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11:20 AM ET, December 30, 2023

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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.
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 …
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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Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:
Newsmax's ratings, which soared after Fox News ousted Tucker Carlson, have gradually declined; Q4 primetime ratings fell 14% QoQ but were higher than in 2022
Discussion: The Hill and Next TV
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: Deadline and Variety
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Financial Times:
Disney, WBD, Comcast, and Paramount face a year of reckoning in 2024 after losing $5B+ in 2023 from the streaming services they built to compete with Netflix
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.
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 …
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.
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.
 
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 More News: 
Bloomberg:
A US judge rejects X's bid to block California's AB 587, which seeks to control toxic social media posts by requiring companies to disclose moderation policies
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
The New York Times' lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft relies on a false belief that copyright can limit the right to read and process data
Colin Mann / Advanced Television:
Podcast listening on the BBC Sounds app from January to November 2023 rose 34% YoY; the annual figures started to include smart speaker data as of April 2023
Discussion: Radio Ink
 Earlier Picks: 
Reuters:
Sources: Telecom Italia has renewed its five-season deal with DAZN to show Serie A soccer games on its streaming platform TimVision, for €43M to €46M per year
 

 
From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a smart doorbell system with advanced facial recognition that can wirelessly connect and unlock third-party smart locks

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Donald Trump announces that Sriram Krishnan, until recently a general partner at a16z, will serve as senior policy advisor for AI at the White House OSTP

Financial Times:
Sources: Palantir and Anduril are in talks with OpenAI, SpaceX, and more to form a consortium to bid for US defense contracts and plan to announce it in January
 
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