Top News:
Washington Post:
TikTok confirms it has shut down access to Russian sites RT and Sputnik in Europe following requests from individual governments and the European Union — Facebook and TikTok said Monday that the companies would shut down access to Kremlin-controlled media sites RT and Sputnik in Europe, setting the stage for retaliation from Russia.
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Oliver Darcy / CNN:
DirecTV drops RT “effective immediately”, accelerating this year's contract expiration timeline; DirecTV and Dish are the only major US TV providers carrying RT — New York (CNN Business)DirecTV is cutting ties with RT, the Russia-backed television network infamous for promoting Vladimir Putin's agenda.
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Axios, The Bulwark, CNET, The Wrap, The Week, The Daily Beast, @olganyc1211, Deadline, @karlbode, @jkarsh, @brianstelter, Rolling Stone, @michaelsocolow, Hollywood Reporter and Bloomberg
Dawn Chmielewski / Reuters:
Disney, Warner Bros., and Sony Pictures Entertainment say they are pausing theatrical releases in Russia; Disney says it is working with NGOs to provide aid — Hollywood studios Disney, Warner Bros., and Sony Pictures Entertainment said they would pause theatrical releases of upcoming films …
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New York Times, Variety, The Wrap, CNN, Quartz, @variety, UPROXX, TheBlaze, Media Play News, Al Jazeera, Snopes.com, Insider, Techdirt, The Week, Deseret, Los Angeles Times, CBR, Gizmodo, IndieWire, Hollywood Reporter and Deadline
Mark Scott / Politico:
YouTube plans to block Russia-backed RT and Sputnik in the European Union and the UK, following similar bans by Meta and TikTok, citing the invasion of Ukraine — Google's YouTube said Tuesday that it would block Kremlin-backed media outlets RT and Sputnik from Europe following similar bans by Facebook and TikTok.
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@googleeurope, Reuters, @eliothiggins, TVNewsCheck, @christopherjm, @broderick, @elilake, @eliothiggins, Euractiv, 9to5Mac, Digital TV Europe, @yiannisbab, TechCrunch, @eliothiggins, @jimwaterson, @hillelneuer, @jessikkaaro, @jeffjarvis, Engadget, The Hollywood Reporter, TASS, euronews, Reuters, Insider and Variety, more at Techmeme »
Alex Heath / The Verge:
Meta demotes content linking to Russian state media outlets on Facebook globally, will do the same on Instagram, and plans to label the content on both apps — Links to Russian state media are being demoted in Facebook and Instagram — Meta has stopped recommending content by Russian state media …
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@alexeheath, TechCrunch, Insider, Mashable, Al Jazeera, Protocol, @intelwire, @rachelcoldicutt, @sivavaid, @_mounir_ibrahim, @ideagov, The Guardian and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple pauses all product sales in Russia, removes RT News and Sputnik News from the App Store outside Russia, and disables Apple Maps' live traffic in Ukraine — Apple today stopped all product sales from its online website in Russia, which means customers in Russia can no longer purchase Macs, iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices.
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Washington Post, Bloomberg, CNBC, @alexstamos and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
Netflix won't add any Russian channels in the country “given the current situation” despite a regulation requiring it to add 20 federal channels from March 1
Netflix won't add any Russian channels in the country “given the current situation” despite a regulation requiring it to add 20 federal channels from March 1
Taylor Hatmaker / TechCrunch:
Twitter starts labeling tweets that link to Russian state-backed media outlets and plans to label other countries' state media outlets “in the coming weeks”
Twitter starts labeling tweets that link to Russian state-backed media outlets and plans to label other countries' state media outlets “in the coming weeks”
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@yoyoel, ScreenRant, MediaPost, Deadline, Washington Post, @digiphile, @sarafischer, Protocol, Euractiv, @silvermanjacob, @caitoz, MediaNama, @noupside, Ad Age, @gregbensinger, @adam_k_levin, @nachristakis, @robaeprice, @markwarner, @helmus, @digiphile, @vijaya, @mcfaul, @nickpickles, @twittersafety, Bloomberg, Reclaim The Net, Mashable, Insider, Deadline, Engadget, Politico, @nickclegg and Axios, more at Techmeme »
Thom Geier / The Wrap:
Roughly 100 writers and content producers at six G/O Media sites went on strike after Gizmodo Media Group Union's contract expired at midnight — Roughly 100 writers and content producers at Jezebel, Gizmodo and other G/O Media websites went on strike Tuesday after the Gizmodo Media Group Union's contract expired at midnight.
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@thetomzone, @gmgunion, Mediaite, Poynter, Variety, Talking Biz News, @sammblum, @edzitron, @jasonschreier, @stephentotilo, @joshsternberg, @swodinsky, @shortformernie, @ashleyfeinberg, New York Times, @offbeatorbit, @thetomzone, @transgamerthink, @stephentotilo, @ryanlcooper and @ethangach
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sources: Justin Smith and Ben Smith seek to raise $20M-$30M to launch their news outlet by fall 2022; Ben expects 2024 election scoops will help build the brand — Justin Smith, the former head of Bloomberg Media, and Ben Smith, the former New York Times media columnist …
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@jrubinblogger, @claremalone, @irvwashington3, @axios and @shefalil
David Remnick / New Yorker:
Q&A with Nobel Peace Prize winner and Novaya Gazeta EIC Dmitry Muratov on pressure from the Russian government, planning for a “very difficult period”, and more — “We continue to call war war,” Dmitry Muratov, the editor of Novaya Gazeta, said. “We are waiting for the consequences.”
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@soutikbbc, @tvheidihatch, @b0yle, @lainnafader and @newslitproject
Jonathan Tannenwald / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Turner Sports wins English-language TV rights for US Soccer starting in 2023 and HBO Max will be the primary outlet; sources: the deal is worth ~$25M per year — The U.S. Soccer Federation's next English-language TV rights deal has been won by Turner Sports, the two entities announced Tuesday …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Sony merges anime streaming services Funimation and Crunchyroll into a single subscription, starts phasing out the Funimation brand, and promises no price hike — Sony is effectively merging its two anime streaming services, announcing that Crunchyroll subscribers will have access to library …
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Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll, The Streamable, Cord Cutters News, Bloomberg, Deadline, @iamzamber and Adweek
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
New York-based startup Antenna, which tracks subscriptions in streaming and other sectors, raises a $10M Series A led by Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments — Antenna, a data firm tracking subscriptions in streaming and other sectors, has wrapped a $10 million Series A funding round …
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