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Fox plans to launch a subscription-based streaming service by year-end that will be priced “relatively low” and target those who don't pay for traditional TV — Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch says the SVOD will be priced “relatively low” and target viewers who do not pay for traditional TV
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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.

Elon Musk accused an X user of “a crime” who named federal staff in a post that X then removed—showing what actual government social media censorship looks like — For years, we've watched self-proclaimed “free speech warriors” hyperventilate about imaginary government control of social media content moderation.
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Interesting Engineering, Engadget, Futurism, @judell@social.coop, @elonmusk, Scott Henderson on LinkedIn, @davidaugust@mastodon.online, @jeffpfromnj.bsky.social, @stevesi, @mmasnick.bsky.social, @samfbiddle, @pmarca, @scott@carfree.city, @allgarbled, @jeremiahdjohns, @molly.wiki, @samfbiddle, @cremieuxrecueil, @tracewoodgrains, @jack_raines, Twitchy, Daily Mail and Wired, more at Techmeme »

Alphabet reports YouTube Q4 ad revenue up 14% YoY to $10.47B, vs. $10.23B est., says Google Cloud and YouTube ended 2024 with a $110B annual revenue run rate — YouTube, the internet's biggest streaming video platform, delivered a healthy 13.8% increase in global ad revenue for the year-end 2024 quarter …
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The Wrap, Benzinga, Deadline, Alphabet Inc, Bloomberg, ZeroHedge News, 9to5Google, Forbes and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

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
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Yahoo Finance, Spotify, Bloomberg, @xpangler, Laura Baranowski on LinkedIn, Stuart Coxe on LinkedIn, @adrianweckler, Deadline, Variety, The Wrap, Business Standard, @shacrw_, The Verge, @eldsjal, @thetranscript_, Billboard, Reuters, 9to5Mac, LightShed Partners, @richlightshed, TechCrunch, Fast Company, @gaurib_, RTÉ, @thetranscript_, Seeking Alpha, Music Ally, Telecompaper, CNBC, Irish Independent, Music Business Worldwide, Axios, @spotifynews, @sarafischer, Spotify Technology S.A. and @timsweeneyepic, more at Techmeme »

Ampere predicts streamers will outspend commercial broadcasters on content for the first time in 2025, and overall content spend will rise 0.4% YoY to $248B — For the first time this year the streamers will spend more on content than commercial broadcasters.
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Advanced Television, The Desk, IndieWire, Broadband TV News, Variety, TV Tech, TVNewsCheck and Media Play News
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]
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@1amorey, @nicksologist, @tatecurtis, @davidfolkenflik, @karyncaplan, @blowryontv, @bymeg, @byalexhalverson, @cmarinucci, @alexckaufman, @hearinladotcom, @dilanesper, @jonfranks, @genepark, Poynter, @charlesornstein, @esotouric, @lainaminute, @kateoharewrites, @mirandacgreen, @sahrasulaiman, @saba_h, The Wrap and Deadline

Snap reports Q4 revenue up 14% YoY to $1.56B, vs. $1.33B est., global DAUs up 9%, issues light Q1 guidance, names Ajit Mohan as CBO; SNAP jumps 10%+ after hours — Snap shares jumped in extended trading Tuesday after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.
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Yahoo Finance, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Bloomberg, Reuters, @dcurtis and Associated Press, more at Techmeme »

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 …

Nielsen: the 67th annual Grammys drew 15.4 viewers, down 9% YoY and ending a three-year growth streak; the show aired on CBS and streamed on Paramount+ — The awards show drew 15.4 million people this year, down from nearly 17 million last year. — Viewership for the Grammys slipped …
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Breitbart, Associated Press, Adweek, Variety, RedState, The Wrap, Digital Music News, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter and @lucas_shaw

Mark Zuckerberg says users on Threads can now make their custom feeds public and follow custom feeds made by others — Meta's Threads is doubling down on support for custom feeds as it faces challenges from the growing social network Bluesky, now with over 30 million users, which also offers custom feeds as one of its key features.
Discussion:
@emmyloop@threads.net, The Verge, @zuck@threads.net and Meta

An interview with Axios CEO Jim VandeHei on Donald Trump, why the media ecosystem favors the right, being optimistic about the future, Elon Musk, and more — Jim VandeHei, co-founder of Politico and later Axios, has spent decades at the forefront of political journalism.
Discussion:
@aidnmclaughlin and @johnlcorbett.bsky.social