Top News:
Mia Sato / The Verge:
In a staff call, CNET and Red Ventures execs said they were pausing AI-generated content on CNET and other sites and offered details on their proprietary tool — The call, which lasted under an hour, was held a week after CNET came under fire for its use of AI tools on stories …
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The Verge:
Source: CNET owner Red Ventures has used AI tools like Wordsmith to write stories for at least a year and a half, causing unease amid layoffs and restructuring — Fake bylines. Content farming. Affiliate fees. What happens when private equity takes over a storied news site and milks it for clicks?
Discussion:
@velocciraptor, Talking Biz News, Futurism, Futurism, @eulken, @eulken, @kevin_indig, @vahn16, @shashj, @chafkin, @eulken, @itsdancrowd, @jjvincent, @bowtiedtetra, @smashdawg, @jjvincent, @shashj, @pkedrosky, @peterkirn, @paleofuture, @alexeheath, @matthewkeyslive, @ehananoki, @matthewkeyslive, @plognark, @emilymbender, @davekarpf, @janusrose, @taylormooresays, The Drum, @firstadopter, @tristanacooper, @danielleri, @morewillie, @misscp, @jake_k, @alng@journa.host, Talking Biz News, Gizmodo and The Register, more at Techmeme »
Emily Baker-White / Forbes:
According to six employees and an internal doc, TikTok and ByteDance staff engage in “heating”, or inflating video view counts, to court influencers and brands — TikTok and ByteDance employees regularly engage in “heating,” a manual push that ensures specific videos …
Discussion:
@ebakerwhite, Insider, The Wrap, @stokel, Gizmodo, The Information, @aginnt, @michaelsobolik, @daveleeft, @ebakerwhite, @lollardfish, @paulszoldra, @morgan_sung, @chinmayiarun, @mattnavarra, @forbes, @forbes, @davemcclure, @jeffjarvis, @dellcam, @katienotopoulos, @iblametom and Ad Age, more at Techmeme »
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Netflix's ad-supported tier is off to a “solid” start, says new co-CEO Greg Peters; CFO Spence Neumann estimates the ad tier will be about 10% of future revenue — Netflix's landmark entry into ad-supported streaming, which began last November, is off to a “solid” …
Discussion:
Insider, The Streamable, Screen Rant, TechCrunch, The Hollywood Reporter, The Drum, Variety, GameSpot, CBR and Forbes
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Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:
Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings steps down as co-CEO but plans to stay on as executive chair; the company promotes COO Greg Peters to co-CEO with Ted Sarandos
Discussion:
About Netflix, @reedhastings, New York Times, Insider, CNBC, Quartz, Reuters, The Playlist, @raydalio, @gerberkawasaki, The Indian Express, Forbes, GameSpot, Broadband TV News, @carnage4life, AdExchanger, @tvgrimreaper, @film_girl, @samro, @pythianism, @mattbelloni, @wholemarsblog, Free Press Journal, Music Ally, Rappler, The Information, Breitbart, Media Play News, Deadline, Engadget, Adweek, Fast Company, SlashFilm, CNN, The Guardian, The Streamable, The Desk, Variety, The Hill, Vanity Fair, GeekWire, The Wrap, IndieWire, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, Cord Cutters News, Ad Age, Observer, TechCrunch, New York Daily News, WORLD SCREEN, CBS News, The Verge, Axios, Radio & Television … and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »
Sarah Whitten / CNBC:
Netflix reports Q4 revenue up 1.9% YoY to $7.85B, $55M net income, down from $607M YoY, 231M paid memberships, adding 7.66M subscribers vs. 4.57M expected
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Netflix plans to roll out paid password sharing “more broadly” in Q1 2023 and expects some “cancel reaction” before an improvement in overall company revenue
Discussion:
Wired, The Hollywood Reporter, The Streamable, GameSpot, IndieWire, TV Insider, CBR, @sherman4949, MacRumors, The A.V. Club, Gizmodo, CNET and Media Play News
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Memo: Vox Media is laying off 7% of staff, or roughly 140 people, across editorial, revenue, operations, and core services departments — Vox Media is laying off 7% of its staff, according to a memo sent internally from CEO Jim Bankoff, obtained by Axios. Roughly 2,000 people work at the company …
Discussion:
@vox_union, New York Times, @oliverdarcy, @molly_knight, The Information, The Hill, @megmccarron, @sarafischer, Deadline, Bloomberg, @daviddoel, @jeffrueter, @blazindw, @the_bonnfire, @jayasax, @nowthisunion, CNN, @starsstripesfc, @matchstickscgy, @mbolotnikova, @wusijiex, The Wrap, @michaelnagrant, The Wrap, @hearstunion, @qualityrye, @kerrymflynn, @jorcru, @emilyvdw, @jimlaporta, @alex_kirshner and Variety
Ronan Shields / Digiday:
Sources: Google is pushing advertisers to work with third-party resellers directly as it seeks to reduce its overheads related to advertising services — Alphabet today has confirmed that it plans to cut 12,000 jobs, reportedly the largest round of layoffs in its history …
Discussion:
The Keyword, Reuters, Quartz and 901am, more at Techmeme »
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
An interview with Vice Media CEO Nancy Dubuc on her and investors' plans to sell the company; source: Vice had ~$600M revenue in 2022, below its $700M target — Vice, which has struggled to achieve profitability in recent years, has formed a special committee to find suitors.
Discussion:
@tvgrimreaper, @benmullin and @benmullin
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
Twitter is testing a feature for verified journalists that adds their publication's logo, linked to the outlet's main Twitter account, next to blue checkmarks — Twitter reached out to the Mirror offering it the chance to take part in the beta test. — Twitter is testing a new feature …
Discussion:
@pressgazette, @theodalisque, @pressgazette, The Spain Report and The Present Age
Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch:
India releases rules on social media influencers and virtual avatars promoting products without disclosing payment, adding an up to ~$12.3K fine for violations — As the market of social media influencers is getting bigger in India, the South Asian nation has introduced endorsement guidelines …
Discussion:
YouTube, Hindustan Times, MediaNama, The Indian Express, Free Press Journal and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »
Horowitz Research:
Horowitz Research: 71% of password sharers would pay full price for Netflix, 51% for HBO Max, 49% for Amazon Prime Video, 47% for Disney+, and 46% for Hulu — As Netflix cracks down on password sharing, a new study by Horowitz Research suggests that the decision may not spell doom and gloom for the service.
Discussion:
Observer, The Streamable and CNET
Andy Maxwell / TorrentFreak:
The Delhi High Court issues an interim order requiring local ISPs to block 18 stream ripping websites that let users download copyrighted music from YouTube — In a September 2022 blog post, YouTube's Global Head of Music revealed that in the 12 months between July 2021 and June 2022 …
Discussion:
Complete Music Update, Billboard, Music Ally and Music Business Worldwide
The Hollywood Reporter:
Penske Media and Japan's Hersey Shiga Global launch The Hollywood Reporter Japan, which will offer translated entertainment industry news and original reporting — The Tokyo-based entertainment publication will include significant industry news translated from THR's flagship website …
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