Mediagazer: WGA East says 26 of the 50 NowThis members represented by the union have been laid off; an internal memo says no additional layoffs are planned (Todd Spangler/Variety)

7:45 PM ET, February 15, 2024

Top News:

Google says IAB Tech Lab's report claiming Privacy Sandbox could disadvantage smaller brands and media companies contains “misunderstandings and inaccuracies” — The IAB Tech Lab report claims that Privacy Sandbox could make it harder for brands to serve effective ads - particularly smaller businesses.

Discussion: Google for Developers, MediaPost, Marketing Dive, The Drum, Anthony Katsur on LinkedIn, Hanne Tuomisto-Inch on LinkedIn, @iabtechlab, MarTech, Ad Age, Digiday and AdExchanger

Drew Harwell / Washington Post:

The SEC approves Truth Social's SPAC merger with DWAC; Trump's stake in the post-merger company would be valued at more than $4B at today's price — The former president's stake in the post-merger company would be valued, at today's share price, at nearly $4 billion.

Discussion: Fox Business, Reuters, The Hill, Axios, Politico, CBS News, @drewharwell@mastodon.social, CNN, @Nonilex@masto.ai and @gwynnion@mastodon.social, more at Techmeme »

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:

Sources: The Independent is in talks to assume control of BuzzFeed in the UK and Ireland under a licensing deal for its brands, including HuffPost — British media group to take charge of local operations of start-up once seen as future of the industry — The Independent, the British media group …

Discussion: The Guardian, @janinegibson.bsky.social, Mediaite, The Information and Reuters

Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Rod Stewart sold his music and publishing catalog for ~$100M to Iconic Artists Group, which says it has raised $1B+ for future catalog investments — Investors pour billions of dollars into companies pursuing music-rights deals — Rod Stewart, the star behind such hits as …

Discussion: Music Business Worldwide, Axios, Deadline, Music Business Worldwide, Forbes, Billboard, New York Post, Music Week, Variety and Digital Music News

Alexandra Alter / New York Times:

The National Book Awards expand eligibility to noncitizens in the US, including immigrants and longtime residents who have made their home in the country — The awards, which celebrate the best of American literature, are expanding the definition of who qualifies.

Discussion: Publishing Perspectives, Mother Jones and @mtaeckens

Bloomberg:

Sources: the US DOJ plans to scrutinize the streaming service proposal by Disney, Fox, and WBD over concerns it could harm consumers, rivals, and sports leagues — - Concerns likely focused on pricing, sports league negotiations — Antitrust enforcers have blocked cable bundles in past cases

Discussion: Reuters, The Streamable, Cord Cutters News and @tomselliott

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

YouTube adds four new tools that let users to incorporate, or “remix”, a music video in their Shorts, weeks after UMG pulled its song catalog from TikTok — YouTube is introducing the ability for users to incorporate or “remix” a music video in their short-form videos …

Discussion: YouTube Official Blog, Tubefilter, @carnage4life@mas.to, The Verge, 9to5Google, Engadget and UPI, more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Roku reports Q4 revenue up 14% YoY to $984.4M, vs. $968.2M est., and warns of a “challenging” environment for media and entertainment in 2024; ROKU drops 14%+ — Roku revenue came in above Wall Street forecasts for the fourth quarter of 2023 — and it touted new milestones …

Discussion: The Desk, TechCrunch, The Wrap, The Information, Media Play News, Deadline, Roku and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

Emma Roth / The Verge:

Meta plans to start charging a 30% fee for boosting Facebook and Instagram posts on iOS later in February, after Apple extended its 30% cut to boosting in 2022 — Meta said Thursday that it will start charging a 30 percent fee when advertisers pay to boost the visibility of their posts in Facebook's and Instagram's iOS apps.

Discussion: Facebook, MediaPost, Search Engine Land, Kaye Ann Caronongan on LinkedIn, Reuters, @AAKL@noc.social, BGR, Bloomberg, The Information, Wall Street Journal, 9to5Mac, TechCrunch and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Committee to Protect Journalists:

A Turkish court finds three journalists guilty of assisting a terrorist organization; the three have faced multiple trials since their initial arrests in 2016 — The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Turkish authorities not to fight the appeals of journalists Ahmet Altan, Nazlı …

Discussion: Voice of America and Committee to Protect …

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

How Swiss outlet Blick gained 16,000+ subscribers since June 2023 by using a registration wall and summaries teasing the content of some walled-off articles — A registration wall launched in the run-up to the premium offer was a “key element” to a strong launch.

Ashley Belanger / Ars Technica:

AMC Networks tells streaming customers they might be eligible for part of an $8.3M settlement over claims that AMC shared viewing histories with tech companies — Proposed settlement impacts millions using AMC apps like Shudder and AMC+. — On Thursday, AMC notified subscribers …

Discussion: United States District Court Southern District of New York, Cord Cutters News, @arstechnica@mastodon.social, The Desk and KHOU-TV

Oliver Darcy / CNN:

Meta seems unable to define political content, vaguely mentioning laws, elections, and social topics, after saying Threads would not amplify political content — What constitutes “political” content? — It's an important question that Meta has conspicuously left unanswered …

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, @shiraovide@threads.net, @katieharbath@threads.net, @jayfarrellarnold@threads.net, @doniecnn@threads.net, @oliverdarcy@threads.net, @crumbler@threads.net and @bostonjoan@threads.net, more at Techmeme »

The Information:
Sources: Meta is reducing payments to news outlets that fact-check potential WhatsApp misinformation, such as around elections, and has cut CrowdTangle funding

Discussion: @kalleyhuang, @aginnt, @brooklynmarie, @campuscodi@mastodon.social and @mattnavarra@threads.net

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More News:

Amy Hawkins / The Guardian:
Leaked emails appear to confirm that some authors were excluded from the 2023 Hugo Awards over fear their work would offend China, host of the awards convention

Discussion: File 770, @tess@mastodon.social, @jasonkoebler@mastodon.social and 404 Media

Todd Spangler / Variety:
WGA East says 26 of the 50 NowThis members represented by the union have been laid off; an internal memo says no additional layoffs are planned

Discussion: The Guardian, @jamjad_, @pjayevans, @mikeisaac, @mikeisaac, @benmullin, @emilysullbarger, The Wrap, @meghin_, @snmrrw, @sebauyanet, @nowthisunion, @sebauyanet and @snmrrw

Geert De Clercq / Reuters:
An EU study of 576 influencers finds that 97% posted commercial content but only 20% systematically indicated the content was advertising

Discussion: European Commission, The Hill, The Information, RTÉ, Metro.co.uk, Adweek and Boing Boing

Ben Mullin / @benmullin:
A memo to Intercept staff says EIC Roger Hodge is leaving and the outlet is laying off 15 people and cutting salaries for the leadership team

Discussion: Talking Biz News, MediaPost, @danackerman, @themaxburns, @froomkin, @willyblackmore, The Wrap and NPR

Sahil Patel / The Information:
Sources: Vox Media's and Bustle Digital Group's revenue each fell ~15% YoY due to weaker ad sales; both have seen a 10% rise in ad sales so far in 2024

Committee to Protect Journalists:
Senegalese police attacked, harassed, and tear gassed or detained over 25 journalists reporting on February 9 protests over the delayed presidential election

Earlier Picks:

Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
TelevisaUnivision reports Q4 revenue fell 7% YoY to $1.36B and adjusted OIBDA fell 7% YoY to $468.1M; streamer ViX had 7M+ subscribers at the end of 2023

Discussion: The Desk, Footwear News, Deadline, MediaPost, Variety and WORLD SCREEN

Jonathan Heawood / The Guardian:
A look at new local UK newsrooms, like Manchester's The Mill, Glasgow's The Ferret, and The Bristol Cable, which are taking over as legacy local media declines

Discussion: Johny Cassidy on LinkedIn, Jonathan Heawood on LinkedIn, @EricLawton@spore.social and Media Voices

Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
Four owners of independent media talk about why they went independent, the boom-and-bust cycle of media funding, sustainability, co-op ownership, and more

Discussion: @mathewi and @hanaatameez

Damilare Dosunmu / Rest of World:
Omdia: South African streaming company Showmax had 2.1M subscribers in Africa at the end of November 2023, ahead of Netflix's 1.8M and Amazon Prime Video's 300K

Discussion: Marie Lora-Mungai on LinkedIn, The Information and @restofworld@restof.social

Roger Cheng / Cord Cutters News:
Altice USA's Optimum lost 114,000 internet subscribers and 266,700 cable TV subscribers in 2023, including 62,200 cable subscribers in Q4

Discussion: The Desk, Altice USA, Inc. and Next TV

From Techmeme:

Gleb Bryanski / Reuters:
Russia's finance minister says Russian companies have begun using bitcoin and other digital currencies in international payments to counter Western sanctions

Qwen:
Alibaba's Qwen unveils QvQ-72B-Preview, an experimental research model focused on “enhancing visual reasoning capabilities”, built upon Qwen2-VL-72B

Bloomberg:
Taiwan's FTC blocks Uber's $950M acquisition of Delivery Hero's Foodpanda, arguing it would decrease competition as their combined market share would be 90%+

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