Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Filing: Amazon's spending on content, including music, sports rights, and licensed and produced TV and film, rose 10% YoY to $22.4B — The figure was disclosed Friday in the ecommerce giant's 10-K annual filing with the SEC, a day after Amazon reported fourth quarter 2025 results.
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
Amazon reports Q4 ad revenue up 23% YoY to $21.32B, slightly above expectations, and subscription services revenue up 14% to $13.12B — The company's shares fell in after-hours trading Thursday after Amazon said it expected $200 billion in capital spending for 2026 as it races to compete in the AI space.
Natalie Korach / @nataliekorach:
Sources: Washington Post Executive Editor Matt Murray spiked a story prepared by the newspaper's media desk covering the historic layoffs — Scoop: As Washington Post leadership laid off hundreds of staffers this week, exec editor Matt Murray blocked the paper's media desk from covering the cuts, spiking a pre-written story despite internal lobbying https://www.status.news/...
Discussion:
Townhall, @bjpaddy.bsky.social, @nataliekorach.bsky.social, Yahoo Finance, Mediaite, CBS News, New York Times, @washpostcomms, Fox News, The Guardian and @dkthomp
Financial Times:
Sources: WaPo is losing about $100M per year but aiming to break even by the end of 2026, which could unlock fresh funding from Jeff Bezos — Billionaire hopes culling hundreds of journalists will stem heavy losses and refocus the struggling newspaper — As rumours of job cuts swirled …
The Guardian:
The UK raises the TV license fee, the BBC's main funding source, from £174.50 to £180 a year from April 1, saying it gives the BBC a “stable financial footing” — Inflation-linked increase comes as ministers continue to review options for BBC's future funding
Discussion:
Advanced Television, GB News, Mirror, The Sun, Broadband TV News and Telecompaper
Will Oremus / Washington Post:
NewsGuard sues the FTC, alleging censorship after the FTC barred Omnicom from working with NewsGuard as a condition of the ad agency's Interpublic acquisition — NewsGuard files lawsuit alleging censorship after Trump's FTC barred a major ad agency from using its ratings
Discussion:
FIRE
Adam Jacobson / Radio & Television Business Report:
SiriusXM reported Q4 net income of $99M vs. $287M a year ago, rev. of $2.19B vs. $2.17B est., and “robust” guidance including an in-car audio focus; SIRI up 9% — Year-over-year sales were flat. Subscriber rolls were down compared to the final three months of 2024.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Radio Ink, Insider Monkey, SiriusXM, TheDesk.net, Inside Radio, Motley Fool, The Hollywood Reporter, Barrett Media and Benzinga
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Streaming-only Super Bowl ads gain traction among advertisers; source: NBCUniversal charges around $3M for a 30-second ad rather than $7M-$10M for a TV ad — While other Super Bowl sponsors like Instacart, Pringles and Bud Light will trot out famous faces like Ben Stiller …
Discussion:
NPR, Entertainment Weekly, Fortune, New York Times, Adweek, Digiday, MLive.com and CNBC
Corbin Bolies / The Wrap:
News Corp reports $242M in Q2 net income, down 21% YoY, rev. up 6% YoY to $2.36B vs. $2.30B est., digital-only WSJ subs up 13% to 4.3M, HarperCollins rev. up 6% — The company's Dow Jones and real estate businesses also posted revenue growth — News Corp CEO Robert Thomson highlighted …
Discussion:
Barchart.com, RealEstateNews.com, Yahoo Finance, The Times, New York Post, News Corp and Reuters
Rebecca Rubin / Variety:
Lionsgate hires Kathleen Grace, previously chief strategy officer at AI company Vermillio, as its first-ever chief AI officer to lead AI strategy and execution — Lionsgate is leaning into AI, hiring Kathleen Grace to serve as its first-ever Chief AI Officer.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Media Play News, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter
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Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
Lionsgate reports a Q3 net loss of $46.2M, vs. a $21.9M loss a year earlier, $724.3M in revenue, vs. $705.9M est., motion picture revenue up 35% YoY to $421.2M
Discussion:
Advanced Television, TheDesk.net, Deadline, Variety, Lionsgate, Media Play News and The Wrap
Leo Barraclough / Variety:
Germany is set to introduce an investment commitment obliging streaming services and TV broadcasters to spend 8% of their German revenue on local content — The German government is set to introduce an investment commitment on streaming platforms and TV broadcasters that would oblige …
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Screen, Broadband TV News and Reuters
Oliver Darcy / Status:
Sources: MS NOW is in advanced discussions with Crooked Media on a licensing deal to air some of the podcast network's programs on MS NOW's linear channel — When Comcast announced in late 2024 that it planned to split off MS NOW and the rest of its cable assets, industry observers wondered …
Discussion:
New York Post, @oliverdarcy.bsky.social and Barrett Media
Wall Street Journal:
Inside Disney's search for a successor to Bob Iger: 100+ candidates narrowed to Josh D'Amaro, named CEO, and Dana Walden, who was promoted to ensure she stayed — Company's succession committee reviewed information on over a hundred candidates before the race narrowed to two
Discussion:
Observer, Barron's Online, Ben Fritz on LinkedIn, The Ankler and @rfaughnder
Alexander Osipovich / Wall Street Journal:
Thomson Reuters' CEO says AI cannot easily replace the company's legal-research expertise, after its stock fell following the release of Claude legal work tools — Two of the companies battered by this week's artificial-intelligence selloff, Thomson Reuters and Intercontinental Exchange …
Discussion:
Globe and Mail, Reuters and Business Insider
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Kenneth Li / Reuters:
Thomson Reuters reports Q4 revenue up 5% YoY to $2B, matching est., and news division organic revenue up 5% to $232M, boosted by licensing deals; TRI falls 7%+
Discussion:
Benzinga, Thomson Reuters, Talking Biz News, Dow Jones Newswires, Wall Street Journal and Associated Press
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