• Super Bowl LVII brought in 113 million viewers according to preliminary data from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics, making it the third most-watched TV event of all time. The results represent a small bump over last year’s viewership of 112.3 million, but fall short of the 2015 Super Bowl’s record of 114.4 million. (The Wall Street Journal)
• More than half of Twitter Inc.’s top 1,000 advertisers had temporarily paused or formally stopped spending on the platform as of late January, according to new research by marketing analytics firm Pathmatics. As a result, Twitter’s monthly revenue from these brands dropped by more than 60% from $127 million in October when Elon Musk took ownership of the platform to just $48 million as of Jan. 25. (CNN) 
• Mattel Inc. announced plans to revive its Barney television franchise, which last aired on PBS in 2010, with a new animated series in 2024. The relaunch will also include an updated slate of toys, merchandise and YouTube content. (Variety)
• Meta Platforms Inc. said the executive overseeing its advertising business, Marne Levine, is leaving the company. The announcement comes on the heels of the tech giant recording its third consecutive quarter of year-over-year ad revenue declines. (Ad Age)

How Gen Z Is Proving It’s the Foodie Generation

Morning Consult

Despite a surge in Super Bowl ad dollars, Twitter’s ad rehab is a work in progress

Krystal Scanlon and Seb Joseph, Digiday

Advertisers may have shown up to Twitter for the Super Bowl, but don’t expect them to stick around afterward. Tensions are thawing between the social network and its main source of income, but they’ve not subsided completely.

Cookie Banners Could Soon Include AdChoices Icon

Wendy Davis, MediaPost

Online publishers and brands that greet website visitors with “cookie banners” may soon be able to integrate the industry’s AdChoices icon into the banners’ interfaces, the self-regulatory group Digital Advertising Alliance said Tuesday.

NBC hopes to make an aggressive bid to bring back the NBA, sources say

Alex Sherman, CNBC

NBC Sports is prepared to make an aggressive offer to win back NBA rights after more than 20 years without them.

How Apple treated Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime show like its most popular new product

Jeff Beer, Fast Company

Apple Music sponsored the Super Bowl halftime show starring Rihanna. Here’s how Apple made the event an even bigger event.

Comcast is ending free Peacock access for Xfinity subscribers

Steve Dent, Engadget

Peacock had already cut off the free tier on its standalone service.

Fox’s Tubi Commands Attention, Gets Critical Nods For Freaking Out Super Bowl Viewers

Karlene Lukovitz, MediaPost

Fox’s free, ad-supported streamer (FAST) had an outsized presence during Super Bowl LVII.

How Spotify’s podcast bet went wrong

Max Tani, Semafor

Spotify was a one-company podcast bubble. Its drastic cuts have triggered a podcast winter, as the small studios it helped support consolidate and lavish narrative productions wane.

Paramount Global Starts Work on 2024 Super Bowl

Brian Steinberg, Variety

CBS and various cable networks owned by Paramount Global Monday evening aired a new promo for CBS Sports’ coverage of Super Bowl LVIII in 2024. 

TikTok ‘de-influencers’ want Gen Z to buy less – and more

Haleluya Hadero and Ali Swenson, The Associated Press

At a time when consumers are inundated with so-called social media influencers peddling the latest products online, a slew of TikTok users are leveraging their platforms to tell people what not to buy instead.

Publisher editorial teams experiment with ChatGPT, but few use AI tech in their work

Sara Gauglione, Digiday

While editorial teams are experimenting with ChatGPT, six top editors and media executives who spoke with Digiday said they were not working on integrating the AI technology into the workflow of their newsrooms. And to the best of their knowledge, no one within their editorial teams was using ChatGPT to publish stories.

TikTok Turns to New Tactics to Spur Growth as Boom Times End

Kaya Yurieff, The Information

The short video app saw its audience growth in the U.S. stall last year after one of the most head-spinning ascents in social media. Now it’s pushing to reinvigorate itself with new initiatives, from recruiting older users to better rewarding creators.

T-Mobile outage hits users across the U.S.

Reuters

The U.S. wireless carrier said it was working on resolving a problem that had caused intermittent issues with voice, messaging, and data services in several areas. It did not say how many users had been affected.

TikTok’s Talks With U.S. Have an Unofficial Player: China

Liza Lin and Raffaele Huang, The Wall Street Journal

As TikTok pushes for an agreement with U.S. officials over its operations, an unofficial force at the negotiating table is the Chinese government. 

Amazon Is Taking Half of Each Sale From Its Merchants

Spencer Soper, Bloomberg

Fees the company collects from third-party sellers have risen for six years in a row, squeezing their margins.

Amazon’s Zoox tests robotaxi on public road with employees as passengers 

Abhirup Roy, Reuters

Amazon.com Inc’s self-driving vehicle unit, Zoox, said on Monday it has successfully tested a robotaxi with employees as passengers on a public road in a move to bring it closer to commercial service for the general public.

Combating Disinformation Wanes at Social Media Giants

Steven Lee Meyers and Nico Grant, The New York Times

As the companies have shed jobs recently, many teams assigned to combat false and misleading information have taken a hit.

Twitter delays launch of its new API platform again

Ivan Mehta, TechCrunch

Twitter ruffled a lot of feathers earlier this month when it announced its plans to cut the free access to its API. The company initially set a February 9 deadline to enforce the rule but later delayed it to February 13.

YouTube is pivoting its influencer-marketing program to a self-service model after cutting staffers

Amanda Perelli et al., Insider

YouTube appears to be shaking up its service that helps creators make money through branded content, called BrandConnect, moving more toward a “self-service” model as opposed to the hands-on program it had developed into in recent years.

Adidas is looking to repurpose unsold Yeezy products. Here are some of its options

Juliana Kim, NPR News

When Adidas cut ties with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, over the rapper’s antisemitic remarks, the sportswear giant quickly had another problem on its hands: what to do with all of its merchandise associated with Ye, branded as Yeezy.

Coca-Cola debuts ‘transformation-flavored’ soda in its latest limited-time offering

Christopher Doering, Marketing Dive

Similar to other beverages released under the Coca-Cola Creations platform, the beverage doesn’t promote a flavor, such as cola, cherry or vanilla, but rather a mood. 

Luggage Brand Away Is Exploring Options, Including a Sale

Gillian Tan, Bloomberg

Away, the luggage company valued at $1.45 billion when it raised capital in 2019, is exploring strategic options including a sale, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Bed Bath & Beyond Canada is going out of business

Daphne Howland, Retail Dive

The struggling home goods retailer will no longer support the unprofitable operations, and all 54 namesake and 11 BuyBuy Baby stores will close.

McDonald’s readies first-ever duo meal with Cardi B and Offset

Chris Kelly and Emma Liem Beckett, Marketing Dive

To boost the campaign, McDonald’s will tie up with dating apps like Tinder, BLK and Chispa and will run a “truth or dare” game on its own app. In addition, the brand will host a kiss cam billboard at its Times Square location.

Twilio Announces Second Wave of Layoffs, Cutting 17% of Workforce

Brody Ford, Bloomberg

Twilio Inc., a maker of customer communication and marketing software, said it will cut about 17% of workers just months after a previous major round of layoffs.

Microsoft’s LinkedIn Lays Off Staff Amid Hiring Slowdown

Aaron Holmes, The Information

Microsoft-owned LinkedIn laid off staff in its recruiting department on Monday, the company confirmed to The Information, the latest sign of how Microsoft’s layoffs are rippling through the tech giant.

Walmart to Close Three Technology Hubs, Require More Office Time

Brendan Case, Bloomberg

Walmart Inc. will close three of its 11 US technology hubs and require affected workers to relocate, scaling back its footprint after unveiling an expansion plan last year. 

Beyond Silicon Valley, Spending on Technology Is Resilient

Steve Lohr, The New York Times

Despite an uncertain outlook, corporations plan to continue investing in their digital projects — a source of stability for the economy.

Laid-Off Tech Workers Seek Leverage on the Way Out

Katherine Bindley, The Wall Street Journal

As companies shed thousands of jobs, more employees want a say in their severance.