Top News:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Reuters and Gannett plan to launch a content bundle in Q1 2025, sold by Reuters; the bundle won't include access to games and puzzles from Gannett's newspapers — - Customers can access Reuters' national and international coverage, combined via a bundle with Gannett's national news coverage …
David Shepardson / Reuters:
A US appeals court rules the FCC did not have legal authority to reinstate net neutrality rules; incoming FCC chair Brendan Carr opposed the 2024 reinstatement — A U.S. appeals court ruled on Tuesday the Federal Communications Commission did not have the legal authority to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules.
Reuters:
The Palestinian Authority suspends the broadcast of Al Jazeera TV temporarily over “inciting material and reports that were deceiving and stirring strife” — The Palestinian Authority suspended the broadcast of Qatar's Al-Jazeera TV temporarily over “inciting material,” official news agency WAFA reported on Wednesday.
Discussion:
CNN, New York Times, UPI, @hearnimator, @gnuseibeh, @hamdahsalhut, Middle East Monitor, Türkiye Today, @malonebarry, @khaledabutoameh, @hamdahsalhut, @brianosgood6, @barakravid, @ragipsoylu, @aghamilton29, @suzanquitaz, @nadavpollak, Agence France-Presse, @jerusalem_post, @tameeolivefern, @spencerguard, @tamarainassar, The Times of Israel, Committee to Protect …, Voice of America, Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, Türkiye Today, Al Jazeera English on YouTube, France 24, Breitbart and Al Jazeera
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
PGA Tour unveils PGA Tour Studios in Florida, and plans to launch a World Feed, curated exclusively for international media partners and their viewers — Executives at PGA Tour say they are getting ready for a new era in sports when leagues will need to exercise significantly more control …
Discussion:
@simonowens, @bristei.bsky.social and Sportico
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Email: CNBC will seek $15/month for its streamer CNBC+; a pro tier will be $300/year, or $35/month; a bundle with Jim Cramer investment club will be $600/year — CNBC will seek $14.99 a month, or $99.99 a year, for access to a new targeted streaming service called CNBC+ that executives …
Discussion:
Latest from Tv Technology, Engadget, MediaPost, Streaming Better, @parismarx.com, @karlbode.com, Talking Biz News, @kirbyslastsnack, @bostonradio, @bmccandless, @tvgrimreaper, TVNewsCheck, Cord Cutters News, @bristei, Simon Owens on LinkedIn, @kdn1692.bsky.social, @thispersonstinks.bsky.social and @serrata.org
Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
Spotify debuts a Partner Program in the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia, letting popular podcast hosts monetize video content, after announcing it in November — Spotify announced Thursday the launch of its new “Partner Program” that lets popular podcast hosts monetize their video content.
Discussion:
Spotify, Benzinga, Passionfruit, Neowin, The Verge and iPhone in Canada Blog
Clay Risen / New York Times:
Woody Fraser, an Emmy Award-winning TV producer who launched The Mike Douglas Show in the 1960s and Good Morning America in the 1970s, died on December 21 at 90 — He spiced up the format in creating “The Mike Douglas Show” and brought “Good Morning America” to life.
Discussion:
PopCulture.com, New York Daily News, Variety and Deadline
Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:
Altice USA customers lose access to MSG Networks due to a carriage dispute over fees between the cable TV operator and James Dolan's RSN — Altice USA customers lost access to MSG Networks early Wednesday due to a carriage dispute between the cable TV operator and James Dolan's regional sports channels.
Anthony D'Alessandro / Deadline:
Comscore and Deadline calculations show 2024 box office revenue in the US and Canada stood at $8.72B, down ~3% from 2023's $9B but above expectations of $8B — Even though there's still $2 billion to $3 billion missing in the post Covid annual domestic box office, there was plenty to be thankful …
Discussion:
CNN and Associated Press
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
OpenAI missed its goal to launch Media Manager, an opt-out tool for creators, by 2025; sources: the tool was rarely viewed as an important launch internally — Back in May, OpenAI said it was developing a tool to let creators specify how they want their works to be included in — or excluded from — its AI training data.
Discussion:
Inc.com, TVNewsCheck, BGR, Digital Music News, @eriksherman, @carnage4life.bsky.social and @tyleraking.com
Kerry Flynn / Axios:
Rembrand, which offers AI tools to add product placements in social media videos, raised a $23M Series A and plans to expand to CTV content and add a free tier — Exit Content Preview … The startup began with YouTube and expanded to LinkedIn, TikTok and Instagram.
Discussion:
Adweek and Kerry Flynn on LinkedIn, more at Techmeme »
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
UK monthly newspaper Byline Times puts 2,331 shares on sale for £85.81 each, valuing it at £9M, and says it generated £1M+ in revenue in 2024, up 22% YoY — The monthly newspaper said in an investor prospectus that it passed £1m in annual revenue last year.
Discussion:
@pressgazette.co.uk and Byline Times
Tatiana Siegel / Variety:
Justin Baldoni sues The New York Times for $250M over its Blake Lively story, which accused him of sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us and more — On June 2, 2023, Blake Lively began a text exchange with her “It Ends With Us” director and co-star Justin Baldoni that blamed …
Discussion:
HotAir, Celebrity News & …, New York Times, CNN, @jasonkoebler.bsky.social, The Free Press, Cele|bitchy, PopCulture.com, Us Weekly, The Gateway Pundit, USA Today, Page Six, Daily Mail, UPI, New York Post, Full Feed, Fox News, The Mirror, The Ankler, Newser, That Park Place, Suggest, SheKnows, @zsharf, Los Angeles Times, AV Club, Oh No They Didn't!, Raw Story, Associated Press, Just Jared, Entertainment Weekly, @garnethenderson.com, @juliedicaro.bsky.social, @wheystandard.bsky.social, New York Daily News, People, The Wrap, Rolling Stone, @emiandthedesertcrow …, Rolling Stone, @joshsternberg.com, TMZ.com, @kateefeldman.bsky.social, @tylercoates.bsky.social, IndieWire, E! Online, @milesgrant.bsky.social, @kattenbarge.bsky.social, @lauraolin.bsky.social, @greene.haus, @mollyknight.bsky.social, Deadline and NPR
RELATED:
TMZ.com:
Blake Lively files a lawsuit in a New York federal court against Justin Baldoni and others, claiming mental pain and anguish, emotional distress, and lost wages
Blake Lively files a lawsuit in a New York federal court against Justin Baldoni and others, claiming mental pain and anguish, emotional distress, and lost wages
Discussion:
Extra, Business Insider, Daily Mail, Full Feed, Marie Claire, Us Weekly, FemaleFirst, New York Post, The US Sun, AV Club, The Hollywood Reporter, Just Jared, Wall Street Journal, Page Six, Rolling Stone, E! Online, Deadline, The Daily Beast, Just Jared, New York Times, @kattenbarge.bsky.social and Cele|bitchy