Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
AT&T plans to sell its Xandr programmatic advertising marketplace to Microsoft; the deal would not include the ad sales business supporting DirecTV — Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed; the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory reviews.
Discussion:
Axios, @aripap, Microsoft Advertising, PR Newswire, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, @msftadvertising, @xandr, @nandoodles, @aaronwall, @bristei, @joshsternberg, @aripap, @davidclinchnews, @arctictony, @sarafischer, @aagave, @msftnews, Ad Age, PRWeek, Reuters, nexttv.com, MediaPost, Light Reading and Adweek, more at Techmeme »
Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
Fox says Jesse Watters was speaking metaphorically when he told a conference audience to “ambush” Dr. Fauci with a “kill shot”; Dr. Fauci calls for his firing — The Fox host was referring to confrontational interviews in comments at a conservative conference but leaned hard on violent imagery: 'Boom!
Discussion:
@ronfilipkowski, @therecount, Politico, @deliacabe, @lmerritt1, @brianklaas, @ndrew_lawrence, @existentialfish, @karaswisher, @mikefreemannfl, @exavierpope, @keitholbermann, @ynb, @brianklaas, @existentialfish, @mehdirhasan, @mikelupica, @walshfreedom, @jimsciutto, @jjohnsonlaw, Mediaite and UPROXX
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely steps down as CEO, naming 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:
PR Newswire, Insider, @lucas_shaw, Gizmodo, @pkafka, Observer, Billboard, CNET, Variety, Tubefilter, New York Post and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Axios:
Source: GSV Asset Management 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, SPAC Track, @mathewi and @michellemanafy
Mitchell Clark / The Verge:
Meta says over half of its Bulletin newsletter platform's 115 creators have over 1,000 free subscribers, “with many having more than 5,000 or 10,000” — Six months in and there are 115 publications writing on it — A new blog post from Meta marks the six-month anniversary of its newsletter publishing platform, Bulletin.
Discussion:
Insider, @yoda, @broderick, @bmorrissey, @perlberg, Bulletin FYI and What's New in Publishing, more at Techmeme »
Kate Conger / New York Times:
A look at Clubhouse and its competitors, as veteran podcast hosts and new creators decide what works best for them, based on pay, features, and their audiences — The company showed that people would flock to an audio-only social media app. Can it fend off the imitators?
Discussion:
@chrismessina and @brianmcc
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 …
Discussion:
@brendannyhan, @emmabgo, @mmoyr, @ericuman, @helenkennedy, @zac_petkanas, @brianstelter, @jonlis1, Breitbart, Barrett Media, @jeremymbarr, @mollyjongfast, @bradmossesq, @mehdirhasan, @deray, @billpascrell, @jeremymbarr, @scottfeinberg, @projectlincoln, @xtrixcyclex, @maxboot, The Hill, TVNewser, Mediaite, The Daily Beast and @jeremymbarr
Bloomberg:
China's Xinhua News Agency plans to issue news photography collectibles based on NFT tech, despite Beijing largely banning crypto transactions — China's official Xinhua News Agency is planning to issue news collectibles based on technology used in non-fungible tokens even as policy makers …
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
Swedish video game holding company Embracer Group acquires Mike Richardson's comics publisher and production group Dark Horse Media; Richardson remains the CEO — Embracer Group, a Swedish video game holding company, unveiled plans to buy Dark Horse Media, the comic book and entertainment group founded and led by Mike Richardson.
Discussion:
Embracer, Crunchyroll!, @paultobin and Game Informer
Gillian Tan / Bloomberg:
LA-based Triller agrees to merge with SeaChange, taking the TikTok rival public at a $5B valuation, up from $1.25B in a recent round — Triller, a social-video platform, agreed to a merger with Seachange International Inc. in a move that will take the smaller rival to TikTok public.
Discussion:
GlobeNewswire News Room, more at Techmeme »
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Disney and nine others will offer feedback on the Nielsen One “cross screen” measurement framework, debuting at CES in January and launching at the end of 2022 — Don't count Nielsen out as the media industry scrambles to find new ways to tabulate audiences increasingly making …
Discussion:
AdExchanger, Digiday, MediaPost, insideradio.com, @bristei, Ad Age, nexttv.com, Deadline and Radio & Television …
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
NYT's Thomas Friedman favorably cited Conservation International in 20+ columns without disclosing $5.9M in family donations to the environmental organization — In two dozen opinion columns published by the New York Times over the past 15 years, Thomas Friedman has favorably cited …
Discussion:
@markseibel, @timmarchman, @w7voa, @awinston and Media Nation
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