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10:45 AM ET, January 1, 2021

Mediagazer

 Top News: 
David Folkenflik / NPR:
Boards of RFE/RL and Radio Free Asia and their chairman Michael Pack have added binding contractual agreements that they can't be removed for the next two years  —  Michael Pack's stormy tenure over the federal agency that oversees government-funded broadcasters abroad — including Voice of America — appears to be coming to a close.
RELATED:
Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Letter signed by leaders of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's news division and editorial board says Michael Pack appointed a board of “inexperienced” partisans  —  - Leaders of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty blasted the Trump-appointed CEO of the U.S. federal media agency.
Rachel Olding / The Daily Beast:
The 5 female anchors at NY1 who sued for age and gender discrimination say they have mutually agreed to leave the local news station after settling their suit  —  Five female anchors at NY1 said Thursday they have “mutually agreed” to leave the local news station after settling their age and gender discrimination lawsuit.
Steve Inskeep / NPR:
Biden's press secretary Jen Psaki on not letting the briefing room become a “platform for propaganda”, engaging with right-wing media, dealing with leaks, more  —  President-elect Joe Biden's choice for White House press secretary says she will restore a tradition.
MediaPost:
Parks Associates: 20% of US broadband households currently use ad-supported streaming services and 15% use a freemium service, like Peacock  —  Twenty percent of U.S. broadband households currently use an ad-supported OTT service, and 15% use a “freemium” service, according to Parks Associates research.
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Top nine streaming services to end 2020 with combined US subscribers up 50%+ YoY; US households now subscribe to 3.1 services on average, up from 2.7 in 2019
Lauren Hirsch / New York Times:
Source: Amazon's acquisition of Wondery values the podcasting company, which began in 2016, at roughly $300M  —  The deal, valued at $300 million, is the latest in a string of acquisitions as streaming platforms expand beyond music and video.  —  Amazon is acquiring Wondery …
RELATED:
About Amazon:
Amazon plans to acquire podcast network Wondery, which will join Amazon Music
Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
Judge rules that former Viacom shareholders can pursue a lawsuit accusing Shari Redstone of engineering a “patently unfair” merger in creating ViacomCBS  —  (Reuters) - A Delaware judge ruled this week that former Viacom shareholders may pursue a lawsuit accusing Shari Redstone of engineering a …
RELATED:
Michael J. de la Merced / New York Times:
Alden says it is bidding for full control of Tribune Publishing, in which it has a ~32% stake, with an offer that values the newspaper chain at about $520.6M  —  Alden Global Capital, which is already Tribune's biggest shareholder, valued the company at about $520.6 million.
Frank Pallotta / CNN:
Inside Universal's decision to debut Trolls World Tour online on the same day it opened in theaters, which may have changed the movie business forever  —  Delaying a Fast & Furious movie is no easy feat.  —  For starters, it involves finding a new release date for a film with a $250 million production budget.
Discussion: @frankpallotta
TOLOnews:
Journalist Bismillah Adil Aimaq has been killed in Afghanistan, the sixth one to be killed in the last two months in the country  —  Bismillah Adil Aimaq, a journalist and civil society activist in Ghor, was killed in an attack by unknown armed men in the city of Feroz Koh, the center of the province, local officials said.
Discussion: Al Jazeera
Todd Spangler / Variety:
ESPN Plus is raising the annual subscription for new subscribers by 20%, from $49.99 to $59.99, and increasing the price of UFC pay-per-view events to $69.99  —  UFC fans are going to pay more to catch the promoter's premiere fights on Disney's ESPN Plus streaming sports package next year.
 
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 More News: 
Cevheri Güven / Turkish Minute:
A YouTube channel run from Germany by exiled Turkish journalists was shut down due to copyright claims from Turkey; one expert blames YouTube's Turkey office
Byron Tau / Wall Street Journal:
Acting attorney general says WSJ reporter Daniel Pearl's accused killer could be prosecuted in the US if Pakistani courts fail to keep him in jail
 Earlier Picks: 
Elizabeth A. Harris / New York Times:
Association of American Publishers: audiobooks revenue is up 17%+ YoY, e-book sales are up 16%+; NPD BookScan says US print book sales are up ~8% in 2020
John Hopewell / Variety:
Comscore: global box office fell between 57%, in the Netherlands, and 76%, in UK, vs. 2019, depending on length of closure and strength of local movie industry
Discussion: Variety
Dave Lee / Financial Times:
FactSet: Amazon's “other” business unit, which is made up almost entirely of its ads business, will make $21B in revenue in 2020, up 47% YoY