Top News:
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Fox Corp. acquires Red Seat Ventures, which helped Tucker Carlson, Nancy Grace, Megyn Kelly, Piers Morgan, and others set up their podcast businesses — Tucker Carlson, Nancy Grace, Megyn Kelly and Piers Morgan are among the clients of Red Seat Ventures, which now joins Rupert Murdoch's empire.
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Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Red Seat, one of the most influential companies in the news and talk creator economy, will be in Fox's Tubi division, putting it at a remove from Fox News — Red Seat Ventures counts former Fox News stars Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson as clients, as well as Piers Morgan and Nancy Grace.
Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:
Nielsen and Fox: Super Bowl 2025 averaged a record 126M viewers, up 2% YoY, across Fox, Fox Deportes, Telemundo, Tubi, and NFL platforms; Tubi had 13.6M alone — Fox says 126 million viewers watched the game across all platforms. — A blowout on the field didn't deter a record number of viewers from watching Super Bowl LIX.
Discussion:
Next in Media, CNN, Associated Press, MediaPost, @foxsportspr, Forbes, Bloomberg, TVLine, New York Times, Sportico, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Variety, Reuters, Deadline, Sports Illustrated, Awful Announcing, @davidgura.bsky.social, The Wrap, New York Post, Sports Media Watch, Billboard and Adweek
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Matthew Weaver / The Guardian:
A BBC study finds 51% of AI answers to questions about the news had “significant issues”, and 19% of answers citing BBC content introduced factual errors — Most answers had ‘significant issues’ when researchers asked services to use broadcaster's news articles as source
Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
PBS closes its DEI office to comply with President Trump's EO and says affected staff are leaving, as it faces an FCC investigation and threats to its funding — The public broadcaster is also facing an investigation by the FCC and potential threats to its funding.
Discussion:
Deadline, Insurance Journal, @benmullin.bsky.social, TVNewsCheck, The Wrap, Newsbusters, @wendysparrow.bsky.social, The Free Press, The Desk, Mediaite and Fox News
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Fox Corp. names John Nallen as president and COO, promoting one of Lachlan Murdoch's top deputies, in a deal that will keep him at Fox through June 2028 — The owner of the Fox network and Fox News says that Nallen has signed a new long-term deal with the company.
Discussion:
Deadline, @bristei, Adweek, The Wrap, Variety, WORLD SCREEN and TVNewsCheck
Aidan Ryan / The Boston Globe:
How WBZ NewsRadio reporter Matt Shearer became New England's most viral journalist by chasing the weird and wacky stories of the region — The small town of Stow, “emotionally in shambles” without a single Dunkin' store, welcomes its first location in years.
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
NowThis reports 2024 revenue up 122% YoY to $20M and an adjusted profit of $4.6M, achieving profitability for the first time as an independent company — The social video publisher credits the election and a new editorial strategy for the momentum — The social publisher NowThis …
Discussion:
@markstenberg3
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
How Netflix, which thought Emilia Pérez could deliver its first best picture Oscar, is scrambling to limit the fallout from the Karla Sofía Gascón scandal — Netflix had thought the movie could deliver the company its first best picture award. But comments from its star have put it on the defense.
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, BGR, The Playlist, Business Insider, Screen Rant, Washington Post and Page Six
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
Jack Peat, co-founder of digital media outlet The London Economic, steps down after 12 years as editor, citing “punishing algorithms and scarce resources” — Jack Peat said running the site “requires huge personal sacrifices”. — The co-founder of digital media outlet …
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@pressgazette.co.uk
Max Tani / Semafor:
Mark Halperin's media startup 2WAY, which hosts panel videos and does live events built around political pundits like Sean Spicer, raised a $4M seed in December — THE SCOOP — Mark Halperin's media startup is staffing up. — 2WAY is bringing aboard Meghan McCain and Michael Moynihan …
Discussion:
@maxwelltani, @athenae.bsky.social, @davidsirota, The Independent and Wide World of News
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Cricket Media, the 50-year-old children's media company known for its namesake print magazine, acquires Sensical, a kids streaming outlet launched in 2021 — The streaming service launched in 2021 under Common Sense Networks, the for-profit affiliate of Common Sense Media.
Sohee Kim / Bloomberg:
Animated feature Ne Zha 2 grossed a record $1B+ in China over its first 10 days in cinemas, marking a rebound after the Chinese box office fell 23% in 2024 — Ne Zha 2 grossed more than $1 billion in China over its first 10 days in cinemas, setting the country's new box office high mark.
Discussion:
Variety, @lucas_shaw, Screen Rant, The Wrap and Oh No They Didn't!
