Streaming

• Netflix Inc. is raising its prices across all plans, increasing its standard plan from $11 to $13 per month.

• Netflix said its subscriber base expanded by 8.8 million in the fourth quarter, a rise of 34 percent compared to the year-earlier period, with much of that growth coming from international customers. Revenue grew 27 percent year-over-year to $4.19 billion, while quarterly profit dropped to $134 million from $186 million in the same period last year.

• Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. is joining the streaming service party with the launch of its own direct-to-consumer platform “STIRR.” STIRR, which currently has 20 networks including Cheddar and the Dove Channel and some users’ local news stations, hopes to hit more than 50 channels before 2020.

• After a social media backlash, Roku Inc. pulled Alex Jones’ Infowars, which is known for touting conspiracy theories, after initially defending the channel’s presence on the platform, which has 27 million users. Apple Inc., YouTube, Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and others banned Infowars content in 2018.

Personnel changes

• Ahead of its streaming service launch in 2020, NBCUniversal Media LLC is planning a major shake-up of its executives, according to sources: Mark Lazarus will become chairman of NBCUniversal Broadcast, Cable, Sports and News; Jeff Shell will become chairman of NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment; and Bonnie Hammer will lead Direct-to-Consumer and Digital Enterprises for NBCU.

• JAB Ltd. Chairman Bart Becht, who helped drive success for brands such as Krispy Kreme, Dr. Pepper and Peet’s Coffee, has unexpectedly resigned. Becht said in November that he would step down as chairman of one of JAB’s largest investments, cosmetics company Coty Inc., amid weak performance.

• PayPal Holdings Inc. has brought back its chief marketing officer post, which disappeared in 2013, by hiring Apple and HP Inc. alum Allison Johnson, who will also serve as executive vice president. Part of the reason for the revival of the CMO position is PayPal’s growing portfolio of investments, which includes Venmo, iZettle and Braintree, which runs Uber Technologies Inc. and Airbnb Inc.’s mobile payments.

Advertising

• Gillette’s latest online ad puts a contemplative twist on its tagline “The Best A Man Can Get,” introduced in a 1989 Super Bowl ad, for the #MeToo era by instead asking, “Is this the best a man can get?” Gillette also set up a website explaining the brand’s stance and will donate at least $1 million annually for the next three years to organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs of America to help males “achieve their personal best.”

• Though the Gillette ad drew a barrage of criticism on social media, a new dial test shows that 61 percent of viewers gave the ad high marks on how the video made them feel – 7 or more on a scale of 10, with 10 as “very positive.” The analysis also found that the divide in sentiment was more stark along political lines than between genders, with majorities of men, women and Democrats giving the ad a 7 or higher, while 48 percent of Republicans did the same.

• Representatives from Amazon.com Inc., BlackRock Inc. and Facebook, among others, are slated to speak at AdExchanger’s Industry Preview, Jan. 23-24 in New York. Former Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile will also attend, speaking with political consultant Mary Matalin during a Wednesday morning session.

• Earnings season continues, with nearly 300 companies reporting this week, including Starbucks Corp., American Airlines Group Inc., Alaska Air Group Inc., Southwest Airlines Co. and JetBlue Airways Corp. all posting on Thursday.

1) Consumers Say Brands Shouldn’t Bring Politics to the Super Bowl
Nat Ives, The Wall Street Journal

2) Gilette’s new take on ‘Best a Man Can Get’ in commercial that invokes #MeToo
Jack Neff, AdAge

3) Megyn Kelly leaves NBC with all of her $69 million contract intact
Tom Kludt and Brian Stelter, CNN

4) An Egg, Just a Regular Egg, Is Instagram’s Most-Liked Post Ever
Daniel Victor, The New York Times

5) The 30 Percent App Fees Are Too Damn High
Shira Ovide, Bloomberg

6) Burger King Trolls President Trump, Plus How More Brands Are Responding to the Government Shutdown
Katie Richards, Adweek

7) Most Americans Liked Gillette’s Ad on ‘Toxic Masculinity’
Joanna Piacenza, Morning Consult

8) Chairman of Company Behind Krispy Kreme, Dr Pepper Resigns
Saabira Chaudhuri, The Wall Street Journal

9) Sinclair Joins Streaming War With Launch of Free Service ‘STIRR’
Kamaron Leach, Bloomberg

10) Sears chairman prevails in bankruptcy auction for retailer with $5.2 billion bid: sources
Mike Spector and Jessica DiNapoli, Reuters