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FCC Chairman Brendan Carr told CEOs of NPR and PBS that he had ordered a probe into whether member stations are airing commercial ads when they air sponsorships — Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said the inquiry could help Congress decide whether to continue funding local stations.
Discussion:
NPR, Variety, NPR, The Desk, CNN, Mediaite, TVNewsCheck, New Republic, Radio & Television …, Ars Technica, @agomezfcc, RadioInsight, The Hill, Fox News, The Boston Globe, USA Today, The Verge, Engadget, Deadline, @seth-stern.bsky.social, @onthemedia.bsky.social, @benmullin.bsky.social, @victorpickard.bsky.social, @ryanbeckwith.bsky.social, @timbays.bsky.social, @joesonka.lpm.org, @monscience.bsky.social, @ryanjhaas.bsky.social, @ndhapple.bsky.social, @mediaevan.bsky.social, @markey.senate.gov, Cord Cutters News, @pamspaulding.bsky.social, @jetjocko.bsky.social, @newsjennifer.bsky.social, @brendannyhan.bsky.social, @bee990.bsky.social, Federal Communications Commission, @mattdpearce.com, Current, @ppopiel.bsky.social, @thebradking@mastodon.social, @hallijayne.bsky.social, @plopseven.bsky.social, freebeacon.com and Free Press
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Comcast reports Q4 revenue up 2% YoY to $31.92B and media revenue, including its TV networks, up 3.5% to $7.22B; Comcast lost 311K cable TV customers — Comcast topped Wall Street's fourth-quarter estimates on Thursday as revenue from the company's broadband business gave it a boost despite losing customers.
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Mike Cavanagh says Comcast is “not really running a Peacock-only strategy. We're running a broadcast-plus-streaming strategy”, as NBCU prepares a spin off — NBCUniversal executives offered one statistic during the company's Q4 earnings call that explains everything …
Discussion:
Deadline, StreamTV Insider, Adweek, @tvgrimreaper and @tvgrimreaper
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Comcast reports Peacock's Q4 losses fell to $372M from an $825M loss in Q4 2023 and revenue rose 28% YoY to $1.3B; subscribers stood at 36M, unchanged from Q3
Discussion:
The Desk, MediaPost, The Information, @tvgrimreaper, Streaming Better, The Streamable, Media Play News, Yahoo Finance and The Wrap
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Amazon sues Washington state to limit the release of public records to The Washington Post about Jeff Bezos' Amazon Project Kuiper satellite facility in Seattle — In-depth Amazon coverage from the tech giant's hometown, including e-commerce, AWS, Amazon Prime, Alexa, logistics, devices, and more.
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Amazon hikes prices of Amazon Music Unlimited for Prime and non-Prime members by $1 to $10.99 and $11.99 per month, and Unlimited Family Plan by $3 to $19.99 — The higher prices come just a few months after market leader Spotify adjusted subscription prices of its own.
Discussion:
Variety, Engadget, TechCrunch, Digital Music News, Android Authority, Pocket-lint, Tom's Guide, The Verge, Music Business Worldwide, Billboard and Digital Trends
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Sources: ITV has been holding early talks with Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI about a potential merger of their production businesses, ITV Studios and All3Media — British broadcaster ITV (ITV.L) has been holding early-stage talks with Abu Dhabi-backed group RedBird IMI about a possible merger …
Discussion:
Variety, Yahoo Finance and Deadline
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SiriusXM reports Q4 revenue down 4% YoY to $2.19B, vs. $2.17B est., FY 2024 self-pay subscribers down by 296K, and 33M total subscribers at the end of 2024 — SiriusXM, which has been trimming staff and regrouping in several areas in a bid to reverse subscriber losses, reported better-than-expected results in the fourth quarter.
Discussion:
Billboard, The Desk, Digital Music News, Reuters, SiriusXM, Barrett Media, Benzinga, Advanced Television, The Hollywood Reporter and Inside Radio
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Sources: Amazon is ramping up ad spending on X, as companies re-evaluate their stances in a changing political climate; source: Apple considers a return to X — Shift occurs after many brands cut advertising on the platform over hate-speech concerns; Apple considers a return to site
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Over 25 streaming partners including Disney+, Apple TV+, Netflix, and Prime Video are simulcasting the FireAid concert fundraiser for Los Angeles fire relief — Over 25 streaming partners will simulcast a mammoth five-and-a-half-hour FireAid benefit concert on Thursday to fundraise …
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, The Streamable, CNN, The Independent, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Time Out Los Angeles, USA Today, Page Six, New York Post, The Hollywood Reporter, The Mirror US, Decider, Rolling Stone, UPI, CBS News, Digital Music News, Entertainment Weekly, Fast Company, Deseret News, Fox News, al.com, WVEC, Deadline, Billboard and Forbes
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A Russian court issues an arrest warrant for Jerome Starkey, defense editor at the UK's Sun, for entering Russia from Ukraine; Downing Street condemns the move — The Kursk regional court accused Jerome Starkey of illegally crossing the border into Russia. — Your support helps us to tell the story
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The Washington Post names Peter Spiegel as its new managing editor; Spiegel most recently was the Financial Times' US managing editor for nearly six years — The veteran, award-winning journalist will oversee the National and Local newsroom departments, including coverage of politics, national security and immigration
Discussion:
@dsquareddigest.bsky.social, @sidhubaba and The Wrap
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How Barnes & Noble made an unlikely comeback due to BookTok's viral book recommendations driving up sales, which have risen by “mid-single digits” since 2021 — BookTok readers are flocking to physical stores to snag a copy of the latest viral hit—and helping the once-struggling chain turn a corner.
Discussion:
Jonathan Kramer on LinkedIn and @rawveggies.bsky.social