Top News:

Spotify reports Q4 revenue up 16% YoY to €4.2B, MAUs up 12% YoY to 675M, subscribers up 11% YoY to 263M, and €1.14B in 2024 net income, vs. a €532M loss in 2023 — Price increases, cost discipline help audio-streaming giant pivot from heavy spending on growth to sustained profits
Discussion:
Variety, Reuters, Fast Company, Billboard, The Wrap, Bloomberg, Music Ally, Seeking Alpha, @gaurib_, @richlightshed, LightShed Partners, Deadline, The Verge, Spotify, @thetranscript_, @thetranscript_, @spotifynews, @eldsjal, Music Business Worldwide, Telecompaper, The Independent, 9to5Mac, Business Standard, RTÉ, Irish Independent, Yahoo Finance and Spotify Technology S.A., more at Techmeme »

Fox Corp reports Q2 revenue up 20% YoY to $5.08B, vs. $4.82B est., ad revenue up 21% to $2.4B, driven by political ads, sports, and news, and a $388M net income — The company posted earnings per share of 81 cents and revenue of $5.08 billion in its fiscal second quarter, which ended December 31.
Discussion:
Variety, Adweek, The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, Variety, Reuters, CNBC, Media Play News, Investing.com, Fox Corporation, The Hollywood Reporter, WORLD SCREEN and Associated Press

In a letter to CBS Monday, Sony says it is taking over worldwide distribution of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! on February 10; CBS plans a restraining order — In a letter to CBS Monday, Sony said it has assumed those duties for shows scheduled to start airing the week of Feb. 10.

TED head Chris Anderson announces his intention to step down after 25 years and hand over TED to whoever presents the best idea for its future — In an exclusive interview with WIRED, the British entrepreneur shares why it's time to move on from TED. — For 25 years, Chris Anderson …
Discussion:
TED Conferences, @tedtalks, @johnmsweeney, @stevenlevy, @tedchris and TED Blog

Publics reports FY 2024 net revenue of €13.97B, representing 5.8% organic growth vs. its 5.5% guidance, and expects organic growth of 4% to 5% in 2025 — Publicis (PUBP.PA), the world's largest advertising group by market capitalization, announced on Tuesday it expects organic growth …
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AdNews News, Wall Street Journal, MediaPost, Adweek, Adweek, PRWeek, @publicisgroupe, RTTNews, More About Advertising, GlobeNewswire News Room, Bloomberg, Financial Times, Ad Age and The Drum

Sources: Bill Owens, the head of 60 Minutes, told staff he would not apologize as part of any prospective settlement in a lawsuit brought by Trump against CBS — Bill Owens, the show's executive producer, addressed his staff as CBS's parent company, Paramount, pursues a legal settlement with the president.
Discussion:
Washington Post, TVNewsCheck, Reuters, HuffPost, The Independent, IJR, RedState, @brianstelter, The Wrap, @joshsternberg.com, Fox News, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, Daily Mail, New York Post, CNN and Chicago Tribune
Max Tani / @maxwelltani:
Memo: the Los Angeles Times is offering a voluntary buyout program to all employees who have worked at the paper for at least two years — In an email to staff shared with me, the LA Times says it's offering voluntary buyouts to all staff who have been there for more than two years. [image]
Discussion:
@1amorey, @cmarinucci, @alexckaufman, @dilanesper, @genepark, @charlesornstein, @kateoharewrites, @blowryontv, @hearinladotcom, @byalexhalverson, @nicksologist, @tatecurtis, @davidfolkenflik, @bymeg, @esotouric, @lainaminute, @sahrasulaiman, @jonfranks, @karyncaplan, @saba_h, The Wrap and @mirandacgreen

Nielsen and Paramount settle a monthslong contract dispute with a new agreement that covers both linear and streaming measurement across Paramount's portfolio — The new agreement covers both linear and streaming measurement across Paramount's portfolio. — Nielsen and Paramount have settled a months-long contract dispute.
Discussion:
AdExchanger, Next in Media, Benzinga, WORLD SCREEN, Axios, @whatsonpplus, Media Play News, @nielsen, Deadline, @bradat, @mrschimpf, @kerrymflynn, @jbflint, @bristei, Awful Announcing, TV Tech, TVNewsCheck, Reuters, Radio & Television …, The Wrap and MediaPost

Tegna lays off at least 18 journalists from its national fact-checking team at Verify and directs viewers to its local TV stations where Verify's work continues — Local television broadcaster TEGNA has laid off nearly two dozen journalists who worked on the company's national fact-checking team.
Discussion:
Adweek, Mediaite, @qualityhammer@techhub.social, @thedesk.net, TVNewsCheck and NewscastStudio

The Sun launches The Sun Club, a £1.99-per-month paywall for access to some premium online content, including columnists like Jeremy Clarkson, and other perks — The Sun has launched a limited paywall charging £1.99 per month for access to some premium online content.
Discussion:
The Guardian and The Sun

Tortoise names two co-CEOs: Emma Sullivan, its managing director who helped lead the Observer deal, and Richard Furness, a former Guardian Media Group executive — Tortoise Media has appointed two co-CEOs to lead the business following its acquisition of The Observer.

How California newsrooms are fighting mass deportation rumors: developing toolkits, publishing resource guides, training readers in media literacy, and more — As rumored raids fuel anxiety about mass deportations, outlets are offering resources and debunking falsehoods
Discussion:
@mlnow and @madbair.bsky.social