Top News:
CNBC:
Comcast confirms plans to spin off its NBCUniversal cable TV networks, including MSNBC and CNBC, with Mark Lazarus as CEO; the separation may take about a year — Comcast is moving forward with the spinoff of its cable network channels, including CNBC, MSNBC and E!, the company said Wednesday.
Discussion:
New York Times, Axios, Adweek, The Streamable, IndieWire, The Guardian, Mediaite, The Desk, Fox Business, Bloomberg, Variety, TVNewsCheck, Advanced Television, Bloomberg, HuffPost, Talking Biz News, Engadget, Comcast Corporation, Streaming Better, ZeroHedge News, HotAir, NBC News, Sports Media Watch, @mediaite, Media Play News, Associated Press, Stephani Shelton on LinkedIn, @brianstelter, Newser, Cord Cutters News, Deadline, Yahoo Finance, @stark.soy, The Verge, @joshuabenton.com, @benmullin, @colbyhall, @sarafischer, @benmullin, @brianstelter, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, @jeffjarvis, The Hollywood Reporter, Fortune, Barron's Online, Barrett Media, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, @brianstelter, The Information, @great_katzby, @amolsharma.bsky.social, The Desk, Financial Times, TVNewsCheck, Matthew Keys on LinkedIn, Stephanie Smith on LinkedIn, NBC News, Benzinga, Media Play News, Dan Rayburn on LinkedIn, @sallyshin, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, Variety, @asharma, Ad Age, @tvgrimreaper, @asharma, CNN, Awful Announcing, @amolsharma.bsky.social, Cord Cutters News, @asharma, @timkarr.bsky.social, Deadline, Business Insider and The Hill
RELATED:
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Comcast spinoff: Matt Strauss will be NBCUniversal Media Group Chairman, overseeing Peacock; Donna Langley will be NBCUniversal Entertainment & Studios Chair — Matt Strauss and Donna Langley have been named to top roles at the new NBCUniversal, a move that pairs a business executive …
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter
Liz Hoffman / Semafor:
Sources: under current plans, Comcast's new spun off entity would carry little of its $101B of debt, giving it the ability to borrow for acquisitions — The Scoop — Corporate spinoffs are born as takeover prey. They're often unloved, underperforming divisions, flung out to shareholders wearing a …
Discussion:
@semaforben
Peter Kafka / Business Insider:
Comcast's spinoff is essentially a garage sale of its basic cable TV networks, as the number of people paying for and watching cable networks falls every year — - Cable networks used to be incredibly valuable. But in the streaming and cord-cutting era, they are in decline.
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
Comcast spinoff: cable channel Bravo, the NBC broadcast network, and Peacock will remain part of NBCUniversal; the new entity's ownership will mirror Comcast — NBCU CFO Anand Kini will become CFO and COO of the new channels company. … Cable channel Bravo, the NBC broadcast network …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and @pkafka
James Warrington / Telegraph:
Almost 93% of 600 Guardian and Observer staff organized by the NUJ vote in favor of strike action over the proposed sale of The Observer to Tortoise — Union leaders say walkouts can be avoided if the company ends discussions with Tortoise — The Guardian is braced for strike action …
Kanis Leung / Associated Press:
Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai testifies for the first time in his years-long national security trial; he is already serving a jail term for a fraud conviction — Former Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai began testifying Wednesday in his landmark national security trial that is widely seen …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Reuters, The Wire China, The Japan Times, Semafor, New York Times, Agence France-Presse, Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, Financial Times, South China Morning Post, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, CBS News, Bloomberg, Raw Story, London Evening Standard and Reporters Without Borders
Mia Sato / The Verge:
Google tightens its rules against “parasite SEO” content, or articles that have little to do with the website's focus, after cracking down on “reputation abuse” — Google is tightening its rules against “parasite SEO” content, or articles and pages that often have little …
Discussion:
MEDIANAMA, @simonowens.bsky.social, Search Engine Roundtable, Entrepreneur and CNET, more at Techmeme »
Sophie Culpepper / Nieman Lab:
A profile of The Green Line, a Toronto-based local news site that combines traditional reporting, community events, and solutions and action — The Green Line combines events, explainers, and solutions to appeal to young Torontonians. — Toronto-based local news site The Green Line …
Discussion:
Anna Nirmala on LinkedIn, @niemanlab, @carolynjack and @tassosmorfis
Sara Fischer / Axios:
The Trade Desk is building a CTV OS called Ventura; CEO Jeff Green says existing providers like Roku have a conflict of interest because they own content — - “We're looking at a concentration around a handful of players that lack objectivity,” Green said.
Discussion:
The Desk, Sara Fischer on LinkedIn, @sarafischer and Jeff Green on LinkedIn
Amanda Gerut / Fortune:
A Brooklyn federal grand jury indicts two brothers over allegedly running illegal sports streaming service 247TVStream, offering live NFL, NBA, and NHL games — “Thanks to the work of our prosecutors, along with our domestic and international law enforcement partners, the illicit digital streaming site …
Discussion:
The Desk and US Department of Justice
Anil Dash:
Substack wants writers to call their work by its brand name because “they control your audience and distribution” and “want to own your content and voice” — Email's been here for years. But the reason Substack wants you to call your creative work by their brand name …
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
The Economist, The Week, ITV News, and others have joined Bluesky in the past week, while Politico, Semafor, Tortoise have resumed their activity on the site — A wave of news publishers have arrived on Bluesky in recent days, following audiences and journalists departing X/Twitter.
Discussion:
American Press Institute, Hindustan Times, @handle.invalid and @johnspurlock.com
RELATED:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Bluesky says it now has 20M+ users after hitting 15M on November 13, and the app has been #1 in the US App Store since November 13, per Appfigures
Discussion:
Fast Company, Adam Thierer on LinkedIn, The Independent, Engadget, @jaz.bsky.social, @bryanruby.com, @randfish.bsky.social, @Tibor@mastodon.social, Washington Times, @gordonshorten.bsky.social, The Hollywood Reporter, Similarweb, @jburnmurdoch.bsky.social, @jburnmurdoch.bsky.social, @lif3asmaj.bsky.social, @tkaz99.bsky.social, @willoremus@threads.net, @mosseri@threads.net, @aarnegranlund.bsky.social, @henrymance.bsky.social, @timboard.bsky.social, @nachristakis.bsky.social, @evankirstel.bsky.social, @johnspurlock.com, @conorsen.bsky.social, @jay.bsky.team, @o.simardcasanova.net, @keithedwards.bsky.social, @oremus.bsky.social, theJasmineBRAND, @paleofuture.bsky.social, The Irish Times and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »
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