Top News:
Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:
Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings steps down as co-CEO but plans to stay on as executive chair; the company promotes COO Greg Peters to co-CEO with Ted Sarandos — Streaming company names new leadership as it looks to reset after ‘tough year’ in 2022 — Reed Hastings is stepping …
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About Netflix, @reedhastings, Insider, New York Times, CNBC, Reuters, The Playlist, Quartz, Broadband TV News, The Indian Express, @carnage4life, @gerberkawasaki, AdExchanger, Forbes, @tvgrimreaper, @film_girl, @samro, @pythianism, @mattbelloni, @wholemarsblog, Rappler, GameSpot, The Information, Music Ally, Free Press Journal, Breitbart, Media Play News, Deadline, Engadget, Adweek, Fast Company, SlashFilm, CNN, The Guardian, The Streamable, The Desk, Variety, CNET, The Hill, Vanity Fair, GeekWire, The Wrap, IndieWire, Los Angeles Times, Cord Cutters News, Bloomberg, Ad Age, Observer, TechCrunch, New York Daily News, WORLD SCREEN, CBS News, The Verge, Axios, Radio & Television … and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »
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Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Netflix's ad-supported tier is off to a “solid” start, says new co-CEO Greg Peters; CFO Spence Neumann estimates the ad tier will be about 10% of future revenue — Netflix's landmark entry into ad-supported streaming, which began last November, is off to a “solid” …
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The Streamable, The Hollywood Reporter, SlashFilm, Insider, CBR, Variety and Forbes
Sarah Whitten / CNBC:
Netflix reports Q4 revenue up 1.9% YoY to $7.85B, $55M net income, down from $607M YoY, 231M paid memberships, adding 7.66M subscribers vs. 4.57M expected — - Netflix is scheduled to report fourth quarter earnings after the bell. — The streaming service's new ad-supported service will be in focus.
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The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix, Variety, @matthewkeyslive, The Register, @richlightshed, @felixsalmon, Thurrott, Vox, Light Reading, MediaPost, Insider, Axios and The Streamable, more at Techmeme »
The Verge:
Source: CNET owner Red Ventures has used AI tools like Wordsmith to write stories for at least a year and a half, causing unease amid layoffs and restructuring — Fake bylines. Content farming. Affiliate fees. What happens when private equity takes over a storied news site and milks it for clicks?
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@velocciraptor, @tristanacooper, Futurism, @danielleri, @ehananoki, @matthewkeyslive, @vahn16, @taylormooresays, @morewillie, @itsdancrowd, @plognark, @jjvincent, @firstadopter, @emilymbender, @alexeheath, @davekarpf, @jjvincent, @janusrose, @matthewkeyslive, @paleofuture, The Drum, @misscp, @jake_k, Gizmodo, @alng@journa.host, Talking Biz News and The Register, more at Techmeme »
Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch:
India releases rules on social media influencers and virtual avatars promoting content without disclosing payment, adding an up to ~$12.3K fine for violations — As the market of social media influencers is getting bigger in India, the South Asian nation has introduced endorsement guidelines …
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MediaNama, YouTube, Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, Free Press Journal and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
Twitter is testing a new feature for verified journalists that adds a logo representing their publication next to their blue check — Twitter reached out to the Mirror offering it the chance to take part in the beta test. — Twitter is testing a new feature that sees verified journalists …
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@theodalisque and The Spain Report
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Parker Molloy / The Present Age:
News media should've sent a signal to Twitter by not tweeting after the site suspended some journalists' accounts; Fox News once boycotted Twitter for 16 months
News media should've sent a signal to Twitter by not tweeting after the site suspended some journalists' accounts; Fox News once boycotted Twitter for 16 months
Discussion:
@parkermolloy, @mattnavarra, @froomkin, CBS News, The Information, @parkermolloy and @Ciantic@twit.social
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Memo: Vox Media is laying off 7% of staff, or roughly 140 people, across editorial, revenue, operations, and core services departments — Vox Media is laying off 7% of its staff, according to a memo sent internally from CEO Jim Bankoff, obtained by Axios. Roughly 2,000 people work at the company …
Discussion:
The Information, @oliverdarcy, CNN and The Wrap
CNBC:
Sources: Vice Media restarts its sale process, after bidders balked at the initial price tag, and is likely to fetch under $1B; Vice was valued at $5.7B in 2017 — - Vice Media is restarting its sale process after earlier interested bidders balked at the initial price tag, according to people familiar with the situation.
Discussion:
Talking Biz News, @sherman4949, @anthony and @sherman4949
Glenn Peoples / Billboard:
Amazon plans to hike Music Unlimited's monthly prices by $1 and £1 to $10.99 and £10.99 in the US and UK on February 21, matching Apple Music's October increase — Prices will rise to $10.99/10.99 pounds per month for individual plans and $5.99/5.99 pounds per month for students.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, 9to5Mac, Complete Music Update, Music Ally and Music Business Worldwide, more at Techmeme »
Horowitz Research:
Horowitz Research: 71% of password sharers would pay full price for Netflix, 51% for HBO Max, 49% for Amazon Prime Video, 47% for Disney+, and 46% for Hulu — As Netflix cracks down on password sharing, a new study by Horowitz Research suggests that the decision may not spell doom and gloom for the service.
Discussion:
The Streamable
Ayenat Mersie / Reuters:
Rwandan journalist and government critic John Williams Ntwali died on January 18 in a traffic accident, but activists raise questions about the cause of death — John Williams Ntwali, one of Rwanda's few journalists who published stories critical of the government, has died, his newspaper The Chronicles reported.
Chris Stokel-Walker / Nature:
Journal editors, researchers, and publishers are debating the place of AI tools like ChatGPT in published literature and whether they should be cited as authors — Chris Stokel-Walker is a freelance journalist in Newcastle, UK. — You can also search for this author in — PubMed Google Scholar