Mediagazer: Netflix cut its prices on certain subscription tiers across 36+ countries, but not the US; the cuts in some cases halved the cost (Sarah Krouse/Wall Street Journal)

7:45 PM ET, February 23, 2023

Top News:

Ozy co-founder Carlos Watson was arrested on charges of conspiring to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, after co-founder Samir Rao pleaded guilty to fraud — Samir Rao, company's former chief operating officer, appeared in court as John Doe and admitted wrongdoing in probe of the company's practices

Brian Stelter / Poynter:

The murder of TV reporter Dylan Lyons is a sad reminder to all reporters of the hazards of their jobs, especially local journalists who are particularly at risk — It is increasingly difficult to report the news without feeling like there might be a target on your back. — Every reporter can relate to Dylan Lyons.

Spectrum News 13:
Two Spectrum News 13 crew members in Orlando were shot at the scene of a homicide investigation, and one has died, according to the Orange County sheriff

Discussion: gofundme.com, @mynews13, NBC News, SPJ News, @presssec, @mynews13, TVSpy, CNN, Associated Press, CBS News, Sun-Sentinel, @michaelpnews, The Hill, The Independent, Committee to Protect …, @murrownyc, Boston Herald, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, @orlandopolice, @amyklobuchar, @bobwoodson, @momsdemand, @pressfreedom, Fox News, @megnturner_, Poynter, @bianchiweather, @rebeccaturcotv, @sifill_, @weinsteinlaw, @asherwildman13, @asherwildman13, @emrwilkins, @lauramonteverdi, @annette_taddeo, @andrewwarrenfl, @whca, @jamiebollwbtv, @shimonpro, @michaelgwaltz, @jodieginsberg, @momsdemand, @katecagle, @kellyo, @emilyjanelawler, @acosta, @janashortal, @newsguygreg, @newsguygreg, @newsguygreg, @nabj, @jennalaineespn, @newsguygreg, @brianstelter, @annaforflorida, WKMG, Next TV, UPI, The Desk, NBC News, National Press Club, The Wrap, New York Times, Metro.co.uk, Deadline, ABC13 and The Daily Beast, Thanks:@vtuss

Dominic Patten / Deadline:

In WBD's earnings call, CEO David Zaslav praised CNN's “more inclusive range of voices and viewpoints” and pledged to “continue advancing” the strategy — Call “2023 will be a year of building,” Warner Bros Discovery boss David Zaslav made a point today …

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Variety, Insider, SlashFilm, The Wrap and The Verge

Alexandra Canal / Yahoo Finance:
Warner Bros. Discovery misses Q4 estimates with a $2.1B net loss on revenue of $11.01B vs. $11.36B expected; global DTC subscriptions rose by 1.1M to 96.1M

Discussion: Next TV, CNBC, The Streamable, The Wrap, @azalben, @azalben, @azalben, @azalben, @azalben, Warner Bros. Discovery, IndieWire and The Hollywood Reporter

Sahil Patel / The Information:

Sources: Vox Media is profitable and generated $600M to $650M in 2022 revenue and raised $100M from Jay Penske at a $500M valuation earlier in February 2023 — Last summer, Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff met with representatives from Facebook parent Meta Platforms to catch up on business.

Discussion: @sizpatel, @tvgrimreaper, @robnashville and @theinformation

Matt Dixon / Politico:

A Florida bill would weaken media protections in defamation lawsuits, compel journalists to reveal sources, lower the threshold for a “public figure”, and more — TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' broken relationship with the mainstream media could get even worse.

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Advocate, @chrisgeidner, @cristianafarias, @freedomofpress@newsie.social, @briankarem, @freedomofpress, @deanobeidallah, @mollyjongfast, @freedomofpress, @joesudbay, @natashakorecki, @froomkin@journa.host, Orlando Sentinel, Tampa Bay Times and Reason

Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:

Google TV launches categorized content pages in the US labeled Family, Movies, Shows, and Español, letting users access titles without jumping from app to app — Google TV today announced the launch of four new content pages in the U.S. - the Family page, the Movie page …

Discussion: The Keyword, CNET, The Streamable, 9to5Google, Engadget, The Verge and HYFI Blog

Sarah Krouse / Wall Street Journal:

Netflix cut its prices on certain subscription tiers across 36+ countries, but not the US; the cuts in some cases halved the cost — Move comes as streaming company says members ‘have never had more choices when it comes to entertainment’ — Netflix Inc. NFLX -0.78%decrease …

Discussion: Ampere Analysis Home, Reuters, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Daily News, Collider, Engadget, TechCrunch, IndieWire, Neowin, Media Play News, Decider, @karlbode, The Wrap, Bloomberg, Gizmodo, Insider and Boing Boing, more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:

YouTube rolls out multi-language audio tracks to more creators worldwide; creators saw 15%+ of their watch time from the video's non-primary language in January — After an initial test over the last few months, YouTube is rolling out access to multi-language audio tracks to more creators worldwide …

Discussion: YouTube Official Blog, Engadget, The Information, Mashable, The Hollywood Reporter, Tubefilter, CNET, 9to5Google, TechCrunch and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Kevin Tran / Morning Consult:

A survey of 2,199 US adults: 14% of Gen Z adults reported using TikTok to start researching a major news event, compared to 1% for all other generations — Media & entertainment analyst Kevin Tran breaks down how publishers can monetize young consumers who are increasingly turning to social platforms for free news

Discussion: @will_flannigan, Search Engine Land, @ktran223 and @morningconsult

Alexandra Canal / Yahoo Finance:

Survey: 51% of US Apple TV+ users auto renew, vs. 64% for Amazon Prime Video, 63% for Netflix, and 60% for Disney+; 5% say TV+ is the best value for the money — Apple TV+'s (AAPL) “Ted Lasso” may be making its triumphant return next month — but a new survey hints the Emmy Award-winning series …

Discussion: The Streamable, Apple TV+ Press and Media Play News

BizCommunity:

Business Insider South Africa plans to shut down and redirect to Insider on February 28, 2023, when a five-year licensing agreement between BI and News24 ends — MTN, Uganda's most subscribed mobile telecommunication company has announced that it will offer use of the Facebook platform for free.

Discussion: @raju

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:

Union staff at Spotify's Parcast call on managers to clarify how they can spend a pledged $100K/year on DEI; they say Spotify approved just $5K since April 2022 — Union employees at Parcast, the podcast studio at Spotify Technology SA that specializes in true-crime programming …

Discussion: @ashleyrcarman

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Elizabeth Wagmeister / Variety:
California sentences Harvey Weinstein, who will turn 71 in March, to 16 years in prison after a rape conviction; Weinstein is serving 23 years in New York

Bailey Schulz / USA Today:
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Discussion: MarketWatch, @jamesebriggs, MediaPost, Gannett and @bobscheer

Kerry Flynn / Axios:
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Netflix releases a director's commentary for Rian Johnson's Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, a version that has fallen by the wayside since the heyday of DVDs

Discussion: Mashable, CNET, Collider, GoldDerby, The Verge, Screen Rant, SlashFilm and Boing Boing

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
TelevisaUnivision reports 2022 revenue up 13% YoY to $4.7B, a $1.69B operating income, Q4 profit up 5% YoY to $504.4M, and 25M+ free Vix streaming service MAUs

Discussion: Inside Radio, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, The Streamable and Deadline

Earlier Picks:

Alexander Lee / Digiday:
As full-time jobs for hard-hitting esports journalism disappear, some esports journalists strike out on their own using independent platforms such as Substack

Discussion: @simonowens, @alexleewastaken, @friala777 and @heyrosenberg

Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
Gallup and Knight US survey: 50% agree that most national news outlets “intend to mislead, misinform, or persuade the public”, and 26% view news media favorably

Discussion: @aubsn, @beyondbylines and @sarahscire

Mickey Djuric / The Canadian Press News:
Google tests blocking news content in Search for fewer than 4% of Canadian users for about five weeks, a potential response to Canada's proposed Online News Act

Nilesh Christopher / Rest of World:
A look at Amazon India's miniTV, a free, ad-supported streaming service in its shopping app, aimed at users from ages 18 to 25 who cannot afford a subscription

Discussion: @nilchristopher, @nilchristopher and Wall Street Journal

From Techmeme:

Bradly Shankar / MobileSyrup:
Nintendo says Switch 2 pre-orders in Canada “will not start on April 9, 2025 in order to align with the timing of pre-orders to be determined in the US”

Ben Weiss / Fortune:
Internal memo: the US DOJ disbands the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Unit, established by Biden in 2021, as the agency is “not a digital assets regulator”

Kylie Robison / The Verge:
LMArena says it is updating its leaderboard policies after a Llama 4 Maverick version, which Meta said in fine print is not public, secured the number two spot

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