Mediagazer: 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 (Bloomberg)

Internal memo: Amazon Studios SVP Mike Hopkins says “several hundred roles” are being cut 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.

The Verge:

Twitch CEO Dan Clancy confirms plans to cut 500+ jobs, or 35% of its staff, and says the workforce was oversized for its current position, 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.

Maria Sherman / Associated Press:

Luminate's 2023 report: the global music industry passed 4T streams in 2023, a new record and up 34% from 2022; Taylor Swift had 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, Variety, @lucas_shaw, Music Ally and Music Business Worldwide, 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: @tvgrimreaper, @cgasparino, @asharma and @jtoonkel

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: Decrypt and BuzzMachine

Discussion: Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, Mitali Mukherjee on LinkedIn and Reuters Institute

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: The Hill, The Streamable and Semafor

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

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

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: Variety

Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:

A look at Brazilian fact-checking org Aos Fatos' bot FátimaGPT, which pairs an LLM with its archives to answer questions on WhatsApp, Telegram, and the web — “Instead of giving a list of URLs that the user can access — which requires more work for the user — we can answer the question they asked."

Discussion: American Press Institute

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 …

more at Techmeme »

Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair:

In a letter to Washington Post executives, top reporters raise concerns about the gutting of the research department as part of the paper's ~10% staff cuts — Top reporters have urged executive editor Sally Buzbee and publisher Will Lewis to address the gutted research department, a casualty of the paper's roughly 10% staff reduction.

Discussion: @charlottetklein, @mlcalderone and @seamushughes

Anton Wilen / Bloomberg:

Swedish streaming service Viaplay avoids bankruptcy after getting approval to recapitalize, as part of which Canal+ and Czech PE firm PPF will get a 58.6% stake — Swedish streaming service Viaplay Group AB has stepped back from the brink of bankruptcy after getting approval for a rescue plan …

Peter Kafka / Business Insider:

Source: the Los Angeles Times is looking at another round of cost-cutting this year, aiming to cut more than $10M from its budget — - Another billionaire is having a hard time with his newspaper. — Jeff Bezos's Washington Post made big cuts — and Warren Buffett has given up on papers altogether.

Discussion: @pkafka, @tomaxwell, Axios and Bloomberg

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

Discussion: Media Nation, Columbia Journalism Review and @benmullin

Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
In a memo to staff, Los Angeles Times Executive Editor Kevin Merida announces he is stepping down on January 12, two-and-a-half years after joining the newsroom