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3:55 PM ET, February 20, 2025

Mediagazer

 Top News: 
Justin Kroll / Deadline:
Amazon MGM Studios, Michael G. Wilson, and Barbara Broccoli form a JV to house James Bond IP rights, under which Amazon gains creative control of the franchise  —  In news that will send shock waves through the industry, longtime James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli …
Oliver Darcy / Status:
40 news organizations signed a letter delivered to the White House this week, asking the White House to lift its AP ban immediately in support of press freedom  —  News outlets across the political spectrum have united behind the AP, signing a WHCA-backed letter urging the White House …
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
YouTube plans a premium lite tier in the US, Australia, Germany, and Thailand, offering podcasts and how-to clips without ads; music videos will have ads  —  - The service will continue to put ads in music videos  — The tier will launch in areas that include the US, Australia
Financial Times:
Mathias Döpfner calls Trump's Politico attacks a “misunderstanding” and says many Europeans had “intentionally misunderstood” JD Vance's speech in Munich  —  Mathias Döpfner says many Europeans had ‘intentionally misunderstood’ the US vice-president's speech that caused widespread horror
Matt Novak / Gizmodo:
Elon Musk says he will “fix” Community Notes as they are “increasingly being gamed by governments & legacy media”, after disagreeing with notes about Ukraine  —  The billionaire has a history of manipulating X to fit his far-right worldview.
Nellie Andreeva / Deadline:
Apple says Severance has become the most-viewed series on Apple TV+ globally, surpassing Ted Lasso; the series also helped bump subscription signups in January  —  According to the streamer, Severance has broken Apple TV+ records, launching as the platform's #1 series in history based on number …
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
A+E Networks launches a digital division to unify its digital efforts, including YouTube channels and SVOD platforms, and plans a History.com relaunch  —  Ann McGowan will join the company as its digital GM, with a relaunch of History.com as the first big project.
Discussion: Adweek, Variety, The Wrap and WORLD SCREEN
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Spotify begins accepting AI-narrated audiobooks recorded using ElevenLabs' software; Spotify already allows AI-recorded audiobooks, with several restrictions  —  A new ElevenLabs partnership aims to help authors bring AI-narrated audiobooks to Spotify listeners.
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: ESPN plans to add some user-generated content to its flagship streaming service, which will debut later in 2025 and could be priced at $25 or $30/month  —  In an attempt to court younger audiences, Disney's ESPN is planning to add some user-generated content to its yet …
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Substack adds the ability to post videos from its app and lets creators monetize videos, and plans to add more video tools like trimming and enhanced analytics  —  As TikTok's future in the U.S. remains uncertain, Substack tries to lure creators to its platform by doubling down on video.
Discussion: TVNewsCheck and On Substack
 
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 More News: 
Michel Rose / Reuters:
A French court upholds TV channel C8's shutdown for failures to protect human rights and protect minors, as right-wing politicians claim a free speech violation
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Gallery Media Group says it made $50M in 2024 revenue from its women's media title PureWow and 50+ social-only brands on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
Netflix commits to invest $1B in Mexico for the production of series and films over the next four years, including $2M for the iconic Churubusco Studios
Wired:
Investigation: Google's Display & Video 360 ad platform openly serves up sensitive information about Americans, despite Google's rules against such practices
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Twitch plans to implement a 100-hour storage cap for Highlights and Uploads from April 19, automatically deleting content from streamers who exceed the limit
 Earlier Picks: 
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
A US federal judge declined to dismiss an investor lawsuit alleging Bob Chapek aimed to hide Disney+ costs and make forecasts it would be profitable by 2024
Discussion: TVNewsCheck
Deadline:
The BBC added a clarification to its documentary Gaza: How To Survive a Warzone and apologized, after failing to declare the narrator was a Hamas leader's son
Suzanne Vranica / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: top X executives hinted to Interpublic and other ad firms that not spending on X could lead to legal woes, due to X's lawsuit against some advertisers
Michael Levenson / New York Times:
A Mississippi judge has ordered a local newspaper to remove an editorial criticizing Clarksdale city officials; the paper's owner plans to challenge the order
 

 
From Techmeme:

Fransiska Nangoy / Reuters:
Indonesia temporarily blocks Grok, citing the risk of non-consensual sexual deepfakes, becoming the first country to block the AI tool

Jackson Chen / Engadget:
Malwarebytes: a 2024 Instagram data breach exposed information on 17.5 million users, including emails, phone numbers, and physical addresses

Microsoft Corporate Responsibility:
A look at the global AI adoption in 2025; use in the global north grew nearly twice as fast as the south; the UAE leads with 64% of working-age adults using AI
 
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