Mediagazer: WBD signs a deal with Amazon to offer a “Warner Pass” on Prime Video Channels in France with all HBO programs and 12 other channels, including CNN and Eurosport (Elsa Keslassy/Variety)

Tony Stubblebine / The Official Medium Blog:

Medium launches a Mastodon instance on me.dm, promising members a service with reliable moderation, smoother onboarding, an interesting local feed, and more — The fediverse is a breath of fresh air for writers and social media — Today, Medium is launching a Mastodon instance at me.dm …

Discussion: @jlori, @medium, @asmartbear, @tmcw, @chrismessina, @brittanyjezouit, @kissane@mstdn.social, @kissane@mstdn.social, @kissane@mstdn.social, @coachtony@me.dm, @dansinker@omfg.town, @coachtony@me.dm and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Elsa Keslassy / Variety:

WBD signs a deal with Amazon to offer a “Warner Pass” on Prime Video Channels in France with all HBO programs and 12 other channels, including CNN and Eurosport — The offer will be available exclusively on Amazon Prime Video Channels in France, and will boast all of HBO programs …

Discussion: The Wrap, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Broadband TV News and Media Play News

Max Goldbart / Deadline:

Tim Davie says the BBC is “not proactively putting a date on a digital switchover” and the aggressive plan won't “remove things used by lots of people too soon” — The BBC is “not proactively putting a date on a digital switchover or anything stupid like that,” …

Reed Albergotti / Semafor:

Sources: Coinbase's internal “sentiment” tracker showed Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX was consistently viewed more favorably by the media right up until its collapse — Crypto exchange Coinbase has for years tracked how the company is portrayed in the press and online, and that …

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts:

Sen. Elizabeth Warren urges the FCC to block Standard General's purchase of Tegna, saying the merger could lead to higher prices, layoffs, and easier collusion — “FCC should block any transaction that it knows is likely to harm competition or the public interest such as Standard General's proposed acquisition of Tegna”

Discussion: Next TV, @newsguild and Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Brian Veseling / WAN-IFRA:

After enabling online subscription cancellation, Minnesota Star Tribune finds the online process retains 18.5% of customers vs. 8.8% when done via a call center — 2023-01-12. “Our goal is to discuss retention as often as we discuss acquisition,” says Toby Collodora …

Discussion: Nieman Lab

Saksha Menezes / Bloomberg:

Research: UK vinyl sales reached £150.5M in 2022, surpassing CD sales, which fell 17.4% YoY to £124M, the first time vinyl outsold CDs since 1987 — Vinyl Outsold CDs in the UK Last Year — Sales from 2018 to 2022 — Source: The Digital Entertainment and Retail Association

Discussion: ERA Ltd

New York Times:

Prince Harry's memoir, Spare, sold 1.43M copies on its first day, including pre-orders, a record for any nonfiction book ever published by Penguin Random House — The steady drumbeat of revelations that preceded the book's release helped push early orders and initial sales, making “Spare …

Discussion: The Hill, Vanity Fair, UPI, Variety, Insider and The Hollywood Reporter

Sam Kille / The GroundTruth Project:

The GroundTruth Project, home of Report for America and Report for the World, names Rob Zeaske as its new CEO, starting January 23 — The GroundTruth Project, home of Report for America and Report for the World, is pleased to announce the selection of Rob Zeaske as its CEO and president …

Discussion: @stevenwaldman

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Warner Bros. Discovery announces the first price hike for HBO Max, with the ad-free monthly subscription in the US increasing from $14.99 to $15.99 — Effective Thursday, Jan. 12, the price of a new HBO Max no-ads monthly subscription in the U.S. will increase from $14.99 to $15.99 (plus applicable taxes).

Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:

A look at ratings growth for Fox News' The Five, surpassing shows from Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, and second only to Yellowstone in 2022 cable ratings — How ‘The Five’ surpassed Tucker Carlson in the ratings: It's the ‘Avengers of Fox News’ — but at an hour that reflects the increasing dominance of older viewers.

Discussion: @amyargetsinger

Conor Dougherty / New York Times:

Q&A with The Last of Us showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann on working with HBO, adapting a video game, avoiding past failures, fan reactions, and more — Hollywood has mostly failed to adapt successful video games into satisfying series and films.

Discussion: Variety, Vanity Fair, IGN, NPR, Empire, Washington Post, Collider, The Escapist, Rolling Stone, New York Times, Engadget, The Guardian, CNET, Digital Spy and New York Post