Top News:
The Verge:
Twitch CEO Dan Clancy confirms plans to cut 500+ jobs, or ~35% of its staff, and says its workforce was oversized for its business' size, after March 2023 cuts — Twitch is laying off more than 500 employees, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy announced this morning, reportedly accounting for around 35 percent of its staff.
Discussion:
Twitch, Observer, The Hill, The Information, Bloomberg, WKYC-TV, New York Daily News, Adweek, Dan Rayburn on LinkedIn, @lucas_shaw, Deadline, @tomwarren, CNN, Decrypt, Justin Gerrard on LinkedIn, Tubefilter, Metro, gamedeveloper, Thurrott, @carterfornow, @dannyodwyer, @ianbetteridge@writing …, @zacharydiaz, @carnage4life, Game Rant, @richlightshed, @tunguz, Gizmodo, MediaPost, GamesIndustry.biz, Engadget, The Wrap, Jalyssa Eliasen on LinkedIn, Spencer Soper on LinkedIn, TechCrunch, The Information, GamesHub, Cord Cutters News, Shacknews and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
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Deadline:
Memo: Amazon Studios Head Jennifer Salke says recent layoffs were part of its plan to consolidate the Amazon Studios and MGM theatrical distribution teams — EXCLUSIVE: Earlier this morning, Amazon revealed that it was laying off several hundred employees across Prime Video and Amazon Studios as part of a review of its business.
Discussion:
The Wrap
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Memo: Amazon Studios SVP Mike Hopkins says the company would cut “several hundred roles” in its Prime Video and MGM Studios units; both had cuts in early 2023 — Mike Hopkins announced the cuts Wednesday. — Amazon is cutting hundreds of jobs in its Prime Video and MGM Studios division.
Discussion:
Variety, Next TV, Observer, The Information, @tim_bays, @davidclinchnews, @carnage4life@threads.net, CNBC, Breitbart, KTFT, @lmoses, Los Angeles Times, Thurrott, Business Insider, Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, Reuters, IndieWire, @jessicalessin, @lucas_shaw, Engadget, TechCrunch, Media Play News, Commercial Observer, MediaPost, Cord Cutters News and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Maria Sherman / Associated Press:
Luminate's 2023 report: the global music industry passed 4T streams in 2023, a new record and up 34% YoY; Taylor Swift accounted for one in every 78 US streams — Listened to more music last year? You're not alone. — The global music industry surpassed 4 trillion streams in 2023 …
Discussion:
Luminate, CNN, Billboard, Axios, @lucas_shaw, Variety, @alexselbyb, Music Business Worldwide, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw and Music Ally, more at Techmeme »
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Skydance backers are discussing an all-cash bid for National Amusements; if successful, they would pursue a second deal to merge Paramount and Skydance — CEO Ellison, his father, Larry, and other investors are in talks to buy Redstone's stake in National Amusements, Paramount's parent
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Variety, The Wrap, Bloomberg, New York Post, Deadline, @jtoonkel, @cgasparino, @cgasparino, @tvgrimreaper and @asharma
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix President of Advertising Amy Reinhard says its ad tier has 23M+ MAUs globally, and 85% of customers on the ad tier are streaming for 2+ hours per day — Netflix is seeing strong growth of its advertising-based plan, having recently eclipsed 23 million global monthly active users, president of advertising Amy Reinhard said.
Discussion:
Reuters, The Information and Media Play News
Bloomberg:
Sources: OpenAI is in talks with CNN and Fox Corp. to license text, video, and image content; Time says it “is in discussions with OpenAI” about an agreement — - Startup has said it's in discussions with dozens of publishers — Negotiations come as OpenAI faces New York Times lawsuit
Discussion:
Reuters, @lynnmdoan and @shiringhaffary, more at Techmeme »
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Donald Trump will appear in his first live Fox News interview in nearly two years later today; sources say Trump thinks Fox erred in settling with Dominion — A town hall in Iowa on Wednesday is the network's first live interview with the former president in nearly two years, the latest twist in a long-running drama.
Discussion:
Axios, @sarafischer, @grynbaum, The Hill, The Streamable, @alexthomp, @alexthomp, @davidfolkenflik and Semafor
Press Gazette:
The Reuters Institute survey of news leaders: 48% say money from AI deals will be very little for any publisher, most will put more effort into WhatsApp, more — The Reuters Institute survey touched on AI pessimism, news avoidance and paywall success. — Less than half of news leaders feel confident …
Discussion:
@nicnewman, @nicnewman, @nicnewman, @pressgazette, Decrypt and BuzzMachine
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Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Sensor Tower: Netflix Games downloads rose 180%+ YoY to 81.2M globally across the App Store and Google Play in 2023, with Q4 accounting for ~53% of downloads — Just over two years ago, Netflix announced it would enter a new business: gaming. Amid a mobile gaming market dominated by free …
The Guardian:
An armed gang stormed Ecuador's TC Televisión during a live broadcast, after Ecuador's president declared a state of emergency; all the gunmen were arrested — Gangsters unleashed wave of terror following move by President Daniel Noboa in response to gang leader's prison escape
Discussion:
The Mirror, Breitbart, Associated Press, Reuters, CBS News, @sentdefender, The Gateway Pundit, NBC 7 San Diego, abc7NY, Semafor, New York Times, TMZ.com, Financial Times, Blaze Media, Fox News, Voice of America, Mediaite, The Daily Beast, BBC, The Universe As A Causal Set, The Daily Caller, New York Post and Deseret News
Bloomberg:
Sources: WPP is considering options to exit its 40% stake in market-research business Kantar; WPP sold 60% of Kantar to buyout firm Bain Capital in 2019 — - Kantar could be valued about £7 billion in a transaction — WPP sold a majority stake in Kantar to PE firm Bain in 2019
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
The British Film Institute names Jay Hunt, the creative director for Apple TV+ in Europe, as its chair for a four-year term starting on Feburary 16 — She serves as creative director for Apple TV+ in Europe. — Jay Hunt, the creative director for Apple TV+ in Europe …
Discussion:
Deadline, @lucyfrazermp, BFI, @sigjudge and Variety
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Sources: Kevin Merida and the Soon-Shiong family clashed over his decision to ban journalists who condemned Israel's bombing of Gaza, 2024 budgeting, and more — Kevin Merida, who took over the job in 2021, said in an internal note that his last day would be on Friday.
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