Top News:
Sarah Whitten / CNBC:
Netflix reports Q4 revenue up 12.5% YoY to $8.83B, vs. $8.71B est., paid users up 12.8% to 260.3M, vs. 256M est., $938M net income, up from $55M; NFLX jumps 8%+ — - Netflix added 13.1 million subscribers during the fourth quarter. — The company now has 260.8 million paid subscribers.
Discussion:
NBC 7 San Diego, @pkafka, @jasonkilar, NME, Netflix, @sherman4949, @tvmojoe, @lucas_shaw, @tvgrimreaper, @sherman4949, Associated Press, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, Business Insider, Axios, Financial Times, Thurrott, NBC Bay Area, The Streamable, IndieWire, Sarah Whitten on LinkedIn, The Hollywood Reporter, Media Play News and The Messenger, more at Techmeme »
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John Koblin / New York Times:
Sources: Netflix plans to begin streaming HBO's Sex and the City in early April 2024, but the series' spinoff And Just Like That will remain exclusive to Max — Media companies that had been reluctant to are increasingly offering shows to Netflix, which is pulling further ahead in the streaming wars.
Discussion:
Deadline, The Wrap and Rolling Stone
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Netflix plans to to retire its ad-free Basic plan in some countries where ad-supported plans are available, starting with Canada and the UK in Q2 2024
Netflix plans to to retire its ad-free Basic plan in some countries where ad-supported plans are available, starting with Canada and the UK in Q2 2024
Discussion:
Business Insider, Mashable, iPhone in Canada Blog, BGR, Broadband TV News, Benzinga, @tvmojoe, @alex, The A.V. Club, Engadget, @tim_bays, @tvgrimreaper, @sherman4949, AppleInsider, @dtgeek@mastodon.social, The Messenger, Variety, @ianbetteridge@writing …, Hollywood Reporter, 9to5Mac, CNBC and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »
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 »
Peter White / Deadline:
Netflix says it's not interested in acquiring “linear assets”, and it does not believe further M&A will “materially change the competitive environment”
Netflix says it's not interested in acquiring “linear assets”, and it does not believe further M&A will “materially change the competitive environment”
Discussion:
@tvgrimreaper, Forbes, The Wrap and Bloomberg
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 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+
Discussion:
The Verge, Broadband TV News, @joebaia, Wall Street Journal, The Verge, NBC 7 San Diego, @cinesonny@threads.net, Barrett Media, The Information, @sherman4949, Platformer, WWE, Axios, NBC Bay Area, FOX8 WGHP, Mashable, Benzinga, @edludlow, @ianjsilvera, @teamkaos1998, Front Office Sports, @tvgrimreaper, @sarafischer, Wired, @conorsen, @conorsen, @conorsen, @sherman4949, @buccocapital, @wwe, @sherman4949, @tripleh, @netflix, @tim_bays, The Drum, The A.V. Club, The Ringer, Ramiro Montiel on LinkedIn, NME, Financial Times, Jared Lake on LinkedIn, USA Today, Emil Protalinski on LinkedIn, Awful Announcing, Tubefilter, @chriswelch@threads.net, Deadline, Sportico, Engadget, New York Post, The Guardian, Variety, The Desk, Mediaite, Business Insider, Bloomberg, The Messenger, New York Times, Gizmodo, Soap Opera Network, Jeff Jenkins on LinkedIn, The Wrap, Julie DeTraglia on LinkedIn, David Giles on LinkedIn, MediaPost, iPhone in Canada Blog, USA Today, IGN, T3, Polygon, Thurrott, GameSpot, ComingSoon.net, Amy Newton on LinkedIn, Barrett Media, USA Today, Media Play News, Ad Age, The Information, WORLD SCREEN, The Wrap, FOX8 WGHP, CBS News, Awful Announcing, Cord Cutters News, Sportico, The Streamable, Dexerto, Ars Technica, Next TV, TVLine, New York Post, Reuters, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg and Slashdot
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.
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Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
The Los Angeles Times plans to lay off off at least 115 people, or more than 20% of the newsroom, citing annual losses of between $30M and $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 …
Discussion:
@mattdpearce, Washington Post, @nickbaumann, Deadline, The Guardian, @borisk, @latguild, @davidfolkenflik, @cmsub, @byjackharris, @bcmerchant, @jeffbercovici, @jeongpark52, @morgan_sung, @passionweiss, @josephfcox, @josephfcox, @aaschapiro, @rogerwcheng, @melissagomez004, @aritbenie, @emma_dumain, @noahshachtman, @mikeisaac, @jason_koebler, Daniel Melling on LinkedIn, @ferniecommaalex, @alexbruell, @bernstein, Newser, @morgan_sung, @erinoverbey, @erinblogan, The Overspill, @elex_michaelson, @laura_nelson, @lucas_shaw, @buffywicks, @ivanthek, @loisbeckett, @justinbaragona, @jbflint, @joaquincastrotx, @sagaftra, @farhip, @fbajak, @lydiadepillis, CNN, Associated Press, @kbode@threads.net, @jbflint, @blowryontv, @tim_bays, @bryancurtis, @sammy_roth, HuffPost, @jeridansky@sfba.social, Politico, @kalihays1@threads.net, @lpolgreen@threads.net, @emilybellnyc@threads.net, New York Times, LAist, The Wrap, New York Post, @cwarzel@threads.net, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Beast, @sorayamcdonald@threads.net, @mcwm@threads.net, The Hill, The Messenger, @taylorlorenz@threads.net, Reuters, The Hollywood Reporter, 6abc, Variety, Talking Biz News, The Wrap, Fox News and Poynter
Kate Knibbs / Wired:
Originality AI: 88%+ of the top US news outlets now block AI companies' web crawlers; leading right-wing outlets, like Breitbart and Newsmax, mostly permit them — Nearly 90 percent of top news outlets like The New York Times now block AI data collection bots from OpenAI and others.
Discussion:
@sauthoff.bsky.social
Ariel Shapiro / The Verge:
An interview with NPR podcasting chief Collin Campbell on its “broadcast-to-podcast” strategy, navigating the new podcasting landscape, and more — Today, I have a preview of an interview with NPR's new podcasting chief, Collin Campbell. Campbell, who is an alum of WNYC …
Discussion:
The Verge and Blubrry Podcasting
Noam Cohen / Bloomberg:
As Wikimedia Russia shuts down, a look at the Kremlin-compliant Wikipedia alternative Ruwiki, which recently went live, led by an ex-Wikimedia Russia director — A campaign to replace the country's Wikipedia with a more pliant alternative seems near completion.
Sara Guaglione / Digiday:
How podcast networks, like Acast and iHeartMedia, are testing AI tools to increase their ad sales, translate shows into different languages, and more — It seems it's not just big digital publishers like BuzzFeed and BDG looking to generative artificial intelligence tools as ways to streamline their sales process.
Discussion:
American Press Institute and Inside Radio
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
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
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
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:
Variety, Washington Post, @cbssunday, @brianstelter, NewscastStudio, Adweek, @lanceulanoff, @jaketapper, @tvmojoe, @benmullin, @johnjharwood, Steve Gosset on LinkedIn, KUSA-TV, Associated Press, New York Daily News, Radio & Television …, Bobby Lee on LinkedIn, Wall Street Journal, Hollywood Life, TV Insider, New York Post, Inside Radio, The Daily Beast, Fox News, Page Six, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, The Messenger, CNN, The Wrap, TVLine, The Hollywood Reporter, Metro and Deadline