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4:30 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:
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
As YouTube marks one year as Nielsen's top US streaming service, a Q&A with YouTube VPs Nicky Rettke and Tara Levy on the NFL, ad innovation, creators, and more  —  EXCLUSIVE: YouTube has been racking up milestones lately.  Its pay-TV bundle, YouTube TV, just passed 8 million subscribers.
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.
CNBC:
Lawsuit document: FuboTV sues Disney, Fox, and WBD over their planned joint venture in sports streaming, citing “extreme suppression of competition”  —  - FuboTV is suing Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery over their recently announced sports streaming joint venture, according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by CNBC.
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
Nate Ostiller / The Kyiv Independent:
Russia labels RFE/RL an “undesirable organization”, following an earlier decision by Russian tax authorities to begin bankruptcy proceedings against the outlet  —  Russia labeled Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) an “undesirable organization,” the outlet reported on Feb. 20, citing Russia's Justice Ministry.
Discussion: Voice of America
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Apple Music introduces a monthly version of Replay, with insights like total listening time, top songs, artists, and albums  —  Apple today updated the Apple Music Replay experience, available at replay.music.apple.com, with visualizations of your favorite music habits by month, rather than just by year.
Scott Roxborough / The Hollywood Reporter:
Fremantle plans to buy Asacha Media after taking an 80% stake in TV group Beach House; both acquisitions combined will cost Fremantle's parent RTL Group €200M+  —  The deal, which is still subject to closing conditions, adds eight more production labels to Fremantle's growing portfolio.
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  —  Pinterest is readying the launch of its first-ever streaming show, cooking and lifestyle series “Deliciously Entertaining” …
Discussion: Media Play News
 
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 More News: 
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
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
 Earlier Picks: 
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
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
 

 
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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