Top News:
Jonathan Vanian / CNBC:
Adam Presser, previously TikTok's head of operations and trust and safety, will be the CEO of TikTok USDS Joint Venture; TikTok CEO Shou Chew will be a director — TikTok said Thursday that it formed a joint venture that will keep the video-sharing app operating in the United States.
Discussion:
TikTok, CBC News and Deadline, more at Techmeme »
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New York Times:
ByteDance strikes a deal with a group of non-Chinese investors to create a new TikTok US entity and avoid a federal ban, concluding a six-year legal saga — TikTok said on Thursday that its Chinese owner, ByteDance, had struck a deal with a group of non-Chinese investors to create a new U.S. TikTok …
Discussion:
Reuters, Billboard, TheDesk.net, The Wrap, CNN, The Register, Sky News, WebProNews, Washington Examiner, HotAir, Dow Jones Newswires, Barron's Online, The Hill, South China Morning Post, NZ Herald, Financial Times, The Pendragon Cycle, Times Now, Gizmodo, AppleInsider, Social Media Today, Paste, Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg, Search Engine Journal, Firstpost, The Verge, Cord Cutters News, NBC Bay Area, ABC News, Just The News, @evacide@hachyderm.io, @normative.bsky.social, @solfleet.bsky.social, @bft.wtf, Business Insider, Politico, NBC News, Slate, CBS News, LEX 18 News, WATN, @philplait.bsky.social, @alanrozenshtein.com, Fox Business, Newsmax, TechCrunch, Investing.com, Benzinga, Hypebot, Yahoo Finance, Crypto Briefing, Semafor, Bloomberg Law, The Independent and Digital Music News, more at Techmeme »
Financial Times:
TikTok's new majority US-owned JV includes investors Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi's MGX, each holding 15%, and Dell Family Office; ByteDance retains 19.9% — Video app launches US joint venture with American investors to enact deal criticised by China hawks
Discussion:
New York Times, ABC, ANI News, SiliconANGLE, Livemint, The Hollywood Reporter, The National, iPhone in Canada and Sherwood News
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Source: the TikTok US deal values it at just around $14B; TikTok's US entity makes roughly $14B annually in advertising revenues alone, per analyst estimates
Source: the TikTok US deal values it at just around $14B; TikTok's US entity makes roughly $14B annually in advertising revenues alone, per analyst estimates
Discussion:
New York Times, Variety, Agence France-Presse, Times of India, The Information, Reuters and Politico, more at Techmeme »
Zach Taylor / On Substack:
Substack launches its Substack TV app for Apple TV and Google TV in beta for free and paid subscribers, with access matched to their current subscription levels — Today we're launching the Substack TV app for Apple TV and Google TV. Substack is the home for the best longform …
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Analysis: among the top 50 news websites in the US and the UK, 34% blocked all major AI training bots; 14%, including Fox and Substack, allowed access to all — Almost eight in ten of the biggest news websites in the UK and US are now blocking AI training bots.
Discussion:
Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, MediaPost, @pressgazette.co.uk and Search Engine Journal
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
British podcasters like Steven Bartlett of The Diary of a CEO are adopting various strategies, including moving to the US, to break into the larger US market — Most of the top podcasts in the UK have yet to hit the same levels of popularity in the US — Welcome back to Soundbite.
Mia Galuppo / The Hollywood Reporter:
AMC Networks' Sundance Now rebrands from offering scripted TV to airing indie film and festival titles, for $7.99/month, as this year's Sundance Festival begins — AMC Networks runs the shingle that previously had scripted TV offerings. — As the Sundance Film Festival gets started …
Discussion:
The Wrap, @thispersonstinks.bsky.social, Courtney Thomasma on LinkedIn, IndieWire and AMC Networks Inc.
Bloomberg:
Sources: Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and WBD Chief Strategy Officer Bruce Campbell plan to testify in February at a US Senate committee hearing on the WBD sale — Netflix Inc. co-Chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos is planning to testify in February at a US Senate committee hearing looking …
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, Reuters and Telecompaper
Lucy Schiller / Columbia Journalism Review:
Lawyers for NPR and three Colorado public radio stations, alongside others, discuss the outlets' 1A lawsuit against the Trump administration for stopping funds — “It isn't just an affront to localism. It's an attempt to reengineer thought.” — “If the fire comes to the neighborhood …
Discussion:
@columjournreview.bsky.social, @joshshepperd.bsky.social and Inside Radio
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Q&A with Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters on Netflix's stock roller coaster, viewer engagement, ads, the WBD acquisition, regulation, competition, Hollywood, and more — This week's Stratechery Interview is with Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters. Peters became co-CEO of Netflix in 2023 …
Discussion:
Marketing Brew
Tom Jones / Poynter:
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied that Trump mixed up Iceland and Greenland in his WEF speech, despite video evidence — During a speech, Trump repeatedly referred to Iceland while talking about Greenland. Then the press secretary denied what the video plainly shows.
Discussion:
@presssec, @libbeydean_, @atrupar, @jamessurowiecki, Reality Tea, Mediaite, The Daily Beast, RADAR, MS NOW, @micah_erfan, @p_kallioniemi, @deanobeidallah, @allenanalysis, @atrupar, @grok, @allenanalysis, MeidasTouch News, HuffPost, New Republic, Mashable, New York Times, New Republic, The Independent, The Hill, USA Today, International Business Times, Mirror, The Wrap, The Intercept, 9News, People, Entertainment Weekly, WUSA, Baller Alert, The Boston Globe, New Jersey Online, Raw Story and IJR
Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:
AMC Networks says Chief Financial Officer Patrick O'Connell will depart the company in March to “pursue an opportunity outside of the media industry” — AMC Networks says its Chief Financial Officer Patrick O'Connell will depart the company in March.
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline
Deadline:
A breakdown of 2026 Oscars nominations by movie and studio: WBD leads with 30 nominations, tying its own record, Neon gets 18, Netflix earns 16, Apple gets 6 — Sinners is up for Best Picture, Actor Michael B. Jordan, Supporting Actress Wunmi Mosaku, Supporting Actor Delroy Lindo …
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Clayton Davis / Variety:
Ryan Coogler's Sinners breaks the Academy Awards' nomination record with 16 nominations, surpassing the previous record of 14, held by three films
Ryan Coogler's Sinners breaks the Academy Awards' nomination record with 16 nominations, surpassing the previous record of 14, held by three films
Discussion:
Variety, Paste, The Guardian, Gizmodo, Gold Derby, Times Now, The Wrap, Mashable, W, AllHipHop, Benzinga, Elle, Decider, Awful Announcing, Deadline, HOLA!, San Francisco Chronicle, Capital B News, NPR, Vanity Fair, Offscreen Central, Screen, Consequence, Tom's Guide, Patrick Mulhearn on LinkedIn, Screen Rant, Entertainment Weekly, Slate, El País, Inverse, Queerty, Chloe Chudasama on LinkedIn, People, Forbes, MacRumors, LaineyGossip, Axios, Bossip, PinkNews, Adweek, Kotaku, The Indian Express, FemaleFirst, Essence, Comic Book, Dread Central, The Oaklandside, Mercury News, Marin Independent Journal, New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Global News, @hunterwalk.com, New Republic, TV Insider, Dexerto, CBC News, Associated Press, Rolling Stone, ABC, Page Six and Collider
