Mediagazer: Spotify confirms it is testing its live lyrics feature in the US (Chris Velazco/Engadget)

3:35 PM ET, February 9, 2021

Top News:

Fox News files motion to dismiss Smartmatic suit, saying it can't be held liable for “fairly reporting and commenting on competing allegations” — (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Media said on Monday it filed a motion to dismiss electronic voting systems maker Smartmatic's lawsuit …

Alexis Benveniste / CNN:
Fox News canceling Lou Dobbs is reminiscent of the way Murdoch handled phone-hacking scandals in UK: throw somebody over the side and see if that was enough

Discussion: @cnnbusiness, @apbenven, Vanity Fair, @mollyjongfast, @cnn and @jeremymbarr

Colby Hall / Mediaite:

Fox News signs CEO Suzanne Scott to a multi-year agreement, extending her contract — Fox News Media has announced that CEO Suzanne Scott has signed to a multi-year agreement with Fox Corporation in a sign of support for the Fox News head. — Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer …

Discussion: foxcorporation, The Hill, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, MediaPost, New York Times, Variety, @jbflint, @davidfolkenflik, @dylanbyers and The Wrap

PR Newswire:
Fox reports net Q2 income of $230M, down from $314M a year ago, on revenue of $4.09B, up 8% YoY; ad revenue increased 14% YoY

Discussion: Mediaite, @taralach, The Wrap, @dylanbyers and @alexweprin

Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:

CBS says it had an overall Super Bowl audience of 96.4M, down from 102.1M last year, and averaged 5.7M viewers per minute of the streaming broadcast, up 65% YoY — CBS announced today that Super Bowl LV between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs set a new streaming record.

Discussion: ViacomCBS Press Express, Variety, CNN, Adweek, Ad Age, @ourand_sbj, Deadline, Wall Street Journal, TVSpy, MediaPost, Mediaite, Light Reading, @zeitchikwapo, @zeitchikwapo, @zeitchikwapo, Observer, @zeitchikwapo, The Week, @ourand_sbj, @zeitchikwapo, @ourand_sbj, @dylanbyers, @themantz, Axios and UPI

Sarah E. Needleman / Wall Street Journal:

Reddit raises $250M+ Series E led by Vy Capital at a $6B valuation, doubling in value since its last funding round in February 2019 — Its WallStreetBets community played a prominent role in recent stock-trading frenzy — Reddit Inc. doubled its valuation to $6 billion in a new round …

Discussion: CNBC, Upvoted, Axios, @nategeraci, National Review, @silvermanjacob, @sarthakgh, @jyarow, @minimaxir, @hshaban, Raw Story, @alexrkonrad, @adamlevitan, The Verge, The Week, Ad Age, ZDNet, Variety, New York Post, New York Times, Insider, Financial Times, The Information, Axios, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, CoinDesk, The Wrap and Insider, more at Techmeme »

Anthony D'Alessandro / Deadline:

Disney is closing Blue Sky Studios, the former 20th Century Fox animation division known for the Ice Age franchise, affecting about 450 employees — EXCLUSIVE: Disney is shuttering Blue Sky Studios, the $5.9 billion global grossing former 20th Century Fox animation division which during …

Discussion: /Film, Variety, The Wrap, Hollywood Reporter, The Verge and Polygon

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Internal memo: Bloomberg Media is expecting $100M+ in consumer subscription revenue in 2021, forecasting 400,000 subscribers, up from 250,000 in 2020 — Bloomberg Media is expecting to bring in at least $100 million in consumer subscription revenue in 2021, according to an internal memo sent to staff from CEO Justin Smith.

Discussion: Talking Biz News

Chris Velazco / Engadget:

Spotify confirms it is testing its live lyrics feature in the US — Do you miss all the time you used to spend crammed in tiny karaoke rooms, belting out showtunes until three in the morning? So do we, but Spotify might have something that will help with your impromptu singalongs.

Discussion: TechCrunch, MacRumors, @viticci and 9to5Mac

DW.COM:

China will soon award all media accreditation based on social media history, causing some who reported on Wuhan to fear their credentials will be stripped — China will soon award media accreditation based on social media history. Journalists who uncovered the early truths about the coronavirus …

Discussion: @journalismfest, @rasmus_kleis and The Times

Chris Gilliard / OneZero:

If reporters believe that surveillance data shouldn't exist, then they should not use info from invasive data brokers to make that point, like NYT did recently — The New York Times fails in its attempt to report on the surveillance economy — This op-ed was co-authored by Albert Fox Cahn …

Discussion: Best Evidence, @moonalice, @justinhendrix, @froomkin, @cwarzel, @medium, @willoremus, @issielapowsky, @bryanrwalsh, @evanselinger, @dlberes, @p2173, @robinberjon and @bostonjoan

Tom Dotan / The Information:

Filing: Netflix cut ad spending from $1.88B to $1.45B globally in 2020; one estimate says Netflix cut Facebook spending by more than half to $21.6M — The race to sign up subscribers in the streaming wars is a test of marketing prowess as much as it is of programming strength.

Financial Times:

EU lawmakers are considering regulations that would force Facebook and Google to pay for news content on their platforms, echoing a similar move in Australia — Move by MEPs would strengthen hand of publishers against Google and Facebook — EU lawmakers overseeing new digital regulation …

Discussion: @moonalice, Fortune, @rasmus_kleis, @superglaze, @lanceulanoff, @jason_kint, @martinsignoux, CNBC and Insider, more at Techmeme »

Andrew Beaujon / Washingtonian:

Massachusetts-based online greeting cards company Punchbowl, Inc. has filed a trademark lawsuit against A.J. Press, which owns political startup Punchbowl News — A Massachusetts company says the Capitol Hill news startup doesn't have the right to the Punchbowl name.

Discussion: @niemanlab

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More News:

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
As conservative talk radio superstar Rush Limbaugh fights lung cancer, his industry faces aging and shrinking audiences, competition from new tech, and more

Sara Guaglione / Digiday:
Taboola's SPAC could enable the company to expand its business, via another merger attempt with Outbrain, making publishers even more reliant on its ad revenue

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
DOJ drops lawsuit seeking to confiscate proceeds from a tell-all book published by a former Melania Trump aide

Discussion: New York Times, @joshgerstein, Insider, The Week and Mediaite

Alex Sherman / CNBC:
While nearly every major media company has launched a streaming service, most have no news content and it remains unclear how such content fits into streaming

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Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
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Nikhilesh De / CoinDesk:
Documents show Binance dropped the defamation lawsuit against Forbes it filed in November 2020, but did not give a reason for the withdrawal

Discussion: @coindesk and The Block

openDemocracy:
Editors of major UK papers, including Times, Guardian, and FT, sign a letter calling on UK to probe claims that a government FOI unit blacklisted journalists

Discussion: @opendemocracy, Press Gazette, nuj.org.uk and The Guardian

From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a smart doorbell system with advanced facial recognition that can wirelessly connect and unlock third-party smart locks

Paresh Dave / Wired:
Google says it wouldn't force its device makers, browser, and wireless carrier licensees to distribute Gemini to US users for three years, in a proposed remedy

Wall Street Journal:
Gina Raimondo says holding back China in the chips race is a “fool's errand”, and investment, more than export controls, will keep US ahead of Beijing

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