Top News:


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


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 »


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 »


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:


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, ZDNet, The Verge, @ttp_updates, @ttp_updates, @ttp_updates, Jerusalem Post, Engadget, NPR, @byrhondal, @brycelacy, @hkreid, @mikeisaac, @kurtwagner8, @cherylhori, @johnbattelle, @heminator, @samidh, @ericziminsky, @gregbensinger, @mikeisaac, @benwessel, @mikeisaac, @joshsternberg, @danpino, @sarafischer, @alexhern, @steveolson, @jamesrbuk and @authentic_hq, more at Techmeme »


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 »


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 »


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

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.


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


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 »


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


Netflix games arrive on Apple's App Store and users will start being able to access them through Netflix's iOS app tomorrow — Last week, Netflix launched its debut lineup of mobile games to Android users globally. Today, the games are expanding to users on iOS.
Discussion:
Cord Cutters News, Variety, Decider, CNET and AppleInsider, more at Techmeme »