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2:15 PM ET, February 20, 2024

Mediagazer

 Top News: 
Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
Nielsen: US monthly TV viewership rose 1.4% YoY to a four-year high in January, which included three of the top 10 days with the most TV viewing since May 2021  —  Monthly TV usage hit a four-year high in January 2024, according to Nielsen, with three of the top 10 days (Jan. 1, 14 and 28) …
RELATED:
Arijit Barman / The Economic Times:
Sources: Zee has re-engaged with Sony in a last-ditch attempt to revive their $10B merger, which had been called off on January 22; ZEEL closed up 7.93%  —  Zee Entertainment Enterprises has re-engaged with Sony Group Corp in a last-ditch attempt to revive their $10-billion merger.
RELATED:
Bloomberg:
Sources: India's market regulator has found a $241M gap in Zee Entertainment's accounting  —  - Diverted funds may be 10 times of what was estimated initially  — Zee's merger with Sony's local unit was called off last month  —  India's market regulator has found a hole of more than $240 million …
Discussion: The Economic Times
Jacob Pramuk / CNBC:
Walmart agrees to acquire TV maker Vizio for $2.3B, or $11.50/share, to boost its ad business via Vizio's SmartCast OS, which lets users stream content with ads  —  - Walmart is buying TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion in cash.  — The move is a bid to boost the big-box retailer's high-margin ad business.
Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:
HBO delays posting Last Week Tonight With John Oliver segments on YouTube for a few days after episodes premiere, to nudge more people to watch the show on Max  —  The delay in posting to the video site is intended to nudge more people to watch the show on Max.
Blake Brittain / Reuters:
A US appeals court rules a $1B jury verdict from 2019 against Cox for users' music piracy was unjustified; a new trial to be held to determine suitable damages  —  Cox Communications [RIC:RIC:COXC.UL], the cable television and internet service provider, convinced a U.S. appeals court to throw …
Sara Fischer / Axios:
The New York Times is recruiting select advertising partners to test its new generative AI ad-targeting tool, which it plans to make widely available in H2 2024  —  The New York Times is recruiting partners to test new ad-targeting solutions using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) beginning next quarter, executives told Axios.
Discussion: The Wrap and @sarafischer
Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
Q&A with Monty Sarhan, CEO of European streamer SkyShowtime, on adding a cheaper ad-supported tier, not revealing subscriber numbers, cutting spending, and more  —  The European streaming joint venture of Comcast and Paramount is not cutting back because “the U.S. narrative is not our narrative …
Discussion: Media Play News
David Satin / The Streamable:
Ampere Analysis: Disney has the biggest library of desirable titles at 148, followed by Paramount Global's 72; Netflix would be Disney's best licensing partner  —  Disney's catalog contains the highest number of titles that other streamers might find desirable, according to new data from Ampere Analysis.
 
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 More News: 
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Pinterest plans to release its first streaming show with Tastemade on February 23 for free on Tastemade's channel and apps, featuring QR codes of shoppable Pins
Discussion: Media Play News
Jude Rogers / The Guardian:
Q&A with BBC Disinformation & Social Media Correspondent Marianna Spring on her book Among the Trolls, being the target of 80% of BBC's online abuse, and more
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
The UK's National Association of Press Agencies criticizes News UK for its freelance rates remaining unchanged in 40 years; The Sun pays £20 for a news in brief
The Economic Times:
The Misinformation Combat Alliance and Meta plan to launch a dedicated fact-checking helpline on WhatsApp in India so users can flag deepfakes for analysis
Eduardo Suárez / Reuters Institute:
Q&A with AG Sulzberger on becoming the NYT publisher, what he misses about being a reporter, the NYT's goal of reaching 15M subscribers by 2025, and more
 Earlier Picks: 
Samantha Chery / Washington Post:
Polk Awards: The New York Times and ProPublica both win three awards, Vice News wins for Television Reporting, Reuters wins for Business Reporting, and more
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
Ofcom launches an impartiality investigation into UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's participation on GB News' People's Forum, after receiving ~500 complaints
Max Tani / Semafor:
A look at efforts by pro-Israel groups such as the 10/7 Project to discredit journalists like WaPo's Louisa Loveluck, who they deem to be biased against Israel
Jack Shafer / Politico:
Q&A with Margot Susca on her new book Hedged, which details how the US chain newspapers including Gannett were purchased and squeezed by PE firms like Alden
Clay Risen / New York Times:
William Beecher, who as a NYT reporter revealed President Nixon's secret bombing campaign over Cambodia and Pulitzer Prize winner, died on February 9 at age 90
 

 
From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a smart doorbell system with advanced facial recognition that can wirelessly connect and unlock third-party smart locks

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Donald Trump announces that Sriram Krishnan, until recently a general partner at a16z, will serve as senior policy advisor for AI at the White House OSTP

Financial Times:
Sources: Palantir and Anduril are in talks with OpenAI, SpaceX, and more to form a consortium to bid for US defense contracts and plan to announce it in January
 
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