Top News:
Sarah Whitten / CNBC:
Netflix reports Q4 revenue up 12.5% YoY to $8.83B vs. $8.71B est., global paid memberships up 12.8% to 260.28M vs. 256M est., net income of $938M, up from $55M — - Netflix added 13.1 million subscribers during the fourth quarter. — The company now has 260.8 million paid subscribers.
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Emma Roth / The Verge:
Netflix says it's looking to retire its ad-free Basic plan in some countries where ad-supported plans are available, starting with Canada and the UK in Q2 — Although Netflix no longer allows new or returning members to sign up for the ad-free Basic subscription that costs $11.99 per month …
CNBC:
Netflix buys the exclusive rights to WWE programs like Raw, airing in 2025 in the US, Canada, Latin America, and more; filing: the 10-year deal is worth $5B+ — - Netflix and TKO Group Holdings said Tuesday that the streaming platform will air the WWE's flagship program Raw starting next year.
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Pranav Dixit / Engadget:
Netflix says user engagement with games on its service tripled in 2023 and Grand Theft Auto has become its most successful launch to date
Netflix says user engagement with games on its service tripled in 2023 and Grand Theft Auto has become its most successful launch to date
Discussion:
Benzinga and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »
Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
The Los Angeles Times announces it is laying off at least 115 people, or more than 20% of the newsroom, citing annual losses of $30M-$40M — The Los Angeles Times announced Tuesday that it was laying off at least 115 people — or more than 20% of the newsroom — in one of the largest workforce reductions …
Discussion:
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Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
The Los Angeles Times' layoffs have hit the outlet's Latino-focused vertical De Los, which was launched in 2023, and the Washington, DC bureau — “We are not in turmoil. We have a real plan,” the paper's owner, billionaire businessman Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, said.
Discussion:
@alemolina, @sarahdwire, NBC News, @froomkin, Awful Announcing, @sarahscire, @ximena_bustillo, @shiramstein, @byjulialove, @jherrerx, @izzieramirez, @chels_hylton, Talking Biz News and The Wrap
CBS News:
Charles Osgood, who joined CBS News in 1971, anchored CBS Sunday Morning for 22 years, and spent decades as a radio commentator, dies at age 91 — Award-winning journalist Charles Osgood, who anchored “CBS Sunday Morning” for 22 years and was host of the long-running radio program “The Osgood File,” died Tuesday at home in New Jersey.
Discussion:
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John Koblin / New York Times:
Sources: Netflix will begin streaming HBO's “Sex and the City” in early April but the series' spinoff “And Just Like That” will remain available only on Max — Media companies that had been reluctant to are increasingly offering shows to Netflix, which is pulling further ahead in the streaming wars.
Discussion:
The Wrap and Rolling Stone
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Google unveils a new Gemini-powered chat-based tool in Google Ads to build Search ad campaigns, out in beta to all English language advertisers in the US and UK — Google announced today that Gemini, its family of multimodal large language models, now powers the conversational experience within the Google Ads platform.
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James Tapper / The Guardian:
A filing in a class action suit by 10 US artists against Midjourney and others lists 16,000 artist names whose work Midjourney had allegedly used for training — US lawyers approached about class action against Midjourney and other AI firms accused of ‘copyright laundering’
Discussion:
Isabelle Doran on LinkedIn and Cointelegraph
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
Some independent outlets in Baltimore are seeing a spike in online traffic, subscribers, donations, and social media followers, after The Baltimore Sun's sale — “We're taking the opportunity to remind people that we are an independent, trustworthy news source in the Baltimore region — and they are responding.”
Discussion:
@halleteri, @sarahscire, @sarahscire and MediaPost
New York Times:
In 2023, no US films ranked among the 10 highest grossing in China, which is producing more high-quality movies that resonate with domestic audiences — No American films ranked among the 10 highest grossing in China last year as viewers who once flocked to foreign blockbusters continued to disappear.
Discussion:
@thedragonfeeder
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Study commissioned by the UK government says the BBC does not serve as a “one-to one substitute for commercial providers in online local news provision” — Ofcom will publish annual report on BBC position in local news sector. — The BBC's online local news output does not add up to a …
Discussion:
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, @pressgazette and GOV.UK