Mediagazer: YouTube launches a Premium paywall for song lyrics on YouTube Music, after testing it in recent months; users get five free lyrics before they have to subscribe (Abner Li/9to5Google)

7:40 PM ET, February 9, 2026

Top News:

Abner Li / 9to5Google:

YouTube launches genre-specific YouTube TV Plans as lower-cost alternatives to the $82.99 monthly subscription; the Sports Plan is priced at $64.99 per month — After teasing in December, “YouTube TV Plans” are rolling out this week as cheaper alternatives to paying $82.99 per month for over 100 channels.

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

Q&A with YouTube VP of Subscription Products Christian Oestlien on YouTube TV's future, the NFL and Oscars deals, its friendly rivalry with Netflix, and more — YouTube is going to start selling cheaper TV bundles for sports fans, news junkies — Happy Super Bowl Sunday …

Discussion: Awful Announcing, Isha Bhatt on LinkedIn, Sports Business Journal, TheDesk.net, The Athletic, Lucas Shaw on LinkedIn, Variety, Pocket-lint, Cord Cutters News, @matthewkeyslive, @lucas_shaw, The Streamable, @tvgrimreaper, @lucas_shaw and Hunter Walk on LinkedIn, more at Techmeme »

OpenAI:

OpenAI says it has started testing ads in ChatGPT in the US for logged-in adult users on the Free and Go tiers and that the ads do not change ChatGPT answers — Ads that support free access and don't change ChatGPT answers. — Today, we're beginning to test ads in ChatGPT in the U.S …

Madison Mills / Axios:
OpenAI says ads in ChatGPT are not eligible to appear near “sensitive or regulated topics like health, mental health or politics”

Discussion: Mediaweek, The Decoder, The Register, Search Engine Land, The Adobe Blog, 9to5Mac, Moneycontrol, The Mac Observer, The Verge, Tom's Guide, Android Authority and Droid Life, more at Techmeme »

Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:

E. W. Scripps agrees to sell its multicast network Court TV to Law&Crime owner Jellysmack, as it seeks to reduce debt tied to its Ion and Katz acquisitions — The E. W. Scripps Company has agreed to sell its multicast network Court TV to Jellysmack, putting the channel under common ownership …

Discussion: Advanced Television, TVNewsCheck, New York Times, Mediaite, Yahoo Finance, Deadline, Cord Cutters News, Variety and Radio & Television …

Laya Neelakandan / CNBC:

Trump endorses Nexstar's $6.2B acquisition of Tegna, saying “We need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks” — President Donald Trump on Saturday endorsed Nexstar Media's proposed $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna, just months after criticizing the deal.

Discussion: @realDonaldTrump …, Awful Announcing, @darrigomelanie, @proggrrl.bsky.social, @kyleclark, @kyleclark, @claireatki, @brianstelter, @kelliemeyernews, @mediaevan, @matthewkeyslive, MediaPost and TV Tech

Valida Pau / The Information:

Beast Industries, the entertainment conglomerate founded by MrBeast and last valued at $5.2B, acquires Step Mobile, a teen-focused banking app — Beast Industries, the entertainment conglomerate founded by Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson, has agreed to buy Step Mobile, a teen-focused banking app, the companies plan to announce Monday.

Discussion: TechCrunch, @mrbeast, Tubefilter, Forbes, Capital Brief, The Verge, Dexerto, @alexisohanian, @fundstrat, Business Insider, @chamath, Inc.com and @pitdesi, more at Techmeme »

Abner Li / 9to5Google:

YouTube launches a Premium paywall for song lyrics on YouTube Music, after testing it in recent months; users get five free lyrics before they have to subscribe — After testing in recent months, YouTube Music looks to be widely rolling out a Premium paywall for lyrics.

K.J. Yossman / Variety:

HBO Max is set to launch in the UK and Ireland on March 26, with ad-supported tiers costing £4.99 or £5.99 per month and ad-free at £9.99 or £14.99 per month — HBO Max has finally set the launch date for the rollout of its standalone streaming service in the U.K. and Ireland.

Jordy Fee-Platt / The Athletic:

Turning Point USA's All-American Halftime Show during the Super Bowl peaked at 6.1M concurrent YouTube viewers; the show wasn't on X due to licensing issues — Share full article — Streamed opposite Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime performance, Turning Point USA's “All-American Halftime Show” …

Discussion: @tpusa, The Wrap, CBS News, @mrserikakirk, The Ringer, Washington Examiner, TV Insider, The Huntington News, Media Play News, Billboard, Cape Cod Times, USA Today, Consequence, San Francisco Chronicle, Advocate, NewsMax.com, Plain Dealer, New Jersey Online, The A.V. Club, Decider, @bubbaprog.xyz, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Independent, The Daily Signal, @esjesjesj, Us Weekly, Garbage Day, @jefftopolski, The Atlantic, @jaredlholt, So What, @kalkail.bsky.social, Digital Music News, @seanmdav, Salon, @jackson61689330, National Enquirer, The Hill, @kid_riles, @artwithinpod, @blueatlgeorgia, Fast Company, @peakingtruth, @jamiebonkiewicz, @uwebollocks, @secwar, @themainewonk, ZeroHedge News, New York Daily News, Suggest, Blaze Media, BizPac Review, @mindcite.bsky.social, Daily Mail, Deseret News, Rolling Stone, The Daily Wire, WXIA-TV, Vanity Fair, HuffPost, The Gateway Pundit, Fox News, The Sun, Screen Rant, IJR, Variety, Front Office Sports and Raw Story

Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
A look at the 2026 Super Bowl ads from Anthropic, Meta, Amazon, Google, and others, as AI continued to take center stage in ad creation and AI product promotion

Scott Feinberg / The Hollywood Reporter:

The Academy will no longer show Oscar-nominated films to members on big screens after the screenings drew “an average of five members” over the last years — The organization says its post-nominations screenings, which reportedly cost thousands of dollars a pop, drew …

Discussion: Mediaweek

Max Tani / Semafor:

Source: WaPo planned a marketing campaign with a new slogan, We The People, but dropped it after MS Now launched a $20M brand campaign with the same slogan — THE SCOOP — Late last year, before The Washington Post slashed its staff and ousted its CEO, the paper was looking to rehabilitate its public image.

Discussion: America, America, @semaforben, @maxtani.bsky.social, Tangle, @maxwelltani and Fox News

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

UK's weekly street newspaper Big Issue makes its two top digital editors redundant as part of a “difficult but necessary” restructure of the organization — Digital editor and deputy both departing. — Weekly street newspaper Big Issue has made its two top digital editors redundant …

Discussion: HoldtheFrontPage

Sean James / Mediaite:

Dan Bongino returns to Fox News tonight as a contributor following his stint as the deputy director of the FBI, starting with Sean Hannity's show — Dan Bongino is heading back to cable news. — Bongino is returning to Fox News as a contributor following his nearly-one-year-long stint …

Discussion: The Wrap, Variety, The Hill, Newsweek, @scottnover and @grynbaum

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Brian Steinberg / Variety:
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Tony Maglio / The Hollywood Reporter:
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Pamela McClintock / The Hollywood Reporter:
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Paul Farhi / @farhip:
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Alexandra Alter / New York Times:
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Reuters:
A Hong Kong court sentences the 78-year-old Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison over national security charges, ending a five-year legal saga

Discussion: Press Gazette, Reason, Asia Times, France 24, CNN, Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, Washington Examiner, PBS NewsHour, The Daily Wire, @timothy_stanley, Associated Press, NewsMax.com, The Guardian, @madnesswatcher, @catherinewest1, @krislc, @melissakchan, @torymemo82, @yvettecoopermp, @pritipatel, @senatorwong, @madz_grant, Human Events, @hkfp, @declanganley, Washington Post, @laiyanhoeric, @chloeclonews, Courthouse News Service, The Free Press, Al Jazeera, The Hill, The National Pulse, BBC, @johnsimpsonnews, @fcdogovuk, @lukedepulford, Gamereactor UK, @aliciakearns, @ipacglobal, New York Sun, Daily Caller News Foundation, @kenroth, Le Monde, @nickkristof, @frances_hui, @samuelmchu, @senrickscott, @chinaselect, The Federalist, @dominictsz, OCCRP, @kevinkfyam, New York Times, @shibanimahtani, Australian Government …, @bariweiss, @theblackhorse65, @pressfreedom, @frances_hui, Daily Star, Modern Diplomacy, Metro.co.uk, The Week, United States Department …, The Indian Express, The Sun, Semafor, IWCP Online, CBS News, Reporters Without Borders, Wall Street Journal, RTÉ, UPI, Reuters, Kyodo News, CNBC, Bloomberg, Amnesty International, Committee to Protect … and Financial Times

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