Top News:
Max Tani / Semafor:
Sources: CNN is considering hiring a comedian to host a prime time show; executives have floated Bill Maher, Trevor Noah, Jon Stewart, and others — CNN is considering hiring a comedian to host one of its prime time shows. — The “news entertainment” personality could fill the primetime 9 …
Discussion:
Fox News, @ourand_sbj, New York Post, @susanbordson, @jeffjarvis, @nkulw, @the_moviebob, @steven_strauss, @schneider_cm, @arlanwashere, Mediaite, @justschmeltzer, @mattdavis, @bencjacobs, @phil_rosenthal, @ameshiacross, @johnnydollar01, @neontaster, @cenksidar, @armandondk, @tvgrimreaper, @greenfield64 and Variety
James Vincent / The Verge:
A trio of artists sue Stability AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt over AI art copyright; a firm suing Microsoft, GitHub, and OpenAI over Copilot filed the lawsuit — A trio of artists have launched a lawsuit against Stability AI and Midjourney, creators of AI art generators Stable Diffusion and Midjourney …
Manori Ravindran / Variety:
Sources: Amazon Prime Video plans to part ways with Jeremy Clarkson after his remaining commissioned shows air in 2024, following his comments on Meghan Markle — Amazon Prime Video is likely to be parting ways with Jeremy Clarkson mere weeks after his comments about Meghan Markle were published in British tabloid The Sun.
Discussion:
Jeremy Clarkson, Deadline, The Wrap, The Guardian, Press Gazette, Daily Mail, NME, @mrjamesob, @droid254, @royal_suitor, @sangitamyska, @nancyleegrahn, @meralhece, @kevin_maguire, Daily Mail, The Sun, Sky News, @ledbettercarly, @simonharris_mbd, @rupertmyers, @factsand2cents, @manori_r, @henrymance, @nadine_writes, @danwootton, @tudorchick1501, Dailystar.co.uk, @ryanjl, LBC, @number10cat and @richardaeden
Isabella Simonetti / New York Times:
A look at the role a CoinDesk story played in FTX's fall, as the outlet covers parent DCG's problems; CoinDesk had 17M page views in November, up 96% on October — The parent company of CoinDesk, one of the first news sites focused on the industry, faces questions about the operations and financial health of some of its subsidiaries.
Discussion:
@benmullin, @mikejcasey, @rafat, @emilydparker, The New York Times Company and Davis, Wright, Tremaine LLP
Jesse Whittock / Deadline:
Warner Bros Discovery and the European Broadcasting Union win an auction for Olympic Games broadcasting rights between 2026 and 2032 in 49 European territories — Warner Bros Discovery and the European Broadcasting Union have won the auction for Olympic Games broadcasting rights between 2026 and 2032.
Discussion:
Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. Discovery, Broadband TV News, The Guardian and Media Play News
Michael Schneider / Variety:
Q&A with MGM+ head Michael Wright on rebranding from Epix, plans for eight original series per year under Amazon's ownership, and more — The top-to-bottom rebrand of the service that debuted in October 2009 (as a joint venture among MGM, Paramount Pictures and Lionsgate) …
Discussion:
MediaPost and Media Play News
New York Times:
As the number of shows and movies depicting real events has grown, screenwriters are taking liberties with the facts, often leading to public spats and lawsuits — The entertainment genre of historical drama is flourishing — and riddled with inaccuracies. The untrue parts are leading to more public spats and lawsuits.
Discussion:
@nytimes, @marshacollier, @mikeaztec28, @bubbaprog and @stormmela
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
Comcast-owned Sky plans to offer free Discovery+ access to subscribers in the UK and Ireland, saving them £6.99 per month — “We know value is incredibly important right now,” Comcast-owned Sky says. … “Sky Q, Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers can now sign up for Discovery+ as part …
Discussion:
Deadline, Daily Express, Broadband TV News and Media Play News
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The UK's Reach told The Sunday Mirror and Sunday People staff that the two Sunday tabloids will begin sharing most of their content under new cost-saving plans — The Sunday People and Sunday Mirror have been under the same editor since 2014. — The Sunday Mirror and Sunday People newspapers look set …
Discussion:
One Man & His Blog
Gina Chua / Semafor:
Singapore's The Straits Times said last week it overstated daily circulation by 85K-95K copies, or 10%-12% of reported numbers, from Sept. 2020 to March 2022 — SPH Media, Singapore's dominant news organization, has been derided for many failings — being too stodgy, too pro-government …
Discussion:
@newley, @semafor, @byjasonng, @benplatt1023, @incoherentboy and The Straits Times
Parham Ghobadi / BBC:
A look at the costs of reporting on Iran for BBC Persian journalists: death threats, online harassment, and threats to family members who remain in the country — In Iran, the anti-government protests of 2022 have continued into the new year. Reporting on one of the biggest international stories …
Chris Kay / Bloomberg:
Reliance and Paramount's Viacom18 buys five-year rights to the new women's Indian Premier League cricket tournament for ~$116M after buying the men's IPL rights — Viacom18 Media Pvt., backed by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, scooped up the television and digital broadcasting rights …