Mediagazer: Protocol appoints its executive editor Tim Grieve as EIC (Mariam Ahmed/Talking Biz News)

Todd Spangler / Variety:

AT&T plans to sell its Xandr programmatic advertising marketplace to Microsoft; the deal would not involve the ad sales business behind DirecTV — Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed; the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory reviews.

Emma Goldberg / New York Times:

In an internal memo, Fox says all its NYC office staff must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination by December 27, blaming Mayor de Blasio for the vaccine mandate — Fox Corporation, the owner of Fox News, told employees on Friday that those working in New York City would have to show proof …

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely steps down as CEO and names head of communications and marketing Ami Gan as his replacement; Stokely will remain as an adviser — OnlyFans named spokesperson Ami Gan as its new chief executive officer, replacing Tim Stokely, who founded and built the media company …

Discussion: TechCrunch, New York Post, @lucas_shaw and Tubefilter, more at Techmeme »

Axios:

Source: PE firm GSV is working on a bid to buy Forbes Media at a $620M valuation, as an alternative to Forbes' planned $630M SPAC merger — Investment firm GSV is working on a bid to buy Forbes Media at a $620 million valuation as an alternative to Forbes' announced SPAC merger, Axios has learned.

Discussion: @sarafischer and @michellemanafy

Axios:

Media job losses are set to hit a 14-year low in 2021, following 2020's record high — Job cuts in media and news specifically are on track to hit a 14-year-low in 2021, according to the latest data from Challenger Gray & Christmas. — Why it matters: An unprecedented level of job cuts …

Discussion: @sarafischer, @seyitaylor, Jacklail.com and @sherman4949

Mariam Ahmed / Talking Biz News:

Protocol appoints its executive editor Tim Grieve as EIC — Protocol has tapped Tim Grieve as editor-in-chief. He recently served as executive editor. — Grieve has also held various leadership roles at Politico, including serving as deputy managing editor, assistant managing editor, managing editor.

Discussion: @tmwincup, @bennettrich, @bennettrich and @bennettrich

Ben Bowman / The Streamable:

YouTube TV reaches a deal with Disney to bring back 17+ channels including ABC, Disney, ESPN, Freeform, FX, and National Geographic — After one day of being dark, YouTube TV and Disney have reached a deal which will see more than 17 Disney-owned channels, including local ABC affiliates, Disney Channel, and ESPN return to the service.

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Disney says it intends to join the Nielsen One “cross screen” framework, which is expected to debut at CES in January before a launch at the end of 2022 — Don't count Nielsen out as the media industry scrambles to find new ways to tabulate audiences increasingly making their way to venues other than a traditional TV set.

Discussion: AdExchanger, nexttv.com, Radio & Television …, Ad Age and Deadline

William Turvill / Press Gazette:

Axel Springer reports 2020 revenue of €2.97B, down 5% YoY, with adjusted EBITDA of €653.8M, down 13% YoY, and says its US business is “booming” in 2021 — Axel Springer, the German news publishing giant that owns Insider and Politico, has revealed that its revenues fell by €150m …

Discussion: Reuters and @jackshafer

Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:

Internal memo: CNN is closing its US offices to all nonessential employees as COVID-19 cases rise at the network and nationwide — President Jeff Zucker cited a surge of cases at the network in a memo on the decision — CNN is closing its offices to nonessential employees …

Rob Pegoraro / PCMag:

Five DC-area stations begin airing Internet Protocol-based NextGen TV signals alongside digital TV broadcasts, 3.5 years after the first test broadcasts began — The updated over-the-air television standard allows for more reliable reception, better sound and video, and interactive features.

Discussion: American Press Institute

Mathew Ingram / Columbia Journalism Review:

The pursuit of “scale” drives media companies to merge, such as in the Vox-Group Nine deal, but what constitutes sufficient scale changes when valuations shrink — On Tuesday, Vox Media and Group Nine announced plans to merge their operations, in what Jim Bankoff …

Discussion: @chronotope, @jackmarshall, @cjr, @mathewi and Wall Street Journal