Top News:
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
The Onion, backed by some Sandy Hook families and Everytown for Gun Safety, buys Infowars in a bankruptcy auction, and plans a January 2025 relaunch as a parody — The satirical news site planned to turn Infowars into a parody of itself, mocking “weird internet personalities” who peddle conspiracy theories and health supplements.
Discussion:
The Onion, Washington Post, Associated Press, NPR, Inside Radio, @maxwelltani, @bencollins.bsky.social, @oneunderscore__, NBC News, @bencollins.bsky.social, San Francisco Chronicle, CNN, FOX 35 Orlando, PCMag, @oneunderscore__, Bloomberg, Vanity Fair, @zimbalist, @semaforben, To the Contrary, @hadas_gold, @jamesrbuk, David Wyatt on LinkedIn, TMZ.com, Cele|bitchy, @colbyhall, Laurel Pinson on LinkedIn, @benmullin, Raw Story, @sherman4949, @jamesrbuk, Houston Public Media, The Information, Fortune, Mashable, @BalooUriza@social.tulsa.ok.us, Block Club Chicago, @carkner@historians.social, The Present Age, Inc.com, Lawyers, Guns & Money, @oneunderscore__, @daithaigilbert, The Barbed Wire, @pkafka, Nieman Lab, Le Monde, Newser, @FuckElon@mastodon.social, Alternet.org, @johnlogic@sfba.social, @cyberlyra@hachyderm.io, @RPBook@historians.social, The Ankler, @brianstelter, @everytown@threads.net, New Republic, Hollywood Life, Haojun S. on LinkedIn, @claireatki, Paula Maki on LinkedIn, @sherman4949, @bruno_j_navarro …, Engadget, Above the Law, Capital Brief, Perez Hilton, The Daily Caller, OMG.BLOG, @Av8rdan@squawk …, Al Jazeera, @willguyatt, @pbump, Fast Company, @brianstelter, @lisagetspolitik@union.place, @beecycling@romancelandia.club, @chris@mstdn.chrisalemany.ca, New York Magazine, @rufflejax@dice.camp, @MicheleV_AK@sfba.social, @theonion, Fox Business, UPI, AV Club, Digby's Hullabaloo, Benzinga, Plain Dealer, I guess this is a …, Laura Seaton on LinkedIn, One America News Network, Mediaite, Breitbart, @yonetteajoseph@threads.net, Politico, @mick@cosocial.ca, @xtaldave@xtaldave.net, Mother Jones, Financial Times, Esquire, The Verge, Washington Examiner, RedState, USA Today, The Hill, The Guardian, 6abc, ZeroHedge News, The Desk, @laurenthomanwrites …, Business Insider, The Hollywood Reporter, Axios, @bencollins.bsky.social, TVNewsCheck, The Wrap, Twin Cities, @web_martin@mastodon.social, The Gateway Pundit, @vwampage@xoxo.zone, Variety, @bencollins.bsky.social, @bencollins.bsky.social, Status, Rolling Stone, Law & Crime, Just Jared, CBS News, Barrett Media, New York Post, RTÉ, Boing Boing, Deadline, HuffPost, Not the Bee, Consequence, New York Daily News, The National Pulse, Daring Fireball, Forbes, Press Herald, Crooks and Liars, Daily Kos, WHEC.com, Austin American-Statesman and UnHerd
Matthew Keys / The Desk:
Disney said Disney+ Q4 ARPU in the US and Canada, down 1% QoQ to $7.70, was affected partly by new wholesale arrangements with some distributors — The Walt Disney Company's recent distribution agreements with Charter Communications and DirecTV impacted a key metric that analysts …
Discussion:
The Verge, The Streamable, StreamTV Insider and Cord Cutters News
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The Hollywood Reporter:
Disney expects to spend $24B on content in 2025, up from $23.4B in 2024, due to sports programming expenses rising after NFL rate increases and NBA contracts — Rate hikes at the NFL and NBA may mean that sports drive the slight spending increase, with the company reporting $23.4 billion for this past year.
Discussion:
@philthepill.bsky.social
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Robbie Whelan / Wall Street Journal:
Disney reports Q4 revenue up 6% YoY to $22.6B, TV network revenue down 6% YoY to $2.5B, and a $321M DTC streaming profit, up from a $387M loss in Q4 2023
Disney reports Q4 revenue up 6% YoY to $22.6B, TV network revenue down 6% YoY to $2.5B, and a $321M DTC streaming profit, up from a $387M loss in Q4 2023
Jennifer Maas / Variety:
In Q4, Disney added 4.4M Disney+ Core paid subscribers, reaching 120M in total, Disney+ Hotstar subscribers rose 1% YoY to 35.9M, and Hulu subscribers hit 52M
In Q4, Disney added 4.4M Disney+ Core paid subscribers, reaching 120M in total, Disney+ Hotstar subscribers rose 1% YoY to 35.9M, and Hulu subscribers hit 52M
Discussion:
IndieWire and Advanced Television
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Reliance and Disney complete their $8.5B Indian media merger, creating India's largest media group with $3.1B in annual revenue and 50M+ streaming subscribers
Reliance and Disney complete their $8.5B Indian media merger, creating India's largest media group with $3.1B in annual revenue and 50M+ streaming subscribers
Discussion:
Times of India, Financial Times, Reuters, Deadline, The Wrap, Hindustan Times, The Hollywood Reporter and YourStory.com
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
In its Q4 report, Disney, which rarely offers guidance, shares growth expectations to 2027, including a ~$700M operating profit in DTC streaming in 2025
In its Q4 report, Disney, which rarely offers guidance, shares growth expectations to 2027, including a ~$700M operating profit in DTC streaming in 2025
Discussion:
The Information, Orange County Register, @brianstelter, Benzinga, WHEC.com, Yahoo Finance, Financial Times, Reuters and WORLD SCREEN, more at Techmeme »
Liam Scott / Voice of America:
Reporters Without Borders sues X in France for “complicity in disseminating false information”, after X failed to block a fake video with RSF's logo — The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders on Thursday announced that it is suing the social media company X, accusing it of spreading disinformation.
Discussion:
@shayne.bsky.social, @digiphile.bsky.social and Al Jazeera
Elizabeth Lopatto / The Verge:
Fake AI albums targeting real artists are flooding Spotify to profit from royalty fraud, abusing a distribution process effectively based on the honor system — How fake music targets real artists. … I first noticed something weird when a HEALTH album dropped on my Spotify new release radar.
Discussion:
@jzellis, @js@podcastindex.social, @waxy@xoxo.zone and Spotify, more at Techmeme »
Jesse Whittock / Deadline:
Small to mid-sized US unscripted producers like Lucky 8 are looking overseas to find new business and co-producers as the US market contraction hits budgets — Last month at MIPCOM, many regulars at the Cannes TV market noticed more American accents on the Croisette than usual.
Lachlan Cartwright / Columbia Journalism Review:
Just before the election, a Trump lawyer demanded $10B in damages from the NYT and Penguin Random House, part of a flurry of Trump's legal threats to media — Legal letter follows complaints aimed at CBS News, the Washington Post, and the Daily Beast. — The letter, addressed to lawyers …
Discussion:
@lachcartwright
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
YouTube: 45M+ people in the US watched election content on November 5; top livestreams were from Fox News, NBC News, LiveNOW, ABC News, and the PBD Podcast — The Google-owned video platform released data Thursday indicating that tens of millions of Americans decided to watch their election returns there.
Discussion:
@youtubeinsider, @alexweprin, @youtubeinsider, Fox News, TVNewsCheck, Business Insider and Forbes
Emma Roth / The Verge:
TikTok adds Getty Images to its AI ad creation tool, Symphony Creative Studio, which lets advertisers use the images to make videos, create AI avatars, and more — TikTok will let advertisers pull in content from Getty Images when using the platform's AI ad creation tool.
Discussion:
Reuters and TikTok For Business, more at Techmeme »
UnHerd:
Scientific American EIC Laura Helmuth is stepping down, following criticism for her social media posts suggesting Trump voters were racist, sexist, and fascist — The embattled Editor-in-Chief of Scientific American is leaving her role after her anti-Trump social media posts gained national attention.
Discussion:
Washington Post, KFOX-TV, @laurahelmuth.bsky.social, @marynmck.bsky.social, @starrevartan.bsky.social, @asherelbein.bsky.social, @laurahelmuth.bsky.social, @profphoebe.bsky.social, @alexwild.bsky.social, Daily Mail, @janehu.bsky.social, @erinbiba.bsky.social, @andreapitzer.bsky.social, @pardoguerra.bsky.social, @leahshaffer.bsky.social, @ee1ss1.bsky.social, @irishwriterme.bsky.social, @evanurquhart.bsky.social, @sarahmyhre.bsky.social, @sethfletcher.bsky.social, @salvagni.org, @leebillings.bsky.social, @shannonstirone.bsky.social, @rockdocgeoarch.bsky.social, @robinjp.bsky.social, @drmariannet.bsky.social, @self.agency, @danfagin.bsky.social, @jimdaleywrites.bsky.social, @erinbiba.bsky.social, The Post Millennial, @jetjocko.bsky.social, @philplait.bsky.social, @deborahb.bsky.social, @sciraven.bsky.social and @sanjanacurtis.bsky.social
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Google plans to stop showing political ads to users in the EU in 2025 due to uncertainties around new transparency rules coming into effect in October 2025 — Google has announced it will stop showing political ads to users in the European Union next year due to uncertainties around the bloc's new transparency regulations.
Discussion:
The Keyword and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Dell Cameron / Wired:
The PRESS Act, shielding journalists from US government spying, stalls as Senate Democrats juggle legislative priorities before ceding control January 3 — The PRESS Act, which would protect journalists from government spying, enjoys broad bipartisan support and has passed the House …
Washington Post:
WaPo names Liz Seymour managing editor; she has held various roles over 25 years at the outlet, including deputy managing editor and executive features editor — A veteran Washington Post newsroom leader, Seymour marks her 25th year at the publication — The Washington Post today named …
Discussion:
Kathy Baird on LinkedIn, The Wrap and MediaPost