Mediagazer: VidMob, which offers tools for marketers to create digital ads, raised a $110M Series D led by Shamrock, source says at a $500M valuation, up from $290M in 2021 (Megan Graham/Wall Street Journal)

9:25 AM ET, August 17, 2022

Top News:

Timbaland and Swizz Beatz sue Triller, alleging the short-form video app owes them $28M+ after acquiring live-streaming music series Verzuz and missing payments — Triller bought music series Verzuz for an undisclosed sum in January 2021. Now its creators say they're still owed money.

Alex Barker / Financial Times:

Ofcom: in the UK, those aged 15-24 spent 57 minutes/day on TikTok in 2021, compared to 53 minutes/day watching TV; those 65 or over spent six hours watching TV — Ofcom survey points to challenges for traditional broadcasters in keeping pace with digital and streaming trends

Discussion: BBC, @jimwaterson, Ofcom, Daily Mail, 9to5Mac, Fortune, @stokel and @1br0wn, more at Techmeme »

K.J. Yossman / Variety:

Ofcom's annual Media Nations report shows the UK streaming sector made £2.7B profit in 2021, up 27% YoY; 5.2M UK homes subscribe to Netflix, Prime, and Disney+ — The streaming sector in the U.K. made profits of £2.7 billion ($3.3 billion) in 2021 - a year-on-year increase of 27% …

Discussion: Ofcom and Deadline

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Video streaming options increasingly resemble the bloated cable industry they sought to replace, as companies launch ad-supported tiers and bundle services — Facing saturation in the U.S., most major streamers are launching cheaper ad-supported streaming tiers, and are beginning to bundle …

Discussion: @decider, @rakeshlobster, Too Much TV Newsletter, @scottgreenfield, Walmart Inc. and Wall Street Journal

AAP:

Australia's high court says Google is not a publisher, reversing a lower court decision that said Google was liable for a defamatory article in search results — Judgement rules ‘a hyperlink is merely a tool’ in case between search engine and Melbourne lawyer George Defteros

Discussion: @emilyhwoods, Mumbrella and Sydney Morning Herald, more at Techmeme »

Megan Graham / Wall Street Journal:

VidMob, which offers tools for marketers to create digital ads, raised a $110M Series D led by Shamrock, source says at a $500M valuation, up from $290M in 2021 — The Series D funding round led by Shamrock Capital will help the company expand its platform for data-led creativity in advertising and other brand work

Blake Brittain / Reuters:

The US government backs Lynn Goldsmith's legal claim that Andy Warhol infringed her copyright on a photo of Prince; the Supreme Court hears the case in October — The U.S. government urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to rule that a photographer can pursue a copyright lawsuit …

Discussion: New York Times, @katieschoolov, @pamelaparesky, @pamelaparesky, @petapixel, @reuterslegal, @pamelaparesky, @ip_scholar, @nickgillespie, Futurity, PetaPixel, PetaPixel, Bloomberg Law and Plagiarism Today

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Meta updates its political ads policy before the US midterms, including banning edits for political, social, and electoral ads running one week prior — - Ads that present new claims in the final days of an election may be difficult to contest or fact-check in time.

Discussion: Bloomberg, @katieharbath, Politico, Meta, 9to5Mac, @ohhkaygo, @reganopel, @katieharbath, @kurtwagner8, @shgeldz, @nickclegg, @metanewsroom, @sarafischer and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Bevin Fletcher / Fierce Video:

The Roku Channel adds NBC local news channels for San Diego, Boston, and the Bay Area, plus NBCUniversal's LX News, six Scripps channels, BBC Kids, and more — The Roku Channel is beefing up its Live TV Guide with 14 new linear channels, including the addition of three more featuring NBC local news and six channels from Scripps.

Discussion: The Streamable, TVNewsCheck and TechCrunch

David Schuman / CBS News:

Linda Tirado, who received a $600K settlement from Minneapolis after being blinded in one eye while covering 2020 protests, is giving 20% to people in the city — MINNEAPOLIS - A permanent injury from the 2020 riots landed a journalist with a big payment from the city of Minneapolis, but she's not keeping the settlement for herself.

Discussion: @monroegallery and @david_schuman

Alex Ritman / The Hollywood Reporter:

ITV and the NFL sign a three-year deal to broadcast NFL games in the UK, including the Super Bowl LVII on February 12, 2023, replacing the BBC after seven years — ITV has struck a three-year free-to-air deal and will begin coverage in September for the start of the 2022 NFL season.

Discussion: Variety, Deadline, Press Centre, @itvsport, @nfluk and sportindustry.biz

Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:

Analysis: over the past year, top pay TV providers had a net loss of ~5.425M subscribers; Q2 marked the second consecutive quarter with over 1.9M in net losses — Comcast, Charter, Cox, Altice, DirecTV, Dish, Verizon and Hulu's live TV tier all lost subscribers this past quarter.

Jesse Brown / CANADALAND:

Sources: Bell Media's VP of News Michael Melling fired CTV's Lisa LaFlamme for pushing back against his ideas; Melling also interfered with CTV's news coverage — “He doesn't like it when women push back.” — Lisa LaFlamme, chief anchor of CTV National News, was unceremoniously …

Discussion: Poynter, @mikeggibbs, @moorehn, @ahmarskhan, @waldersports, @brandongonez, @consumersos, @fatimabsyed, @tanyafusco, @sarahboesveld, @daviddoel, The Line, Twelve Thirty Six and Toronto Star

Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
Canadian broadcaster CTV's chief news anchor Lisa LaFlamme says she has been forced out of the network; CTV parent Bell Media cites “changing viewer habits”

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