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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:
TechCrunch, Variety, Bloomberg, Reuters, Spotify, Fast Company, Billboard, The Wrap, Axios, CNBC, @sarafischer, @adrianweckler, @gaurib_, @richlightshed, LightShed Partners, Music Ally, Seeking Alpha, Deadline, @thetranscript_, @thetranscript_, @spotifynews, @eldsjal, Music Business Worldwide, Telecompaper, The Verge, Irish Independent, 9to5Mac, Business Standard, RTÉ, The Independent, Spotify Technology S.A. and Yahoo Finance, 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:
The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, Variety, Reuters, The Hollywood Reporter, @tvgrimreaper, @noahziegler, @jbflint, @jbflint, Investing.com, Fox Corporation, WORLD SCREEN and Associated Press
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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

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.
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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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

WBD names long-time executives Ryan Gould and Robert Voltaggio as co-presidents of US advertising sales, succeeding Jon Steinlauf effective immediately — Ryan Gould and Robert Voltaggio, two senior sales executives who have worked at the media conglomerate for more than a decade …
Discussion:
The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, Ad Age, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter

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 …
Discussion:
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, Reuters, TVNewsCheck, The Independent, HuffPost, IJR, RedState, @brianstelter, The Wrap, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @joshsternberg.com, Fox News, Daily Mail, New York Post and CNN

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, TVNewsCheck, @thedesk.net 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

Toronto-based programmatic ad startup StackAdapt raised $235M led by Teachers' Venture Growth, after raising $300M from Summit Partners in 2022 — While the U.S. and Canada duke it out over tariffs between the two countries, a tech company based out of Toronto is announcing a major round of funding led by a homegrown VC.
Discussion:
Axios and Globe and Mail, more at Techmeme »