Mediagazer: Source: The Washington Post shut down its FAST channel earlier in March, after originally launching it on Amazon's free streaming platform Freevee in May 2023 (Matthew Keys/The Desk)

Sources: Apple TV+ is losing $1B+ annually even as its subscriptions grew to ~45M in 2024; source: Apple has spent $5B+ per year on content since its 2019 debut — Last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook had questions about several pricey movie deals executives of Apple TV+, the company's video-streaming service …

Hannah Miller / Bloomberg:

Antenna: Apple TV+ gained ~3M subscribers in January, when Severance Season 2 came out, up 8% from December and more than any other streamer except Paramount+ — The show about the fictional Lumon Industries has become a cultural phenomenon. Will that translate into lasting subscriber growth?

Discussion: Inverse, @tvgrimreaper, CNET, @loudmouthjulia and UPROXX

Oliver Darcy / Status:

Sources: Axel Springer board member Martin Varsavsky criticizing Politico's Gaza coverage did not sit well with many of its journalists, who he called “woke” — An Axel Springer board member attacked POLITICO and its “woke” reporters, igniting internal backlash and spotlighting …

Discussion: @ryangrim, @ciarannugent, @heerjeet, @hasanthehun, @martinvars, @seamus_malek, @mattlech, @karaswisher.bsky.social, @oliverdarcy.bsky.social, The Independent and Jewish Insider

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Bluesky says it is now sending referral traffic through its “go” subdomain to make it easier for publishers to track the traffic coming from the social network — Social network Bluesky, an open source X rival, has made a change that will allow publishers to better track …

Discussion: CNET, @emilyliu.me and The Media Leader, more at Techmeme »

Steven J. Horowitz / Variety:

US prosecutors charge former Eminem employee Joseph Strange with allegedly stealing and selling unreleased Eminem music that leaked online in January 2025 — A man has been charged with stealing and selling unreleased Eminem music that leaked to the web earlier this year.

Discussion: US Department of Justice, Los Angeles Times, thesource.com, NME, Detroit Free Press, The Indian Express, AM 800 CKLW, UPROXX, @shadyfenty_, @marshydafox, Digital Music News, Rolling Stone, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, KDFX-TV and Associated Press

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Disney shareholders overwhelmingly reject a proposal for Disney to cease participation in the Human Rights Campaign's annual LGBTQ Corporate Equality Index — Disney investors on Thursday voted down a proposal that the entertainment giant cease its participation in a prominent LGBTQ rights organization's equality ratings program.

Discussion: Reuters and Business Insider

Reuters:

X sues Narendra Modi's government in New Delhi, saying its IT ministry has unlawfully expanded censorship powers to allow the easier removal of online content — India's IT ministry has unlawfully expanded censorship powers to allow the easier removal of online content and empowered …

Discussion: TechCrunch, The Economic Times, NDTV, Moneycontrol, @palle.bsky.social, @michaelbishop.me, @tarzan1946.bsky.social, India Today, Press Trust of India, Bloomberg and Rick Wilson's Intel …, more at Techmeme »

Matthew Keys / The Desk:

Source: The Washington Post shut down its FAST channel earlier in March, after originally launching it on Amazon's free streaming platform Freevee in May 2023 — The Washington Post has thrown in the towel on its streaming television aspirations. — The newspaper shut down its free …

Discussion: MediaPost, @webbarr and TVNewsCheck

Kylie Robison / The Verge:

Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy says the Disney+ show's scripts will not be released as planned, due to fears that they could be used as AI training data — Tony Gilroy doesn't want his work to become training data. … Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy told Collider he has killed plans to publish …

Discussion: Collider, @ednewtonrex, @sarahsyd8, @camandfilm, @ben_eales, Variety and @manuclearbomb.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »

Reuters:

Sources: Axel Springer is considering a sale of its affiliate marketing unit Awin, which could be worth ~$436M — German media group Axel Springer is considering a sale of its affiliate marketing unit Awin, according to three people familiar with the matter, following the planned break-up its owners agreed last year.

Discussion: MediaPost

Harrison Smith / Washington Post:

Jeffrey Klein, who co-founded Mother Jones in 1976 and served as its editor-in-chief from 1992 to 1998, died on March 13 at age 77 — He helped launch the muckraking magazine in 1976, steered it into the digital age and oversaw coverage of political corruption and corporate malfeasance. — Just now

Discussion: @ericalterman.bsky.social and @davidcorndc

Financial Times:

Sources detail how Jeff Bezos making peace with Trump has stunned WaPo's newsroom, which has seen at least a dozen seasoned journalists leave for competitors — In the past year, the Amazon founder has executed a sharp public reversal in his relationship with the president that has surprised even longtime associates

Discussion: Ars Technica, more at Techmeme »