Mediagazer: Paramount's Pluto TV and M6+ strike a partnership that includes content channels and ad sales in France; French TV company M6 launched the AVOD platform in May (Georg Szalai/The Hollywood Reporter)

How WhatsApp Channels, launched in late 2023, are driving traffic to digital news outlets, especially readers from outside the US, as social media traffic falls — An illustration of a man sitting on a green chair reading a newspaper called “World News” as he looks at his phone behind it.Jackson Gibbs

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Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:

Paramount's Pluto TV and M6+ strike a partnership that includes content channels and ad sales in France; French TV company M6 launched the AVOD platform in May — The strategic commercial and editorial partnership is designed to “scale and expand their free streaming and digital businesses in France.”

Discussion: Advanced Television, Variety, TVNewsCheck, TVBEurope and Deadline

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Memo: Paramount unveils “phase two” of layoffs and says 90% of them will be complete after this round, following its August plan to cut 15% of its US workforce — Paramount Global unveiled a second wave of staff cuts Tuesday morning, part of a larger bid by the owner of CBS …

Discussion: The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, Advanced Television, Next TV, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter

Ryan Browne / CNBC:

Warner Bros. Discovery partners with Google to add its “caption AI”, built on Vertex AI, to Max to automatically generate captions for unscripted programming — Warner Bros. Discovery is partnering with Google to integrate the internet giant's AI technology into its Max video streaming platform …

Discussion: @dfwsam.bsky.social, Google Cloud and The Keyword, more at Techmeme »

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

TikTok rolls out its redesigned Subscription feature, which lets creators offer three tiers, to eligible creators in select regions, including the UK and the US — TikTok announced on Monday that its redesigned “Subscription” monetization offering is rolling out to eligible creators in select regions …

Discussion: TikTok, TVNewsCheck, @wildtiktokss, @liahaberman, @zachbussey, @tiktokcomms, ZDNET, MediaPost and Fast Company

David Ingram / NBC News:

TikTok permanently removes accounts associated with the parent organizations of Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik, citing “covert influence operations” — Social media rivals Meta and YouTube have announced similar suspensions of Russian state media accounts this month.

Discussion: CNN, Adweek, The Hill, @alenapopova and @beefeater_fella, more at Techmeme »

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

TikTok says it plans to shut down TikTok Music on November 28 and will delete customer data; the app, originally called Resso, first launched in 2019 — TikTok Music will go offline on Nov. 28 and customer data will be deleted, the music division said in a post on its website.

Discussion: TechCrunch, Music Ally and Music Business Worldwide, more at Techmeme »

Katie Paul / Reuters:

Source: Meta plans to launch the voices of Judi Dench, Kristen Bell, John Cena, Awkwafina, and Keegan-Michael Key for its Meta AI chatbot at Connect this week — Facebook owner Meta Platforms (META.O) is planning to announce this week that it has secured deals with actors including Judi Dench …

Discussion: MEDIANAMA and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

Reach CEO Jim Mullen says there is “too much power in the hands of platforms and their algorithms” and calls for regulation to make platforms pay for content — The chief executive of the UK's biggest commercial news publisher has called for big tech regulation so the platforms pay …

Discussion: Liverpool Echo and HoldtheFrontPage

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

An interview with Joanna Coles and Ben Sherwood on making The Daily Beast “an intelligent tabloid” with 30+ new contributors like Tina Brown and Kara Swisher — If the media industry is burning, Joanna Coles and Ben Sherwood aren't afraid to play close to the flames.

Discussion: @variety, LateNighter, @bristei and The Daily Beast

Chine Labbé / Nieman Reports:

A project that tracked 50 Ukrainian newsrooms over the past 15 months finds they are upholding high standards of journalism, some reinvented themselves, more — Many news organizations are adapting to the realities brought by the ongoing conflict. — Until Feb. 24, 2022 …

Discussion: Chine Labbe on LinkedIn

Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:

A look at Smartmatic's defamation case against Newsmax, scheduled to begin on September 30 in Wilmington, Delaware, and its implications for the media industry — The voting technology company will have to prove that allegations of fraud made by hosts and guests on Newsmax destroyed its reputation.

Discussion: Associated Press, @jeremymbarr, Deadline and Barrett Media