Mediagazer: Sundar Pichai says YouTube Shorts passed 50B daily views, up from 30B in April 2022; YouTube began sharing ad revenue with Shorts creators on February 1 (Thomas Maxwell/Insider)

Top News:

Source, document, and emails: PepsiCo and Anheuser-Busch committed to $3M+ and $2.4M, respectively, for Twitter takeover ads before and during the Super Bowl — After weeks of turmoil and layoffs, Twitter's sales team in recent weeks has reorganized to focus more on big advertisers and launch …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, @jbflint, Front Office Sports, The Indian Express, @shortingisfun, TechCrunch and The Drum, more at Techmeme »

Erin Woo / The Information:

Internal messages: Twitter wants to charge brands $1,000 per month to keep their gold verification badges, plus $50 per month for each affiliated account — Twitter is likely to charge brands $1000 a month to keep their gold verification badge, plus $50 a month for each affiliated account …

Discussion: @whstancil, @adamweinstein, @vogon, @intelwire and @brynnekkelly, more at Techmeme »

Mitchell Clark / The Verge:
Elon Musk says Twitter will start sharing revenue from reply-thread ads with users who pay for Twitter Blue, starting on February 3, but doesn't give details

Discussion: The Wrap, Tubefilter, Mashable, New York Daily News, Social Media Today, Engadget, The Information, @thoughtfulnz, @morningbrew, @libshipwreck, @sdkstl and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:

Sports Illustrated publisher Arena Group is working with AI startups Jasper and Nota to help produce articles from its own content library and pitch journalists — Arena Group uses the technology to help produce Men's Journal pieces such as workout tips — The publisher of Sports Illustrated …

Discussion: Business Wire, @jjvincent, @heyjasperai, Insider, @lilyraynyc, @alexweprin, The Verge, @stevekovach, @heyrosenberg and @harrymccracken, more at Techmeme »

Bloomberg:

Sources: Disney might license more of its films and TV series to rivals to earn more from its content library, a strategy shift from 2019 when Disney+ launched — Walt Disney Co. is exploring more licensing of its films and television series to rival media outlets as pressure grows to curb the losses in its streaming TV business.

Discussion: @lucas_shaw, @loudmouthjulia and @aagave

Kelsey Weekman / BuzzFeed News:

After YouTuber Mr. Beast made a video about paying for 1,000 blind people's eye surgery, critics raise questions about “stunt philanthropy” and “charity porn” — Is it stunt philanthropy or self-funded charity in the YouTube age? — A YouTuber just helped treat 1,000 people with blindness and low vision.

Discussion: @loudmouthjulia, @bendreyfuss, @sonnybunch, @ambiej, @g17esiason, @rubensteinadam, @varadmehta, Insider and Fortune

Frank Bajak / Associated Press:

Microsoft researchers say state-backed Iranian hackers hit Charlie Hebdo with a hack-and-leak campaign after Hebdo's December 2022 contest mocking Iran's leader — After the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo launched a cartoon contest to mock Iran's ruling cleric …

Discussion: Reuters, Ars Technica, Al-Monitor and @fbajak

Scott Roxborough / The Hollywood Reporter:

Q&A with Danny Fisher, CEO of FilmRise, the largest independent content provider to AVOD services, on finding undervalued shows, his business model, and more — By betting big, and early, on the potential of advertising-backed streaming, Danny Fisher has grown the firm …

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Amazon reports content spending up 28% YoY to $16.6B in 2022, of which ~$7B went to originals, live sports, and licensed third-party content included with Prime — The expenses related to video and music content were up 28 percent from 2021, when the tech giant spent $13 billion.

Discussion: TechCrunch and Deadline, more at Techmeme »

Kamran Haider / Bloomberg:

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority blocks Wikipedia in the country, saying the site failed to remove “sacrilegious” content within a 48-hour deadline — Pakistan has blocked Wikipedia services in the South Asian nation after the platform failed to remove “sacrilegious” content.

Discussion: @faseehmangi, The Register, The Indian Express and MediaNama, more at Techmeme »

Emily Leedham / PressProgress:

Canada's Overstory Media Group, which presented itself as a local news savior and set a goal of hiring 250 journalists by 2023, has 22 journalists after layoffs — Journalists question Overstory Media Group's commitment to local news after gutting flagship Capital Daily's newsroom

Discussion: Ricochet

Jesse Whittock / Deadline:

BFI: production spend in the UK's high-end TV and film industries reached a record £6.3B in 2022, of which 86% came from international streamers and studios — Production spend in the UK high-end TV (HETV) and film industries reached a record £6.3BN ($7.8BN) in 2022, BFI statistics released today reveal.

Discussion: Variety and The Hollywood Reporter

Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:

YouTube rolls out Go Live Together, a feature that lets creators with 50 or more subscribers co-host livestreams with one guest at a time, on iOS and Android — YouTube is rolling out a collaboration feature that allows two users to livestream together. “Go Live Together” …

Discussion: @kantrowitz, Engadget, Insider and 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:

YouTube's ad revenue dropped 7.8% YoY from $8.63B to $7.96B in Q4, below analyst estimates of $8.2B — Alphabet, parent company of Google and YouTube, turned in fourth-quarter 2022 earnings that missed analyst estimates, as YouTube's ad revenue again notched a year-over-year decline.

Discussion: CNBC, Music Ally, The Information, The Verge, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

Jon Swartz / MarketWatch:
Alphabet reports Google advertising revenue down 4% YoY from $61.2B to $59B, below analyst estimates of $60.4B, and Google Search revenue down 2% YoY to $42.6B

Discussion: Alphabet, Mobile Dev Memo, Reuters, Skift, Fast Company, SiliconANGLE, TVNewsCheck, The Wrap and 9to5Google