Mediagazer: Pat McAfee, who signed a lucrative deal in 2023 for his YouTube show to air on ESPN, accuses top ESPN executive Norby Williamson of “sabotaging” his program (Sharon Knolle/The Wrap)

5:50 PM ET, January 6, 2024

Top News:

Sharon Knolle / The Wrap:

Pat McAfee, who signed a lucrative deal in 2023 for his YouTube show to air on ESPN, accuses top ESPN executive Norby Williamson of “sabotaging” his program — The former NFL punter accuses Norby Williamson of leaking inaccurate ratings information — Video

Scott Roxborough / The Hollywood Reporter:

Universal had the largest share of 2023's global box office, after releasing 24 films that made $4.91B, dethroning Disney, which had the top spot since 2016 — Box office jumped more than 8 percent to $1.35 billion but remained well below pre-COVID levels. — Thank you Barbenheimer.

Discussion: Deadline

Naman Ramachandran / Variety:

Comscore: UK and Ireland box office revenue rose 8.3% YoY to £1.06B in 2023, the first time it crossed £1B since 2019; box office from 2015-2019 was £1.3B+/year — The U.K. and Ireland box office revenue improved 8.3% from £980.5 million ($1.25 billion) …

Discussion: SYFY WIRE

Nancy Tartaglione / Deadline:
Gower Street estimates the global box office reached $33.9B in 2023, up 30.5% on 2022 but 15% below the 2017-2019 average; China rose 83% YoY to ~$7.7B in 2023

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter

Oliver Darcy / CNN:

Taylor Swift's associates say they are dismayed by an NYT opinion piece that speculated on Swift's sexuality, calling it “invasive, untrue, and inappropriate” — A controversial New York Times opinion piece that openly speculated this week whether Taylor Swift is a closeted queer person …

Discussion: The Wrap, Page Six, @karaswisher@threads.net, @mossbergwalt@threads.net, @karaswisher@threads.net, @oliverdarcy@threads.net and New York Times

Wall Street Journal:

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Anthony Crupi / Sportico:

Nielsen: NFL made up 93 of 2023's 100 most-watched TV broadcasts, up from 82 in 2022; SOTU and Macy's Parade were the only non-football broadcasts in the top 50 — The actor's glum endorsement of the generic—he looked like a referee who'd been going through a bad divorce …

Discussion: @sacnesseverdeen, @storminspank, @dinodoodetv, @sportico, @joepompliano, @dylanbyers, @joepompliano, Front Office Sports, Mediaite, College Sports Wire, The Streamable, @joelmathis.bsky.social and Awful Announcing

Robert D. McFadden / New York Times:

Joseph Lelyveld, The New York Times executive editor from 1994 to 2001 and Pulitzer Prize winner, dies at 86 from complications of Parkinson's disease — As executive editor from 1994 to 2001, he oversaw a period of growth, expanding national and international readerships …

Discussion: @danbarrynyt, @mirtaojito, @brentnyt, @dvnjr, @dvnjr, @marklandler, @benjbrantley, @peterbakernyt, @stephenkinzer, @adamnagourney, Deadline, Marc Lacey on LinkedIn and @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social

Dade Hayes / Deadline:

WBD's Max delays plans to start charging for its Bleacher Report sports tier “for a few more months”; the original start date was the end of February 2024 — EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros. Discovery plans to launch the paid version of its B/R Sports Add-On several months from now, a shift from the company's initial guidance.

Discussion: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, The Desk, @davezatz, Sports Media Watch, Awful Announcing, The Wrap and The Verge

Washington Post:

Legal experts offer mixed opinions about how earlier copyright and fair use cases could affect The New York Times' case against OpenAI and Microsoft — A lawsuit accuses OpenAI and Microsoft of violating the New York Times's copyright. But the law is anything but clear.

Discussion: @newsalliance, @washingtonpost, @willoremus@threads.net, @willoremus@mastodon.social, @MattHodges@mastodon.social, Digital Journal and Publishing Perspectives, more at Techmeme »

Andrew Kersley / Press Gazette:

Analysis: the percentage of fully granted FOI requests in the UK fell from 55% in 2013 to 29% in 2022; in Q2 2023, public bodies granted 34% of FOI requests — Journalists are increasingly frustrated by failures in government compliance with the Freedom of Information Act.

Discussion: @rosenbaum6 and @georgegreenwood

Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Netflix is weighing how to make money from video games, like via IAPs and ads; Apptopia: as of October 2023, <1% of subscribers played its games daily — Ideas include charging extra for some games and incorporating ads, in-game purchases — Netflix has said it plans to be in gaming for years to come.

Discussion: ClutchPoints, BGR, Thurrott, Peter Kuo on LinkedIn, @davemorgannyc, TechCrunch, IndieWire, @carnage4life@mas.to, The Streamable and Chris Heatherly on LinkedIn

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

The SEC rules that Disney must have a vote on a proposal for a transparency report on Disney's use of AI at its next shareholder meeting — The AFL-CIO is pushing for Disney and Apple to explain how they use artificial intelligence. — The Walt Disney Co. won't just have a potential proxy fight …

Discussion: The Wrap and Reuters

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:

Sources: The Messenger made ~$3M in revenue in 2023 and told potential investors it had $1.8M in cash on hand at the end of December after losing ~$38M in 2023 — The company, which debuted last year with big plans to disrupt journalism, generated only $3 million in revenue by the end of December.

Discussion: @maxwelltani, @tvgrimreaper, @arctictony@threads.net, The Wrap, @ckrewson, @emilybell, @royprice, @benmullin, @emilybell, @simondowens@threads.net, Julie Westfall on LinkedIn, Defector, @ernie.tedium.co and Axios

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sources: conservative media and business execs met with Jimmy Finkelstein at Mar-a-Lago on January 3 to discuss acquiring a 51% stake in The Messenger for $30M

Ben Mullin / @benmullin:

Sources: Axios names Holly Moore as Axios Local executive editor, replacing Jamie Stockwell; staff were told local ad revenue rose 40% in 2023 — Scoop: Holly Moore — formerly of USA Today and currently head of local innovation Hub for Axios —named exec ed for local. Jamie Stockwell, current exec editor, leaving for a new gig. Staff told eight cities now have 100,000 (unpaid) subs. Local ad revenue was up 40% last year.

Discussion: @jmhaigh

Andrew Beaujon / Washingtonian:
Sources: Jamie Stockwell, who had been Axios Local executive editor, will oversee Washington Post local coverage, replacing Mike Semel, who has been promoted

Discussion: Talking Biz News and Washington Post

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