Top News:
Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
A deep look at the media law defense strategy that the Murdochs' Fox News plans to use against Smartmatic in court — The Rupert Murdoch-owned news network has filed a motion to dismiss Smartmatic's blockbuster libel action. Now and down the road, the defendant will attempt …
Discussion:
New York Times, Fox News Channel Press, @jayrosen_nyu, Washington Post, Quartz, @kazweida, Raw Story and Los Angeles Times
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Reuters:
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 …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Law & Crime, @benmullin, nexttv.com, The Hill, @mmasnick, @mathewi, @rasmussen_poll, @dylanbyers, MediaPost, @brianstelter, NPR, FTVLive, TVNewser, Axios and The Wrap
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, MediaPost, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Fox News, @jbflint, @davidfolkenflik, @dylanbyers, New York Times, The Wrap, The Wrap and Variety
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 …
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The Wrap, ScreenRant, Forbes, Reuters, Meduza.io, @ibrill, @stephlaberis, @firstshowing, @mr_scribbles, @tiktaalexroseae, @_davemullins, /Film, @faragonart, The Playlist, @joshscherr, @crikeydave, @deadline, The Mary Sue, @mrsambarlow, @tvgrimreaper, @originalspin, @flitter, @mexopolis, @getfandom, @henereyg, @coopercooperco, @pamelaribon, @cosmicrewinds, @kbiegel, The A.V. Club, @iron_spike, @moth4moth, Hollywood Reporter, @heatwavves, @lindsaykatai, Collider, @localsundeity, @kevinbparry, Engadget, @tadleckman, Variety, Polygon and The Verge
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, CNN, Variety, Insights - Nielsen, @ourand_sbj, Deadline, Insider, Wall Street Journal, @zeitchikwapo, @zeitchikwapo, Mediaite, @zeitchikwapo, @zeitchikwapo, The Week, Fast Company, @ourand_sbj, @zeitchikwapo, @ourand_sbj, @cnyari, Light Reading, @dylanbyers, @themantz, Observer, TVSpy, Radio & Television …, MediaPost, Ad Age, Axios and Adweek
Dexter Thomas / VICE:
Police officers in Beverly Hills have played licensed music while being filmed by citizens, seemingly in an effort to trigger social networks' copyright filters — Police officers in Beverly Hills have been playing music while being filmed, seemingly in an effort to trigger Instagram's copyright filters.
Discussion:
@mikaelthalen, @adamweinstein, @carolynmichelle, @kimzetter, @radicalbytes, @jason_koebler, BNet, @doctorow, @doctorow, @doctorow, @doctorow, @webmink, @daphnehk, @doctorow, @bobbylibby, @kajerstin, @chrismessina, @maxkennerly, @mjchiusano, @xuhulk, @doctorow, @doctorow, @vice, @doctorow and @williamg1, more at Techmeme »
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
A closer look at the departure of Donald G. McNeil Jr. from The NYT and the tensions his comments provoked for some students on a NYT-sponsored trip to Peru — The Constitution protects people from being prosecuted twice for the same offense. But those “double jeopardy” …
Discussion:
@conor64, New York Post, @andykroll, @sarfrazmanzoor, @lesserfrederick, @cd_hooks, @lwoodhouse, @ijbailey, @jillfilipovic, @dangillmor, @ijbailey, @jeremymbarr, @bazzinyu, @lhfang, @sonnybunch, @bradfordpearson, @tomgara, @jamessurowiecki, @argojournal, New Republic, @ggreenwald, @aaschapiro, @danielmarans, @bendreyfuss, @ryangrim, @cd_hooks, Nieman Reports and Dana Loesch's Chapter …
Twitter - Investor Relations:
Twitter reports Q4 revenue of $1.29B, up 28% YoY, and average monetizable daily active usage growth of 27% to 192M, net income of $222M, up from $119M YoY — Q4 was a strong finish to the year with revenue of $1.29 billion, up 28% year over year, reflecting better-than-expected performance across all major products and geographies.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Variety, The Wrap, Ad Age, Fast Company, CNBC, @xpangler, ZDNet, MacRumors, @twitterir, The Verge, @cnbcnow, @twitterir, 9to5Mac and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
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, 9to5Mac and @viticci
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, TechCrunch, Axios, @nategeraci, @silvermanjacob, National Review, Raw Story, @adamlevitan, Variety, @jyarow, The Week, @alexrkonrad, @sarthakgh, New York Post, The Verge, ZDNet, @minimaxir, @hshaban, Ad Age, Insider, Financial Times, New York Times, The Information, Axios, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, CoinDesk, The Wrap and Insider, more at Techmeme »
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.
Discussion:
@markdistef, @dheeraj and @acfou
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:
Insider, @raju, @bbgmedia and Talking Biz News
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