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The NYT reports Q4 revenue up 7.5% YoY to $726.6M, subscription revenue up 16% YoY to $334.9M, and operating profit up 13.6% YoY to $146.6M — NEW YORK, February 5, 2025 - The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) announced today fourth- quarter and full-year 2024 results. Key Highlights
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The NYT says it spent $10.8M on costs associated with generative AI litigation in 2024, one of the few outlets that can afford to engage in yearslong litigation — The paper, buoyed by its 11 million-plus paid subscribers, is one of the few news outlets that can afford to engage in yearslong litigation with Big Tech.
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@tvgrimreaper and @proggrrl.bsky.social


The NYT says 32% of its subscribers do not pay for its news product and subscribe only to either its Games, Cooking, Wirecutter, Audio, or The Athletic products — The number of news-only NYT subscribers dropped 30% year-on-year as the company encouraged them onto “bundled” subs.
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@labelbda.bsky.social


The NYT reports adding 350K digital-only subscribers in Q4, and 1.1M+ in 2024, taking its total count to 11.4M+; digital ad revenue rose 9.5% YoY to $117.9M — Adjusted operating profit for the fourth quarter increased 10.7 percent from a year earlier, to $170.5 million, the company said.
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The Wrap and Streaming Better


In Q1, Disney+ lost a net 700,000 customers worldwide while Hulu gained 1.6M, and operating income hit $312M, up from a $224M loss in Q1 2024, driven by Moana 2 — Domestic theme parks operating income hurt by hurricane expenses in fiscal Q1 2025 — Animated blockbuster “Moana 2” …
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IndieWire, Reuters, Ad Age, Yahoo Finance, The Information, Benzinga, @xpangler, Associated Press, Cord Cutters News, Media Play News, Los Angeles Times and Deadline
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Disney reports Q1 revenue up 5% YoY to $24.7B, net income up 23% YoY to $2.64B, and entertainment division revenue up 9% YoY to $10.87B — Disney posted fiscal first-quarter earnings Wednesday that beat on the top and bottom lines, but revealed the beginnings of expected streaming subscriber losses at Disney+.
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Financial Times, Yahoo Finance, Sherwood News, Broadband TV News and Walt Disney


Alphabet reports YouTube Q4 ad revenue up 14% YoY to $10.47B, vs. $10.23B est., driven by the US election as both political parties almost doubled 2020 spending — YouTube, the internet's biggest streaming video platform, delivered a healthy 13.8% increase in global ad revenue …
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Fast Company, StreamTV Insider, Alphabet Inc, TVNewsCheck, MediaPost, CNBC, Motley Fool, Fortune, Music Business Worldwide, The Hollywood Reporter, @xpangler, The Register, Neowin, Android Authority, Business Insider, The Desk, The Wrap, Deadline, 9to5Google, Sherwood News and Benzinga, more at Techmeme »


PBS-YouGov poll: 65% of Trump voters think PBS is underfunded or adequately funded; 82% of voters value PBS for its children's programming and educational tools — Amid a slew of new efforts by Republicans to revoke funding for public broadcasters, PBS has commissioned a new poll …
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Poynter, NPR, Reuters, @mattmoses.bsky.social, Mediaite, Current and Baltimore Sun


Sources: Sonos will release an Android-based streaming box in the coming months, priced between $200 and $400, combining Netflix, Max, Disney+, and more content — After the most tumultuous nine months in Sonos' history, the brand is trying to find its footing again.


UK news anchor Kay Burley retires from Sky News after 36 years and “over a million minutes of live TV news”; Burley was one of Sky's original presenters in 1989 — Kay Burley, one of the UK's best-known news anchors, is retiring from Sky News after 36 years.
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Press Gazette, The Guardian, TVNewsCheck, Variety, The Mirror, Broadband TV News, Daily Mail, Sky News, The Independent, Metro.co.uk, Telegraph, @gavreilly, Guido Fawkes, @scottygb, Press Association, GB News and City A.M.


FT Policy Director Matt Rogerson tells a UK parliamentary committee that creating “opt-out” copyright exemptions for AI companies would be “a huge mistake” — Preserving copyright protections for news publishers against theft by artificial intelligence companies is …
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The Mirror


Each legal settlement with Trump by powerful media organizations weakens the freedoms they rely on, damages their credibility, and pressures other outlets — Judge Learned Hand, revered for his eloquent and consequential defense of free speech at the height of World War I, came to fear …


Sources: OpenAI has spent months talking to Hollywood's largest studios about the potential of video generator Sora, but no deals have emerged yet — - Startup has met with Hollywood studios about commercial deals — Studios worry about business implications of new technology
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TVNewsCheck