Mediagazer: 40 news organizations signed a letter delivered to the White House this week, asking the White House to lift its AP ban immediately in support of press freedom (Oliver Darcy/Status)

7:35 PM ET, February 20, 2025

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Justin Kroll / Deadline:

Amazon MGM Studios, Michael G. Wilson, and Barbara Broccoli form a JV to house James Bond IP rights, under which Amazon gains creative control of the franchise — In news that will send shock waves through the industry, longtime James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli …

Discussion: BBC, @jeffbezos, About Amazon, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Mirror, Entertainment Weekly, TheStreet, Variety, Vanity Fair, @marcusjdl.bsky.social, NPR, SlashFilm, CBR, Collider, @joerussotweets, Washington Post, GoldDerby, Forbes, Gizmodo, @billhuntbits.bsky.social, @mgsiegler, CBR, Esquire, @ronmarz.bsky.social, The Wrap, @bennomatic@appdot.net, CNN, @mrfengi.bsky.social, Steve Siskind on LinkedIn, The Information, @moviessilently.bsky.social, GB News, Carlo Bertucci on LinkedIn, @michaelthec@poweredbygay …, @deeketweak, Financial Times, @_patmurray@mastodon.social, Fortune, @gigawattconduit.bsky.social, Screen Rant, @jjdotbiz.bsky.social, @josie.zone, Bloomberg, World of Reel, @illdave.bsky.social, TVNewsCheck, @taraconlan.bsky.social, The Daily Wire, @bunndumm, LADbible, @nedraggett.bsky.social, @autismsupsoc.bsky.social, The Verge, @gigawattconduit.bsky.social, Comic Book, @vinzenzhediger.bsky.social, Geoff Hollingworth on LinkedIn, @benschwartz.bsky.social, Consequence, Rolling Stone UK, Wall Street Journal, Town & Country, @caseym.org, WFAA-TV, @mutarada.bsky.social, Cord Cutters News, @davidjcourt.bsky.social, @jacobkleinman, Engadget, IndieWire, @benroyturner, @courier12.bsky.social, Rolling Stone, Advanced Television, @richlightshed, Los Angeles Times, Syracuse Post-Standard, @sonnybunch, New York Times, Axios, Reuters, Collider, Gizmodo, New Jersey Online, CNBC, @nextbestpicture, GQ, The Playlist, Quartz, WPXI-TV, Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, FemaleFirst, Media Play News, NDTV, Just Jared and Oh No They Didn't!

Gene Maddaus / Variety:

Senator Warren urges the US DOJ to scrutinize Disney's deal to acquire a controlling stake in Fubo and merge it with Hulu + Live TV, citing antitrust concerns — Sen. Elizabeth Warren has urged the Justice Department to carefully scrutinize Disney's deal to acquire a controlling stake in Fubo …

Discussion: Awful Announcing, The Desk, Reuters, Business Insider, Benzinga, Light Reading, The Wrap, Deadline, Media Play News and Yahoo Finance

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:

YouTube plans to add a “premium lite” tier, a source says for the US, Australia, Germany, and Thailand, offering podcasts without ads and music videos with ads — - The service will continue to put ads in music videos — The tier will launch in areas that include the US, Australia

Discussion: Adweek, The Information, The Desk, Cord Cutters News, The Verge and 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »

Lauren Easton / Editor and Publisher:

Memo: AP is launching its Local Investigative Reporting Program, to be led by Ron Nixon, to support US state and local newsrooms in investigative reporting — In a memo to staff Thursday, Executive Editor Julie Pace announced AP will launch a Local Investigative Reporting Program led by Ron Nixon:

Discussion: @rebuildlocalnews.bsky.social, @sdkstl.bsky.social, Ron Nixon on LinkedIn and TVNewsCheck

Oliver Darcy / Status:

40 news organizations signed a letter delivered to the White House this week, asking the White House to lift its AP ban immediately in support of press freedom — News outlets across the political spectrum have united behind the AP, signing a WHCA-backed letter urging the White House …

Matthew Keys / The Desk:

A NY court tells Nexstar to pay DirecTV $26.6M in a case over retransmission fees; a court earlier said Nexstar wrongly received $10.5M in fees in the same case — A New York court on Thursday awarded satellite and streaming television provider DirecTV nearly $27 million in a civil case brought …

Discussion: TVNewsCheck and Cord Cutters News

Chris Roush / Talking Biz News:

Bloomberg News promotes Mark Gurman to managing editor for global consumer tech and adds senior editor Dana Wollman and two others to his team — Tom Giles, senior executive editor of global technology coverage at Bloomberg News, sent out the following on Thursday:

Hannah Miller / Bloomberg:

Former Merit TV employees detail struggles at Dr. Phil McGraw's streaming service, including multiple rounds of layoffs, staff discontent, and low ratings — Merit TV has entered a crowded field of news networks. Can it find its audience? — Phil McGraw strolled onstage and waved at the cheering crowd.

Discussion: The Desk, @thedesk.net, RADAR and TVNewsCheck

Matthew Keys / The Desk:

National Association of Broadcasters CEO Curtis LeGeyt calls for the FCC to end ownership caps that prevent TV and radio conglomerates from growing larger — The chief executive of the commercial broadcasting industry's largest lobbying group has called on federal regulators to eliminate national …

Discussion: @kv417.bsky.social, TV Tech, Inside Radio, Barrett Media, RADIO ONLINE and Radio & Television …

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

Gallery Media Group says it made $50M in 2024 revenue from its women's media title PureWow and 50+ social-only brands on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts — The chief revenue officer of profitable US publisher Gallery Media Group believes it has found the difference between publishers merely being …

Discussion: Simon Owens's Media Newsletter

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:

A look at London news startups, including Jim Waterson's London Centric, that launched since the Evening Standard's daily print edition closure in summer 2024 — Two upmarket London news start-ups are finding a growing (albeit small so far) market for paid online news about the UK capital.

Discussion: Alexander Smith on LinkedIn, LinkedIn and @pressgazette

Matt Novak / Gizmodo:

Elon Musk says he will “fix” Community Notes as they are “increasingly being gamed by governments & legacy media”, after disagreeing with notes about Ukraine — The billionaire has a history of manipulating X to fit his far-right worldview.

Discussion: The Independent, CNN, Washington Examiner, @kv417.bsky.social, Engadget, The Hill, Mediaite, @glynmoody@mastodon.social, @micheil.bsky.social, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, @willoremus.com, @TodayInTwitter@mastodon …, @paleofuture.bsky.social, @olivia10.bsky.social, @jamesrbuk, University of Manchester and Commentary Magazine, more at Techmeme »

Financial Times:

Mathias Döpfner calls Trump's Politico attacks a “misunderstanding” and says many Europeans had “intentionally misunderstood” JD Vance's speech in Munich — Mathias Döpfner says many Europeans had ‘intentionally misunderstood’ the US vice-president's speech

Discussion: @shakeelhashim, @eliasisquith.blog, @Akshay@eupolicy.social, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, @jonworth.eu and @lilouzovert.bsky.social

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

Substack adds the ability to post videos from its app and lets creators monetize videos, and plans to add more video tools like trimming and enhanced analytics — As TikTok's future in the U.S. remains uncertain, Substack tries to lure creators to its platform by doubling down on video.

Discussion: TVNewsCheck and On Substack, more at Techmeme »

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Michel Rose / Reuters:
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Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: ESPN plans to add some user-generated content to its flagship streaming service, which will debut later in 2025 and could be priced at $25 or $30/month

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Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
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Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
Netflix commits to invest $1B in Mexico for the production of series and films over the next four years, including $2M for the iconic Churubusco Studios

Discussion: Forbes, Reuters, Wired, TVNewsCheck, Media Play News, The Ankler, The Rio Times, Variety, The Wrap, Deadline and FOX8 WGHP, more at Techmeme »

Wired:
Investigation: Google's Display & Video 360 ad platform openly serves up sensitive information about Americans, despite Google's rules against such practices

Discussion: The Record, @dmehro.bsky.social, @johnnyryan.bsky.social, @timmarchman.bsky.social, @dell.bsky.social, Michael Mittelman on LinkedIn, @wired.com, @johnnyryan@eupolicy.social, @cdarwin@c.im, @johnnyryan@eupolicy.social, Mostly signs, @evacide@hachyderm.io, @jaylender.bsky.social, @jshermcyber.bsky.social and @couts.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »

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Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
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Discussion: Radio & Television …, TVNewsCheck, Inside Radio, Variety, TelevisaUnivision, Deadline and MediaPost

Abid Rahman / The Hollywood Reporter:
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Discussion: WORLD SCREEN, Decider, Deadline and Variety

PEN America:
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Discussion: @kv417.bsky.social, Above the Law, The 19th, @kma500@sfba.social, @penamerica.bsky.social, Cele|bitchy and Mock Paper Scissors

Nellie Andreeva / Deadline:
Apple says Severance has become the most-viewed series on Apple TV+ globally, surpassing Ted Lasso; the series also helped bump subscription signups in January

Discussion: AppleInsider, Decider, 9to5Mac, Deseret News, Forbes, CBR, Collider, MacRumors, Inverse, Dexerto, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, @benstiller.redhour.com, BGR, Comic Book, 9to5Mac, Screen Rant and Just Jared

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Deadline:
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From Techmeme:

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Google rolls out a new Gmail encryption model for enterprises in beta that doesn't require senders or recipients to use custom software or exchange certificates

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Sources: a16z is in talks to join the Oracle-led frontrunner bid for TikTok's US arm, after being approached along with Blackstone Group and others

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