Mediagazer: Canada's Overstory Media Group, which presented itself as a local news savior and set a goal of hiring 250 journalists by 2023, has 22 journalists after layoffs (Emily Leedham/PressProgress)

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Source, document, and emails: PepsiCo and Anheuser-Busch committed to $3M+ and $2.4M, respectively, for Twitter takeover ads before and during the Super Bowl — After weeks of turmoil and layoffs, Twitter's sales team in recent weeks has reorganized to focus more on big advertisers and launch …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Indian Express, @jbflint, @shortingisfun, TechCrunch and The Drum, more at Techmeme »

Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:

Sports Illustrated publisher Arena Group is working with AI startups Jasper and Nota to help produce articles from its own content library and pitch journalists — Arena Group uses the technology to help produce Men's Journal pieces such as workout tips — The publisher of Sports Illustrated …

Discussion: Insider, Business Wire, @heyrosenberg, The Verge, @lilyraynyc, @alexweprin, @jjvincent and @harrymccracken, more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:

YouTube's ad revenue dropped 7.8% YoY from $8.63B to $7.96B in Q4, below analyst estimates of $8.2B — Alphabet, parent company of Google and YouTube, turned in fourth-quarter 2022 earnings that missed analyst estimates, as YouTube's ad revenue again notched a year-over-year decline.

Discussion: CNBC, Music Ally, The Information, The Verge, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

Thomas Maxwell / Insider:
YouTube Shorts has surpassed 50B daily views, up from 30B in April 2022; YouTube began sharing ad revenue with Shorts creators starting February 1

Discussion: MediaPost, TechCrunch and The Addition

Jon Swartz / MarketWatch:
Alphabet reports Google advertising revenue down 4% YoY from $61.2B to $59B, below analyst estimates of $60.4B, and Google Search revenue down 2% YoY to $42.6B

Discussion: Alphabet, Reuters, Skift, Fast Company, SiliconANGLE, TVNewsCheck, The Wrap and 9to5Google

Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:

YouTube rolls out Go Live Together, a feature that lets creators with 50 or more subscribers co-host livestreams with one guest at a time, on iOS and Android — YouTube is rolling out a collaboration feature that allows two users to livestream together. “Go Live Together” …

Discussion: BuzzFeed News, Engadget, Insider and 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »

Jim Friedlich / Nieman Reports:

About two dozen current and prospective journalism funders and practitioners met to work on a roadmap for US local news, encouraging more funding collaborations — A gathering of current and prospective journalism funders and practitioners seeks to reinvent local news as civic information in service of communities

Discussion: Nieman Lab, American Press Institute, @agolis, @davidclinchnews, @kdoctor, @nancygibbs, @freepress, @ckrewson, @jimfriedlich and Free Press

Mitchell Clark / The Verge:

Elon Musk says Twitter will start sharing revenue from reply-thread ads with creators who are subscribed to Twitter Blue Verified, but doesn't share any details — Elon Musk says that Twitter will start sharing revenue from reply-thread ads with creators who are subscribed to Twitter Blue Verified.

Discussion: @sdkstl, @morningbrew, @libshipwreck and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Emily Leedham / PressProgress:

Canada's Overstory Media Group, which presented itself as a local news savior and set a goal of hiring 250 journalists by 2023, has 22 journalists after layoffs — Journalists question Overstory Media Group's commitment to local news after gutting flagship Capital Daily's newsroom

Discussion: Ricochet

Annie Palmer / CNBC:

Amazon reports Q4 advertising services revenue grew 19% YoY to $11.56B, vs. $11.38B est., and subscription services revenue grew 13% YoY to $9.19B — Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT — Amazon reported earnings after the bell. Here are the results. — Earnings: $1.39 per share

Discussion: AdExchanger, TechCrunch, Digiday, Fast Company, CNET, Forbes, Variety, Barron's Online, The Hollywood Reporter, Footwear News and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »

Scott Roxborough / The Hollywood Reporter:

Q&A with CEO of FilmRise Danny Fisher, the largest independent content provider to AVOD services, on finding undervalued shows, his business model, and more — By betting big, and early, on the potential of advertising-backed streaming, Danny Fisher has grown the firm from a Brooklyn basement startup into a major digital presence.

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Amazon reports content spending up 28% YoY to $16.6B in 2022, of which ~$7B went to originals, live sports, and licensed third-party content included with Prime — The expenses related to video and music content were up 28 percent from 2021, when the tech giant spent $13 billion.

Discussion: TechCrunch and Deadline, more at Techmeme »

Jesse Whittock / Deadline:

BFI: production spend in the UK's high-end TV and film industries reached a record £6.3B in 2022, of which 86% came from international streamers and studios — Production spend in the UK high-end TV (HETV) and film industries reached a record £6.3BN ($7.8BN) in 2022, BFI statistics released today reveal.

Discussion: Variety and The Hollywood Reporter

Mandy Dalugdug / Music Business Worldwide:

Los Angeles-based Shamrock Capital raises $600M+ for its third equity fund to invest in film, television, music, video games, sports rights, and other content — Los Angeles-based investment company Shamrock Capital has raised more than $600 million in commitments for its third equity fund …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and Billboard