A Brooklyn federal grand jury indicts two brothers over allegedly running illegal sports streaming service 247TVStream, offering live NFL, NBA, and NHL games (Amanda Gerut/Fortune)

Mediagazer: A Brooklyn federal grand jury indicts two brothers over allegedly running illegal sports streaming service 247TVStream, offering live NFL, NBA, and NHL games (Amanda Gerut/Fortune)

Top News:

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Comcast plans to announce Wednesday that it will be spinning off its NBCUniversal cable TV networks including MSNBC and CNBC, with Mark Lazarus as CEO— New venture will house channels like E!, USA and MSNBC; company to announce several leadership changes
Discussion: Axios, Bloomberg, Benzinga, Financial Times, @brianstelter, The Information, CNBC, @great_katzby, @amolsharma.bsky.social, The Desk, Reuters, Matthew Keys on LinkedIn, NBC News, Dan Rayburn on LinkedIn, @sallyshin, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, Variety, @asharma, @tvgrimreaper, @asharma, CNN, Awful Announcing, @amolsharma.bsky.social, Cord Cutters News, The Hollywood Reporter, Status, @asharma, Deadline, Business Insider, The Hill, Ad Age, Media Play News and TVNewsCheck

Discussion:

Sara Fischer /
Axios: Comcast plans to spin off NBCU's cable channels

Christopher Palmeri /
Bloomberg: Comcast to Spin Off Cable-TV Channels Like MSNBC, USA

Kaustubh Bagalkote /
Benzinga: Comcast Plans Major Cable Networks Spinoff, MSNBC And CNBC To Form New Public Company: Report

Brian Stelter /
@brianstelter: A Comcast executive confirms to CNN that the full plan for spinning off NBCUniversal's cable channels will be unveiled tomorrow morning. Notably, the plan calls for MSNBC and CNBC to be cleaved off from NBC News. More to come...

Brandon Katz /
@great_katzby: -Short-term pain of sacrificing bulk of cable cash flow (minus Bravo) for long term growth emphasis/investor confidence narrative -Redirect resources to ongoing theme park expansion and streaming -Keep Donna Langley happy in-house as Disney sniffs around for a CEO successor

Amol Sharma /
@amolsharma.bsky.social: For people unfamiliar with deal mumbo jumbo: Comcast's existing shareholders will own this cable firm that gets spun off. It isn't being sold to someone else — yet — but over time, investors or potential buyers could approach the new company. [embedded post]

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: Comcast expected to announce spin-off of cable networks

Matthew Keys /
Matthew Keys on LinkedIn: Interesting that Comcast is choosing to hold onto Bravo and NBC. NBC News: Comcast to announce the spinoff of cable networks, including MSNBC, CNBC and USA, sources say

Dan Rayburn /
Dan Rayburn on LinkedIn: Comcast has finalized its decision to spin out its NBCU cable assets, and according to the WSJ, an announcement could come on Wednesday. …

Sally Shin /
@sallyshin: they kept bravo 😂

Brian Steinberg /
Variety: Comcast Plans Massive Cable Spin-Off, Separating USA, MSNBC and More From NBC, Theme Parks

Amol Sharma /
@asharma: 3) NBCU veteran Mark Lazarus will head to the new cable venture as CEO, and will take NBCU CFO Anand Kini with him (Kini will become CFO and COO of the new firm).

Amol Sharma /
@asharma: Some significant leadership changes at NBCU, effective immediately: 1) Donna Langley will become chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios, gaining streamlined greenlight authority and more financial visibility/control than she's had previously, sources say.

Brian Stelter /
CNN: Comcast to spin off its cable channels, including MSNBC and CNBC, into separate company

Amol Sharma /
@amolsharma.bsky.social: Comcast once regarded its cable group—with channels like USA, MSNBC, E! and Oxygen—as a crown jewel. Now it's spinning off nearly all of them into a $7 billion venture. The announcement is coming tomorrow, I'm told. www.wsj.com/business/med...

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: Comcast Reportedly Plans to Get Rid of MSNBC, CNBC, USA & SyFy As It Spins Off Its Cable TV Channels

Oliver Darcy /
Status: Comcast Cuts the Cord

Amol Sharma /
@asharma: 2) Matt Strauss, a Comcast veteran who heads the direct-to-consumer business, will be named chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, with control over areas such as sports, ad sales and distribution. Langley and Strauss will share ownership of key areas of the business. Deadline: NBCUniversal Split: Comcast To Spin Off Cable Channels Under Mark Lazarus; Donna Langley Consolidates Power, NBC, Peacock & Bravo Stay Put

Dominick Mastrangelo /
The Hill: Comcast to spin off cable assets: report

Erik Gruenwedel /
Media Play News: Comcast Reportedly Set to Spin-Off $7 Billion Cable TV Business; Matt Strauss to Become Chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group

Associated Press:

Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai testifies for the first time in his years-long national security trial; he is already serving a jail term for a fraud conviction— Former Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai began testifying Wednesday in his landmark national security trial that is widely seen …

Discussion:
Hong Kong Free Press HKFP: Detained Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai to testify for first time in national security trial CBS News: Hong Kong's jailing of 45 democracy activists sparks criticism from foreign governments, rights groups

Austin Ramzy /
Wall Street Journal: He Rose to Riches in Hong Kong. Now He's a Symbol of China's Crackdown. South China Morning Post: Hong Kong's Jimmy Lai takes stand for first time in his year-long national security trial

Chan Ho-him /
Financial Times: Jimmy Lai testifies for first time in Hong Kong national security trial

Marta Biino /
Semafor: Hong Kong court jails 45 pro-democracy campaigners in landmark national security case

David Lynch /
London Evening Standard: MPs call for Hong Kong dissident Jimmy Lai's immediate release from prison Reporters Without Borders: FreeJimmyLai: As Hong Kong publisher is set to testify in landmark trial, RSF raises alarm over his prolonged detention

TechCrunch:

Bluesky says it now has 20M+ users after hitting 15M on November 13, and the app has been #1 in the US App Store since November 13, per Appfigures— Bluesky, the social network and X competitor has been benefiting from a surge of departures from the Elon Musk-owned app formerly known as Twitter.

Discussion:
Engadget, The Hollywood Reporter, Similarweb, @randfish.bsky.social, @jaz.bsky.social, @bryanruby.com, @Tibor@mastodon.social, Washington Times, @gordonshorten.bsky.social, @jburnmurdoch.bsky.social, @lif3asmaj.bsky.social, @tkaz99.bsky.social, @willoremus@threads.net, @mosseri@threads.net, @aarnegranlund.bsky.social, @henrymance.bsky.social, @timboard.bsky.social, @nachristakis.bsky.social, @evankirstel.bsky.social, @johnspurlock.com, @conorsen.bsky.social, @jay.bsky.team, @o.simardcasanova.net, @keithedwards.bsky.social, @oremus.bsky.social, theJasmineBRAND, @paleofuture.bsky.social, The Irish Times, Business Insider and Forbes, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Karissa Bell /
Engadget: Bluesky hits 20 million users

David F. Carr /
Similarweb: Bluesky Sees Greatest Sustained Growth So Far in the US and UK

Rand Fishkin /
@randfish.bsky.social: Techcrunch has a piece about how Bluesky is outpacing Threads in growth the last few days — techcrunch.com/2024/11/19/b... It's probably not completely right, but... It is right about desktop-heavy users (and for me, that's actually the most important kind of person I want to reach). [image]

Jaz /
@jaz.bsky.social: This past week has been an insane combination of incredible stress and success. While I'm mostly feeling the stress right now, I know eventually I'll feel the incredible success when I finally get a breather — 20 Million Users — Could not have asked for a better team — 💜

Bryan Ruby /
@bryanruby.com: “The firm's data also indicates that Bluesky overtook Threads in daily website visits in both the U.S. and the U.K., which signals strong interest from potential new users.” — techcrunch.com/2024/...

Tibor Martini /
@Tibor@mastodon.social: Two statistics on Threads vs. Bluesky: — According to Similarweb, #Bluesky has more active users on the web than Threads, incl. app close behind ( https://techcrunch.com/... According to Google Trends, the search volume for Bluesky has increased significantly, more than threads ( https://trends.google.com/... …

Vaughn Cockayne /
Washington Times: Bluesky sees huge growth after election

Gordon Shorten /
@gordonshorten.bsky.social: It would be interesting to know what the ad revenue is now and whether advertisers are exit as well. I wonder if Linda is regretting taking that job.

John Burn-Murdoch /
@jburnmurdoch.bsky.social: Despite a massive head start, BlueSky has now overtaken Threads in the US 👇 [image]

John Burn-Murdoch /
@jburnmurdoch.bsky.social: This is really getting quite remarkable — • BlueSky user numbers have doubled in the past week and now total 3.5 million across US & UK 🚀 — • Number of people deleting their X/Twitter account remains way up — And the next chart is particularly notable... [image]

Trish K /
@tkaz99.bsky.social: Wow! The sky has been buggy today. Hopefully, it will handle the new influx of users. 🫶

Will Oremus /
@willoremus@threads.net: Instagram chief Adam Mosseri says Threads has “many times” as many daily active users as Bluesky has total signups, contradicting Similarweb's estimate that the ratio is just 1.5x post-election. Not sure how Similarweb is arriving at its estimates but maybe Meta could clear things up with some more transparency on Threads DAUs...

Adam Mosseri /
@mosseri@threads.net: There is no way this is the case as we have many times as many daily users as they have total signups. Maybe this data is web data?

Aarne Granlund /
@aarnegranlund.bsky.social: “Bluesky overtook Threads in daily website visits in both the U.S. and the U.K., which signals strong interest from potential new users. Globally, daily website visits on Bluesky haven't yet surpassed Threads, but it's come very close as of mid-November.” techcrunch.com/2024/11/19/b...

Henry Mance /
@henrymance.bsky.social: Bluesky has only 20mn users compared to Threads's 275m, but it gets almost as many visits worldwide because obviously most Threads users would rather die than actually spend time there techcrunch.com/2024/11/19/b... [image]

Tim Board /
@timboard.bsky.social: U. S. App Store — No. 1 #bluesky — . — No. 4 threads — . — . — . — No. 41 xitter — Allow me a hearty guffaw! — techcrunch.com/2024/11/19/b...

Nicholas A. Christakis /
@nachristakis.bsky.social: Bluesky tops 20M users, narrowing gap with Instagram and Threads. This chart is amazing, indicative of an overnight cultural shift rather than typical tech adoption. techcrunch.com/2024/11/19/b... [image]

Evan Kirstel /
@evankirstel.bsky.social: Bluesky has 20M+ users after hitting 15M on Nov. 13; Appfigures: it's been #1 in US App Store since Nov. 13; Similarweb: its DAU gap with Threads is narrowing (@sarahpereztc / TechCrunch) techcrunch.com/2024/11/19/b...

John Spurlock /
@johnspurlock.com: 'The firm's data also indicates that Bluesky overtook Threads in daily website visits in both the U.S. and the U.K., which signals strong interest from potential new users. Not yet globally, but it's come very close as of mid-November.' — techcrunch.com/2024/11/19/b... [image]

Conor Sen /
@conorsen.bsky.social: This chart is pretty insane. More of an overnight social/political-type shift than typical tech adoption imo: techcrunch.com/2024/11/19/b... [image]

Jay /
@jay.bsky.team: Bluesky now has over 20M people!! 🎉 — We've been adding over a million users per day for the last few days. To celebrate, here are 20 fun facts about Bluesky:

Olivier Simard-Casanova /
@o.simardcasanova.net: Excellent piece by @sarahp.bsky.social about Bluesky's and Threads' numbers — According to SimilarWeb, the gap of daily active users between Bluesky and Thread has significantly narrowed down — Despite a large number of monthly active users, Threads may not be that big of a platform — 1/5 …

Keith Edwards /
@keithedwards.bsky.social: Wow. Threads has 14x Bluesky's user base but just 1.5x their daily active users — a more prized metric. — That must be why Meta is always boasting about their monthly active users.

Will Oremus /
@oremus.bsky.social: Bluesky remains far behind Threads in total signups but has dramatically narrowed the gap in daily active users, a more prized metric, per new data from Similarweb. Threads has 14x Bluesky's user base but just 1.5x the daily actives. techcrunch.com/2024/11/19/b... by @sarahp.bsky.social

Aaron Keenan /
theJasmineBRAND: Bluesky Hits 20 Million Users As People Flee X

Matt Novak /
@paleofuture.bsky.social: Quite a surge there [embedded post]

Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert /
Business Insider: Bluesky's ‘acceleration is tremendous’ as users flock to the new ‘old Twitter’

Brad Adgate /
Forbes: X Rival Bluesky Is Adding Millions Of Users Post-Election — Reaching 18 Million Users

RELATED:

Press Gazette:

The Economist, The Week, ITV News, and others have joined Bluesky in the past week, while Politico, Semafor, Tortoise have resumed their activity on the site— A wave of news publishers have arrived on Bluesky in recent days, following audiences and journalists departing X/Twitter.

Discussion:
@johnspurlock.com

Discussion:

John Spurlock /
@johnspurlock.com: ' @jbillinson.bsky.social , senior social media editor at Semafor, posted Monday that he'd recommenced the publisher's activity on Bluesky a week earlier “and it already has more followers than the Threads account I've been posting to consistently for over a yr"' — pressgazette.co.uk/social_media...

Nieman Lab:

A profile of The Green Line, a Toronto-based local news site that combines traditional reporting, community events, and solutions and action— The Green Line combines events, explainers, and solutions to appeal to young Torontonians. — Toronto-based local news site The Green Line …

Discussion:
@carolynjack, @tassosmorfis and @niemanlab

Discussion:
@carolynjack: Interesting local news experiment seeks to give Torontonians a place to go to “feel happier” in their city. | Nieman Journalism Lab https://www.niemanlab.org/...

Tassos Morfis /
@tassosmorfis: For many journalists, starting their own “thing” sounds like a ticket to Mars. My friend @neeeda started @TheGreenLineTO and this is how @NiemanLab is covering it. Read! https://www.niemanlab.org/...

Deadline:

Brendan Carr says Trump's complaint over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris is “likely to arise” in the FCC's review of the Skydance-Paramount deal— In an interview with Fox News' America's Newsroom, Carr said, “Broadcasters are differently situated to other speakers.

Discussion:
Fox News, The Daily Beast, Bloomberg, New York Post, Mediaite, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, TVNewsCheck and Radio & Television …

Discussion:

Corbin Bolies /
The Daily Beast: Trump's FCC Pick Threatens to Kill Skydance-Paramount Deal Over CBS

Christopher Palmeri /
Bloomberg: Redstones Pay Off Term Loan With Money from Ellison Family

Josh Kosman /
New York Post: Shari Redstone paid off $186M loan to Paramount's lenders — with bulk of cash coming from Larry Ellison: sources

Tommy Christopher /
Mediaite: Trump FCC Pick Threatens On Fox News To Punish CBS Over Kamala Harris Interview When He Takes Over

Sean Burch /
The Wrap: CBS' Kamala Harris Interview ‘Likely’ to Be Reviewed, Trump's FCC Chairman Says

Alex Weprin /
The Hollywood Reporter: Incoming FCC Chairman Says ‘60 Minutes’ Complaint “Likely to Arise” in Review of Skydance Deal

Alex Weprin /
TVNewsCheck: Incoming FCC Chair Says ‘60 Minutes’ Complaint ‘Likely To Arise’ In Review Of Skydance Deal

The Hollywood Reporter:

A lawsuit against Netflix and Meta claims the two made a deal where Meta scaled back original video programming in trade for Netflix data and ad spending— The proposed class action points to Meta's streaming ambitions with Facebook Watch, whose original programming division shuttered last year.

Discussion:

Sharon Knolle /
The Wrap: Netflix, Meta Sued Over Anticompetitive Streaming Agreement That Led to End of Facebook Watch

Matt Schimkowitz /
AV Club: Netflix and Meta sued for alleged backroom deal to “kneecap” Facebook Watch

Millie Turner /
The US Sun: Netflix had 'access to people's private Facebook messages' as part of secret ‘special relationship’ lawsuit claims

Jill Goldsmith /
Deadline: Netflix, Meta Sued Over “Quid Pro Quo” To Neutralize Facebook Watch Video Service

Douglas Charles /
BroBible: Netflix Facing 3 New Lawsuits, Including Complaint Over Tyson Vs. Paul Streaming Issues

Sam Gutelle /
Tubefilter: X adds Twitch to lawsuit accusing advertisers of anticompetitive practices

Erich Richter /
New York Post: Jake Paul's curious comments after beating Mike Tyson create lawsuit possibilities — sports lawyer reveals why

Allison Schiff /
AdExchanger: Meta Might Be Right About AI Ad Spend

Fortune:

A Brooklyn federal grand jury indicts two brothers over allegedly running illegal sports streaming service 247TVStream, offering live NFL, NBA, and NHL games— “Thanks to the work of our prosecutors, along with our domestic and international law enforcement partners, the illicit digital streaming site …

Discussion:
US Department of Justice

The Wrap:

Statement: Jay Penske says The Hollywood Reporter has replaced co-EIC Nekesa Mumbi Moody with Shirley Halperin, following staff cuts in June and August 2024— Halperin recently resigned as editor of Los Angeles Magazine — The Hollywood Reporter replaced co-editor-in-chief Nekesa Mumbi Moody …

Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters and Talking Biz News

Discussion:

Stephanie Kaloi /
TVNewsCheck: Trump Taps Ex-WWE CEO Linda McMahon As Secretary Of Education

The Hollywood Reporter:
Shirley Halperin Named Co-Editor-in-Chief of The Hollywood Reporter, Joining Maer Roshan at the Editorial Helm

New York Times:

Filings: The Onion's Infowars bid was $7M, including backing from Sandy Hook families and $1.75M in cash; Alex Jones-linked First United's bid was $3.5M in cash— A hearing is scheduled for Monday to review the auction process, which is being contested by a losing bidder associated with Alex Jones, the Infowars founder.

Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, @benmullin.bsky.social, Politico and Business Insider

Discussion:

Cristina Laila /
The Gateway Pundit: PLOT TWIST: Alex Jones Fights Back, Sues The Onion and Sandy Hook Families Over ‘Rigged’ Auction of Infowars

Alana Mastrangelo /
Breitbart: Elon Musk's X Corp. Files Notice in Alex Jones' Infowars Bankruptcy Case

Ben Mullin /
@benmullin.bsky.social: new: inside the tug-of-war over Infowars, as a bidder associated with Alex Jones tries to derail its sale to The Onion. — www.nytimes.com/2024/11/19/b...

Geoff Weiss /
Business Insider: Behind The Onion's bid for Alex Jones's Infowars — which is now on hold as a judge reviews it

RELATED:

ABC News:
Filing: Alex Jones asks a judge to halt the sale of Infowars; a company affiliated with him, which was the losing bidder, seeks to disqualify The Onion's bid

Discussion:
NPR, Newser, Raw Story, The Desk, @benmullin, Austin American-Statesman, @passantino@threads.net, CNN, Bloomberg Law, Associated Press, Reuters and New Republic

Discussion:

Evann Gastaldo /
Newser: Alex Jones Sues to Block Onion's Purchase of Infowars

Erik De La Garza /
Raw Story: ‘Crippling’: Alex Jones reports massive revenue drop after The Onion wins Infowars auction

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: Details emerge about two bids submitted for Infowars

Ben Mullin /
@benmullin: NEW: The court-appointed trustee overseeing the sale of Infowars just responded to the emergency motion to disqualify The Onion's bid, calling it “a disappointed bidder's improper attempt to influence an otherwise fair and open auction process.” [image]

Karoline Leonard /
Austin American-Statesman: Alex Jones attempts to stop sale of Infowars, Free Speech Systems to The Onion

Jon Passantino /
@passantino@threads.net: Alex Jones and his allies are desperately trying to stop the sale of Infowars to The Onion, filing lawsuits and emergency motions arguing Sandy Hook families “colluded” for a “flagrantly non-compliant Frankenstein bid” via @_hadasgold https://www.cnn.com/...

Hadas Gold /
CNN: Alex Jones and his allies are desperately trying to stop the sale of Infowars to The Onion

Dave Collins /
Associated Press: Elon Musk's X steps in as Alex Jones-affiliated company tries to halt Infowars sale

Dietrich Knauth /
Reuters: Alex Jones-affiliated company challenges the Onion's Infowars purchase

Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling /
New Republic: You Won't Believe Who's Trying to Stop The Onion Buying Infowars

Washington Post:

Trump Media now has a ~$7B market cap despite struggling to build a profitable revenue stream; Similarweb says site visits fell 20% MoM to 10M in October 2024— Trump Media & Technology Group's revenue and share price have sagged as its losses have piled up.

Discussion:

Christopher Honey /
@coffeephilosoph: It's almost like investing in a project from a man famous for pretending to build stuff was never likely to generate returns. #memestock https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Sarah Rumpf /
Mediaite: ‘This Is Getting Depressing!’ Trump Media Investors Despairing After Stock Stumbles Post-Election — Top Insiders Cashing Out @washingtonpost: Trump Media's revenue and share price have sagged as its losses have piled up. The president-elect's return to the White House could complicate things even more. https://washingtonpost.com/...

Drew Harwell /
@drewharwell: Trump Media just sent this email to Truth Social users. They're really promoting this story and I'm grateful https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... [image]

Drew Harwell /
@drewharwell: New: The small-time investors of Truth Social thought Trump's win would net them a fortune: “I may buy a cruise ship when this [is] all over,” one said. Instead, the stock has slumped, and it keeps dropping. Trump still comes out on top. [image]

Drew Harwell /
@drewharwell: And here's Truth Social's official statement on its previous statement. In other news, the company's stock today fell 9%. [image]

Harris Meyer /
@meyer_hm: Since the election, Trump's media stock has lost nearly half its value since last month's peak. On a Truth Social investor board, users who had been predicting a post-vote surge began voicing their agitation. “The fact is we are in trouble,” one wrote. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Taylor Herzlich /
New York Post: Trump Media nearing deal to buy crypto firm Bakkt: report

Financial Times:

ProRata.ai agrees licensing deals with Daily Mail-owner DMG Media, the Guardian, Sky News, and others; sources say DMG bought a stake that values it at ~$130M— Groups including Guardian and Daily Mail agree licensing deals to ensure payment for content — ProRata.ai, a US artificial …

Discussion:
Press Gazette and @davidgrayrhodes

Discussion:

Bron Maher /
Press Gazette: DMG Media invests in news publisher-compensating generative AI start-up Prorata

TechCrunch:

Spines, an AI-powered self-publishing service for book authors that provides suggestions on edits, cover design, more, raised a $16M Series A after a $6.5M seed— Generative AI has upended how we write things, or even if we write at all. Now a startup wants to be the main character …

Discussion:
@devinmadson.bsky.social, Michael Eisenberg on LinkedIn, Oren Zeev on LinkedIn and Spines

Discussion:

Devin Madson /
@devinmadson.bsky.social: While this is not “AI writes books for you”, despite how the headline sounds, it is “AI edits, makes suggestions, and tells you who to market at”, which is apparently, according to them, the entirety of a traditional publisher's job?? — Great ploy for getting permission to feed AI your work though 🫠

Michael Eisenberg /
Michael Eisenberg on LinkedIn: Publishing a book?? Our protco Spines just raised $15mm series A after a year of 10X growth in AI disruption of book publishing. …

Oren Zeev /