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Or Goren / Cord Busters:
Netflix removes its most affordable $10/month ad-free Basic tier in the US and UK, charging new and rejoining members £10.99/month or $15.49/month for no ads — Breaking: In a major shakeup of its pricing model, Netflix, the global streaming giant, has abandoned its low-cost ‘Basic’ tier …
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The Verge, Variety, The Desk, Bloomberg, CNET, SlashFilm, Insider, The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire, Ars Technica, The Streamable, UPI, Screen Rant, @kylebarr5, XDA Developers, Fortune, Forbes, CNBC, The Wrap, Tech Advisor, 9to5Mac, Engadget, Gizmodo, @alexweprin, IGN, TechCrunch, Consequence and UPROXX, more at Techmeme »
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Sahil Patel / The Information:
Sources: Netflix told advertisers in the past two weeks that its ad-supported tier has ~1.5M US subscribers; Hulu's 15-year-old ad tier has ~30M US subscribers — Around 1.5 million people in the U.S. have signed up to pay for Netflix's tier of service that carries ads …
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The Streamable, CNBC, @jessicalessin, Orange County Register, Tv Technology, Deadline, Collider, IGN, CNN and Media Play News, more at Techmeme »
Financial Times:
Sources: Threads has largely replicated Instagram's algorithm, prioritizing posts by creators and friends over hard news, and is relying on Instagram moderators — Facebook's parent company downgrades current affairs on Threads app and refuses to engage with Canadian law designed to fund media groups
Associated Press:
Belarus arrests Ihar Karnei, a prominent journalist who has previously written for RFE/RL; a total of 36 journalists are behind bars in Belarus — Ihar Karnei was detained and his apartment raided with police seizing phones and computers, according to his daughter
Discussion:
@tsihanouskaya, Voice of America and The San Diego Union-Tribune
Bloomberg:
Researchers say hate speech and misinformation on Twitter are up; CEO Linda Yaccarino says that's “incorrect” and touts improvements, like ad placement controls — Since Musk's takeover, a number of researchers see a rise in hate speech, violent content
Discussion:
The Wrap, Deadline, @titterdaily, @ttp_updates, @ttp_updates, @parmy, @sarahfrier, @aishacounts, @csmap_nyu, @csmap_nyu, @bradstone and @lindayacc, more at Techmeme »
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
The Hollywood strike pits talent against old-line studios while the internet threatens both groups by making distribution effectively free and no longer scarce — From the New York Times: … Oh, I'm sorry — that's an article from 63 years ago. — Here's the one in the New York Times from last week:
Discussion:
Variety, Collider, Deadline, Forbes, The Hollywood Reporter, The Guardian and AdExchanger
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Dan Wootton says he made “errors of judgment in the past” and suggests the claims he offered men money for sexual material were a campaign to undermine GB News — GB News presenter facing allegations he inappropriately offered colleagues large sums in return for sexual material
Discussion:
The Week, @gbnews, Hacked Off, @beardedgenius, The Sun, @allisonpearson, @jamesrbuk, Irish Examiner, Press Gazette, Deadline, @femi_sorry, GB News and Byline Times
Tony Maglio / IndieWire:
NBC and CBS retool fall TV schedules, delaying new seasons for Law & Order, Young Sheldon, and more; a source blames the writers' strike more than SAG-AFTRA's — Bad news, dads of America: the five Dick Wolf shows previously set for NBC's fall schedule are all being removed due to the ongoing Hollywood strikes.
Discussion:
The Wrap, TVLine, Adweek, Screen Rant, Variety, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter
Matt Donnelly / Variety:
Masters of the Universe, a live-action movie about He-Man and other Mattel toys, is dead at Netflix; sources: development cost estimates range from $30M to $60M — “Masters of the Universe,” a live-action movie based on He-Man and a slew of other popular Mattel toys, is officially dead at Netflix …
Gene Park / Washington Post:
A look at “non-playable character” TikTok creators, like Pinkydoll, who livestream themselves saying and doing robotic actions repetitively for monetary tips — On TikTok, a woman named Pinkydoll with a thousand-yard stare faces you, undulating just enough to let you know she's alive.
Discussion:
Forbes, @detectclips, @hassankhan, @hassankhan, @fakeyourbirth, @rvdneyxtra, @ronin19217435, @jason, @jakeriley, @jayjay_frfr, @jason, @sinfuldon_, Rolling Stone and New York Times, more at Techmeme »
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Reach group EIC Lloyd Embley steps down after about 30 years with the publisher; Reach's editors will report directly “on operational matters” to CEO Jim Mullen — Lloyd Embley has been group editor-in-chief at Reach since 2014. — Reach group editor-in-chief Lloyd Embley …
Discussion:
HoldtheFrontPage
Jon Gertner / New York Times:
A look at the Wikipedia community's debates about AI, including threats and potential benefits to the site, knowledge creation, truthfulness, and legal recourse — Can the online encyclopedia help teach A.I. chatbots to get their facts right — without destroying itself in the process?
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