Mediagazer: Disney fails to reach a deal with YouTube TV, removing 17+ channels including ABC, Disney, ESPN, Freeform, and FX; YouTube TV drops its price to $49.99/month (The Streamable)

12:10 PM ET, December 19, 2021

Top News:

Internal memo: CNN is closing its offices in the US to all nonessential employees as COVID-19 cases rise — President Jeff Zucker cited a surge of cases at the network in a memo on the decision — CNN is closing its offices to nonessential employees, network President Jeff Zucker told employees …

Discussion: Reuters, @brianstelter, The Hill, @bradmossesq, @katzish, @justthefacts85, @meetjess, Sputnik International, @drericding, @kbeninato, Mediaite, New York Post, Reuters, New York Post and Hollywood Reporter

The Streamable:

Disney fails to reach a deal with YouTube TV, removing 17+ channels including ABC, Disney, ESPN, Freeform, and FX; YouTube TV drops its price to $49.99/month — After a year of bitter disputes with its partners, YouTube TV just took a gut-punch from one of the entertainment world's biggest titans.

Andy Maxwell / TorrentFreak:

Malaysia passes a bill to imprison illegal streaming pirates, primarily those involved in the provision or facilitation of illegal streams, for up to 20 years — Malaysia's House of Representatives has passed amendments to copyright law that will boost the country's deterrent …

Discussion: Malaysiakini, Lowyat.NET and thesundaily.my, more at Techmeme »

Randall Lane / Forbes:

Forbes says two of its editors testified about two old stories in front of a New York grand jury investigating Trump, after fighting subpoenas for months — Almost three months ago, I was subpoenaed by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. to appear before the grand jury investigating Donald Trump.

Discussion: @spj_tweets, Mediaite, @chasewithorn, @dianesbaker1, @randalllane, @randalllane, The Hill, Axios and Talking Biz News

Danny Leigh / Financial Times:

Universal Pictures chair Donna Langley on releasing Trolls World Tour online at the start of the pandemic, shrinking theatrical release windows, and more — Donna Langley only looks ahead. She moves at pace through the packed dining room of La Petite Maison, a French Mediterranean restaurant in a Mayfair side street.

Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:

NYT fires a Wirecutter editor for “repeatedly invoking the NYT's name in an unprofessional way” in messages she allegedly sent to a gun rights advocacy group — Erin Marquis, a staffer for the popular product-review site, had also lashed out at a gun-rights organization on Twitter.

Discussion: @jeffjarvis, @jeremymbarr, New York Post, The Hill, Mediaite and Talking Biz News

Pew Research Center:

Analysis of news tweets from 500 US adults shows a focus on entertainment, politics, and sports; only 2% of news tweets had a hashtag, down from 34% in 2015 — Most Americans who use Twitter get news on the platform, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.

Discussion: @pewjournalism, @jenmercieca, @pewresearch, @pewjournalism, @pewresearch, @killedbygoogle, @spj_tweets, @pewjournalism, @asmitch and @jamcnn

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen / Nieman Lab:

The news industry has neglected R&D and staff development for decades; Malaysiakini and South Africa's The Daily Maverick show how to do long-term investments — “The furniture industry seems able to invest in its future. Maybe we can, too?” — The news industry is a technology …

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, @kimpittaway, @risj_oxford, @rasmus_kleis, @corinnecolbert, @risj_oxford, @mkraidy, @prempanicker, @robertobernabo, @olivermathenge, @shoq, @ruffoamy2, @rasmus_kleis, @dw_innovation and @nisalahe

Jonathan Burgos / Forbes:

BandLab, a Singapore-based music creation platform letting artists collaborate and engage with fans, raises a $53M Series B at a $303M post-money valuation — BandLab—a Singapore-based digital platform for music creators—said it raised $53 million from a funding round that will help …

Discussion: @forbesasia, Music Business Worldwide, Tech in Asia, Caldecott Music Group, digitalmusicnews.com, Music Ally, AllAccess.com and Music Industry Blog

The Citizen Lab:

The phone of an exiled Egyptian TV news host was compromised in June using Cytrox's Predator spyware via a single-click link in a WhatsApp message — Key Findings — Two Egyptians—exiled politician Ayman Nour and the host of a popular news program (who wishes to remain anonymous) …

Discussion: @ryp__, @dr_ulrichsen, @laughing_mantis, @sarahleah1, @ngleicher, @evacide, Cyber Defence News …, ScreenRant, TechCrunch, NPR, Bloomberg, The Guardian and The Daily Beast

Dan Froomkin / Press Watch:

Interview with former NYT reporter Nina Bernstein on traditional news media's “tics and timidities” that impoverish reporting out of a fear of taking sides — Nina Bernstein was covering homelessness for the New York Times in 1999 when then-mayor Rudolph Giuliani announced …

Gavin Bridge / Variety:

A record 1,923 original series were released across TV and streaming services in 2021, beating the previous high of 1,628 in 2019 — - 2021 saw a record number of original series across TV & streaming — Subscription streaming is now the platform with the largest number of original shows

Discussion: @sportstvratings, @variety and The Streamable

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Bureau Reporter - Vietnam, HCMC — Bloomberg

Curation Editor (Contract), NY — Apple News

Business Editor, CA — TheWrap

Executive Ed. - Tech & Electronics, AZ — AspenCore

Economy & Industry Reporter, TX — Texas Tribune

Deputy Editor - Health Care, VA — Politico

Political Enterprise Editor, DC — Guardian US

Housing & Real Estate Reporter, ME — BDN

Associate Reporter - Yahoo Finance — Yahoo

Senior Editor, Remote — Raw Story

Deputy Politics Editor, CA — Sacramento Bee

US Foreign Affairs Correspondent, DC — FT

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More News:

William Turvill / Press Gazette:
Sources: Google delayed the US launch of News Showcase, live in 14 countries, to at least Q1 2022 as pubs find the offers underwhelming and doubt its efficacy

Discussion: @glenngabe, @simonowens, @newsalliance, @davidclinchnews, @pressgazette, @tomnamako and @simonowens

Daniel Tilles / Notes From Poland:
Polish parliament passes a bill that limits foreign ownership of media, affecting Discovery-owned TVN; the president hinted he may veto the bill

Discussion: Variety, Bloomberg, @mooonlightbby, @ecpmf, @notesfrompoland, @globalfreemedia, Politico, C21Media, The Hollywood Reporter, DW.COM and Deadline

Erik Larson / Bloomberg:
Judge lets Dominion proceed with its Fox lawsuit because Fox had “countervailing evidence of election fraud” and says “hyperbolic” rhetoric can be defamatory

Discussion: @benyt, @timobrien, MediaPost, Hollywood Reporter, @obarcala, @obarcala, @svdate, @deanobeidallah, Washington Post, TVNewser and CNN

Katie Kilkenny / Hollywood Reporter:
Vice Media and its employee union reach a three-year deal that sets minimum salaries of $63K and annual raises, institutes anti-harassment measures, and more

Discussion: @greenhousenyt, Writers Guild of America …, Deadline and bookforum.com

Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
Researchers find evidence suggesting that IAB Europe's TCF lets many adtech vendors track and profile users even when they've rejected personalized ads

Discussion: @johnnyryan, @weareconfiant, @kfranasz and @jason_kint

Earlier Picks:

Henry Meyer / Bloomberg:
Google loses a court appeal in Russia and faces daily fines following a lawsuit to unblock a YouTube account of a TV channel owned by a sanctioned Putin ally

Andrew Beaujon / Washingtonian:
Washingtonian Editor Michael Schaffer is leaving to write a weekly Politico column as a senior editor; Sherri Dalphonse becomes interim Washingtonian editor

Discussion: @jeffreygoldberg, @abeaujon, @abeaujon, @lucasfleischer, @abeaujon, @michaelkruse, @dankois, @brfreed and @michaelschaffer

Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:
CNN plans to pull its original series off HBO Max and put them on its own streaming service, CNN+, which a source says has a planned March debut for $5.99/month

Discussion: @jeremymclellan, @business, @gerryfsmith, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, Too Much TV Newsletter, @awallenstein, @pnjaban, @neoavatara, @juwanthewriter, The Streamable and TVNewser

Wall Street Journal:
Documents and sources: WaPo execs weigh how to attract young readers and expand features content as the outlet faces a slump in readership and subscriber growth

From Techmeme:

PYMNTS.com:
Fleetio, which develops vehicle fleet management software, raised a $450M+ Series D and acquired Auto Integrate in a deal valuing the combined entity at $1.5B+

Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:
Prolific fintech VC and QED Investors co-founder Frank Rotman says he will become partner emeritus by the end of 2025 and focus on launching his own startups

Wency Chen / South China Morning Post:
Chinese chip equipment manufacturer SiCarrier debuted ~30 “domestically controllable” products at the Semicon China show, as China pushes for chip self-reliance

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