Top News:
John Herrman / New York Magazine:
OpenAI's deals with publishers, like the one the company recently inked with Axel Springer, offers a glimpse of how AI and the media might eventually intersect — This past week, Axel Springer, the German media conglomerate that owns Politico and Business Insider, signed a “multiyear licensing deal” …
Discussion:
@jjvincent, @ednewtonrex, @jwherrman, @jwherrman, @intelligencer, @jwherrman, @jwherrman, @alexgraveley, @ianbetteridge@writing … and The Verge
David Folkenflik / NPR:
Prince Harry's and Hugh Grant's lawsuits against News Corp's UK papers accuse new Washington Post CEO Will Lewis of phone hacking coverups between 2010 and 2012 — When Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos wanted an assured hand to right the newspaper's shaky finances, he turned to Will Lewis …
Discussion:
@philipsturner, @deggans, @themeredish, @nkulw, @sdkstl and @davidfolkenflik
Bloomberg:
Sources: Paramount Global is in talks to sell its BET network to a management-led investor group that includes BET CEO Scott Mills, for a little under $2B — Paramount Global is in talks to sell its Black Entertainment Television network to a management-led investor group, according to people with knowledge of the discussions.
Discussion:
Next TV, Reuters, @lucas_shaw and Cord Cutters News
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
After Spotify began offering complimentary audiobooks to subscribers in October 2023, authors demand more transparency about how they will be paid — - Bradley Tusk, an investor and author, is backing new US effort — Coalition of Concerned Creators is demanding more transparency
Discussion:
@seyitaylor, @dada_drummer, @kirbyslastsnack, @jaycodon, @ashleyrcarman and @ashleyrcarman
Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:
Sources: X set up a 10-person team to help hit $100M in US political ad spend in 2024 to offset revenue losses, a goal that industry executives are skeptical of — Plans for new political ads team to hit $100mn in sales ahead of US presidential election are met with industry scepticism
Discussion:
@gergelyorosz, @crumbler@threads.net and @mshannahmurphy@threads.net, more at Techmeme »
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Ofcom: almost 10% of all complaints sent to the regulator in 2023 were about Israel-Hamas war coverage; GB News had the most-complained about TV show of 2023 — GB News had the most-complained about TV programme of 2023. — Almost one in ten of all complaints sent to broadcast regulator Ofcom …
Discussion:
Variety, Ofcom, The Guardian, Mediaite and The Desk
Benjy Sarlin / Semafor:
Substack writers Matthew Yglesias and Brian Beutler plan to launch politics podcast Politix on January 3, covering the 2024 US election from the center-left — In a shock Tuesday night decision, Colorado's Supreme Court booted Donald Trump from the state's Republican primary ballot for his role …
Andreas Wiseman / Deadline:
BAFTA changes the rules for its Best Film category to increase its minimum theatrical screenings requirement from 70 in total to at least 350 screenings — - Audrey Diwan On The Challenge & Liberation Of Making Erotic Drama ‘Emmanuelle’: “I'm Not Trying To Capture Pornography”
Discussion:
Variety
Bloomberg:
Sources: ByteDance's 2023 sales surged to $110B+, broadly matching 2022's 30% growth rate, despite economic turbulence in China and scrutiny in the US and India — - TikTok's Chinese owner expects revenue growth of about 30% … The world's most valuable startup's growth broadly matched …
Erik Larson / Bloomberg:
New York AG sues Sirius XM over allegedly making canceling subscriptions to its online radio services harder, including a “frustrating” six-part conversation — A probe by the AG's office found that Sirius trains employees to keep customers seeking to cancel on the phone or in a chat for a …
Discussion:
CNN, @mrvangriffin and @newyorkstateag
Alicja Ptak / Notes From Poland:
Poland's new government dismisses the management of TVP, Polskie Radio, and the Polish Press Agency; TVP's website and news channel TVP Info are now offline — Controversy has erupted around Poland's public media, with members of the conservative former ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party …
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Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Media monitoring startup Meltwater sold an 11% stake for ~$65M to Norwegian private equity firm Verdane at a $592M valuation, down from $1B+ in December 2020 — Meltwater, which first made its name around media monitoring and then got active in business intelligence using AI …
Discussion:
Verdane
Pamela McClintock / The Hollywood Reporter:
Gower Street Analytics predicts 2024 global movie ticket sales of $31.5B, down 5% YoY, and 2024 North American box office revenue of $8B, down 11% YoY — Leading London-based box office analytics firm Gower Street attributes the downturn to Hollywood's historic labor strikes and the resulting slowdown in production.
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