Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
AT&T Q4: WarnerMedia revenue rose 15.4% YoY to $9.9B and DTC subscription revenue rose 11.5% YoY to $1.9B; the $43B 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, @alexweprin, @thr, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, @xpangler, @thewrap, Media Play News, ZDNet, Deadline, The Streamable, @brianstelter, @xpangler, Variety, @jpalmiotti, AT&T and MediaPost
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Dade Hayes / Deadline:
HBO and HBO Max ended 2021 with 46.8M US subscribers, up 5.3M over 2020; AT&T reported earlier in January 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 …
Discussion:
Next TV and The Streamable
Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:
Spotify is removing Neil Young's music after he gave the company an ultimatum between his music and Joe Rogan's podcast with COVID-19 vaccine misinformation — The folk-rock star won't back down after discussions with his record label and Spotify — Spotify Technology SA is in the process …
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Media Matters for America, New York Times, New York Post, Billboard, @shannonpareil, NPR, Insider, Uniquely American, The Onion, The Information, UPI, Chicago Sun-Times, Axios, The Guardian, CBS News, Mediaite, @live1dnews, The A.V. Club, @jimmy_dore, @jeffjarvis, @rverrier, @bizballmaury, @racheld, @davmicrot, @rschooley, @hkuppy, Rolling Stone, Engadget, @hashtaggriswold, @tatianacirisano, Bloomberg, @joshsternberg, @dee_bosa, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, @torriangray, @esotericcd, INQUIRE, @harrymccracken, TechCrunch, @tjmoe28, Variety, Deadline, UPROXX, @mcwm, @dennisperkins5, @elopezgross, @green_footballs, @xeni, Digital Music News, @ronwaxman, RAPPLER, WGN-TV, The Verge, New Republic, EchoLocator, insideradio.com, Reclaim The Net, SPIN, Hollywood Reporter and The Daily Beast
On Substack:
Substack says it will stick to its hands-off approach to content moderation amid increased pressure to censor what some see as dubious or objectionable content — Hamish McKenzie, Chris Best, and Jairaj — Last year, in an interview with the New York Times, anthropologist Heidi Larson …
Discussion:
@emilymiller, @davidu, @rrhoover, @epro, @binarybits, @doombergt, @caseynewton, @yugacohler, @dongwon, @cjgbest, Shawn MC's Newsletter, @lmatsakis and @substackinc
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
The Washington Post names Matea Gold as national editor and Philip Rucker as deputy national editor, as part of expanding coverage with more 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, @mateagold, @froomkin, @harrylitman, @jdawsey1, @newsbysamuels, @jayrosen_nyu, @froomkin, @vermontgmg, @shaneharris, @paulsonne, @ceciliakang, @philiprucker, @nataliejennings, @waposean, @froomkin, @postroz, @owillis, @anniegowen, @jaxalemany, @colbyitkowitz, @scotusreporter, @marcosbreton, @carolleonnig, @philiprucker, @danlamothe, @loriamontgomery, @ashleyrparker, @petereporter, @ashleyrparker and @griffwitte
Chris Mills Rodrigo / The Hill:
YouTube permanently bans Dan Bongino for trying to evade a previous suspension; the pro-Trump pundit had previously said he planned to leave the platform — YouTube on Wednesday permanently banned conservative commentator Dan Bongino from the platform, saying he attempted to evade a previous suspension.
Discussion:
@oliverdarcy, Breitbart, @nandoodles, @slpng_giants, @zamaan_qureshi, @stuartathompson, @profcarroll, The Wrap, @mattgertz, Engadget, @edbott, @jason_kint, @nandoodles, Variety, UPI, @green_footballs, UPROXX, @joshsternberg, Mediaite, @projectlincoln, @nandoodles, RAPPLER, Deadline and Reclaim The Net, more at Techmeme »
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
VAB study: Nielsen's failure to count “out of home” impressions could have cost networks $350M+ in advertising revenue between May 2021 and November 2021 — A new study by the nation's big TV networks suggests Nielsen's efforts to count viewers watching their favorite programs in so-called …
Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:
Profile of Real America's Voice, which distributes Steve Bannon's talk show to ~8M homes and is run by Robert J. Sigg, a felon with a record of unpaid taxes — ‘War Room’ is at the center of a fledgling network monetizing what some employees saw as ‘Trump propaganda.’
Discussion:
@therickwilson, @tomfitton, Wayne Besen, @espiegler, @ddiamond, @dpfunke, @isaacstanbecker, @carolleonnig, @tribelaw and Mediaite
Abid Rahman / Hollywood Reporter:
Disney says Disney+ will launch in 42 countries and 11 territories this summer, including South Africa, Turkey, Poland, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE — The streaming service will debut in new countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Discussion:
The Verge, Engadget, @mrinaldesai, The Streamable, Fierce Video, Variety, Deadline, Broadband TV News, Digital TV Europe and C21Media, more at Techmeme »
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
Study: high levels of multiyear funding and strong structural protections for independent public media are positively correlated with healthy democracies — But the direction of causality is tricky. Do a democracy's flaws lead it to starve public media, or does starving public media lead to a democracy's flaws?
Discussion:
Platy's Web Excursions
Bloomberg:
NewsGuild complains to the NLRB that the NYT's exclusion of union members from three paid holidays is meant to discourage NYT tech staff from voting for a union — A New York Times Co. employee union is accusing the publisher of violating federal labor law by excluding unionized employees from three paid holidays.
Discussion:
@kbui1, @nyguild, @newsguild, @thomdunn, @gaufre, Vanity Fair, @chactivist, @stacycowley, @nytimesguild and @josheidelson
Peter White / Deadline:
Sources: ViacomCBS reverses a plan to rename Paramount Network as Paramount Movie Network due to Yellowstone's success and COVID-19-related production slowdowns — EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Network is safe, for now. — ViacomCBS has reversed plans to rebrand the cable network …
Discussion:
ScreenRant, SlashFilm and Variety
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