Mediagazer: ESPN Plus is raising the annual subscription for new subscribers by 20%, from $49.99 to $59.99, and increasing the price of UFC pay-per-view events to $69.99 (Todd Spangler/Variety)

10:45 AM ET, December 31, 2020

Top News:

Amazon plans to acquire podcast network Wondery, which will join Amazon Music — We've signed an agreement to acquire Wondery, a top-rated podcast creator and producer that entertains and educates listeners. — We're pleased to announce that Wondery—an innovative podcast publisher …

David Folkenflik / NPR:

Boards of RFE/RL and Radio Free Asia and their chairman Michael Pack have added binding contractual agreements that they can't be removed for the next two years — Michael Pack's stormy tenure over the federal agency that oversees government-funded broadcasters abroad - including the Voice of America - appears to be coming to a close.

Discussion: @digiphile, @npr and @davidfolkenflik

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Letter signed by leaders of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's news division and editorial board says Michael Pack appointed a board of “inexperienced” partisans — - Leaders of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty blasted the Trump-appointed CEO of the U.S. federal media agency.

Discussion: @ckummer, @nprinskeep, @nickschifrin, @schwartzbcnbc, @gkates, @schwartzbcnbc, @joshgerstein and @micheleberdy

Wall Street Journal:

Top nine streaming services to end 2020 with combined US subscribers up 50%+ YoY; US households now subscribe to 3.1 services on average, up from 2.7 in 2019 — From Hulu to Disney+, largest streaming services are expected to end the year with 50% more U.S. subscribers

Discussion: @wsj, @jbflint, @drewfitzgerald, Fast Company, New York Post and Context is King

Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:
Over Christmas holiday, Apptopia says HBO Max had ~554K app signups; Sensor Tower says Disney+ had ~2.3M global app installations, up 28% from prior weekend

Discussion: ScreenRant, The Desk, DIRT, The Streamable, TechCrunch and @michael_calia

Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
Ampere: UK streaming subscribers grew 34% YoY in 2020, with a combined 32.4M for Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+, the top three services

Discussion: @scottygb, more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:

ESPN Plus is raising the annual subscription for new subscribers by 20%, from $49.99 to $59.99, and increasing the price of UFC pay-per-view events to $69.99 — UFC fans are going to pay more to catch the promoter's premiere fights on Disney's ESPN Plus streaming sports package next year.

Discussion: The Streamable, Sports Business Daily, @trentreinsmith, @seansheehanba, The Verge, Gizmodo, @yoda, @jevan_bay, @thenotoriousmma, @mrmwellsart, @yay_yee, Awful Announcing and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Lisa Richwine / Reuters:

Nielsen: Fox News tops all news and basic cable channels for the fifth consecutive year, averaging 1.9M viewers/day; CNN had its most-watched year in history — LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ratings for Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Channel topped all news and basic cable channels for a fifth straight year in 2020 …

Discussion: TVNewser

Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
Interviews with 15 longtime Fox News loyalists on why they switched to Newsmax, often seeking programming that denies Joe Biden's victory

Discussion: @seanspicer, @dcdianadc, @kirktousaw, @evilgalprods, @kimmasters, @chessninja, @poniewozik, @elise_jordan, @donal_okeeffe, @ericbolling, @jayrosen_nyu and @jeremymbarr

Michael J. de la Merced / New York Times:

Alden says it is bidding for full control of Tribune Publishing, in which it has a ~32% stake, with an offer that values the newspaper chain at about $520.6M — Alden Global Capital, which is already Tribune's biggest shareholder, valued the company at about $520.6 million.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, @megreenwell, @scottshanenyt, @pwoodreporter, @marcatracy, @courantguild, @dicktofel, @kdoctor, @w_katz1, @robillard, @kbui1, @royalpratt and The Wrap

Reuters:

Reuters cameraman Kumerra Gemechu has been detained in Ethiopia without charge; police say they are investigating allegations of spreading false information — NAIROBI (Reuters) - Reuters cameraman Kumerra Gemechu has been held in solitary confinement for nearly a week without charge …

Discussion: @reuterspr

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

Judge rules Viacom shareholders can pursue claims of fiduciary duty breach against Shari Redstone and board members representing Viacom in the merger with CBS — A Delaware Chancery judge rejects a motion to dismiss after reviewing Shari Redstone's role in the transaction.

Discussion: The Wrap, @eriqgardner, Variety and Deadline

Byron Tau / Wall Street Journal:

Acting attorney general says WSJ reporter Daniel Pearl's accused killer could be prosecuted in the US if Pakistani courts fail to keep him in jail — If Pakistanis fail to keep suspect imprisoned, U.S. stands ready, acting attorney general says — The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday raised …

Discussion: @bgrueskin, @rohded, USA Today, @alanmillernlp, @jessepesta, CBS News, @schoofsfeed, Reuters, Al Jazeera, The Hill and Associated Press

Elizabeth A. Harris / New York Times:

Association of American Publishers: audiobooks revenue is up 17%+ YoY, e-book sales are up 16%+; NPD BookScan says US print book sales are up ~8% in 2020 — With people stuck at home and so many other activities shut down, a lot of reading — or at least a lot of book buying — happened this year.

Discussion: @bobproehl, @sejorg, @jldelbourgo, @nytimesbooks, @mariskreizman, @scalzi, @pamelapaulnyt, @likaluca, @fidmart85, @magiciansbook and bookforum.com, more at Techmeme »

John Hopewell / Variety:

Comscore: global box office fell between 57%, in the Netherlands, and 76%, in UK, vs. 2019, depending on length of closure and strength of local movie industry — Savaged by COVID-19, global box office plunged between 57% and 76% in major markets outside the U.S., with the U.K. and Ireland leading the rout …

Discussion: Variety

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More News:

Dave Lee / Financial Times:
FactSet: Amazon's “other” business unit, which is made up almost entirely of its ads business, will make $21B in revenue in 2020, up 47% YoY

Discussion: @raju, @financialtimes, @read_cap, @tonytassell, @juokaz and @hughhewitt

Wall Street Journal:
Unredacted draft version of the lawsuit filed by 10 states earlier this month details a Google-Facebook ad deal that allegedly constituted illegal price fixing

Discussion: @bowknowsbiz, @phyllisstein, @greglinden, @bowknowsbiz, @johnvoorhees, @bikehugger, @repkenbuck, @moonalice, @jonspaihts, @halsinger, @jason_kint, @jason_kint, @jason_kint, @jason_kint, @jason_kint and New York Post

Inside Radio:
Univision sale to Searchlight Capital is formalized, and Wade Davis becomes CEO; FCC granted an exception to a cap on foreign ownership, as Televisa holds 36.1%

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DW.COM:
A sustained cyberattack over Christmas forced several German newspapers published by The Funke Media Group to cancel or curtail editions; the attack is ongoing

Discussion: @davidgerard

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Verizon is telling Fios TV customers that nine local Hearst stations may go dark on Fios on Jan. 1, saying Hearst is demanding carriage fee hikes of 45%+

Discussion: Radio & Television …

Earlier Picks:

Committee to Protect Journalists:
Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Moroccan authorities to release journalist Maati Monjib, arrested amid a money laundering probe

Discussion: @rozen_j, International Journalism …, @shanvav, @aaschapiro, @aaschapiro, @sarahleah1, Morocco World News, Morocco World News, Africanews and Abdellatif EL Hamamouchi

Emily Birnbaum / Protocol:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is tying the fate of $2,000 stimulus checks to the repeal of Section 230

Kristin Robinson / Variety:
A loophole in Spotify's copyright infringement detection tactics is allowing unauthorized remixes and bootlegs of songs to be uploaded as podcasts

Discussion: @delgotloud and Engadget

Will Thorne / Variety:
First ever NFL game streamed exclusively had an average minute audience of 4.8M on Prime, Twitch, and others, almost as much as traditional TV viewership

Discussion: @crupicrupicrupi, @aquinas82nd, @jason_kint, @richarddeitsch and MediaPost

From Techmeme:

Financial Times:
Microsoft invests $1.5B in Abu Dhabi-based AI group G42 for a minority stake, after G42 severed ties with Chinese suppliers; Brad Smith will sit on G42's board

Artificial Intelligence Index:
Stanford's AI Index report: training top AI models is way more expensive, AI still trails humans on complex tasks, people are more nervous about AI, and more

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
EU antitrust regulators are questioning Broadcom about changes to VMware's licensing conditions, following complaints from EU business users and a trade group

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