Top News:
Axios:
Sources: Substack is raising $65M at a $650M valuation; a16z will lead the round — Substack is raising $65 million in new venture capital funding that would value the company at around $650 million, Axios has learned. Existing investor Andreessen Horowitz is leading the round.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, TechCrunch, The Wrap, @sarafischer, @pkafka, @ericnewcomer, @jayshams, @hunterwalk, @jason, @mdudas, @joshgerstein, @lucas_shaw, @aaronhuertas, @shawnarchen, @eoinhiggins_, @pt, @alexthomp, @mattyglesias, @chrismessina, @ggreenwald, @rentjensen, @katie_roof, @tolles, @rafat, @jonathanvswan and @rafat, more at Techmeme »
Chris Welch / The Verge:
T-Mobile to shut down TVision's three bundles of live channels at the end of April, after launching in Nov., and is instead partnering with YouTube TV and Philo — TVision Live, Live Plus, and Live Zone will go offline on April 29th — Only five months after announcing its TVision streaming service …
Discussion:
T-Mobile, T-Mobile, The Streamable, MediaPost, The Streamable, Forbes, Insider, @taralach, The Desk, Deadline, @thestreamable, @matthewkeyslive, @claireatki, @reckless, @jank0, @inafried, @matthewkeyslive, @nicfildes, @richlightshed, @claireatki, @backlon, @chriswelch, Gizmodo, nexttv.com, Light Reading, Awful Announcing, Variety, The Wrap and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Radio and podcasting company Entercom is rebranding itself to Audacy and retiring Radio.com — After more than 50 years as Entercom Communications, the radio and podcasting company is unfurling a new banner: Effective immediately, it is changing its name to Audacy. … The company's new website is audacyinc.com.
Discussion:
Axios, The Desk, Radio & Television …, Forbes, Hot Pod News and RadioInsight
Felicia Sonmez / @feliciasonmez:
Felicia Sonmez says she has been told by her editors that the Washington Post is rescinding its years-long ban on her from writing about sexual misconduct — Hi all. I've been told by my editors that the Post is rescinding its ban. This is good news, but it's unfortunate that it had to come at such a high emotional toll, and after my distress was dismissed for years. I'm taking time to rest and process. Thank you for your support.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Columbia Journalism Review, @farhip, Poynter, @justinwmmoyer, @edokeefe, @emilymiller, @dangillmor, @froomkin, @moorehn, @dangillmor, @johnrussell99, @drvolts, @wesleylowery, @dansolomon, @chrchristensen, @elongreen, @briannawu, @irin, @liamstack, @farhip, @scottnover, @jayrosen_nyu, @cagoldberglaw, @mike_hixenbaugh, @louisathelast, @dataeditor, @moiradonegan, @emilyrauhala, @hanaatameez, @hshaban, @wesleylowery, @jackmirkinson, @vikkie, @joshchafetz, @jayrosen_nyu, @nycsouthpaw, The Hill, Insider and The Wrap
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Rachael Bade / Politico:
Felicia Sonmez criticized WaPo editors during a staff town hall, revealing that she is barred from writing anything about sexual misconduct or #MeToo
Discussion:
@feliciasonmez, American Press Institute, Jezebel, All in Her Head, The Guardian, @anamariecox, My New Band Is, @tinywriterlaura, Columbia Journalism Review, @feliciasonmez, @martinfowler, @bellwak, @adamdavidson, @mcastimovies, Poynter, @espiers, @zachdcarter, @kerrymflynn, @owillis, @amybwang, @moiradonegan, Mediaite, @blackamazon, @econ_marshall, @feliciasonmez, @briannawu, @jamesgleick, @chenderson, The Hill, @evaholland, @max_fisher, @aaschapiro, @hunterw, @emilymiller, @ericmgarcia, @wesleylowery, @amlwhere, @sarahkaplan48, @feliciasonmez, @cmclymer, @jenzerb, @feliciasonmez, @feliciasonmez, @feliciasonmez, @feliciasonmez, @feliciasonmez, @feliciasonmez, @feliciasonmez, @lemieuxlgm, @budrykzack, @jbendery, @allisongeroi, @jayrosen_nyu, @lisagartner, @khandozo, @soledadobrien, @gmillertsn, @coleenchristie, @juliedicaro, @atrios, @pwcdanica, @adamdavidson, @ourobororoboruo, @mattyglesias, @espiers, @bfishbfish, @grace_segers, @bloosemore, @benjamingoggin, @kemc, @shefalil, @mikkipedia, @spj_tweets, @miriamelder, @chick_in_kiev and Free Political Newsletter
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Spotify buys app developer Betty Labs, creator of Locker Room, a live social audio app where fans can talk about sports, which Spotify plans on expanding — The acquisition will allow creators of all kinds to host anything from debates to live concerts.
Discussion:
Spotify, TechCrunch, Variety, @lockerroomapp, @spotifynews, CNBC, @bmccandless, Music Business Worldwide, @howardakumiah, @lazchance and @richlightshed, more at Techmeme »
Luke Winkie / Nieman Lab:
Boston Globe's health and life sciences pub STAT is thriving during the pandemic, with monthly unique visitors of 23M+, up from an average of 1.5M in 2019 — “Our Chartbeat dial went past the maximum. It went all the way around again.” — 2020 was one of the grimmest years for the media business on record.
Discussion:
Media Nation, @risj_oxford, @jimrutenberg, @rickberke, @luke_winkie, @niemanreports and Talking Biz News
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
A look at Roku's experiment with original programming: acquiring shows at a fire-sale price instead of committing billions of dollars to original shows — Roku Sells You TV Dongles. So Why Is It Making TV Series? — When Cody Heller found out Roku was buying her show “Dummy,” she was thrilled.
Reveal:
Federal judge dismisses Planet Aid's four year, multimillion-dollar libel lawsuit against Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting — After more than four years of fighting a multimillion-dollar libel lawsuit brought by international aid group Planet Aid, Reveal from The Center …
Discussion:
@reveal, @emilyroseman1, @christacir, @vdbaranetsky, @jkealing, @achabel, @reveal and @inn
Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
ViacomCBS' BET is going digital-only in the UK on April 8 and will run on Pluto TV and Channel 5's My5 streaming platform — Originals ‘Celebrity Comfort Food,’ ‘Black to the Future’ and ‘We Do That’ will join the lineup as senior vp of BET International Monde Twala says: “We are committed to growing the BET brand in the U.K.”
Discussion:
Digital TV Europe and Broadband TV News
Sarah E. Needleman / Wall Street Journal:
Cameo, which now has 40,000 personalities, raises $100M from Vision Fund 2 and others at a $1B+ valuation, up from $300M in 2019 — The four-year-old video platform features more than 40,000 personalities but faces increased competition, potentially from Facebook
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, Reuters and Axios, more at Techmeme »
Justine Calma / The Verge:
Netflix says it wants to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2022, by reducing electricity use by 45%, hiring local crews, and offsetting the rest — It plans to hit ‘net zero’ emissions by the end of 2022 — Netflix set out goals today to limit the damage the company does to the climate.
StreetInsider.com:
DraftKings acquires Vegas Sports Information Network, a broadcast and content company that delivers sports betting news, analysis, and data — DraftKings Inc. (Nasdaq: DKNG) today announced that it has acquired Vegas Sports Information Network, Inc. (VSiN), a multi-platform broadcast …
Discussion:
Robert Feder, Radio & Television …, Penn State University, New York Post, Sportico, RadioInsight and @richlightshed
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