Mediagazer: BBC Studios announces plans to fully acquire Sid Gentle Films, the production company behind Killing Eve and Ragdoll, after acquiring a 51% stake in 2018 (K.J. Yossman/Variety)

5:10 PM ET, October 17, 2022

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Jon Porter / The Verge:

Parler agrees to be acquired by Ye, formerly Kanye West, to create “an uncancelable ecosystem where all voices are welcome”; the deal is set to close in Q4 2022 — Kanye West, the musician also known as Ye, is buying Parler, a social media platform that styles itself as a “free speech” alternative to Twitter.

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Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Rupert Murdoch's plan to recombine News Corp and Fox Corp. would boost the balance sheet for acquisitions and expand Lachlan Murdoch's responsibilities — Fox and News Corp are considering a proposal that they reunite though hurdles to a deal remain

Discussion: Media Matters for America, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, @asharma, @kimmasters, @simonostrovsky, @peter_f_ryan, Digital TV Europe, Broadband TV News, @jbflint, The Hill, @cararlombardo, @jbflint and New York Times

Reuters:

Sources: activist investor Irenic Capital Management, which has a $150M stake in News Corp, wants the company to split its media and online real estate units — Activist investor Irenic Capital Management, which has a $150 million stake in News Corp (NWSA.O), wants the company to split …

Discussion: New York Times, @edmundlee, Axios and @benmullin

Zeynep Tufekci / New York Times:

After defamation lawsuits against Alex Jones, Fox News, and others, new regulations are needed to make it harder and less lucrative to lie to huge audiences — Alex Jones achieved the epitome of despicability and now has been ordered to pay for it. His lies — that parents of children killed …

Discussion: @zeynep, @jamesgleick, @cwarzel, @gmbutts, @brooklynmarie, @nytimes, @davidoatkins, @bkcharvard, @zeynep, The Atlantic, Media Voices, @jason_kint and @drneilstone

Dade Hayes / Deadline:

Comcast's Spectacor division shuts down its video game-centric network G4, a year after its relaunch; Spectacor CEO Dave Scott told staff revival efforts failed — EXCLUSIVE: Comcast's Spectacor division is pulling the plug on video game-centric network G4 TV, whose early incarnation …

Discussion: Variety, Next TV, The Streamable, @goodmanw, @burnettrm, @brittonpeele, @toddmartens, @qtrblackgarrett, @originalpsp, @toadsanime, The Desk, @savinthebees, @bonniebellg, The Hollywood Reporter, The Verge and The Wrap

Mia Sato / The Verge:

TikTok plans to raise the age requirement for hosting a livestream from 16 to 18 on November 23 and let hosts limit their livestreams to adult-only audiences — TikTok is updating its livestream system to limit kids from going live and to allow streamers to only reach adults.

Discussion: TikTok, MediaPost, TechCrunch, Engadget and @zachbussey, more at Techmeme »

Mark Sweney / The Guardian:

Kantar: the number of UK homes with at least one paid video streaming service fell by 937K to 16M+ from January to September 2022, driven by the need to save — Exclusive: total number of homes with at least one subscription fell by 937,000 from January to September

Discussion: Deadline

Mark Stenberg / Adweek:

Forbes says the outlet is on pace to host 80+ events in 2022, increasing its events revenue by 60%; event partnerships represent 35% of Forbes' total ad revenue — Sponsorships now account for 35% of its advertising revenue — The business news publisher Forbes has seen revenue …

Discussion: Talking Biz News and @markstenberg3

Cynthia Littleton / Variety:

The Los Angeles Clippers launch livestreaming service ClipperVision with 70+ games and six channel feeds, available in Southern California for $200 per season — Nearly a decade after acquiring the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers, Steve Ballmer is finally realizing his dream to build a bigger …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Ad Age, Sportico, Media Play News, Next TV, KTLA, NBA and The Streamable

Financial Times:

Disney may bypass French cinemas for its biggest movies and go straight to streaming in 2023, unless the country changes its “anti-consumer” distribution rules — Black Panther movie will hit screens after months of debate but US company says distribution laws must be reformed

Discussion: Variety, The Guardian, @labboudles and Deadline

Baz Bamigboye / Deadline:

Source: Netflix, “rattled” by negative front-page stories about The Crown, postponed Harry and Meghan documentary, unofficially slated to stream in December — EXCLUSIVE: Rattled after attacks on Season 5 of The Crown, Netflix has decided to postpone its documentary series featuring Harry …

Discussion: New York Post, The A.V. Club, IndieWire, SheKnows and The Sun

Alex Barker / Financial Times:

Sources: ITV is exploring options, including whether to sell a stake of its production arm ITV Studios, estimated to be worth more than ITV's £2.5B market cap — UK broadcaster examining whether to sell stake in maker of ‘Love Island’ and ‘Bodyguard’ in bid to unlock its value

Discussion: Deadline and @hayekmg

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K.J. Yossman / Variety:
BBC Studios announces plans to fully acquire Sid Gentle Films, the production company behind Killing Eve and Ragdoll, after acquiring a 51% stake in 2018

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and Advanced Television

Earlier Picks:

Ernesto Van der Sar / TorrentFreak:
MUSO: visits to pirate sites from January to August 2022 grew 21.9% YoY to 141.7B; 46.6% of traffic went to TV content, 27.8% to publishing, and 12.4% to film

Suranjana Tewari / BBC:
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Shanti Das / The Guardian:
Qatar's government imposes strict restrictions on broadcasters covering the FIFA World Cup, including banning filming at migrant workers' accommodation sites

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Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
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Wall Street Journal:
Gina Raimondo says holding back China in the chips race is a “fool's errand”, and investment, more than export controls, will keep US ahead of Beijing

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