Top News:
Sarah Whitten / CNBC:
Netflix reports Q4 revenue up 12.5% YoY to $8.83B vs. $8.71B est., global paid memberships up 12.8% to 260.28M vs. 256M est., net income of $938M, up from $55M — - Netflix added 13.1 million subscribers during the fourth quarter. — The company now has 260.8 million paid subscribers.
Discussion:
NBC 7 San Diego, Associated Press, Netflix, @sherman4949, @tvmojoe, Axios, FOX8 WGHP, Reuters, Forbes, @lucas_shaw, Thurrott, @tvgrimreaper, Los Angeles Times, IndieWire, The Streamable, @sherman4949, Business Insider, Financial Times, @lucas_shaw, Sarah Whitten on LinkedIn, The Wrap, @lucas_shaw, CNN, The Hollywood Reporter, Media Play News, NBC Bay Area, The Messenger and Ad Age, more at Techmeme »
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Emma Roth / The Verge:
Netflix says it's looking to retire its ad-free Basic plan in some countries where ad-supported plans are available, starting with Canada and the UK in Q2 — Although Netflix no longer allows new or returning members to sign up for the ad-free Basic subscription that costs $11.99 per month …
Pranav Dixit / Engadget:
Netflix says user engagement with games on its service tripled in 2023 and Grand Theft Auto has become its most successful launch to date — The company added the Grand Theft Auto trilogy to its offerings late in the year. — Netflix said that user engagement with games on the service tripled in 2023.
Discussion:
Benzinga and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos says the WWE deal “fits within” its anticipated $17B spending on content in 2024 and is not a change to Netflix's sports strategy — Netflix extended its lead as the world's biggest premium video-streaming platform — pulling in a better …
Peter White / Deadline:
Netflix says it's not interested in acquiring “linear assets”, and it does not believe further M&A will “materially change the competitive environment”
Discussion:
The Wrap, @tvgrimreaper, Forbes and Bloomberg
CNBC:
Netflix buys the exclusive rights to WWE programs like Raw, airing in 2025 in the US, Canada, Latin America, and more; filing: the 10-year deal is worth $5B+
Discussion:
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Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
The Los Angeles Times announces it is laying off at least 115 people, or more than 20% of the newsroom, citing annual losses of $30M-$40M — The Los Angeles Times announced Tuesday that it was laying off at least 115 people — or more than 20% of the newsroom — marking …
Discussion:
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Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
The Los Angeles Times' layoffs have hit the outlet's Latino-focused vertical De Los, which was launched in 2023, and the Washington, DC bureau — “We are not in turmoil. We have a real plan,” the paper's owner, billionaire businessman Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, said.
Discussion:
Talking Biz News, @alemolina, NBC News, @sarahdwire, Awful Announcing, @froomkin, @sarahscire, @ximena_bustillo, @shiramstein, @byjulialove, @jherrerx, @izzieramirez, @chels_hylton and The Wrap
CBS News:
Charles Osgood, who joined CBS News in 1971, anchored CBS Sunday Morning for 22 years, and spent decades as a radio commentator, dies at age 91 — Award-winning journalist Charles Osgood, who anchored “CBS Sunday Morning” for 22 years and was host of the long-running radio program “The Osgood File,” died Tuesday at home in New Jersey.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Variety, Adweek, @brianstelter, Page Six, NewscastStudio, TVLine, Los Angeles Times, CNN, Bobby Lee on LinkedIn, Metro, Hollywood Life, @lanceulanoff, The Daily Beast, Radio & Television …, @jaketapper, The Hollywood Reporter, Politico, New York Daily News, @cbssunday, The Wrap, Inside Radio, @tvmojoe, Steve Gosset on LinkedIn, @benmullin, TV Insider, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, @johnjharwood, New York Post, KUSA-TV, Fox News, Associated Press, The Messenger and Deadline
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Google unveils a new Gemini-powered chat-based tool in Google Ads to build Search ad campaigns, out in beta to all English language advertisers in the US and UK — Google announced today that Gemini, its family of multimodal large language models, now powers the conversational experience within the Google Ads platform.
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Digiday, MediaPost, @quinnypig, Google, Social Media Today, @googleads and The Decoder, more at Techmeme »
James Tapper / The Guardian:
A filing in a class action suit by 10 US artists against Midjourney and others lists 16,000 artist names whose work Midjourney had allegedly used for training — US lawyers approached about class action against Midjourney and other AI firms accused of ‘copyright laundering’
Discussion:
Cointelegraph
New York Times:
In 2023, no US films ranked among the 10 highest grossing in China, which is producing more high-quality movies that resonate with domestic audiences — No American films ranked among the 10 highest grossing in China last year as viewers who once flocked to foreign blockbusters continued to disappear.
Discussion:
@thedragonfeeder
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Study commissioned by the UK government says the BBC does not serve as a “one-to one substitute for commercial providers in online local news provision” — Ofcom will publish annual report on BBC position in local news sector. — The BBC's online local news output does not add up to a …
Discussion:
GOV.UK, The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, @pressgazette and The Mirror
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
At a town hall, Reach CEO says staff have to face the “inconvenient truth” over its declining sale of print titles, but shift to digital will stabilize revenue — Reach chief tells staff to face ‘inconvenient truth’ over print but says digital will stabilise profitability
Discussion:
@alicemurphypyle, @iancarterim, @stejck, @mattlcapon, @joshi and @philpem@digipres.club
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