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4:15 PM ET, February 27, 2024

Mediagazer

 Top News: 
Samantha Cole / 404 Media:
Internal docs: Tumblr staff compiled users' data in preparation for deals where Automattic would sell the data to OpenAI and Midjourney to train AI tools  —  Join the newsletter to get the latest updates.  —  Success  —  Great!  Check your inbox and click the link.  —  Error
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: WBD is no longer pursuing a merger with Paramount, Skydance is doing due diligence, and Comcast is exploring commercial partnerships with Paramount  —  - Warner Bros. Discovery is no longer pursuing a merger with Paramount Global as its shares trade near a 52-week low, according to people familiar with the matter.
Blake Brittain / Reuters:
Filing: OpenAI asks a US federal judge to dismiss parts of NYT's copyright suit, alleging it “paid someone to hack OpenAI's products” and violated OpenAI's TOS  —  OpenAI has asked a federal judge to dismiss parts of the New York Times (NYT.N) copyright lawsuit against it …
Sara Fischer / Axios:
The FT launches a venture arm to invest in media and tech startups, starting with $1M for Charter, a media and insights company focused on the workplace  —  - The company has made several strategic minority investments to date, including one in the Business of Fashion.
Discussion: Talking Biz News
Antenna:
Among premium SVODs, US subscriber growth fell from 21.6% YoY in 2022 to 10.1% YoY in 2023; 140.5M cancelled their subscriptions in 2023 vs. 104.3M in 2022  —  The headlines suggesting that the boom times are over for streaming video have been unavoidable.
Discussion: MediaPost, Media Play News and Reuters
Jem Aswad / Variety:
TikTok removes all songs published by Universal Music Publishing Group, expanding a licensing spat; at first only songs owned or distributed by UMG were removed  —  The bruising battle over royalties between Universal Music Group and TikTok entered a new and more severe stage in the early hours …
Ben Strauss / Washington Post:
Authentic says it has recouped its ~$90M SI purchase via licensing; sources: SI has 1M print subs, breaks even, and Minute Media is a potential new publisher  —  LAS VEGAS — “This is Sports Illustrated, the party!” the DJ yelled.  “Tonight is going to be legendary.”
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Docs: Google is paying a handful of independent publishers a five-figure sum for one year to use an unreleased suite of generative AI tools to post stories  —  In exchange for a five-figure sum, publishers must use the tool to publish 3 stories per day  —  Google launched a private program …
Alexandra Topping / The Guardian:
The BBC says it will bolster its procedures for dealing with non-editorial complaints, after finding shortcomings in dealing with a complaint about Huw Edwards  —  Corporation launched review into complaints procedure after scandal about presenter last year
Dan Rys / Billboard:
UMG buys a majority stake in Nigeria-based record label Mavin Global in a deal expected to close by Q3; Mavin was reportedly valued at north of $125M in October  —  The company, home to artists like Rema and Ayra Starr, is at the forefront of Africa's Afrobeats movement, which has been exploding across the globe.
 
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 More News: 
Jon Passantino / CNN:
The New York Times says Donald Trump has paid $392,000 to the paper to cover the legal costs from his failed lawsuit over disclosure of his tax documents
Discussion: The Daily Beast
Emma Vowles / Press Gazette:
An interview with BBC News analysis editor Ros Atkins about his viral explainer videos, use of OSINT by journalists, fake news, and more
 Earlier Picks: 
Deadline:
Disney's president of motion pictures, Sean Bailey, steps down; Searchlight's David Greenbaum takes over as president of Live Action and 20th Century Studios
Bloomberg:
Sources: Charter Communications is exploring a takeover of smaller rival Altice USA, which serves ~5M customers across 21 US states; Altice stock is up 50%+
 

 
From Techmeme:

Gavin Anderegg / anderegg.ca:
Bluesky is working to become fully decentralized but it could take years amid financial concerns as it makes money only by selling domains for usernames

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: ByteDance is valuing itself at about $300B as part of a recent buyback offer, one of its highest valuations ever

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: T-Mobile's network was among the systems hacked by the China-linked Salt Typhoon group, and some foreign telecommunications firms were also compromised
 
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