Top News:
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Disney, Fox, and WBD say they have agreed to discontinue their Venu Sports streaming joint venture and will focus on existing products and distribution channels — The sports-focused streaming service will not move forward, the companies said Friday. — Venu is dead.
Discussion:
IndieWire, CNN, Variety, ESPN Press Room U.S., Adweek, The Wrap, The Streamable, TVLine, Wall Street Journal, Awful Announcing, Reuters, Sportico, Los Angeles Times, Yahoo Finance, The Information, New York Times, @ourand_puck, Barron's Online, @kaplansportsbiz, Bloomberg, Ars Technica, Deadline, The Verge, WDW News Today, @morningbrew, @jasoninquires, @sherman4949, @pkafka, 9to5Mac, @bristei, @welch.bsky.social, Sports Media Watch, @compound248, DeepNewz, What's On Disney Plus, @matthewstoller, AOL, @jacobfeldman4, @novy_williams, @espnpr, @sherman4949 and The Desk, more at Techmeme »
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CNBC:
Sources: Venu's cancellation came after the companies decided it was better to avoid the risk of an extended lawsuit that could jeopardize bundling in general — - News Tips — Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you. — CNBC Newsletters
Peter Kafka / Business Insider:
Sources familiar with Fubo's plans say it's likely that Fox will end up licensing its sports programming to the Fubo-Disney JV streaming bundle — - Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery have canceled Venu, a would-be sports streaming service. — The decision was announced days after announcing plans to launch the service.
Discussion:
@andrewmarchand, SportsPro, @tvgrimreaper and @pkafka
Wired:
Live blog: The US Supreme Court hears oral arguments in TikTok's appeal against the divest-or-ban law — We're tuning in live as the justices consider what could be one of the most consequential First Amendment rulings of the past several decades. — The US Supreme Court is expected …
Discussion:
The Guardian, New Republic, The Verge, Supreme Court of the United States, @mikesacksesq, @wired.com, @mikesacksesq, @mikesacksesq, @mikesacksesq, @mikesacksesq, @mikesacksesq, @davelee.me, @mikesacksesq, @mikesacksesq, @mikesacksesq, SCOTUSblog, CBS News, New York Times, Poynter, Vanity Fair, Bloomberg, USA Today and Washington Times, more at Techmeme »
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Court docs: Mark Zuckerberg approved the Meta team that trains AI Llama models to use data from LibGen, a “links aggregator” to pirated, copyrighted material — Counsel for plaintiffs in a copyright lawsuit filed against Meta allege that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave the green light …
Discussion:
Engadget, The Guardian, @brianfung.me, The Register, @kortizart, Evan Winston on LinkedIn, @ncweaver.skerry-tech.com, AV Club, @elanderson.bsky.social, MEDIANAMA, @benkline.bsky.social, @lilithsaintcrow.com, @donmoyn.bsky.social, David Atkinson on LinkedIn, Nina George on LinkedIn, @brunojnavarro.bsky.social, @alextecplayz@techhub.social, @jwharris.bsky.social, Bloomberg Law, Neowin, Wired, @botwiki@mastodon.social, Reuters, @the-jaguarr.bsky.social, @kortizart.bsky.social and @SuffolkLITLab@esq.social, more at Techmeme »
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Sources: Amazon is exploring news show concepts, probably tied to events, such as Brian Williams' election special on Prime Video that drew ~4M viewers — As the results of Election Night 2024 became known, Brian Williams looked to the future. “Our country is about to change again,” …
Discussion:
@peterschorschfl, @martinez_a, @evanhandler, @bristei, AV Club, The Information and Adweek
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Apple releases season 1 of Severance, one of its biggest TV shows, on the free Roku Channel to lure new Apple TV+ subscribers; the promotion ends on January 19 — Apple is using the Adam Scott thriller to try and drive new subscribers to its streaming service, following a number of moves …
Discussion:
The Streamable, Deadline, @simonowens, @burritoprophet, @mlsmoves, @moviemediax, @deadline, @lionesspike, @sum1saiditinnit, @hannahhamspoon, ComingSoon.net, @er0ckr@threads.net, The Manual, @selinaknope, Collider, @maxisntheree, Pocket-lint, MovieWeb, @tvgrimreaper, TechRadar, Just Jared, Screen Rant, Deadline, Gizmodo, @Taweret@octodon.social, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, BGR, The Mirror, r/television and r/tvPlus
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Internal data: Spotify had ~55M US subscribers as of Q3 2024, of which only ~607,000 had switched to the cheaper “basic” plan that doesn't include audiobooks — Until now, no specifics have been shared publicly about the company's new ‘basic’ plan — Hello, and welcome back to Soundbite.
Discussion:
Spotify, Music Ally, Fortune, Fox News and WWCP-TV, more at Techmeme »
Cecilia D'Anastasio / Bloomberg:
More than half a dozen celebrity video game streamers returned exclusively to Twitch in 2024, after their multimillion-dollar YouTube and Kick contracts expired — YouTube, Kick offered multimillion-dollar deals but viewers didn't necessarily follow. — Video-game influencers are returning …
Discussion:
@cecianasta
Ben Smith / Semafor:
Vogue Arabia's publisher Nervora filed a US lawsuit last summer claiming Condé Nast improperly terminated their licensing arrangement — The Scoop — Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch will host local partners on Jan. 30 at a party in Dubai ("Dress: A touch of gold!")
Discussion:
MediaPost and The Business of Fashion
Reuters Institute:
Reuters Institute global survey of media leaders: 41% are confident about journalism prospects in 2025, 74% worry about a decline in search referrals, and more — News organisations are braced for multiple challenges in 2025 that will likely include further attacks from hostile politicians …
Jon Keegan / Sherwood News:
A case study of the amount and kinds of ads in 12 shows on the ad-supported tiers of Netflix, Peacock, Disney+, Max, Paramount+, and Hulu — We watched 12 shows on six platforms to find out how much of your life you give up to save a few bucks each month. — 7H — It's getting harder to avoid ads on streaming video.
Discussion:
@walthickey, @jonkeegan.com, Mashable and The Streamable
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