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TikTok finalises deal to form a new US entity

Author
Paul Stenhouse ,
Publish Date
Sat, 24 Jan 2026, 11:41am
Photo / File
Photo / File

TikTok finalises deal to form a new US entity

Author
Paul Stenhouse ,
Publish Date
Sat, 24 Jan 2026, 11:41am

TikTok's US deal is final  

Half of TikTok US is owned by new investors, 30% by previous investors, and 20% by the Chinese owned Bytedance.  

The US algorithm will now be trained on US data, and all content moderation will be handled by the US entity. It will be governed by a new, seven-member majority-American board. Bytedance is expected to receive a licensing fee on all revenue as well as a share of the profit.  

 

Sony's getting out of the TV space  

Sony Bravia TVs will soon be made by TCL. It's spinning out its TV and home audio business, selling 51% to the Chinese company. Sony says it will still be involved, contributing its picture processing and audio technology, and the brand will continue with higher-end picture and sound quality than the TCL brand. Sony has largely been getting out of the 'electronics' space, no longer making PCs and tablets.  

 

A Spotify feature only released in New Zealand is coming to the US  

The ability to create a playlist just by typing what you want to listen to has seemingly been popular enough in New Zealand that it will roll out across Spotify's North American users.  

You can ask "get focused at work with instrumental pop-hits", or "pump me up with positive upbeat songs". You can even ask it to break you out of your listening habits and play things you haven't listened to this week.  

The AI keeps up to date on world of music in real time, including “trends, charts, culture, and history”. 

 

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