Digital

The Miami-set Armas de Mujer, which translates in English as Women’s Weapons, also is a switch for its stars, including Kate del Castillo of La Reina del Sur drama series fame (above).

News Corp. this morning announced what it described as a “historic” three-year deal with Google, ensuring it will receive “significant payments” from the search giant for its news sites’ content worldwide, including Australia. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, the announcement comes as Google faces a potential stalemate with Australia, which recently passed a new law requiring Google to negotiate fair payment for news it distributes from publishers Down Under.

The $230 million sale of the audio tech/services provider follows Scripps’ sale of its Stitcher podcast company last October.

Content management systems are the workhorses of local stations’ digital operations. Executives from Tegna, NBCU, CBS, Gray, Nexstar and Fox have discovered that user simplicity and integrations for multiplatform distribution have become essential attributes. Note: This story is available to TVNewsCheck Premium members only. If you would like to upgrade your free TVNewsCheck membership to Premium now, you can visit your Member Home Page, available when you log in at the very top right corner of the site or in the Stay Connected Box that appears in the right column of virtually every page on the site. If you don’t see Member Home, you will need to click Log In or Subscribe.

Swati Sharma, 34, prepares to take over the 90-person newsroom of a digital outlet known for its clearsighted articles on knotty issues in the news.

Parent company Xperi expects to make $350 million in IP licensing revenue in 2021.

Advertisers are planning to buy more connected TV and streaming video, and the biggest spenders are looking to offerings from established networks to reach cord-cutters and other over-the-top viewers, according to a new survey from Advertisers Perceptions.

Asheville, N.C. is by no means a news desert. Residents there have access to The Asheville Citizen Times, Mountain Xpress and Blue Ridge Public Radio as well as other local publications. Yet, a small coalition of veteran professional journalists and media executives want to help produce more local journalism in the area.

After being cut off by Amazon and other tech giants, Parler worked for weeks to find a way to get back on the internet.

Digital TV Research says quickening Hotstar uptake in India convinced it to boost its earlier Disney Plus forecast by nearly 100,000 subscribers.

Comcast on Friday reported that it owns a 9.3% stake worth more than $300 million in FuboTV, which operates a sports-focused virtual MVPD and is getting into the sports betting business. AMC Networks, reported earlier this week that it no longer owned any FuboTV shares.

Fox sats it will be holding its upfront presentation on May 17 and that, in addition to its entertainment and sports programming, this year’s event will showcase Tubi, the ad supported streaming service it bought last year.

Analysts estimate that the tax will generate up to $250 million for schools in the state in the first year. It will also probably face fierce legal challenges.

Also announced were the promotions of Michael Arroyo and Kelley Kramer to deputy managing editors.

Bridgerton jumped back in front of Cobra Kai to retake the top spot in Nielsen’s U.S. streaming rankings for the week of Jan. 11-17, with sci-fi movie Outside the Wire helping Netflix sweep the top 10. The Shonda Rhimes-produced period romance drew just shy of 1.4 billion total minutes of viewing, outpacing Cobra Kai, which had 1 billion.

Cinedigm is continuing its acquisition spree, acquiring the horror streaming service Screambox. Screambox will continue to be offered on an ad-free subscription basis — the service costs $4.99 a month or $35.88 for the full year — and Cinedigm will use its horror website, Bloody Disgusting, to help drive additional subscribers.

What does “engaged” journalism mean for you, your audience … and your bottom line?

Disney’s net income fell sharply in its most-recent quarter, as the coronavirus pandemic still weighs heavily on many of its businesses, from theme parks to movies. But results surpassed Wall Street’s expectations thanks to subscribers flocking to Disney+ and other of the entertainment giant’s streaming services.

ViacomCBS is reviving a streaming version of the newsmagazine 60 Minutes, hoping the series can draw viewers to its new online service Paramount+, according to people familiar with the situation. The company had created a spinoff of the show called 60 in 6 for the short-lived Quibi, but it was left in limbo when the streaming startup announced plans to close down in October.

Gawker Media made history five years ago for being the first digital news company to ratify a union contract, kicking off a wave of labor organizing at digital outlets that has yet to recede. On Thursday, staffers at the online publishing platform Medium announced their intention to unionize, following in the footsteps of Gawker, HuffPost, Salon, Slate, Vice, BuzzFeed News, Vox Media, Bustle Digital Group, Wirecutter and The Ringer, to name a few.

Fox Corp. streaming service Tubi is expanding the live news offering it debuted last fall, adding nearly 80 stations owned by Cox, Hearst, Scripps and Tegna. The 24-hour live feeds will join those of 17 Fox-owned stations and Altice USA’s News 12 New York in a section of the streaming app called News on Tubi. National streaming outlets run by Fox, NBC, Bloomberg and others are also on the free, ad-supported platform.

She will lead an expanded revenue team that includes Jennifer Scialbro, SVP of local digital sales and Wil Danielson, SVP of national digital sales.