Verizon is telling Fios TV customers that nine local Hearst stations may go dark on Fios on Jan. 1, saying Hearst is demanding carriage fee hikes of 45%+ — In a new end-of-the-year TV carriage fight, Verizon on Tuesday began notifying Fios TV customers that Hearst Television stations …
Discussion:
Radio & Television …
Gregor Stuart Hunter / Bloomberg:
Filing: Jimmy Lai, who was charged earlier this month with Hong Kong's new national security law, resigned as chairman of Next Digital — - Lai charged with endangering national security under new law — Shares of Next Digital jump 25% in show of support for founder
Discussion:
@gregorhunter
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