Mediagazer: Netflix upgrades its ad-supported plan, increasing the video quality from 720p to 1080p and the number of streams from one to two, starting in Canada and Spain (Jay Peters/The Verge)

3:00 PM ET, April 19, 2023

Top News:

The Fox-Dominion deal is the largest publicly disclosed settlement in a US defamation case; sources: Fox does not have to issue an on-air correction or apology — The agreement brings an abrupt end to one of the most significant media cases in recent decades, one that hinged on false claims about a presidential election

Discussion: @tripgabriel, Law & Crime, @justinbaragona, Media Matters for America, The Intercept, The Hill, @aaronblake, NPR, @maassp, New York Times, Associated Press, The Verge, New York Times, @macfarlanenews, Reuters, @jakeadelstein, @donmoyn, @blowryontv, @bgrueskin, @mattiweil, @steven_strauss, @nickconfessore, @timobrien, @ryanvanvelzer, @bgrueskin, @tomfitton, @farhip, @brianklaas, @lindyli, @walshfreedom, @alfranken, @haldavis3, Poynter, Broadband TV News, @erikwemple, @kbandersen, @erikwemple, @tripgabriel, @jamilsmith, @wilkowmajority, @farhip, @mollyjongfast, @brianstelter, @pickardje, @tedlieu, @ron_fournier, Morning Shots, @davidfolkenflik, @claremalone, @maassp, @lindyli, @bgrueskin, @davidaxelrod, @waltisfrozen, @renato_mariotti, @aaronblake, @froomkin, CNN, The Guardian, CBC News, @heidilifeldman@mastodon …, @juddlegum@journa.host, Newser, @JoshuaHolland@mastodon.social, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, @Theoreticalb@mastodon.social, @heidilifeldman@mastodon …, Insider, CBS News, Deadline, Rolling Stone, Slate, The Atlantic, Los Angeles Times, PBS NewsHour, NBC News, Mediaite and Financial Times

CNBC:

Fox Corp and its cable networks agree to pay $787.5M to Dominion Voting Systems to settle the defamation lawsuit over Fox's lies about Dominion's machines — WILMINGTON, Del. - Fox Corp. and its cable networks agreed Tuesday to pay $787.5 million to Dominion Voting Systems to settle …

Discussion: @semaforben, @sarafischer, Fox News, CNN, Bill O'Reilly, NBC News, @semaforben, Mediaite, The Nation, @sarafischer, Politico, @therecount, New Yorker, @dicktofel, @kbandersen, Insider, National Review, Axios, The Wrap, Reuters, New York Times, ABC News, @gma, New Republic, Financial Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, NPR, @dave_enna, Mediaite, The Hill, Axios, Deadline, @sullycnbc, @davewiner, @justinbaragona, @profgalloway, Bangor Daily News, @d_arkin, @jamesfallows, @oliverdarcy, @brianstelter, @davidmwessel, @repriggleman, @oliverdarcy, @michaelshermer, @jamesfallows, @profgalloway, @oliverdarcy, @justinbaragona, @joemillerjr, @yashar, @andykroll, @ericswalwell, @oliverdarcy, @juddlegum, @mattgertz, Associated Press, @tomtomorrow, @reedgalen, @davidamoyal, @jcheiffetz, @pourmecoffee, @brianstelter, @ndrew_lawrence, @adriennelaw, @dave_enna, @dave_enna, @dave_enna, @colmorrisdavis, @normeisen, @maxwelltani, @ronfilipkowski, @kenvogel, @leahmcelrath, @nazirafzal, @felixsalmon, @gabrielsterling, @adriennelaw, @ralstonreports, @robertpicardo, @davidafrench, @ijbailey, @johnjharwood, @grynbaum, @piyushmittal, @bendepear, @rachel_dz, @nycsouthpaw, @rispolimike, @bestforbritain, @tedkempcnbc, @yashar, @aidnmclaughlin, @b52malmet, Adweek, Fortune, The Daily Beast, Politico, CBS News, MediaPost, Crikey, Wall Street Journal, @joshsternberg@mstdn.social, Ars Technica, Techdirt, Newser, Vanity Fair, Yahoo News and NBC News

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

Fox News said its court settlement reflects a “commitment to the highest journalistic standards”, showing that not even a ton of evidence of deceit can shame it — When news of a possible settlement between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News surfaced on Sunday night …

CNN:

Sources and the mediator detail how Fox and Dominion settlement came together, as Dominion planned Rupert Murdoch and Tucker Carlson among its first witnesses — Veteran mediator Jerry Roscoe was on a relaxing river cruise from Budapest to Bucharest celebrating his 70th birthday on Sunday when he received an urgent phone call.

Discussion: The Guardian, @keitholbermann, @marshallcohen, @brianstelter, @sarah_boxer, @srl and @oliverdarcy

Jack Shafer / Politico:

For Fox News, which has $4.1B in cash and warrants on hand, $787.5M is a bargain price to avoid further embarrassment and continue its sleazy ways — For the media mogul, the massive Dominion settlement fee is just the cost of doing business. — If it seems fairly daft to congratulate Rupert Murdoch …

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Fox spared its executives and hosts further embarrassment on the witness stand, but the settlement sets a benchmark for lawsuits from Smartmatic and others

Jay Peters / The Verge:

Netflix upgrades its ad-supported plan, increasing the video quality from 720p to 1080p and the number of streams from one to two, starting in Canada and Spain — Netflix is making its $6.99 per month ad-supported plan a much better value. … Subscribers in Canada and Spain …

Discussion: Comic Book, MacRumors, TechCrunch and CNET, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Krouse / Wall Street Journal:
Netflix plans to ship its last red DVD envelopes in September 2023, after 25 years of mailing shows and movies to subscribers and paving the way for streaming

Nicholas Gordon / Fortune:
Netflix added 1.46M subscribers from Asia-Pacific in Q1, out of a total of 1.8M; it added 100K subscribers in the US and Canada, and lost 450K in Latin America

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, Financial Times, The Information, MediaPost and Forbes, more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix plans a “broad rollout” of its paid sharing plan in Q2 2023, including to the US, after its Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain launch in February

Discussion: Music Business Worldwide, The Streamable, The Verge, The A.V. Club, CNBC, @tvgrimreaper, IndieWire, Screen Rant, Collider, Adweek, Cablefax, The Desk, Insider, CNN and Comic Book, more at Techmeme »

Reuters:
Netflix Q1: revenue up 4% YoY to $8.16B, 1.8M paid net additions, vs. 2.06M est. and -0.2M in Q1 2022, and global streaming paid memberships up 5% YoY to 232.5M

Discussion: Insider, @lucas_shaw, @itzjoshuajake, 9to5Mac, CBS News, Forbes and Radio & Television …, more at Techmeme »

Pew Research Center:

Survey: 49% of US adults say they have listened to a podcast in the past year; 87% of those who get news on podcasts expect it to be mostly accurate — About half of Americans have listened to a podcast in the past year, and most of those listeners come across news content

Discussion: The Verge, New York Post, Hot Pod News, American Press Institute, @katmatsa, @pewresearch, @pewresearch, @douglesmerises, @kenvogel, @pewresearch, Axios and Podnews

Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair:

How 34-year-old Bellingcat researcher Aric Toler helped the New York Times find Jack Teixeira, charged with leaking classified Pentagon documents — The Times publicly identified the man believed to have leaked intelligence documents before law enforcement did.

Discussion: @arictoler, @runasand, @vanityfair, @arictoler, @vanityfair, @trbrtc, @matthewkeyslive, @arictoler and @arictoler

Max Goldbart / Deadline:

Fremantle UK names Amelia Brown as its new CEO, replacing Simon Andreae who stepped down recently following misconduct complaints — Fremantle UK has named departing Thames boss Amelia Brown as its new CEO just days after Simon Andreae stepped down following misconduct complaints.

Discussion: The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety

Liam Scott / Voice of America:

Oklahoma's governor calls for four officials to resign after a newspaper released audio of the group talking about killing journalists and lynching Black people — Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt is calling for the resignation of four state officials after a local newspaper released …

Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:

Snap expands its revenue share program to add creators with 50K+ followers and 25M+ monthly views, and says its TikTok rival Spotlight has 350M monthly users — Snapchat is rolling out additional features to help creators get noticed and make a living. — Over a year ago …

Discussion: Washington Post, more at Techmeme »

Rebecca Pettingill / Columbia Basin Herald:

Washington's legislature passes a bill that gives a tax break to newspaper pubs and sites that grew from newspapers; it becomes law if the governor signs it — OLYMPIA - Senate Bill 5199, a measure that gives a tax break for newspaper publishers, passed the Washington House of Representatives 89-7 Monday.

Discussion: @dankennedy_nu@journa.host