Sony Spins Off TV Hardware in Major Joint Venture with TCL, Adobe Supercharges Premiere Pro and After Effects with Major AI and Workflow Updates, and Meta Oversight Board Reviews Permanent Ban for Persistent Hate Speech
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Show Notes
Netflix revises offer for Warner Bros. Discovery to all-cash deal
Netflix has revised its offer for Warner Bros. and HBO to an all-cash purchase of $27.75 per WBD share. This move, which replaces a previous cash-and-stock offer, is intended to simplify the deal and counter Paramount’s hostile all-cash takeover bid of $30 per share for all of WBD. The remaining WBD assets, such as CNN, would be spun off into a new company called Discovery Global, a strategy WBD’s board supports despite Paramount’s claims that these remaining channels have minimal equity value.
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Sony and TCL strike joint venture for TV hardware business
Sony and TCL have reached a nonbinding agreement for a joint venture, with TCL taking a 51% majority stake and Sony holding 49% in the new company that will spin off Sony’s TV hardware business. This collaboration is designed to help TCL enter the premium TV market and potentially lead to more affordable Bravia TVs by combining Sony’s image processing and audio with TCL’s display technology and cost efficiency. The new entity, which will retain the “Sony” and “Bravia” brands, will manage the global TV and home audio business, aiming to finalize the deal by March and begin operations in April 2027, pending regulatory approval.
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Adobe rolls out major AI-powered updates for Premiere Pro and After Effects
Adobe has introduced major AI-powered updates for Premiere Pro and After Effects to speed up video editing and visual effects workflows. Premiere Pro gains an AI-powered Object Mask for quick object selection and tracking, a 20x faster Shape Mask, and better integration with Firefly Boards and Adobe Stock. After Effects now supports SVG file import and introduces new 3D parametric meshes for building graphics and objects.
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Meta Oversight Board reviews permanent ban tied to hate speech and threats
Meta’s Oversight Board is reviewing the permanent ban of an account for persistent hate speech and violent threats, notably against a woman journalist, even though the typical strike threshold wasn’t met. This unprecedented review will allow the Board to increase transparency in Meta’s enforcement, particularly concerning the protection of public figures and journalists, and user due process. The Board is seeking public input until February 3rd on fairness, repeated abuse measures, considering off-platform context for threats, and enforcement transparency.
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Reels dominates Instagram ads as vertical video surges
Meta’s short-form vertical video format, Reels, is dominating Instagram, accounting for over half of all ads in 2025, up from 35% in 2024. This reflects a broader trend, with vertical video occupying 46% of Instagram and 29% of Facebook time in the U.S. in 2025. Driven by AI-powered recommendations (like TikTok and YouTube Shorts), Reels is a key driver of engagement and advertising revenue, validating Meta’s focus on the format, which has surpassed a $50 billion annual run rate and continues to grow due to increased user activity.
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Google updates Android voice search interface
Google is updating the voice search interface on Android, replacing the old four-dot waveform with a modern design accessible through the homescreen widget or Google Search bar. The new interface, found in Google app versions 17.1 and 17.2, features a centered ‘G’ gradient, a “Listening…” prompt, a face illustration, a four-color arc, and live transcription of the query. Key changes include a larger “Search a song” button that links to the “Play, Sing, Hum” UI and a shortcut to Song Search history.
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Christmas Day 2025 becomes biggest U.S. streaming day ever
Christmas Day 2025 set a new streaming record with 55.1 billion minutes logged, a 3.9 billion minute increase over 2024, accounting for 54% of all TV use, thanks to three NFL games and the second part of Stranger Things’ final season. This drove December’s monthly streaming share to a peak of 47.5%. Broadcast and cable usage dropped to 21.4% and 20.2%, respectively. On Christmas Day, Netflix and Prime Video hit monthly highs, combining for 22.5% of TV use, followed by The Roku Channel (3%) and Paramount’s streamers (2.5%), which was helped by Landman.
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EU proposes phasing out “high-risk” tech suppliers across critical sectors
The European Commission has proposed a revision to the EU’s Cybersecurity Act to phase out components from “high-risk suppliers” in 18 critical sectors within the EU, a measure expected to affect Chinese tech firms like Huawei due to growing cyber and espionage concerns. The proposal, aimed at increasing technological sovereignty, mandates mobile telecoms operators to replace key components from high-risk vendors within 36 months, with similar rules for other networks to follow after a risk assessment is triggered by the Commission or at least three EU countries.
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UK considers banning social media for children under 16
And finally, the UK government has begun a consultation on potentially banning social media for children under 16, examining enforcement, data limits, and curbing addictive features like “infinite scrolling.” This move follows Australia’s recent social media age ban and comes as British politicians remain worried about online content, despite the 2023 Online Safety Act. The announcement precedes a House of Lords vote on an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that aims to enact such a ban within a year.
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Plus a phone that can triple-boot into Android, Linux and Windows 11.
Wyze cameras are notorious for the lapse security when it comes to storing and accessing camera footage from the cloud. But does that mean the cameras have no redeeming value? Roger explains why he thinks Wyze cameras deserve a second look depending on what you need them for.