Top News:
New York Times:
TikTok says ByteDance sold a majority stake in the app's US operations to a group of non-Chinese investors, including Oracle, MGX, and Silver Lake — TikTok said on Thursday that its Chinese owner, ByteDance, had struck a deal with a group of non-Chinese investors to create a new U.S. TikTok …
Discussion:
TikTok, The Wrap, CNN, Financial Times, Social Media Today, The A.V. Club, Livemint, Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, Washington Post, The Verge, Business Insider, Politico, NBC Bay Area, KARE-TV, NBC News, @evacide@hachyderm.io, @normative.bsky.social, Just The News, @solfleet.bsky.social, @bft.wtf, Semafor, Yahoo Finance, Slate, CBS News, @philplait.bsky.social, TechCrunch, Hypebot, @alanrozenshtein.com, Fox Business, iPhone in Canada, Newsmax, Crypto Briefing, Benzinga, Bloomberg Law, Anadolu Ajansı …, The Independent, Sherwood News and Digital Music News, more at Techmeme »
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Sara Fischer / Axios:
Source: the TikTok US deal values it at just around $14B; TikTok's US entity makes roughly $14B annually in advertising revenues alone, per analyst estimates — TikTok on Thursday closed a deal to divest its U.S. entity to a joint venture controlled by American investors …
Discussion:
Financial Times, The Information, CNBC, Reuters and Politico, more at Techmeme »
On Substack:
Substack launches its Substack TV app for Apple TV and Google TV in beta for free and paid subscribers, with access matched to their current subscription levels — Today we're launching the Substack TV app for Apple TV and Google TV. Substack is the home for the best longform …
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Analysis: among the top 50 news websites in the US and the UK, 34% blocked all major AI training bots; 14%, including Fox and Substack, allowed access to all — Almost eight in ten of the biggest news websites in the UK and US are now blocking AI training bots.
Discussion:
MediaPost, @pressgazette.co.uk and Search Engine Journal
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
British podcasters like Steven Bartlett of The Diary of a CEO are adopting various strategies, including moving to the US, to break into the larger US market — Most of the top podcasts in the UK have yet to hit the same levels of popularity in the US — Welcome back to Soundbite.
Bloomberg:
Sources: Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and WBD Chief Strategy Officer Bruce Campbell plan to testify in February at a US Senate committee hearing on the WBD sale — Netflix Inc. co-Chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos is planning to testify in February at a US Senate committee hearing looking …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Reuters, Variety and Telecompaper
Deadline:
A breakdown of 2026 Oscars nominations by movie and studio: WBD leads with 30 nominations, tying its own record, Neon gets 18, Netflix earns 16, Apple gets 6 — Sinners is up for Best Picture, Actor Michael B. Jordan, Supporting Actress Wunmi Mosaku, Supporting Actor Delroy Lindo …
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Clayton Davis / Variety:
Ryan Coogler's Sinners breaks the Academy Awards' nomination record with 16 nominations, surpassing the previous record of 14, held by three films
Ryan Coogler's Sinners breaks the Academy Awards' nomination record with 16 nominations, surpassing the previous record of 14, held by three films
Discussion:
Variety, The Guardian, Screen Rant, The Wrap, Gizmodo, People, Offscreen Central, Slate, Decider, Gold Derby, Times Now, Vanity Fair, Mashable, W, AllHipHop, Adweek, Benzinga, Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter, Essence, Elle, Mercury News, @hunterwalk.com, Awful Announcing, Deadline, HOLA!, San Francisco Chronicle, Capital B News, NPR, Comic Book, Screen, New York Times, Kotaku, The Oaklandside, Marin Independent Journal, Consequence, Tom's Guide, Patrick Mulhearn on LinkedIn, Axios, FemaleFirst, Bossip, El País, The Indian Express, Inverse, Queerty, Chloe Chudasama on LinkedIn, Forbes, TV Insider, MacRumors, Global News, LaineyGossip, Dexerto, CBC News, Dread Central, PinkNews, Associated Press, Rolling Stone, New Republic, ABC, Page Six and Collider
Lucy Schiller / Columbia Journalism Review:
Lawyers for NPR and three Colorado public radio stations, alongside others, discuss the outlets' 1A lawsuit against the Trump administration for stopping funds — “It isn't just an affront to localism. It's an attempt to reengineer thought.” — “If the fire comes to the neighborhood …
Discussion:
@columjournreview.bsky.social, @joshshepperd.bsky.social and Inside Radio
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Q&A with Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters on Netflix's stock roller coaster, viewer engagement, ads, the WBD acquisition, regulation, competition, Hollywood, and more — This week's Stratechery Interview is with Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters. Peters became co-CEO of Netflix in 2023 …
Discussion:
Marketing Brew
Mia Galuppo / The Hollywood Reporter:
AMC Networks' Sundance Now rebrands from offering scripted TV to airing indie film and festival titles, for $7.99/month, as this year's Sundance Festival begins — AMC Networks runs the shingle that previously had scripted TV offerings. — As the Sundance Film Festival gets started …
Discussion:
The Wrap, AMC Networks Inc. and IndieWire
Tom Jones / Poynter:
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied that Trump mixed up Iceland and Greenland in his WEF speech, despite video evidence — During a speech, Trump repeatedly referred to Iceland while talking about Greenland. Then the press secretary denied what the video plainly shows.
Discussion:
@presssec, @libbeydean_, HuffPost, @atrupar, @jamessurowiecki, Reality Tea, Mediaite, The Daily Beast, RADAR, @micah_erfan, @p_kallioniemi, @deanobeidallah, @allenanalysis, @atrupar, @grok, @allenanalysis, MeidasTouch News, New Republic, Mashable, New York Times, New Republic, The Independent, USA Today, The Hill, International Business Times, Mirror, The Wrap, The Intercept, People, 9News, Entertainment Weekly, WUSA, Baller Alert, The Boston Globe, New Jersey Online, Raw Story and IJR
Hannah Rabinowitz / CNN:
Source: a federal judge rejected the US DOJ's initial attempt to charge Don Lemon for appearing alongside protesters that interrupted a Minnesota church service — A federal magistrate judge rejected the Justice Department's initial attempt to bring charges against journalist Don Lemon …
Discussion:
NBC News, Associated Press, @aagdhillon, The Wrap, Mediaite, The Hill, So What, Entertainment Weekly, HuffPost, Raw Story, People, RADAR, Breitbart, HotAir, Advocate, Wall Street Journal, Deadline, Politico, @nicksortor, @brianstelter.bsky.social, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post, @attorneybencrump.bsky.social, Fox News, Townhall, @freedom.press, New York Post, @kristinoem, The Parnas Perspective, CBS News, @janainelson.bsky.social, Times Now, Daily Caller News Foundation, All Rise News, New York Times, TMZ.com, NewsMax.com, Megyn Kelly, @jeremymbarr, Straight Arrow News, The Guardian, American Greatness, Scripps News, Blaze Media, Barrett Media, Saywhat Politics, WBAL Baltimore News and Washington Examiner
Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:
AMC Networks says Chief Financial Officer Patrick O'Connell will depart the company in March to “pursue an opportunity outside of the media industry” — AMC Networks says its Chief Financial Officer Patrick O'Connell will depart the company in March.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter
