Top News:
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 that culling hundreds of journalists will stem heavy losses and refocus the struggling newspaper
RELATED:
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
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.
Discussion:
Media Play News
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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.
Discussion:
Marketing Dive, Yahoo Finance, Retail Dive, Miami Herald, Music Ally, BMI, Investing.com, Blockonomi, Neowin, Sourcing Journal, Newser, Gamereactor UK, Communicate Online, Adweek, Mercury News, GeekWire, Modern Retail, Media Play News, The Wrap, Financial Times, Amazon and CNBC, more at Techmeme »
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
Democracy for Sale:
Docs: a Labour thinktank run by a current UK minister hired a PR firm in 2023 to investigate journalists from the Guardian and other outlets to ID their sources — Labour Together put private investigators onto journalists writing about its funding. Starmer's right-hand man knew. — Peter Geoghegan
Discussion:
The Guardian and Canary
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:
Deadline, Bloomberg, FIRE, @scottnover.bsky.social and @willoremus.com
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
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.
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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
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
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:
Sports Business Journal, Fox News, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, New York Times, Adweek, Digiday, MLive.com and CNBC
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
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:
Inc.com, RealEstateNews.com, Barchart.com, Yahoo Finance, The Times, New York Post, News Corp 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
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
RELATED:
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%+
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
