Top News:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
NYT has agreed to acquire The Athletic in an all-cash deal valuing the startup at $550M; co-founders Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann will stay on after the deal — The New York Times has agreed to acquire The Athletic in an all-cash deal valuing the sports media startup at $550 million …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, MediaPost, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, The Information, Wall Street Journal, Newser, @paulkuharskynfl, UPI, @joshsternberg, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, @sulliview, @ylichterman, CNBC, @jessicalessin, @ckrewson, @rafat, @sarafischer, @hollyzachariah, @sarafischer, @pkafka, @dangillmor, @jeffjarvis, @dskok, @nytimesguild, New York Post, @ckrewson, Front Office Sports and Awful Announcing
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Peter Kafka / Vox:
The NYT-Athletic deal is a big bet with significant risk, as growth slows for The NYT and profit remains elusive for The Athletic — A big bet with real risk and reward. — The New York Times wants more subscribers. The Athletic has lots of subscribers but loses money.
Discussion:
The Ringer, New York Times, MediaPost, @pottsmark, Adweek, @markberman, @sizpatel, The Information, @ringer, @mattzeitlin, @oliviawitherite, @thegridkid, @jessegranger_, @tybatiste, @travonne, @melissalockard, @aarongleeman, @zpathletic, @electricalwsop, @liam_twomey, @mathewi, @aarongleeman, @rasmus_kleis, Denver Post, @ken_rosenthal, @adamlefkoe, @bydavidgardner, @vosdscott, @tvgrimreaper, @jeremylittau, @gintautasd, Deadline, Sportico, @dylanbyers, @freddiecampion, The Wrap, @arashmarkazi, @jeremylittau, Defector, @willystaley, @jeremylittau, @jeremylittau, @rafat, @daryrezvani, @cnyari, @maxjrosenthal, @nichcarlson, @jeremylittau, @conordougherty, @rafat, @keganreneau, @jeremylittau, @rafat, @jeffveillette, @rafat, @chrisryan_nj, @jeremylittau, @pkafka, @pkafka, The Spun, @mikeorren, @john_p_carvalho, @katie_martin_fx, Financial Times, @danprimack, @rafat, @mathewi, @jeremylittau, @sbienkowski, @brettkollmann, @pkafka, Nieman Lab, @mattietk, @danprimack, @pkafka, @_zeets, @ericliptonnyt, @nw3, @freightalley, @thegridkid, @jeremylittau and The Hill
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS are exploring selling a significant stake, or all of, CW Network; among possible buyers, Nexstar Media Group is leading — Nexstar Media Group is among the suitors for CW Network, sources say — AT&T Inc.'s WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS Inc. are exploring …
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The Hollywood Reporter:
In a memo to staff, The CW CEO confirms ViacomCBS and Warner Bros. are exploring its sale but says it's “too early to speculate what might happen” — Local TV giant Nexstar is said to be among the suitors for the broadcast network. — The CW is up for sale.
Discussion:
The A.V. Club, @alexweprin, ScreenRant, @azalben, @srirachachau, @azalben, Variety, The Wrap and MediaPost
Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:
Justin Smith says his venture with Ben Smith is not a quick flip and they are aiming for multi-decade growth; Ben says the outlet will be “post social media” — Ex-Bloomberg executive and New York Times journalist are aiming for multi-decade growth
Discussion:
@zielina, @tomgara, @mattzeitlin, @nivincent, @claireberlinski, @johngapper, @robinwigg, @bobbyallyn, @snolen, @tomgara, @kixes, @iroughol, @benyt, @tomgara, @aadilbrar, @zielina, @marklittlenews, @emilyrauhala, @carlquintanilla, @zhaoyinfeng, @skinnylatte, @claradfmarques, @damiencave, @mathewi and Polis
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Spotify introduces Call-to-Action Cards, a visual ad format for podcasts that puts clickable cards inside show and episode pages — Spotify is today introducing is introducing a new ad format aimed at podcasters which it's calling “Call-to-Action Cards” — or CTA cards, for short.
Discussion:
Spotify, Gizmodo, @ericmarkowitz, ScreenRant, Adweek, @spotifynews, @mattnavarra, The Drum, RAIN News, CNET and MediaPost, more at Techmeme »
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
LinkedIn plans to launch interactive, audio-only live events this month in beta for some creators and a video version in the spring — LinkedIn, now with more than 800 million people listing their professional profiles to build out their careers, is taking its next steps to get them to spend more time on the platform.
Discussion:
Tubefilter, @far33d, Adweek, @caseynewton, @tomcoates, @pt and @thekenyeung, more at Techmeme »
Manori Ravindran / Variety:
The BBC appoints ITN chief executive Deborah Turness as CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs, replacing Fran Unsworth, who is stepping down at the end of January — The BBC has appointed ITN chief executive Deborah Turness as its CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Financial Times, bbc.co.uk, @pressgazette, @benyt, @jake_kanter, @katyturnbc, @marklittlenews, @benfenton, The Wrap, TVNewser, Press Gazette, Telegraph, Deadline and Hollywood Reporter
Ananya Mariam Rajesh / Reuters:
BuzzFeed names Christian Baesler as COO, filling a role vacant since Jon Steinberg stepped down in 2014; Baesler will also continue as CEO of Complex Networks — BuzzFeed Inc (BZFD.O) on Thursday named Christian Baesler as chief operating officer, filling a role that has remained vacant …
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, Variety and Hollywood Reporter
Marianne Garvey / CNN:
HFPA will hold a ceremony for the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles, but it will not be televised and will have no red carpet — (CNN)The 2022 Golden Globe Awards are happening, but also not really happening. — There will be a ceremony thrown by The Hollywood Foreign Press Association …
Discussion:
Deadline, Forbes, LAist, The Daily Beast, New York Post, @goldenglobes and Black Enterprise
Kaya Yurieff / The Information:
Patreon says creators earned $3.5B through subscriptions from 2013 to December 2021, up from $2B in November 2020 — The pandemic shutdowns meant boom times for Patreon. The nearly nine-year-old company benefited from a spike in activity from online performers and fans and raised $245 million in funding in less than a year.
Discussion:
Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, @kyurieff and @lauramandaro
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
The Washington Post names Steven Ginsberg as managing editor for its main news sections, rounding out Executive Editor Sally Buzbee's senior management team — Steven Ginsberg, The Washington Post's National editor who led the organization's political coverage through the Trump years …
Discussion:
@feliciasonmez, @farhip, @feliciasonmez, @joeheim, @amyegardner, @jackshafer, @shearm and @froomkin
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