Mediagazer: In a wide-ranging interview, Reed Hastings says Netflix's spending on content will grow and defends cutting an episode of Hasan Minhaj's show in Saudi Arabia (Dade Hayes/Deadline)

Dade Hayes / Deadline:

In a wide-ranging interview, Reed Hastings says Netflix's spending on content will grow and defends cutting an episode of Hasan Minhaj's show in Saudi Arabia — Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings tackled a wide array of issues surrounding the streaming giant during a packed 30-minute keynote session …

Discussion: CNBC, MediaPost, The Wrap, Variety, Vanity Fair, Engadget, Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Bloomberg, HuffPost and Mediaite, more at Techmeme »

Bloomberg:

Nielsen to split into two companies, one focused on global media, the other on tracking consumer preferences, after pressure from investor Elliott Management — - Nielsen will split into two: global media and global connect — Company completes strategic review following activist pressure

Discussion: CNBC, Broadcasting & Cable, Radio & Television …, The Wrap, Axios, @nielsen, @baekdal and @cnbc

Paul Bond / Hollywood Reporter:

Glenn Beck's The Blaze to shut down its cable channel at the end of the year to focus on its radio, SVOD service, podcasts, and website — The media company will continue operating its subscription VOD service, its website, podcasts and radio presence. — The Blaze, a multimedia firm founded …

Discussion: The Wrap

Substack Blog:

Substack introduces a three-month Fellowship for Independent Writers, starting with five writers who will receive a stipend and support with publicity and more — Today, we're proud to announce the start of a program that we hope will become an important part of how Substack supports writers …

Discussion: @substackinc, @lyndseygilpin, @emorwee, @hamishmckenzie, @linzsports, @walthickey and @juddlegum

Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:

Dish adds ~214K Sling TV subscribers in Q3 for a total of 2.686M+ and loses ~66K pay TV subscribers for a total of ~9.49M — Charlie Ergen's company posts its first quarterly net subscriber gain since the fourth quarter of 2017. — Charlie Ergen's Dish Network on Thursday …

Discussion: The Streamable, Variety, MediaPost and Wall Street Journal

CNN:

So far, mainstream media including Fox News avoid publishing the alleged whistleblower's name in the Trump impeachment probe, amid pressure from Trump allies — New York (CNN Business)Fox News hosts and personalities have been instructed over the last several days not to identify …

Peter Debruge / Variety:

Motion Picture Academy changes rules for nominating foreign language films to make voting more accessible, including allowing all members to stream contenders — Good news for subtitles lovers: The Academy is radically expanding how nominees are chosen in the Oscars new international feature film race.

Jon Porter / The Verge:

Streaming service Britbox debuts in the UK, two years after its US launch, for £5.99 a month; it is a joint venture among UK broadcasters including BBC and ITV — It will eventually host content from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5 — Britbox, the streaming service formed …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Mashable, 9to5Mac and Press Centre

Chris O'Brien / VentureBeat:

Avaaz: false stories on Facebook had 158M views in 2019, greater than before the 2016 election, with 86M views in the last 3 months, up 3x over the prior 3 — Facebook has already powered 158 million views of fake U.S. political news in 2019 and is poised to see an explosion of disinformation next year …

Discussion: American Press Institute, Variety, VICE, Nieman Lab, @avaaz, @green_footballs, @wajahatali, @brianstelter, @scclemons, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, CNN and Politico

Casey Newton / The Verge:

Twitter announces Topics, which lets users follow 300+ subjects in their timeline, rolling out from Thursday; topics include sports and gaming but not politics — Starting with more than 300 subjects across sports, gaming, and entertainment — Recently, a friend told me he wanted to spend …

Discussion: Social Media Today, @kayvz, @caseynewton, @rsarver, @enunge, @ynobeturner, @airlineflyer, @kantrowitz, Mashable, The Next Web, Engadget, CNET and 9to5Mac

MediaPost:

Conviva: streaming video quality is improving, with PCs seeing the most consistent quality improvements, but 39% of streaming video ad attempts fail — As the streaming wars commence, the good news is that the general streaming video experience is improving — no doubt in part …

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Discovery Q3: net income rose to $262M from $117M in Q3 2018 on revenue of $2.68B, up 3% YoY; ad pricing increases offset subscriber losses — Discovery Inc. saw third quarter profit rise as revenue from advertising as well as cable and satellite distribution rose even as the company's various TV products lost viewers overall.

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, MediaPost and Reuters