Top News:
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
Comcast reports Peacock revenue rose 57% YoY to $1B in Q4, a $825M loss in Q4 and $2.75B in 2023 for the unit, and 31M paying subscribers, a net gain of 3M — NBCUniversal parent Comcast, led by chairman and CEO Brian Roberts, reported earnings on Thursday.
Discussion:
Adweek, Variety, The Desk, Deadline, The Streamable, @sherman4949, @modestproposal1, @ballmatthew, Media Play News, Broadband TV News and Cord Cutters News
RELATED:
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Comcast reports NBCU revenue rose 3.1% YoY to $6.98B and adjusted EBITDA dropped 50% YoY to $108M due to rising sports and Peacock programming costs
Discussion:
The Wrap, WORLD SCREEN and NBC 7 San Diego
Josh Eidelson / Bloomberg:
Unionized Forbes editorial employees plan to start a work stoppage today that will last through Monday, in response to protracted contract negotiations — - First-ever walkout at business magazine to begin on Thursday — ‘They are dragging their feet and slow-walking’ process
Discussion:
The Wrap, Axios and nyguild.org
RELATED:
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
NY Daily News journalists begin a one-day work stoppage to protest layoffs and a new overtime policy; a third of union members have left since 2022, leaving 54 — Newsroom workers at The Daily News Union, which formed in 2021, are in negotiations for their first contract.
Discussion:
The Wrap and nyguild.org
Bloomberg:
Sources: Disney's India assets are being valued at ~$4.5B in merger negotiations with Reliance, less than the $10B Disney initially pursued — - Unit valued at about $4.5 billion from $10 billion previously — Losses incurred from cricket rights weigh on its valuation
RELATED:
Barbara Peng / Business Insider:
In a memo, Business Insider CEO Barbara Peng says the outlet is laying off 8% of its staff, part of plans to focus on covering business, tech, and innovation — At the end of 2023, we announced our way ahead: We're Business Insider, our center of gravity is business, tech, and innovation …
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill, Talking Biz News, Bloomberg, The Wrap, Press Gazette, Variety, Semafor, Financial Times, Reuters, @maxwelltani, @corbinbolies, @annaknicolaou, @megynkelly, @stephentotilo, @ethangach, @phil_lewis_, @billackman, The Messenger, The Daily Beast, @sarafischer, @maxwelltani and @emilybell
Nate Raymond / Reuters:
A US appeals court rules 9-7 that Texas-based citizen journalist Priscilla Villarreal cannot sue officials over her arrest for asking a police source questions — A citizen journalist in Texas cannot sue officials over her arrest for asking a police source questions, a divided federal appeals court …
Discussion:
The Texas Observer and Fox News
Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
The Los Angeles Times appoints Terry Tang as the paper's interim executive editor; Tang has been LA Times's editorial page editor since February 2022 — Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong has appointed Terry Tang, editor of the editorial page, as the paper's executive editor on an interim basis
Discussion:
@megjameslat, @megjameslat and NBC News
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: BuzzFeed is looking to sell its food sites, Tasty and First We Feast; Fortress Investment Group, which took over Vice, is in talks to sell Refinery29 — Latest sale discussions signal further struggles of once-hot digital media companies — BuzzFeed and Vice Media …
Discussion:
The Wrap
Thomas Buckley / Bloomberg:
How the rising prices of streaming services are driving users to pirate websites with a ~90% profit margin that bring in ~$2B per year in ads and subscriptions — Illegal subscription services that steal films or TV shows bring in $2 billion a year in ads and subscriber fees.
Discussion:
The Wrap, more at Techmeme »
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Paris-based ad and marketing group Publicis plans to invest €300M in AI, including €100M in 2024, to help improve media planning, buying, and optimization — Decision comes as advertising industry faces existential threats from generative artificial intelligence
Discussion:
Digiday, MediaPost, TechStartups, Bloomberg, Publicis Groupe, Reuters and Ad Age
Bloomberg:
Sources: Skydance CEO David Ellison has made a preliminary offer to buy Redstone family's National Amusements, as a way to take control of Paramount Global — - Both sides have advisers, are sharing financial information — Son of Oracle Corp. co-founder has met with Shari Redstone
Sophie Culpepper / Nieman Lab:
A look at City Cast, which now has four-person teams producing local news newsletters and podcasts in 11 US cities, after a 2021 launch in Chicago and Denver — This month, City Cast published guest demographic data for podcasts in its 11 cities and analyzed how that data compared to each local community.
Discussion:
City Cast
Deputy Health & Science Editor, DC — 
Weather Reporter, NY — 
Legal Editor, Johannesburg — 
Transcription Copy Editor - Opinion, CA — 
Agriculture Reporter, Winnipeg — 
Part-time Editor, Remote — 
Home & Travel Reporter - Ireland — 
Investigative Reporter, SC — 
Deputy Spotlight Editor, MA — 
Disinfo/Extremism/Tech Reporter — 
Audience Editor - Search, NY — 
Awards Specials Editor, CA — 
Middle East Editor, Remote — 
Arts Editor, London — 
Deputy Tech Ed. - CNBC, CA — 
Reporter - Police Beat, OR — 
National Tech Reporter — 
Express Desk Reporter, CA — 
Alabama Reporter, AL — 
Tech Reporter, CA — 
Executive Editor, OR — 
Deputy Editor - Investigations, NY — 
Senior Writer - Biotech, Remote — 
Senior IP Correspondent, Brussels — 
Senior Editor - Business Desk, DC — 
Freelance Reporter - L.A. Education, CA — 
Associate Editor, London — 
Copy & Weekend Editor, NH — 
Private Equity Reporter, NY — 
Political Reporter, TX — 
Economic Mobility Reporter, FL — 
Reporter - Skift Meetings, Remote — 
Reporter, NC — 
Digital Editor, DC — 
