Top News:


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 …


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


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


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


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


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


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, Techpoint Africa, @joeyakan, @eboigbeanita, @i_am_gwingy, Tech Labari and TechCabal


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.


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


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.


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


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


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.
RELATED: