Mediagazer: Meta reports Q4 ad revenue of $32.6B, up 20% YoY, but warns sales growth could be 3%-11% in Q1 2022 due to iOS changes, inflation, and supply chain disruptions (BBC)

2:30 PM ET, February 3, 2022

Top News:

Ashley Carman / The Verge:

Audio: Daniel Ek says Spotify needs exclusives for leverage to land deals with Amazon, Google, and others, and that Spotify is a platform, not a publisher — He says Spotify is a platform, not a publisher — Spotify CEO Daniel Ek addressed employees about the Joe Rogan controversy …

Christi Carras / Los Angeles Times:
Neil Young's former bandmates, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash, ask their music labels to remove their collective recordings from Spotify

Discussion: @lucas_shaw, UPROXX, NPR, @mmasnick, @brianna_ashby, @kennethcolereal, @forbes, @dcseifert, @willmcavoyacn, The Daily Beast, Variety, Pitchfork, Breitbart and Music Business Worldwide

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Spotify reports Q4 revenue of €2.69B, up 24% YoY, 406M MAUs, up 18% YoY, and ad-supported revenue of €394M, up 40% YoY and a record 15% of total revenue

Discussion: Protocol, Spotify, The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, @accessnow, @chriswelch, ZDNet, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw and @kerrymflynn, more at Techmeme »

Rebecca Klar / The Hill:

Wikimedia Foundation and other media groups say a proposed bill that would let news publishers negotiate with tech platforms would hurt small and local outlets — A proposal aimed at giving news publishers the power to bargain with dominant tech platforms over the distribution of their content …

Discussion: American Press Institute, The Rural Blog, insideradio.com and Washington Post

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

UK and Canada draft laws similar to Australia's news bargaining code, which basically determines how much money outlets need to stop complaining about Google — The U.K. and Canada look ready to copy Australia's idea to force Google and Facebook to give publishers money.

Discussion: @emilybell, @chrismsutcliffe, @dangillmor, @pilhofer, @damiencave, @rasmus_kleis, @corinne_podger, @jayrosen_nyu and @mattnavarra

Shawn McCreesh / New York Magazine:

CNN staffers puzzle over Jeff Zucker's sudden move as his relationship was an “open secret”: “this is Kilar taking his succession swipe back at Jeff” — At first, it seemed like Jeff Zucker was just another piece of collateral damage from Andrew Cuomo's demise …

Discussion: Katie Couric Media, The Wrap, Insider, @grynbaum, CNN, Mediaite, TVNewser, @grynbaum, @grynbaum, @grynbaum, RADAR, @kimmasters, @mattnegrin, @soledadobrien, @dicktofel, @espiers, @goldman, @tombevanrcp, @jeffjarvis, @edmundlee, @grynbaum, @robenfarzad, @brianstelter, @mrernestowens, @grynbaum, @tomgara, @joshsternberg, @nymag and OutKick

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

Jeff Zucker's tenure at CNN is defined by his pursuit of ratings, which guided his relationship with Donald Trump, whose persona he helped create and burnish — Many questions still swirl around Wednesday's startling announcement that, after nine years, Jeff Zucker's reign as CNN president was over.

Discussion: New York Post, @colmorrisdavis, @jeffjarvis, @jayrosen_nyu, @dominicholden, @sulliview and @jrubinblogger

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Jeff Zucker resigns as CNN president and chair of WarnerMedia's news and sports division, saying he didn't disclose a relationship with a senior CNN executive

Discussion: Politico, Axios, Media Nation, Mediaite, @mediaite, @irin, Columbia Journalism Review, Washington Post, Variety, Variety, RADAR, Fox News, New York Post, The Wrap, The Guardian, @benyt, RADAR, @parkermolloy, @jayrosen_nyu, @megynkelly, @oliverdarcy, @kasie, The Atlantic, Insider, @jdawsey1, @brianstelter, @kimmasters, Bloomberg, @lisabloom, Poynter, @levinejonathan, @mercedesschlapp, @davidgura, Deadline, @benmullin, @soledadobrien, @soledadobrien, Barrett Media, @perlberg, @brianstelter, @davidfolkenflik, @chuckrossdc, @variety, @kellyannepolls, @jrubinblogger, @gpollowitz, @oliverdarcy, @jbflint, @byashleyhackett, @davidmdeloso, @ewong, @michaelbd, @jbflint, @thegarance, @bristei, @keitholbermann, @baseballcrank, @jeffjarvis, @davidmackau, @goldengateblond, @pkafka, @sherman4949, @iamsophianelson, @edmundlee, @pkafka, @brianstelter, @digiphile, @parkermolloy, @jamesrbuk, @eorden, @dylanbyers, @oliverdarcy, @markjacob16, @adriennelaw, @phil_lewis_, @cliffordlevy, @amy_siskind, @rmac18, @thetomzone, @kylebrussell, @shanegoldmacher, @nycsouthpaw, @greg_price11, @jerrydunleavy, @davidmackau, @loudmouthjulia, @lpolgreen, @janicedean, The Hollywood Reporter, @edmundlee, The Daily Beast, Next TV, New Republic, Wall Street Journal, discourseblog.com, Breitbart, The Week, NPR, Too Much TV Newsletter, Campaign Update, Fortune and The Sun

Brian Stelter / CNN:
CNN's chief marketing officer Allison Gollust says she and Jeff Zucker started a relationship “during COVID”; Gollust will remain at CNN

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar names three CNN top managers, Michael Bass, Amy Entelis, and Ken Jautz, as interim CNN co-heads through the Discovery merger close

Discussion: New York Post, @awallenstein and MediaPost

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:

Alden's effort to take over Lee Enterprises heats up, with a court hearing on February 7 and competing proposals for Lee's board ahead of a meeting on March 10 — Four recent developments in the hedge fund's attempt to take over the owner of St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Omaha World-Herald, The Buffalo News and more.

Discussion: Lee Enterprises, Inc., @spj_tweets and Business Wire

Lee Enterprises, Inc.:

Lee Enterprises reports $13.2M net income on $202.3M revenue for the quarter ending in December; digital subscriptions rose 57% during the quarter to 450K — Digital-only subscribers grew 57%; exceeds halfway mark to 2026 target of 900K Digital Advertising Revenue totaled $43M in the quarter (+19% YOY)

Discussion: Poynter

BBC:

Meta reports Q4 ad revenue of $32.6B, up 20% YoY, but warns sales growth could be 3%-11% in Q1 2022 due to iOS changes, inflation, and supply chain disruptions — Facebook-owner Meta has warned of slowing growth, as audiences flock to competitors like TikTok and the businesses that advertise on its platforms cut marketing budgets.

Discussion: Facebook, CNBC, CNBC, Variety, Reclaim The Net, Variety, @eric_seufert, @aparanjape, @ashkan, @corymillsfl, @hotlinejosh, @xpangler, Reuters, Sky News, Ad Age, Hollywood Reporter and Deadline, more at Techmeme »

Stephanie Condon / ZDNet:
Meta CFO says Apple's ATT privacy changes will cost the company $10B in revenue during 2022 and says Google “faces a different set of restrictions from Apple”

Discussion: Financial Times, Fast Company, Breitbart, CNBC, MacRumors and The Economic Times, more at Techmeme »

Anna Gross / Financial Times:

BT says it has started exclusive discussions with Discovery over forming a joint venture for BT Sport, deciding against a sale to DAZN — UK telecoms group considers 50/50 alliance with Eurosport UK after deciding against sale to DAZN — BT has started exclusive discussions …

Sarah Ellison / Washington Post:

Sarah Palin's libel case against NYT begins, with the potential to alter precedent granting broad protections to news outlets writing about public figures — The former Alaska governor claims the paper defamed her with a 2017 editorial that was later corrected, in a case that tests long-standing protections for publishers

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera, MSNBC, Associated Press, @sarahellison, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, Law & Crime, Page Six and New York Post

DW.COM:

Russia closes DW's Moscow bureau, revokes accreditations, terminates broadcasting, and plans to label it a “foreign agent” after Germany banned RT-DE — Russia has withdrawn the press credentials of all Deutsche Welle staff and is shutting down the organization's studio in Moscow.

Discussion: The Guardian, Financial Times, @dw_conflictzone, Reuters, Al Jazeera, @paulachertok, Broadband TV News, MyNorthwest.com, @joyce_karam, @olliecarroll, @jakluge, @polinaivanovva, @sarahrainsford and @guilfanr

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

NBC says its Super Bowl ad inventory is sold out across NBC, Telemundo, and Peacock, with some 30-second units selling for $7M — Kickoff for Super Bowl LVI is still days away, but NBC has scored at least one touchdown. — NBC has sold out all of its inventory for the Big Game …