Top News:
Martin Peers / The Information:
BuzzFeed, a 2016 media star with a current market cap around $36M, needs another $100M after its sale of Complex Networks to pay down debt due at 2024's end — Let's hope all those wannabe digital media entrepreneurs are paying attention to the slow disintegration of BuzzFeed, the media star of 2016.
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Jaspreet Singh / Reuters:
Filing: BuzzFeed President Marcela Martin intends to resign on January 12 to pursue other opportunities; the CEO and others plan to absorb her responsibilities — BuzzFeed's (BZFD.O) Marcela Martin has announced her intention to resign as president effective Jan. 12 to pursue other opportunities, the digital media firm said on Friday.
Discussion:
US Securities …, @zerohedge and Jaspreet Singh on LinkedIn
The Information:
Sources: BuzzFeed is close to selling most of Complex Networks to livestream shopping startup Ntwrk for a little above $100M, far below Jonah Peretti's target — After months of discussions, BuzzFeed is close to an agreement to sell most of its Complex Networks business to Ntwrk …
Discussion:
@tomaxwell and @theinformation, more at Techmeme »
Alex Griffing / Mediaite:
Fox News was 2023's most watched US network, followed by MSNBC, the only one to grow viewers YoY; MSNBC's average viewer was 70, Fox's was 69, and CNN's was 67 — The cable news industry had an undeniably rough 2023, ending the tumultuous year with fewer eyeballs as cord-cutting continues …
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Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Sources: for months, OpenAI has held talks with major news publishers including Gannett, News Corp, and IAC about the price and terms of licensing their content — Several major publishers have been in talks to license content to the creator of ChatGPT, but agreement on the price and terms has been elusive.
The Hollywood Reporter:
Netflix stock ended 2023 up 65% YoY, and Spotify jumped 139% YoY; Roku, Lionsgate, Sony Group, and NBCUniversal owner Comcast were also media sector winners — Renewed sector deal chatter helped boost some stocks late in the year despite questions about the advertising and streaming outlook.
Discussion:
Variety
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Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
WBD acquires BluTV, a streamer launched in Turkey in 2016, to focus on Turkish- and Arabic-speaking audiences globally — The streamer offers premium originals, Turkish TV series and movies, as well as Hollywood and international series and films. … Financial terms weren't disclosed.
Gary Marcus / Marcus on AI:
OpenAI and others will likely face more copyright lawsuits as systems like DALL-E produce copyright-infringing materials without attribution or informing users — At around the same time as news of the New York Times lawsuit vs OpenAI broke, Reid Southen, the film industry concept artist …
CNBC:
Altice USA sells Cheddar News to media company Archetype, which is owned by private equity firm Regent; source: the terms are structured as an “earn out” deal — - Cheddar News-owner Altice USA announced Thursday it has sold the financial news streaming service to the media company Archetype …
Angela Fu / Poynter:
Research: the US news industry cut 2,681 jobs from January to November 2023, not including buyouts, more than in all of 2022 or 2021, and 130+ newspapers closed — It's a sharp reversal from the last two years, when layoffs fell and some news outlets even expanded.
Discussion:
@joelmathis.bsky.social and Joel Marino on LinkedIn
Eugene Weekly:
Oregon-based Eugene Weekly cancels its print edition after discovering that “EW had been the victim of embezzlement at the hands of someone we once trusted” — EUGENE WEEKLY IS FIGHTING TO COME BACK AFTER A MASSIVE FINANCIAL BLOW — Eugene Weekly is this town.
Leyla Latypova / The Moscow Times:
How Russia's independent media fared in 2023: imprisoned media workers grew from 11 to 28 as wartime censorship laws forced some outlets to cease all operations — The past year has been another troubling one for the Russian free press. — Russian officials branded scores of independent news outlets …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Talking Biz News, Reporters Without Borders, The Hill and @sambreazeale2
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
A profile of Francesca Street, whose Chance Encounters love stories for CNN.com appeared five times on Chartbeat's list of 2023's most-engaging stories — The 29-year-old CNN reporter, who writes about love and romance, was one of 2023′s most popular reporters
Discussion:
Francesca Street on LinkedIn and @farhip
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