Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Memo: Paramount starts layoffs to reduce costs; sources say ~800 employees, or an estimated 3% of its headcount, are getting cut across all divisions — Paramount Global, amid a swirl of M&A discussions, is laying off about 800 employees worldwide — an estimated 3% of its headcount — as it looks to trim costs.
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Selome Hailu / Variety:
Nielsen and Adobe Analytics: Super Bowl 2024 averaged 123.4M viewers across CBS and streaming services, making the game the most-watched US telecast ever — The Feb. 11 Super Bowl game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers brought in an average of 123.4 million viewers …
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CNN, Fast Company, CNN, Deadline, HuffPost, Vanity Fair, Billboard, IndieWire, VIBE.com, The Hollywood Reporter, @cbssportsgang, Bleacher Report, New York Times, Andrew Steinberg on LinkedIn, Paramount Press Express, Poynter, @deggans, Financial Times, Mediaite, Adweek, @claytravis, Dr Rochelle Parks-Yancy on LinkedIn, Awful Announcing, Sports Media Watch, Los Angeles Times, CNBC, The Wrap, TVLine, Reuters, Decider, GoldDerby, Wall Street Journal and Fox Business, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Memo: SiriusXM plans to cut ~160 jobs, or ~3% of its workforce, after laying off 475 employees, or ~8% of its workforce, in March 2023 — SiriusXM is eliminating about 160 jobs, a move to cut expenses that represents a layoff affecting just under 3% of the satellite radio and audio streamer's workforce.
John Archer / Forbes:
Amazon Prime Video's basic ad tier, which US subscribers who didn't pay extra were downgraded to on January 29, doesn't support Dolby Vision HDR or Dolby Atmos — Amazon AMZN caused a furor recently when it announced that it was introducing advertisements right across its Prime Video streaming service.
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Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
Interviews with the four co-founders of 404 Media, who each own 25% of the tech news outlet, which they say is profitable six months after launch — “Owning our own work, and being beholden to no one but our readers and colleagues — as opposed to say, investors, venture capitalists …
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
Q&A with Marc Jury, the CEO of African streamer Showmax, on doubling down on originals, working with Comcast, the appeal of the English Premier League, and more — Marc Jury discusses the appeal of the English Premier League, the challenges of serving 44 markets across sub-Saharan Africa …
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Broadband TV News
Reuters:
Thai police arrest journalists Nattaphol Meksobhon and Nattaphon Phanphongsanon over a story on an activist spray painting an anarchist symbol on a temple — Two Thai journalists have been arrested for their story about an activist spray painting an anarchist symbol and a symbol critical of …
Chris Vallance / BBC:
The BBC says its iPlayer streaming service will stop supporting PC and Mac program downloads in March 2024, citing cost and low usage, but mobile is unaffected — The BBC's iPlayer streaming service is to end downloads for users who watch on desktop or laptop computers.
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Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
A look at the Fox, Disney, and WBD venture to create a sports streaming service, which will include live feeds of channels like ESPN and TNT — Watching sports has never been more complicated or expensive. It's going to get worse before it gets better. — Good morning from Los Angeles.
Discussion:
The Verge, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw and The Streamable
Max Tani / Semafor:
Slate says 2023 was the most profitable year in its 27 year history, with revenue up 28% YoY through investments and growth in its podcasts and website — The Scoop — Amid a difficult year for news media last year, at least one legacy digital media company has quietly been moving the other direction.
Peter Beaumont / The Guardian:
Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail Abu Omar and photojournalist Ahmad Matar were seriously injured during an Israeli airstrike on northern Rafah in the Gaza Strip — Correspondent Ismail Abu Omar and photojournalist Ahmad Matar allegedly targeted by IDF — An Al Jazeera correspondent …
Discussion:
Committee to Protect … and Al Jazeera
Nilay Patel / The Verge:
Q&A with the US DOJ's Jonathan Kanter on Google's ad tech and search cases, media consolidation, blocking Penguin's merger with Simon & Schuster, and more — The assistant attorney general says “the resonance these issues have is something that I've never witnessed in my lifetime.”
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