12:45 AM ET, December 24, 2024
December 23, 2024
9:20 PM
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Fubo says TelevisaUnivision has pulled its networks from Fubo and that TelevisaUnivision offered terms “that would increase prices by 25%” for Fubo subscribers
6:30 PM
Brian Stelter / CNN:
In a letter to Bob Iger, incoming FCC chair Brendan Carr raised concerns about ABC's negotiations with its affiliated stations, public trust in media, and more
4:25 PM
Andrew Beaujon / Washingtonian:
Q&A with Kara Swisher about a potential bid for Washington Post, what she would do as its owner, Jeff Bezos' effusive comments to Trump, Will Lewis, and more
4:00 PM
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix will host NFL Christmas games, including Beyonce's Halftime show, for only three hours after streaming them live; replays will be available on NFL+
2:40 PM
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
How Netflix plans to use the new season of Squid Game to boost its video game business, including offering subscribers in-game rewards based on their watch time
1:25 PM
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
The Animation Guild ratifies a contract with major studios, without AI demands such as letting members opt out of using AI or allowing AI training on their work
1:00 PM
Ryan Christoffel / 9to5Mac:
In a viral YouTube video, MegaLag claims PayPal's Honey browser extension doesn't show users the best coupons and deals, and steals creators' affiliate revenue
12:10 PM
Jamie Heller / Business Insider:
Business Insider hires Rick Brooks as Standards Editor; Brooks most recently served as a standards editor at The Wall Street Journal
10:25 AM
Ben Smith / Semafor:
A look at Trump's defamation lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize board, which has gone from a curiosity to a source of real concern in some top US newsrooms
8:25 AM
Cecilia D'Anastasio / Bloomberg:
Riot Games says it spent $250M on an unusual deal to finance two seasons of League of Legends show Arcane on Netflix; sources: there was no plan to recoup costs
7:15 AM
New York Times:
In a first, Telegram is set to be profitable in 2024, with $1B+ in revenue, up from ~$350M in 2023, and 12M subscribers; source: 50%+ of its revenue is from ads
6:35 AM
Financial Times:
SEC filings: Spotify executives have sold $1.25B in stock in 2024, including CEO Daniel Ek selling nearly $350M and co-founder Martin Lorentzon selling $550M+
5:50 AM
Jem Aswad / Variety:
UMG and Amazon Music strike a new deal to collaborate on audiobooks and livestreams, address unlawful AI-generated content, protect against fraud, and more
December 22, 2024
11:25 PM
Kimberly Nordyke / The Hollywood Reporter:
News Corp and Telstra agree to sell Australian pay TV company Foxtel Group to sports streaming platform DAZN in a deal worth ~$2.1B
6:30 PM
Ankush Khardori / Politico:
Trump may erode press protections but the ABC case is not evidence of that as the decision to settle appears reasonable given Stephanopoulos' imprecise remarks
December 21, 2024
5:01 PM
Jack Dunn / Variety:
Trump appoints Mark Burnett, the British TV executive who created and produced the reality show The Apprentice, as a special envoy to the UK
December 20, 2024
8:01 PM
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
The US Senate gives final approval to a bill loosening restrictions on commercial filming and photography in national parks; Biden is expected to sign it
6:15 PM
Liz Pelly / Harper's:
How Spotify used its Perfect Fit Content program to rig its system against musicians, filling popular playlists with “ghost artists” to cut its royalty payouts
5:50 PM
Stephen Alpher / CoinDesk:
Rumble announces a $775M investment from Tether and plans to use $525M to fund a tender offer for ~70M shares of its common stock; RUM jumped 50%+ after hours
5:35 PM
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Source: producers of My Favorite Murder, which signed a 3-year Wondery deal for $100M+ in 2022, secured a new deal with iHeartMedia; they had sought $10M/year
3:27 PM
Max Tani / @maxwelltani:
Memo: WaPo's Matt Murray lays out plans for WP Ventures, the “third newsroom”; Krissah Thompson will be editor and Samantha Henig will be general manager
2:55 PM
Maddy Crowell / Columbia Journalism Review:
A look at the erosion of editorial independence at Los Angeles magazine, which was bought in late 2022 by Mark Geragos and Ben Meiselas' Engine Vision Media
2:10 PM
Michael J. de la Merced / New York Times:
How Britannica survived the Wikipedia era by changing itself into a maker of education software and AI agents, as it reportedly weighs an IPO at a $1B valuation
12:45 PM
Yahoo News:
Challenger, Gray & Christmas: 14,909 jobs were cut from US broadcast, TV, film, news, and streaming businesses in 2024 through mid-December, vs. 21,417 in 2023
10:56 AM
Dylan Byers / Puck:
Sources: Washington Post Publisher and CEO Will Lewis plans to announce acting Executive Editor Matt Murray as the newsroom's permanent chief next year
10:45 AM
Leo Schwartz / Fortune:
Sources: CoinDesk owner Bullish fired three editors, including EIC Kevin Reynold, amid controversy over forcing editors to take down an article on Justin Sun
9:25 AM
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Netflix secures exclusive US streaming rights to the 2027 and 2031 editions of the FIFA Women's World Cup, plans to produce documentaries around the tournaments
7:35 AM
Robert Booth / The Guardian:
The UK ICO criticizes Google as “irresponsible” after the company announced plans to let advertisers employ fingerprinting techniques from February 16, 2025
December 19, 2024
9:40 PM
Washington Post:
WaPo names Karen Pensiero as standards editor, a new masthead position reporting to Executive Editor Matt Murray; she earlier worked with Murray at The WSJ
9:15 PM
Charlotte Van Campenhout / Reuters:
The European Commission opens a probe into Liberty Media's proposed $3.62B acquisition of Dorna Sports, citing possible reduced competition for broadcast rights
8:45 PM
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
A survey of 400+ Hollywood insiders: ~50% would sell a show to Netflix over its rivals, Yellowstone's Taylor Sheridan is the most in-demand producer, and more
7:15 PM
Jennifer Maas / Variety:
A look at the merchandise, contests, and in-person experiences Netflix has rolled out in advance of the release of Squid Game Season 2 on December 26
5:35 PM
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
YouTube plans to start a crackdown on “egregious clickbait”, or videos where the titles or thumbnails make claims the videos don't back up, beginning in India
4:50 PM
Mina Haq / PEN America:
Q&A with Mother Jones Senior Reporter Anna Merlan on disinfo's role in the 2024 election, the importance of using TikTok and Instagram for journalists, and more
2:45 PM
Frank Langfitt / NPR:
At least 10 outlets, including AP and DW, retracted or amended stories after NPR reported that a man billed as a bold Chinese dissident appears to be a conman
2:15 PM
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
Gower Street predicts 2025 global box office revenue to hit $33B, up 8% from 2024's estimated $30.5B, and the North American market rising 9% YoY to ~$9.7B
1:50 PM
Deadline:
John Robson, co-founder of kid-focused studio Moonbug, is stepping down; Moonbug bought CoComelon in 2020, and Candle Media acquired Moonbug in 2021
12:55 PM
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
The Baltimore Banner, launched in June 2022, expects 2024 revenue to rise 37% YoY to $13M+, with subscriber count growing 50%+ in 2024 to ~55,000
12:15 PM
Joe Easton / Bloomberg:
Canal+ shares sink 15%+ as UBS says the stock is fairly valued after its London listing on December 16; CAN is down 32%+ since its listing
11:50 AM
Chris Roush / Talking Biz News:
Ankler hires Alison Brower as its executive editor; Brower was Los Angeles bureau chief at Business Insider before leaving in February
11:05 AM
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Meta teases an AI editing tool powered by Movie Gen AI in Instagram that can change outfits, backgrounds, and more in videos using a text prompt, coming in 2025
10:30 AM
Colby Hall / Mediaite:
Neil Cavuto is leaving Fox News after 28 years at the network; source: Fox offered him a new deal that he declined to accept and ultimately decided to leave
10:20 AM
Robert Booth / The Guardian:
A coalition of newspapers, writers, movie producers, and others rejects the UK's plans to create a copyright exemption for AI companies to train their models
9:15 AM
Graham Fraser / BBC:
Reporters Without Borders urges Apple to scrap Apple Intelligence's notification summaries after a BBC complaint said the feature created a misleading headline
8:20 AM
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Semafor plans to launch an invite-only newsletter for CEOs, The CEO Signal, in January 2025, written by former FT US News Editor Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson
8:10 AM
James Batchelor / GamesIndustry.biz:
As part of Sony's Kadokawa investment, the companies plan to adapt Kadokawa's IP into live-action films and TV dramas globally, co-produce anime works, and more
7:30 AM
Jesse Whittock / Deadline:
TelevisaUnivision plans to launch ViX in Spain in January 2025 on Spanish media group Atresmedia's streaming platform Atresplayer
6:10 AM
S.E. Smith / The Verge:
A look at the quickly disappearing web, as digital decay and link rot erase many media formats; a Pew study says 38% of webpages accessible in 2013 are now gone
5:35 AM
Kiyoshi Takenaka / Reuters:
Sony buys ~$320M of shares in Japanese media powerhouse Kadokawa, which owns FromSoftware, taking its stake to ~10% and becoming Kadokawa's top shareholder
5:15 AM
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
A look at NBCUniversal's push to increase revenue through live events and other “experiential” products tied to its famous shows and anchors like Wille Geist
4:25 AM
James Cridland / Podnews:
A look at TuneIn: top executive departures and mass layoffs since 2020, the service hasn't updated its podcast database since February 2024, and more
2:30 AM
Reuters Institute:
An overview of key insights from the Reuters Institute's work on how 2024 shaped journalism, from the impact of AI to a decline in trust in news organizations