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:
Comcast, Radio & Television …, New York Times, Engadget, Awful Announcing, Axios, The Wrap, Forbes, TVNewsCheck, Variety, AV Club, Bloomberg, Philadelphia Business Journal, Fast Company, Breitbart, Stephani Shelton on LinkedIn, The Guardian, The Desk, Media Play News, @stark.soy, @sherman4949, @great_katzby, Front Office Sports, @benmullin, HotAir, @mediaite, @jeffjarvis, Fortune, Cord Cutters News, Total Telecom, TechCrunch, USA Today, @sarafischer, Newser, Ars Technica, CNN, @brianstelter, @sherman4949, One America News Network, @colbyhall, HuffPost, @joshuabenton.com, @benmullin, NBC News, IJR, @brianstelter, Washington Examiner, @sherman4949, Barron's Online, Mediaite, The Verge, Fox Business, Yahoo Finance, acecomments.mu.nu, Benzinga, Financial Times, The Information, @amolsharma.bsky.social, NBC News, Media Play News, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, Variety, Ad Age, CNN, Awful Announcing, Cord Cutters News, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Business Insider, Talking Biz News and Wall Street Journal
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Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Sources: Comcast execs told staff that MSNBC may have to change its identity as part of the spinoff, including losing access to NBC News' newsgathering process — MSNBC fans who are disappointed in the progressive-leaning network after Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 election may no longer have it to kick around.
Discussion:
New York Post, Mediaite, @sherman4949, @tvmojoe, PoliticusUSA, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, @bristei, @davidingram.bsky.social, @bristei.bsky.social, @igotarock2.bsky.social, @tomgara@threads.net, @colbyhall, @maxwelltani, @jbflint, Deadline, @noblewatchman.bsky.social, @harveyjkaye.bsky.social, @bristei, Adweek and Instapundit
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Analyzing Comcast's spinoff of cable networks, purposefully structured with low debt: the move might be a signal to the industry that it's time to consolidate — Comcast shares posted modest gains Wednesday after the company announced its plan to spin off all of NBCUniversal's cable networks …
Discussion:
Alex Sherman on LinkedIn, Business Insider, MediaPost, Bloomberg, Reuters, Associated Press and The Streamable
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
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 …
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Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
Tortoise says it plans to invest £25M in Observer over five years, aiming to turn it into a self-funded, paywalled newsbrand with 100K new digital subscribers — Guardian and Observer journalists have agreed to a 48-hour strike in protest at the planned sale of The Observer to Tortoise Media.
Manuela Vega / Toronto Star:
Rogers Sports & Media lays off more than two dozen employees in its radio and podcasting divisions, citing declining revenue and challenges in advertising — The company has said there will be no closures or terminations of stations, programming or podcasts.
Discussion:
Inside Radio, CBC News and Globe and Mail
Josh Hersh / Columbia Journalism Review:
Q&A with Vulture's podcast critic Nicholas Quah about how Trump tapped into the podcast world, podcasters like Joe Rogan being “politically squishy”, and more — Donald Trump surprised a lot of people when he appeared on a number of nonpolitical podcasts this summer …
Discussion:
@joeroganhq
Oliver Darcy / Status:
Nielsen: Morning Joe's total audience fell 17% from the 6am hour to the 7am hour after Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski said they met Trump, an unusual drop — The decision from Comcast will notably rip apart NBCU News Group boss Cesar Conde's kingdom, with MSNBC and CNBC being spun off.
Discussion:
StreamTV Insider, Vanity Fair, Al Jazeera, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, @brianstelter, Adweek, @jeremymbarr, @sallyshin, @jeffjarvis, @asharma, @tvgrimreaper, @kellycripe, @asharma, Mediaite, @asharma, @michellesea.bsky.social, @timkarr.bsky.social, Stephanie Smith on LinkedIn, @oliverdarcy@threads.net, The Desk, Reuters, TVNewsCheck, Matthew Keys on LinkedIn, Dan Rayburn on LinkedIn, @amolsharma.bsky.social, The Hill, Daily Mail and Daily Kos
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:
Ars Technica, Entrepreneur, MediaPost, Search Engine Roundtable, @simonowens.bsky.social and CNET, more at Techmeme »
Sam Gutelle / Tubefilter:
Streamlabs: Twitch accounted for 82.3% of total Q3 streaming hours, with YouTube Gaming in second place at 5.6%; Kick grew 204% from Q2 2023 to Q3 2024 — For years, the Logitech-owned creator dashboard Streamlabs and its data partner Stream Hatchet have compiled quarterly progress reports for the streaming industry.
Discussion:
@tvgrimreaper and Streamlabs
Bloomberg:
News Corp shareholders reject Starboard's proposal to end News Corp's dual share structure, which Starboard said gives the Murdochs “outsized influence” — - Starboard argued that Murdoch family had too much influence — Murdoch family awaits ruling in contentious trust trial
Discussion:
The Guardian, Reuters, Deadline and @davidfolkenflik
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