Top News:
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Brian Williams, the former NBC Nightly News anchor who faced a six-month suspension in 2015, will leave NBC when his contract ends in December — The former anchor of “NBC Nightly News” rehabilitated his tarnished image as the host of a popular 11 p.m. show on MSNBC.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Insider, TVNewser, The Wrap, Variety, CNN, Washington Post, HuffPost, Mediaite, Politico, The Hill, Axios, Poynter, Page Six, The Daily Beast, @edzitron, @kpa2, @garretthaake, TVLine, @samstein, @petesouza, @page88 and @matthewamiller
Karissa Bell / Engadget:
Twitter Blue rolls out to the US for $2.99/month and NZ for $4.49/month with Scroll's ad-free articles across 300+ publishers and Nuzzel-like “top articles” — Twitter is expanding its premium subscription service to more users. Twitter Blue, which unlocks additional features …
Discussion:
@twitterblue, New York Times, Twitter, TechCrunch, Nieman Lab, @arctictony, @arctictony, @twitterblue, The Verge, AppleInsider, The Wrap, Axios, @quinnypig, @shiraovide, @tuckerkristen, @ericzuck, @wongmjane, @ksheldongh, @jack, @scottmstedman, @idiplomacy, @arctictony, @devindra, @karissabe, @oranicuhh, @_jackriley, @film_girl, @caseynewton, @mahwashajaz_, @couch, @mims, @nicksallon and @caseynewton, more at Techmeme »
Greg Kumparak / TechCrunch:
Unity to acquire Peter Jackson's visual effects company Weta Digital, including 275+ engineers, for $1.625B; Weta Digital's FTX artists will form a new entity — Unity has just announced its intent to acquire Weta Digital, the legendary visual effects company co-founded by Peter Jackson, for a massive $1.625 billion.
Discussion:
Variety, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, The Verge, Gizmodo, Protocol, @loudmouthjulia, @thebeesneeze, @grg, @briannorgard, @shaneguml, @reckless, @tylerglaiel, @parismarx, @toadsanime, @xpangler, @mikeseymour, @chornesays, @nzkoz and @devincf, more at Techmeme »
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:
fuboTV to acquire French multiplatform streaming company Molotov for $190M; Molotov co-founder and CEO Jean-David Blanc will become chief strategy officer — fuboTV is making a significant move in Europe with plans to acquire Molotov, a French startup with a leading television streaming service. fuboTV …
Discussion:
The Streamable, Business Wire and WORLD SCREEN, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
New York Times:
By January 19, Meta aims to remove ad targeting options based on user interactions with content about health, race, political affiliation, religion, and more — Meta, the social media company formerly known as Facebook, said on Tuesday that it planned to eliminate advertisers' ability …
Discussion:
Facebook, Ad Age, TechCrunch, MediaPost, @ttp_updates, @ttp_updates, The Verge, Jerusalem Post, ZDNet, Engadget, NPR, @byrhondal, @brycelacy, @hkreid, @mikeisaac, @kurtwagner8, @cherylhori, @johnbattelle, @ttp_updates, @heminator, @samidh, @ericziminsky, @gregbensinger, @mikeisaac, @benwessel, @mikeisaac, @joshsternberg, @danpino, @sarafischer, @alexhern, @steveolson, @jamesrbuk and @authentic_hq, more at Techmeme »
Monica Eng / Axios:
Illinois educators start developing the first mandated high school media literacy class in the US, after the state passed a law requiring it — This summer Illinois became the first state to require one unit of media literacy for all high school students.
Discussion:
@jenmercieca, @jayrosen_nyu, @michaelkruse and The Rural Blog
Sara Fischer / Axios:
OpenWeb, formerly Spot.IM, used by 1,000+ publishers to manage comments and user interactions, raises a $150M Series E with NYT investing, valuing it at $1.1B — OpenWeb, a platform used by publishers to manage comments and user interactions, has raised $150 million in a series E financing round …
Discussion:
@openwebhq, @jeffjarvis, @arctictony, @noahchestnut, @nadavshoval and @nandoodles, more at Techmeme »
Bloomberg:
Netflix for iOS is rolling out Kids Clips, a TikTok-like feature that shows new daily short videos from its children's library — - Company to test ‘Kids Clips’ on iOS in U.S., other countries — Feature is similar to ‘Fast Laughs’ comedy offering for adults
Discussion:
@lucas_shaw, GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT, Engadget, @sarthakgh, ScreenRant, Gizmodo, @peninsulaqatar, @markgurman, @lanceulanoff, TechCrunch, New York Post, 9to5Mac, The Verge, Waivly and Insider, more at Techmeme »
Andrew Deck / Rest of World:
The global streaming boom is pushing language service providers to their limits due to a shortage of quality translators, voice-over actors, and sound mixers — Industry executives say international hit shows like Squid Game are draining a limited talent pool.
Discussion:
@skullface, @marklittlenews, @mvzelenks, @zackdavisson, @vickiturk, @leonidragozin and @bentranslates
Sara Lebow / eMarketer:
eMarketer projects Google, Meta, and Amazon will earn 64% of this year's $211.2B in US digital ad spending, about the same share as they had last year — For more insights and key statistics on the biggest trends in today's most disruptive industries, subscribe to our Chart of the Day newsletter.
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
DoubleVerify, which helps digital advertisers ensure brand safety and detect fraud, will buy OpenSlate for $150M to expand services on social video platforms — Deal expands DoubleVerify's brand-safety and ad-verification services on social-video platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, TikTok
Discussion:
Business Wire and @digitalshields, more at Techmeme »
Marc Tracy / New York Times:
Over 300 employees at Hearst's magazine division petition against the company's plans to return to the office next week; their union has filed an NLRB complaint — More than 300 employees at Hearst's magazine division have signed a petition objecting to the company's plan to have them return …
Discussion:
@stacey_grant91 and @spencerdukoff
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