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7:40 AM ET, January 31, 2024

Mediagazer

 Top News: 
Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:
Byron Allen makes a ~$30B offer, including debt and equity, to buy all of Paramount; sources: Allen plans to sell the Paramount film studio and keep Paramount+  —  - The media mogul offering to pay a 50% premium for voting stock  — Allen already has interest from investors for assets
RELATED:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Alphabet CEO says its digital subscription services, including YouTube Premium and YouTube TV, are on a $15B annual revenue run rate, up fivefold since 2019  —  Alphabet's suite of digital subscription services — including YouTube Premium, YouTube Music, YouTube TV and Google One cloud storage …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Universal Music Group plans to cease licensing content to TikTok after their agreement expires on January 31, saying they failed to reach new licensing terms  —  UMG said that its agreement with TikTok is set to expire on Jan. 31.  “The companies have not agreed to terms for a new agreement …
RELATED:
The New York Times Company:
The New York Times introduces a new format to its byline pages, called enhanced bios, highlighting journalists' expertise and ethics, how they operate, and more  —  The New York Times is introducing a new format to its byline pages.  —  Our journalists are what set The New York Times apart.
RELATED:
Emilia David / The Verge:
The NYT starts hiring for a team that will explore the use of generative AI in the newsroom “to help with reporting and how the Times is presented to readers”
Sam Nagarajan / Bloomberg:
UK Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer blocks any changes to the ownership or control of the Telegraph Media Group pending an investigation into the UAE-backed bid  —  - Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer issues order in latest move  — UAE-backed consortium RedBirdIMI wants to buy the media group
Reuters:
Emails: Sony India and Zee disagreed over 20+ compliance issues, including Zee's failure to dispose of Russian assets and its $1.4B Disney cricket rights deal  —  Sony and Zee disagreed over more than 20 compliance issues, including the Indian firm's failure to dispose of some Russian assets …
Discussion: Broadband TV News
Ben Sisario / New York Times:
USC: in 2023, 35% of Billboard's Hot 100 singles in the US were performed by women and 56% of the most popular songs had at least one female songwriter  —  The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative's latest report finds that women's involvement in the biggest hits of 2023 was greatly improved over previous years.
Discussion: Variety
Reuters:
Mexican authorities confirm that government computers were hacked on January 22 and the personal data on 263+ journalists was illegally accessed and released  —  The theft of the personal data of hundreds of journalists in Mexico, including addresses and copies of voter ID cards and passports …
 
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 More News: 
Elizabeth A. Harris / New York Times:
A profile of Penguin Random House CEO Nihar Malaviya, who was tasked to lead PRH after the US DOJ won its fight to stop the $2B+ Simon & Schuster acquisition
Alexandra Alter / New York Times:
Bookstat: the US audiobook market grew 14% YoY in Q4 2023, excluding Spotify; with Spotify, it grew 28% YoY; Spotify had an 11% market share, behind Audible
Bloomberg:
French media conglomerate Vivendi formally proposes splitting into four separately traded companies, including one for the film and TV studio Canal+
Discussion: Reuters
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
Talent agency WME partners with tech startup Vermillio to protect WME clients from thefts of their likeness and IP by using AI technology to track images
Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
The Los Angeles Times Interim Executive Editor Terry Tang names Hector Becerra as the paper's managing editor; Becerra joined The Times in 1999
Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
The Daily Iowan, the University of Iowa's independent student newspaper, purchases two weekly local newspapers, the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun and Solon Economist
 Earlier Picks: 
Matthew Kish / Oregonian:
The Oregonian plans to appeal a court order to not publish info from docs that a lawyer accidentally sent it, saying prior restraint goes against 1A
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Memo: TechCrunch plans to wind down TC+, its paid subscription product launched in 2019 as ExtraCrunch, and lays off ~8 employees, amid media industry-wide cuts
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
WPP plans to spend £250M on AI development in 2024 and make similar investments in the future, as part of an overhaul of its operations to meet client demands
The Information:
Sources: TikTok plans to open studios in several cities, including LA, where creators can livestream and sell products, a strategy that worked for Douyin