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Discovery Communications is shelling out $70 million to Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo, Inc. to gain an additional 24.5 percent stake in OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, a joint venture between the two companies. As a result of the deal, Discovery now has a more than 70 percent ownership stake in the network. Discovery’s increased stake in OWN comes as it moves ahead on plans to complete its acquisition of Scripps early next year. If that deal goes through it would add Food Network and HGTV to Discovery’s current women-focused channels, which include TLC and ID in addition to OWN. Discovery would then have a controlling interest in five of the top pay-TV networks for women, representing a 20 percent share of women watching primetime pay-TV in the U.S. Harpo will retain a “significant minority interest” in OWN and Winfrey will continue in her role as CEO. “Creating OWN and seeing it flourish, supported by Discovery and a rapidly growing group of the finest storytellers in film and television, is one of my proudest achievements,” said Winfrey. “I’m thrilled with the network’s success and excited about this next chapter in our partnership.”
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According to a report in today’s Variety, Comcast is shutting down Plaxo, an online address-book synchronization service that the the company claimed at one point had more than 50 million registered accounts. Comcast acquired Plaxo in a 2008 deal that was reportedly in the $150 million to $170 million range, with hopes that the service would become a major social-media property. Founded in 2002, the service consolidated users’ contacts across multiple sources, automatically updating information across devices and platforms. It also allowed users to share personal info and photos. While Comcast’s plan was to turn Plaxo into a medium that would “bring the social media experience to mainstream consumers,” it never gained traction beyond its use as a way to sync contacts. “While it’s sad to say goodbye to Plaxo, we’re eager to put more focus into our expanding core products within the Xfinity family,” Plaxo said in a statement on its website. Plaxo will not be available after Dec. 31, and the company will start to purge user data the following day.
 Theano Apostolou |
Theano Apostolou is stepping down from her position as head of communications at premium pay-TV channel Starz. Apostolou joined Starz in 2011 as senior vice president of communications and was promoted to executive vice president of the department in 2013. Before that, she was senior VP of publicity, talent relations and promotional events for AMC. “Theano has played an integral role in making Starz a global entertainment company,” Starz president Chris Albrecht said. “Her creativity and passionate commitment to our success was a driving force in our evolution.” She will continue to consult for Starz until the company finds a replacement.
USA TODAY brings on Jamie Stockwell as VP of news, effective March 30. Stockwell was most recently deputy managing editor of news for the Washington Post... YouTube expands its likeness detection capabilities to a pilot group of government officials, journalists and political candidates... The AP Fund for Journalism adds 50 news organizations to its local news program, bringing the total number of participating newsrooms to 100. 
Versant Media Group, the NBCUniversal cable TV spin-off, today reported its first financial results as 2025 revenues dipped 5.3 percent to $6.7B and standalone EBITDA dropped 9.1 percent to $2.2B.
Trump Media & Technology Group is discussing a spin-off of the Truth Social platform following the expected closing of its $6B merger deal with TAE Technologies... Condé Nast sells off Them, the digital LGBTQ-focused platform it launched in 2017, to Equalpride, publisher of Out, The Advocate, Out Traveler, Health PLUS Wellness and Pride.com... CBS News has parted ways with longevity influencer Peter Attia, one of the 19 contributors that editor-in-chief Bari Weiss brought on as part of her plan to present a wider variety of voices on the platform. 
Symbolic.ai forms a partnership with News Corp to begin using the company’s AI-native publisher platform in the newsrooms of News Corp publications to augment research, writing and publishing... Mediaite launches a newsletter that promises to give readers a summary of—media newsletters... The Fund for American Studies launches the Journalism Excellence Fellowship, a program that will provide promising young journalists the opportunity to work alongside top writers, reporters, and media professionals.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which has roots going back to 1786, is going out of business, the paper’s owners, Block Communications, announced on Jan. 7... GQ editor Will Welch is stepping down to take on a new Paris-based role with the musician Pharrell, who is also men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton... Semafor says it has raised $30 million on a $330 million valuation, following its first profitable year. 
