Top News:

Sources: Comcast plans to announce Wednesday that it will be spinning off its NBCUniversal cable TV networks including MSNBC and CNBC, with Mark Lazarus as CEO — New venture will house channels like E!, USA and MSNBC; company to announce several leadership changes
Discussion:
Axios, Fortune, Bloomberg, @timkarr.bsky.social, Stephanie Smith on LinkedIn, Financial Times, @brianstelter, The Information, @great_katzby, Reuters, Matthew Keys on LinkedIn, NBC News, @sallyshin, @asharma, @tvgrimreaper, @asharma, Awful Announcing, Cord Cutters News, Status, @asharma, Business Insider, The Hill, The Desk, Deadline, Los Angeles Times, Ad Age, The Hollywood Reporter, Dan Rayburn on LinkedIn, The Wrap, Media Play News, Benzinga, CNN, @amolsharma.bsky.social, Variety, CNBC, @amolsharma.bsky.social and TVNewsCheck

Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai testifies for the first time in his years-long national security trial; he is already serving a jail term for a fraud conviction — Former Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai began testifying Wednesday in his landmark national security trial that is widely seen …

The Economist, The Week, ITV News, and others have joined Bluesky in the past week, while Politico, Semafor, Tortoise have resumed their activity on the site — A wave of news publishers have arrived on Bluesky in recent days, following audiences and journalists departing X/Twitter.
Discussion:
Hindustan Times, @handle.invalid and @johnspurlock.com
RELATED:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Bluesky says it now has 20M+ users after hitting 15M on November 13, and the app has been #1 in the US App Store since November 13, per Appfigures
Bluesky says it now has 20M+ users after hitting 15M on November 13, and the app has been #1 in the US App Store since November 13, per Appfigures
Discussion:
The Independent, Engadget, @randfish.bsky.social, @jaz.bsky.social, @bryanruby.com, The Hollywood Reporter, @Tibor@mastodon.social, Similarweb, Washington Times, @gordonshorten.bsky.social, @jburnmurdoch.bsky.social, @jburnmurdoch.bsky.social, @lif3asmaj.bsky.social, @tkaz99.bsky.social, @willoremus@threads.net, @mosseri@threads.net, @aarnegranlund.bsky.social, @henrymance.bsky.social, @timboard.bsky.social, @nachristakis.bsky.social, @evankirstel.bsky.social, @johnspurlock.com, @conorsen.bsky.social, @jay.bsky.team, @o.simardcasanova.net, @keithedwards.bsky.social, @oremus.bsky.social, theJasmineBRAND, @paleofuture.bsky.social, The Irish Times, Business Insider and Forbes, more at Techmeme »

A profile of The Green Line, a Toronto-based local news site that combines traditional reporting, community events, and solutions and action — The Green Line combines events, explainers, and solutions to appeal to young Torontonians. — Toronto-based local news site The Green Line …
Discussion:
@carolynjack, @tassosmorfis and @niemanlab

Brendan Carr says Trump's complaint over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris is “likely to arise” in the FCC's review of the Skydance-Paramount deal — In an interview with Fox News' America's Newsroom, Carr said, “Broadcasters are differently situated to other speakers.
Discussion:
Fox News, The Daily Beast, Bloomberg, New York Post, Mediaite, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter and TVNewsCheck

Google tightens its rules against “parasite SEO” content, or articles that have little to do with the website's focus, after cracking down on “reputation abuse” — Google is tightening its rules against “parasite SEO” content, or articles and pages that often have little …
Discussion:
MEDIANAMA, CNET and San Francisco Examiner, more at Techmeme »

Substack wants writers to call their work by its brand name because “they control your audience and distribution” and “want to own your content and voice” — Email's been here for years. But the reason Substack wants you to call your creative work by their brand name …
Discussion:
Observer

A Brooklyn federal grand jury indicts two brothers over allegedly running illegal sports streaming service 247TVStream, offering live NFL, NBA, and NHL games — “Thanks to the work of our prosecutors, along with our domestic and international law enforcement partners, the illicit digital streaming site …
Discussion:
The Desk and US Department of Justice

A lawsuit against Netflix and Meta claims the two made a deal where Meta scaled back original video programming in trade for Netflix data and ad spending — The proposed class action points to Meta's streaming ambitions with Facebook Watch, whose original programming division shuttered last year.
Sean Burch / The Wrap:
Statement: Jay Penske says The Hollywood Reporter has replaced co-EIC Nekesa Mumbi Moody with Shirley Halperin, following staff cuts in June and August 2024 — Halperin recently resigned as editor of Los Angeles Magazine — The Hollywood Reporter replaced co-editor-in-chief Nekesa Mumbi Moody …
Discussion:
Associated Press, TVNewsCheck, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters and Talking Biz News

ProRata.ai agrees licensing deals with Daily Mail-owner DMG Media, the Guardian, Sky News, and others; sources say DMG bought a stake that values it at ~$130M — Groups including Guardian and Daily Mail agree licensing deals to ensure payment for content — ProRata.ai, a US artificial …
Discussion:
Press Gazette, The Hollywood Reporter and @davidgrayrhodes

Trump Media now has a ~$7B market cap despite struggling to build a profitable revenue stream; Similarweb says site visits fell 20% MoM to 10M in October 2024 — Trump Media & Technology Group's revenue and share price have sagged as its losses have piled up.

Filings: The Onion's Infowars bid was $7M, including backing from Sandy Hook families and $1.75M in cash; Alex Jones-linked First United's bid was $3.5M in cash — A hearing is scheduled for Monday to review the auction process, which is being contested by a losing bidder associated with Alex Jones, the Infowars founder.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, @benmullin.bsky.social, Politico and Business Insider
RELATED:
Aaron Katersky / ABC News:
Filing: Alex Jones asks a judge to halt the sale of Infowars; a company affiliated with him, which was the losing bidder, seeks to disqualify The Onion's bid
Filing: Alex Jones asks a judge to halt the sale of Infowars; a company affiliated with him, which was the losing bidder, seeks to disqualify The Onion's bid
Discussion:
NPR, Raw Story, Newser, The Desk, @benmullin, Austin American-Statesman, @passantino@threads.net, CNN, Bloomberg Law, Associated Press, Reuters and New Republic