Top News:
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 …
Max Tani / Semafor:
Sources: CNN is considering hiring a comedian to host one of its prime-time shows; 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 …
Discussion:
New York Post, @jeffjarvis, @nkulw, @the_moviebob, @susanbordson, Fox News, @ourand_sbj, @steven_strauss, @schneider_cm, @arlanwashere, Mediaite, @justschmeltzer, @mattdavis, @bencjacobs, @phil_rosenthal, @lionelmedia, @ameshiacross, @johnnydollar01, @davidbix, @neontaster, @cenksidar, @armandondk, @tvgrimreaper, @greenfield64 and Variety
Manori Ravindran / Variety:
Sources: Amazon Prime Video plans to part ways with Jeremy Clarkson after his already commissioned shows air in 2024, following his column about 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, Screen Rant, UPI, E! Online, @mfwitches, IndieWire, CBS News, Daily Mail, Daily Mail, @ledbettercarly, @simonharris_mbd, NME, @rupertmyers, @tennisfanv3, @factsand2cents, The Sun, @manori_r, @henrymance, @sangitamyska, @nadine_writes, @danwootton, @kevin_maguire, @tudorchick1501, Dailystar.co.uk, @russincheshire, @ryanjl, @mrjamesob, LBC, The Wrap, Daily Mail, @royal_suitor, @thattimwalker, The Guardian, @number10cat, @nancyleegrahn, @droid254, @richardaeden, Sky News, @meralhece and Press Gazette
Isabella Simonetti / New York Times:
How a CoinDesk scoop caused FTX's collapse, sending the outlet's monthly page views up 96% to 17M in November, as CoinDesk covers parent company DCG's problems — 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 Desk, The Guardian and Media Play News
Michael Schneider / Variety:
Q&A with MGM+ President Michael Wright on rebranding from Epix, plans to increase to at least 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:
Cord Cutters News, 9to5Google, 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 WBD's streaming service Discovery+ to its subscribers in the UK and Ireland for free, saving them £6.99 or €6.99 per month — “We know value is incredibly important right now,” Comcast-owned Sky says. … “Sky Q, Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers …
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 a new cost-saving plan — The Sunday People and Sunday Mirror have been under the same editor since 2014. — The Sunday Mirror and Sunday People newspapers look set …
Ken Bensinger / New York Times:
A FIFA corruption trial set to start on Tuesday could implicate Fox Corp, as two ex-Fox executives accused of paying bribes to obtain broadcast rights testify — Two former executives are accused of paying bribes to obtain broadcast rights, including for the World Cup. Testimony could reveal what the company knew.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, @dmihalopoulos, @kenbensinger, @cboehm and @tayredacted
Gina Chua / Semafor:
Singapore's The Straits Times said last week it overstated daily circulation by 85K-95K copies, or 10%-12% of reported totals, from September 2020 to March 2022 — SPH Media, Singapore's dominant news organization, has been derided for many failings — being too stodgy, too pro-government …
Discussion:
@incoherentboy, @benplatt1023, @byjasonng, @newley, @semafor and The Straits Times
Will Bedingfield / Wired:
The Overwatch League's path to profitability remains unclear given dwindling viewership, recent upheavals inside Activision Blizzard, and dampening esports hype — Activision-Blizzard's ambitious, much-hyped initiative has stalled. Recent upheavals reveal the instability of esports—and a murky future for the league.