Mediagazer: Some video podcasts are using AI-generated product placements from a company called Rembrand to supplement their typical host-read ads (Ashley Carman/Bloomberg)

4:40 PM ET, January 18, 2024

Top News:

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Filing: Apple details new US App Store rules letting devs link to external payments, says apps in its Video Partner and News Partner program are not eligible — Apple this week updated its App Store rules to comply with a court order after the Supreme Court declined to hear …

Discussion: Variety, @mgsiegler@threads.net, @timsweeneyepic, @neilcybart, @timsweeneyepic, @dhh, @carnage4life, @snazzylabs, Wired, United States District Court Northern District of California, Gizmodo, Wall Street Journal, MacRumors, The Messenger, CMU and MediaNama, more at Techmeme »

Reuters:

Sources: Reddit has drawn up plans for an IPO in March 2024, with a public filing in late February, the first major social media IPO since Pinterest's in 2019 — Social media platform Reddit has drawn up detailed plans to launch its initial public offering (IPO) in March …

Discussion: TechCrunch, Reuters, The Information, New York Post, Quartz, The Messenger, Cointelegraph, TechStartups, The Wrap, Anirban Sen on LinkedIn, CoinGape and CityAM, more at Techmeme »

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Warner Bros. Discovery rebrands its US Sports division as TNT Sports, which has rights to the NBA, NHL, MLB, and March Madness basketball — Warner Bros. Discovery has rebranded its U.S. sports division, which has rights to the NBA, NHL, and MLB, as well as March Madness basketball.

Discussion: Awful Announcing, The Desk, Sports Business Journal, @jeffgreco.com, @wiretaup, Barrett Media, Cord Cutters News and The Streamable

Natalie Korach / The Wrap:

The LA Times Guild calls an emergency meeting after being told that the newspaper intends to “imminently execute another major round of layoffs” — The newspaper intends to “imminently execute another major round of layoffs,” according to the bargaining committee

Discussion: @oliverdarcy@threads.net, @parismarx, @bcmerchant, @awprokop, @gabemschneider, @evanrodge@threads.net, @benmullin, @pkafka, @aritbenie, The Hollywood Reporter and The Daily Beast

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:

Some video podcasts are using AI-generated product placements from a company called Rembrand to supplement their typical host-read ads — A startup backed by United Talent Agency and L'Oreal is aiming to give podcasters a new line of revenue — Hello and welcome back to Soundbite.

Discussion: @ashleycarman@threads.net and @ashleycarman@threads.net

Mark Stenberg / Adweek:

Sources: Twitch didn't renew partnerships with Rolling Stone, Complex, and Vice in 2023; the publishers were paid between $1M and $5M for exclusive content — Publishers were paid between $1 million and $5 million to cover costs in exchange for exclusive content

Discussion: Mark Stenberg on LinkedIn, @zachbussey and @zachbussey

K.J. Yossman / Variety:

Email: Amazon Prime Video is restructuring its European teams to focus on regional content, and cuts local content and staff in Africa and the Middle East — Amazon Prime Video is restructuring its international business to focus on European originals. The re-org includes cutting content and staff in Africa and the Middle East.

Discussion: TechCrunch, @joeyakan, @eboigbeanita, @i_am_gwingy, TechCabal and Tech Labari

Joseph Cox / 404 Media:

Google News is boosting sites that use AI to rip off other outlets and churn out content; Google says News doesn't focus on whether articles are by humans or AI — Google News is boosting sites that rip-off other outlets by using AI to rapidly churn out content, 404 Media has found.

Discussion: Engadget, Bloomberg, Gizmodo, Emil Protalinski on LinkedIn, @brianmfloyd, @nkulw, @jason_koebler, @jessicalessin, @jason_koebler, @isaiah_bb, @emilymbender@dair …, @vahn16, @bkoo and @telefontelaviv, more at Techmeme »

Kristin Robinson / Billboard:

The Mechanic Licensing Collective issues notices of intent to audit all digital services operating under its blanket license, including Spotify and Pandora — The Mechanical Licensing Collective (the MLC) has issued notices of intent to audit all digital service providers (DSPs) …

Discussion: Radio & Television … and Dmitri Vietze on LinkedIn

Karissa Bell / Engadget:

TikTok details its plans for the 2024 US elections, including a ban on political ads, work with fact-checking organizations, and reports on influence campaigns — Its approach hasn't changed much from 2022. — TikTok has shared more about its plans to fight misinformation ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Discussion: The Wrap and TikTok

New York Times:

A look at the struggles of billionaire-owned Time, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times, all of which, sources say, lost millions of dollars in 2023 — Time magazine, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times — owned by Marc Benioff, Jeff Bezos, and Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong — are still losing money.

Discussion: @tvgrimreaper, @froomkin, @edmundlee@threads.net, @benmullin and Axios

Naomi Zeveloff / Committee to Protect Journalists:

Israel is now the sixth largest jailer of journalists, imprisoning 17 Palestinians as of December 2023; many are held without charge in administrative detention — In October, when the Israel-Gaza war began, Alaa al-Rimawi snapped into action, covering developments on J-Media …

Discussion: The Messenger, Voice of America and The Guardian

Nico Grant / New York Times:

Email: Google plans to cut 100 employees from YouTube's operations and creator management teams; a source says YouTube employs 7,173 people — The layoffs are part of efforts by the video platform's parent company, Google, to trim costs and bureaucracy as it embraces artificial intelligence.

Discussion: CNN, The Verge, The Messenger, @carnage4life@mas.to, The Register, Nairametrics, Engadget, @alexeheath, 9to5Google, TechCrunch, @vthallam@threads.net, The Hill, @jjackyliang@threads.net, The Wrap, Variety, The Information and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

James Hale / Tubefilter:
Internal memo: YouTube is restructuring its creator management teams, including consolidating various sports, media, film, and TV teams into a single team

Discussion: Billboard, Quartz, The Information, 9to5Google and Fox Business

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Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
Amazon now lets US users create AI-generated backgrounds using Alexa prompts on the second-gen Fire TV Stick 4K Max and the Fire TV Omni QLED Series

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Nick Vivarelli / Variety:
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Discussion: The Guardian

BreAnna Bell / Variety:
Amazon and Tastemade sign a multi-year first-look deal to produce unscripted lifestyle content, including 15 new shows for Prime Video and Amazon Freevee

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From Techmeme:

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