Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
AT&T reports Q4: WarnerMedia revenue rose 15.4% YoY to $9.9B and DTC subscription revenue rose 11.5% YoY to $1.9B; Discovery merger is expected to close in Q2 — The company also announced that it expects the WarnerMedia spinoff and merger with Discovery to close in the second quarter …
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Streamable, Hollywood Reporter, @thr, Media Play News, @xpangler, @xpangler, AT&T and @brianstelter
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Dade Hayes / Deadline:
HBO and HBO Max ended 2021 with 46.8M subscribers in the US, up 5.3M over 2020; AT&T reported earlier that the services had 73.8M subscribers globally — HBO Max closed 2021 with 46.8 million domestic subscribers when combined with linear HBO, up 5.3 million over 2020, parent AT&T disclosed in its fourth-quarter earnings report.
Discussion:
Next TV
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Substack plans to launch a native video player in beta next week that will let creators upload or record a video and embed it directly in a Substack post — Substack plans to launch a native video player next week in an effort to lure new creators to the platform, a spokesperson confirmed to Axios.
Discussion:
On Substack, @renan, @ckrewson, @substackinc, Sub Pub, @simonowens, @protocol and @sarafischer
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Google shutters FLoC, its controversial ad tech for replacing third-party cookies, and proposes Topics, which categorizes the sites users visit into 300+ topics — FLoC (Federated Learning of Cohorts), Google's controversial project for replacing cookies for interest-based advertising …
Discussion:
GitHub, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Axios, The Keyword, Wall Street Journal, @pcmag, @brave, @johnwilander, @chrismessina, @seldo, @jeffjarvis, @robinberjon, The Register, @othermaciej, @lockheimer, @v21, @laurenweinstein, @googlechrome, @jason_kint, @robleathern, @pbannist, @adsliaison, Mumbrella, 9to5Google, ZDNet, The Drum, MediaPost, Protocol, The Verge, MarTech, Ad Age, AdExchanger, Digiday, CNET and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Viola Zhou / VICE:
Fight Club gets an alternate ending in its China release on Tencent Video wherein the police thwart Tyler Durden's anarchist plan — Someone tried very hard to please Chinese movie censors. — VZ — Fight Club is getting an entirely different ending in a new online release in China …
Discussion:
Variety, @tomgara, Digital Threat Digest, Desafiador do Desconhecido, @drjasonjohnson, @baldingsworld, @vice, @thedragonfeeder, The Playlist, @praddenkeefe, @erichschwartzel, @vladsavov, @mrbrianfirenzi, Washington Free Beacon, Agence France-Presse, New York Post, Insider, @whitebison66, @hurtingbombz, IndieWire, @rhokilpatrick, @oliverjia1014, @viceworldnews, @gerryshih, @violazhouyi, @gladstein, The A.V. Club, South China Morning Post, Consequence, The Independent, Polygon, Bloomberg, Collider, SlashFilm and ScreenRant
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Viola Zhou / VICE:
A look at some former Hong Kong journalists' new jobs after their outlets were shuttered; one says “there is no point being a journalist anymore”
Discussion:
@mbrookerhk, @brittclennett, @jerometaylor, @viviennechow, @alicemuwu, @violazhouyi, @stand_with_hk, @tommywalkerco, @benedictrogers, @melissakchan and @joefree215
Andy Greene / Rolling Stone:
Neil Young posts and then deletes a letter to his manager and a Warner exec demanding they remove his music from Spotify over Joe Rogan's vaccine misinformation — Neil Young posted a since-deleted letter to his management team and record label demanding that they remove his music from Spotify.
Discussion:
CNN, The Guardian, CBS News, Poynter, Engadget, Complete Music Update, insideradio.com, New Republic, The Daily Beast, @lilaaron911, @jimwaterson, @dangillmor, @alastairmca30, @bretthamil, @jasonisbell, The Daily Beast, @thedailyshow, @page88, @scottwalker, USA Today, Daily Herald, CNET, @anthonylfisher, @benschwartz_, NBC 6 South Florida, Twelve Thirty Six, TechCrunch, RADAR, Vanity Fair, Forbes, Financial Times, Deadline, Mediaite, @rexchapman, Wall Street Journal, UPI, The Verge, Boing Boing, Billboard, Barrett Media, Music Ally, The Wrap, Breitbart, Insider, Consequence, UPROXX, WGN-TV and Digital Music News
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Two House Energy and Commerce Committee members send a letter to NBC Universal's execs asking whether China or the IOC have influenced NBC's Olympics coverage — Republican leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have sent a letter to NBC Universal executives voicing concerns about …
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Peter White / Deadline:
Sources: ViacomCBS reverses a plan to rename Paramount Network as Paramount Movie Network due to Yellowstone's success and production-related COVID-19 slowdowns — EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Network is safe, for now. — ViacomCBS has reversed plans to rebrand the cable network …
Discussion:
ScreenRant, SlashFilm, Variety, The Wrap and The Streamable
Andrew Kersley / Press Gazette:
Slow news outlet Tortoise raises £10M to invest in audio and events, and reports a £8.5M loss for the year to December 2020, up from £5.4M in 2019 — “Slow news” start-up Tortoise has secured £10m of new funding to invest in audio journalism, events and growing its membership revenue.
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
WaPo names Matea Gold as National editor and Philip Rucker as deputy National editor, as part of plans to expand coverage with a focus on visual storytelling — The Washington Post has named Matea Gold as national editor and Philip Rucker as deputy national editor, with plans to expand …
Discussion:
Washington Post
Todd Spangler / Variety:
In a YouTube creator update, Susan Wojcicki defends hiding dislikes, discusses adding NFT support, says creators making over $10K/year jumped 40% YoY, and more — YouTube is touting the explosive popularity of its TikTok-style short-form Shorts video feature — and says it's going to test …
Discussion:
YouTube Official Blog, Protocol, @susanwojcicki, @youtubecreators, PC Gamer, @carnage4life, @mattnavarra, 9to5Google, Forbes, Tubefilter, Bloomberg, Ad Age and Adweek, more at Techmeme »
Abid Rahman / Hollywood Reporter:
Disney says Disney+ will launch in 42 countries and 11 territories this summer, including South Africa, Turkey, Poland, and the United Arab Emirates — The streaming service will debut in new countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Discussion:
Broadband TV News, Variety, Digital TV Europe and C21Media
Politico:
Grid, a news startup founded by Mark Bauman and headed by Laura McGann, maintains ties through its five-member board to APCO, which lobbies for UAE clients — The launch of the website Grid earlier this month represented the latest bet that the market for explainer journalism still exists in the digital space.
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