Top News:


Annual letter: YouTube CEO Neal Mohan says TV has overtaken mobile as the “primary device for YouTube viewing in the US”, indicating YouTube is “the new TV” — YouTube CEO Neal Mohan released his annual letter Tuesday morning, outlining his priorities for the video platform.
Discussion:
YouTube Official Blog, Advanced Television, Deadline, The Wrap, TV Tech, Tara Walpert Levy on LinkedIn, The Streamable, Nate Loucks on LinkedIn, iPhone in Canada Blog, @richlightshed, 9to5Google, Engadget, Streaming Better, @ricmac@mastodon.social, NewscastStudio, @youtubeliaison, TVNewsCheck, Ezra Cooperstein on LinkedIn, @eric_seufert, Neal Mohan on LinkedIn, Daily Guardian, @tvgrimreaper, Tubefilter, Variety, @yoda, Media Play News, WORLD SCREEN and Barrett Media, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:


Sources and a memo: Disney makes changes to its DEI programs, like scraping its Reimagine Tomorrow initiative and changing content disclaimers on some titles — - Other Performance Factors (OPFs): Beginning this fiscal year, Disney will replace the “Diversity & Inclusion” …
RELATED:


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:
TVNewsCheck, The Free Press, New York Post, Deadline, The Post Millennial, Townhall, Babylon Bee, IJR, @repogles, The Desk, HotAir, Newsbusters, The Independent, Breitbart, Current, @benmullin.bsky.social, Insurance Journal, Mediaite, WBLS, @wendysparrow.bsky.social, The Wrap and Fox News


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:
MediaPost, Associated Press, CNBC, Axios, @foxsportspr, @mulvihill79, The Ankler, Music Ally, CNN, Decider, Cele|bitchy, Next in Media, Benzinga, Deseret News, Billboard, New York Post, Sports Illustrated, Just Jared, New York Times, Sports Media Watch, Forbes, Sportico, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, TVLine, Wall Street Journal, Adweek, Bloomberg, Variety, Awful Announcing, Deadline, The Wrap, @davidgura.bsky.social, Crossing Broad and Bloomberg


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
Discussion:
BBC, TVNewsCheck, Press Gazette, BBC News, Advanced Television, Deadline, @natalieben, The Independent, The Verge, @keirstitt, @michaelsavage.bsky.social, TechRadar, @gillianegolden, @rogermosey, @peterstefanovic.bsky.social, Matt O'Leary on LinkedIn, @bbcnewspr, @charliemoloney, @bbcnewspr and @ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us


Sources: Netflix is exploring licensing video podcasts and looked into doing a deal with Alex Cooper in 2024 that included creating original shows — - Netflix is exploring potential deals with video podcasters as it looks to its next phase of growth. — YouTube's success with video podcasts …


A planned walkout at New York magazine was averted on Feb. 7 after its union reached a three-year tentative deal with wage increases and guardrails on AI use — The tentative three-year agreement includes guardrails around the use of AI after parent company Vox Media struck a licensing deal with OpenAI last year.
Discussion:
@nymagunion, @nymagunion, @nymagunion and @nymagunion


Philo reveals $450M in 2024 revenue, 20% YoY growth in subscribers to 1.3M, the acquisition of TVOD outlet Row8, and the hiring of Tubi alum Edward King as CPO — The company has hit 1.3 million subscribers, posting a 20% year-over-year growth rate in 2024.


Publicis Media debuts a women's sports investment unit, to help advertisers invest in women's sports media, and unveils a partnership with Disney Advertising — We may have just finished football season with a blowout Super Bowl, but women's sports is where the real competition is at — at least from an ad marketplace point of view.


Sky unveils two new TVs in the UK: Sky Glass Gen 2, a successor to its 2021 model, and the cheaper Sky Glass Air, coming later in 2025, both in 43", 55", or 65" — Plus the elusive new Sky Glass Air has been revealed... Sky has announced two new TVs today, including an overdue successor to the Sky Glass, which launched in 2021.
Discussion:
Broadband TV News, Advanced Television, Trusted Reviews, Digital Spy, Trusted Reviews, Forbes, Irish Independent, TechRadar, Daily Express, Cable.co.uk, Tech Advisor, The Mirror, Tech Advisor, Trusted Reviews, Stuff, Engadget, @skygroup, What Hi-Fi?, @stevemay_uk, GB News, The Independent, Sky Group, The Verge, The Sun and The Mirror


Study: 42% of the 100 top-grossing US films had female protagonists in 2024, up from 28% in 2023 and matching the percentage of male protagonists, a first — Films like “Wicked,” “The Substance,” “A Quiet Place: Day One” and “Moana 2” didn't just dominate the box office.
Discussion:
Reuters, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline


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