Top News:
Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
Memo: Guardian Media Group CEO Anna Bateson tells staff to keep working from home until at least January 23, after a “serious disruption” to its IT systems — Staff have been told to work remotely since the incident began on 20 December. — The Guardian is continuing …
Discussion:
Semafor, The Record, @jamesrbuk, @dannyjpalmer, @alexmartin, New York Post, @malwarebytes and @brianhonan
Axios:
Source: Donald Trump Jr. signs a seven-figure multiyear podcast deal with Rumble, where he has 1M+ subscribers; Rumble reported 71M global MAUs for Q3 2022 — - Rumble went public via a blank check company merger in September that valued the platform at over $2 billion at the time.
Discussion:
MediaPost, Vanity Fair, @sarafischer, @jonathanchait, Reclaim The Net, @jessespector, @jonahdispatch, Mediaite, The Hill, Newser, The Wrap, @capitolhunters, @bill_tpa and @ronfilipkowski
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Punchbowl News plans to launch text-based breaking news alerts for its paid subscribers in mid-January 2023, adopting Subtext to lessen its reliance on Twitter — Punchbowl News, the two-year-old Congress-focused media startup, will launch a text-based breaking news service this month …
Discussion:
@axios, @sarafischer, @apalmerdc, @alex and @digidave
Kate Conger / New York Times:
Twitter says it is relaxing its policy for cause-based ads in the US and plans to expand the political advertising the company permits in the coming weeks — Elon Musk's social media service said it would begin to permit cause-based advertising to “facilitate public conversation around important topics.”
Discussion:
@twittersafety, The Verge, Washington Post, Politico, Financial Times, @patricklenton, @_zeets, @grogsgamut, @lmatsakis, @hoverbird, @chanian, @twittersafety, @yoda, @evelyndouek, @z3dster and @davezatz, more at Techmeme »
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
The NFL postponed the Monday Night Football Bills-Bengals game after Bills player Damar Hamlin collapsed and an ambulance took him off the field following a hit — The “Monday Night Football” game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals was suspended in the first quarter …
Discussion:
@realskipbayless, @jordonr, The Athletic, @nfl, @robertiger, Mediaite, New York Times, Next TV, @rgiii, Washington Post, @buffalobills, @tommysledge, The Official Website …, The Hill, Awful Announcing, CBS News, ESPN, New York Post, @govkathyhochul, The Comeback, @realskipbayless, CNN, The Athletic, NPR, ClutchPoints, Cincinnati.com, Buffalo News, New York Magazine, FOX News Radio, Bloomberg, New York Daily News, The Week, @nytimes, The Hollywood Reporter, The Daily Beast, Buffalo News, @julibriskman, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, TMZ.com, Substack, Front Office Sports, @katierogers, Vibe, Poynter, @alexmcdaniel, @alexmcdaniel, @alexmcdaniel, @bpmoritz, @bpmoritz, @bpmoritz, Footwear News, @jayscottsmith, @axios, Rolling Stone, CBS17.com, @davidshuster, @jbflint, @drdawg1996, Fox News, @steelers, @seahawks, @azcardinals, @yoda, @mcwm, @goodable, @travisakers, @theponiexpress, @bylindsayhjones, @nflpa, @juwanthewriter, @rwhelanwsj, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @realskipbayless, @matthewkeyslive, @adamschefter, @espn, @alexrkonrad, @fredtjoseph, @jreinermd, @oliverdarcy, 6abc, Sportszion, Al Jazeera, ProFootballTalk, KTLA, CNET, Axios, Wall Street Journal, BBC, Slayed by Voices …, The Wrap, Bloomberg, The Guardian, New York Magazine, WCPO 9 Cincinnati, Cincinnati.com, Cincinnati.com, ABC News, New York Daily News, TVNewsCheck, The Desk, NBC New York, CBSSports.com, ProFootballTalk, Sports Illustrated, Sports Illustrated, Mediaite, WREG-TV, UPI, Deadline, The Cincinnati Herald, Los Angeles Times and The Big Lead
Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:
Warner Bros. Discovery signs a deal with VideoAmp to measure its audience as an advertising data alternative to Nielsen, which the company will continue to use — - Warner Bros. Discovery signed a deal with VideoAmp, a significant moment for the startup audience measurement platform as an alternative option to legacy firm Nielsen.
Discussion:
Deadline, Axios, Ad Age, VideoAmp, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Adweek, @tvgrimreaper and MediaPost
Todd Spangler / Variety:
To cut more costs, HBO Max removes the original Looney Tunes seasons 16 to 31 and The Flintstones seasons 4 to 6, letting Warner Bros. licensing deals expire — Warner Bros. Discovery's content purge of HBO Max continued with a year-end culling of a bucket of classic “Looney Tunes” shorts and “The Flintstones” episodes.
Discussion:
Vulture, @marlyhg, The A.V. Club, @canadagraphs, @butleriano, @tvgrimreaper, TVLine, @benimated, @jessespector, @mediaevan, @edgewalker81, @automaticzen and The Streamable
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Similarweb: monthly visits to the top five news sites globally grew 1.8% YoY in 2022, after falling 8% YoY in 2021; Nielsen: cable news viewership fell ~14% YoY — News engagement continued to mostly slow in 2022 relative to 2021, but the drops across various platforms were less precipitous compared …
Discussion:
@kenvogel, @axios and @sarafischer
Leo Barraclough / Variety:
Cineworld, which filed for bankruptcy in September, plans to sell Regal Cinemas in its entirety, rather than break it up, and denies talks with AMC — Cineworld added that it intends to sell the group in its entirety, rather than break it up. — As well as denying it was in discussions with AMC itself …
Discussion:
Financial Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and Bloomberg
The New York Times Company:
David French, senior editor at The Dispatch and contributing writer for The Atlantic, joins the NYT as an Opinion columnist — Opinion announces that the writer and legal scholar David French is joining The New York Times staff as an Opinion columnist. Read more in this note from Kathleen Kingsbury and Patrick Healy.
Discussion:
@kurtschlichter, Reason, @peterawolf, @nytimespr, @owillis, @rottenindenmark, The Hill, @ned_zeppelin_iv, @philthatremains, @gothamgirlblue, @roddmartin, @hameturgeman, @jaynordlinger, @jennfrey, @politicalmath, @justintlogan, @michaelluo, @gaywonk, @davidafrench, @tedfrank, @orinkerr, @caseymattox_, @nickconfessore, @petersagal, @monitoringbias, @ameen_hga, @brucebartlett and @jamessurowiecki
The Wrap:
TheWrap announces the promotion of Adam Chitwood and Jethro Nededog to co-executive editors — TheWrap is delighted to announce that Adam Chitwood and Jethro Nededog have been promoted to Co-Executive Editors of TheWrap, effective immediately. They will report to Editor In Chief Sharon Waxman.
Discussion:
@theinsneider, @therealjethro, @adamchitwood and @sharonwaxman
Axios:
Refinitiv: media and entertainment M&A deal value fell 61% YoY to $142.7B in 2022 and the number of deals fell 10% YoY to 3,247 — Happy New Year, Media Deals readers! — 🇬🇧 Situational awareness: The Guardian's offices are closed until at least January 23 following …
Discussion:
@kerrymflynn