Top News:
Amy Thomson / Bloomberg:
Endeavor acquires the WWE in a deal that values Vince McMahon's company at $9.3B including debt; Endeavor CEO Ariel Emanuel will lead the combined $21B+ company — Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. has agreed to buy World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. in a deal that values the company at $9.3 billion including debt.
Discussion:
Axios, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Bloomberg, New York Times, New York Times, @sarafischer, CNBC, Investis Digital, Endeavor, The A.V. Club, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, The Week, Variety, Broadband TV News, @benmullin, @alexweprin, Fox Business, Observer, @lanceulanoff, Sportico, @jimpethokoukis, @business, @chrisvannini, Japan Times, Insider, MediaPost, @jonalba, New York Post, Media Play News, The Information, Pro Wrestling Torch, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, @fightoracle, Forbes, The FADER, @claytravis, @sherman4949, @abrahamjoseph, @lucas_shaw, @dennyburkholder, @brentsobleski, CNBC, Reuters, Yahoo Finance, New York Daily News, Gadgets 360, Financial Times, Barrett Media, Reuters, Sportico, Fox Business, The Comeback, Awful Announcing, Pro Wrestling Torch, Front Office Sports, Deadline, New York Post, Variety, ClutchPoints, The Wrap, Popverse Latest, IGN and Front Office Sports
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Sara Fischer / Axios:
An interview with WWE President Nick Khan on the WWE and UFC pursuing separate linear TV rights negotiations, continuing the WWE's Saudi relationship, and more — WWE and UFC will pursue separate media rights negotiations for linear TV, but there could be an opportunity to pursue a combined streaming deal …
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: Warner Bros. Discovery are close to a deal for a Harry Potter TV series based on the seven books, a cornerstone of HBO's new streaming strategy — Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. is close to a deal for a new online TV series based on Harry Potter, the best-selling young adult books …
Discussion:
Variety, The Streamable, Forbes, @filmupdates, Screen Rant, Insider, Deadline, Vanity Fair, Decider, New York Post, The Playlist, The Verge, The Week, @cameron_kasky, Gadgets 360, IGN, @discussingfilm, @ecmyers, @dancow, @ashleylcarter1, Knight Edge Media, SlashFilm, @brianstelter, The A.V. Club, ClutchPoints, GoldDerby, @popcrave, Collider, @ewerickson, @theinsneider, @marklazerus, @abrahamjoseph, TVLine and IndieWire
Kim Masters / The Hollywood Reporter:
Many current and former Amazon executives, showrunners, and agents say Amazon Studios is confusing and frustrating; one showrunner says Studios has “no vision” — Despite ambitious bets like ‘Daisy Jones & The Six’ and the upcoming ‘Citadel,’ insiders complain that there's still …
Remy Tumin / New York Times:
Nielsen: the 2023 NCAA women's basketball tournament final averaged 9.9M viewers, up 103% YoY; ESPN: the game was the most viewed college event ever on ESPN+ — The average 9.9 million viewers for Louisiana State topping Iowa was significantly more than the previous record of 5.7 million …
Discussion:
@espnpr, The Athletic, Axios, Awful Announcing, @kimelchlepp, Barrett Media, @rodger, The Ringer, The Comeback, ClutchPoints, Sports Media Watch, @richarddeitsch, @sarahspain, Awful Announcing, @deadline, Awful Announcing, @walsha, @richarddeitsch, @richarddeitsch, Sportico, Deadline, @corahalll, @richarddeitsch, @frank_seravalli, @billiejeanking, @sportsiren, @janesports, @hannahstormespn, @ktrain_11 and @a_g_haubner
RELATED:
Karl Rasmussen / Sports Illustrated:
Nielsen: the NCAA women's basketball tournament semifinals averaged 4.5M viewers on ESPN's platforms, the highest average on record for the Women's Final Four
Discussion:
Sports Media Watch, USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Front Office Sports, ClutchPoints, @espnpr, Barrett Media, Sports Media Watch, Axios, @drlindseydarvin, @paulsen_smw, @coachcoriclose, @uvahoopsriffs, @codyworsham, The Ringer, @hassel_chris, Front Office Sports and Awful Announcing
Stuart Dredge / Music Ally:
Spotify shuts down its Clubhouse-style audio app Spotify Live, previously called Locker Room, acquired as part of its €57M Betty Labs deal in March 2021 — Spotify is shutting down its live-audio app Spotify Live, but says it will continue experimenting with live features in its main service.
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
A Meta-commissioned report argues Facebook is not a “must-have” for publishers, saying news links account for less than 3% of posts users see in their feed — News links account for less than 3% of posts people see in their Facebook feeds. — A report commissioned by Meta …
Discussion:
@dkiesow@social.kiesow.net, @jamesrbuk, @jeffjarvis and Nieman Lab
Max Tani / Semafor:
A look at the fissures within The Guardian after years of infighting over its trans coverage, as the anti-trans wing is widely viewed internally as ascendant — The wars at The Guardian reached one of their periodic peaks in September of 2021, when the philosopher Judith Butler said in an interview …
Discussion:
@maxwelltani, @paulduanefilm, @transscribe, @brokenbottleboy, @semaforben, @rswirling, @bigmeaninternet, @jbenton, @mattzeitlin and @ginarush
Thomas E. Patterson / Nieman Lab:
A survey of 253 NPR member stations finds that 60% have 10 or fewer news staff and average just over one hour of locally produced news programming per day — “Local public radio has a staffing problem. Stations have considerable potential but aren't yet in a position to make it happen."
Maya Salam / New York Times:
A profile of Hot Ones, a YouTube show with millions of views from its nearly 300 episodes where stars eat 10 increasingly fiery wings while answering questions — This YouTube talk show's premise is simple: Disarm celebrities with deep-cut questions and scorchingly spicy wings.
Discussion:
@firstwefeast, @dealbook, @kimseverson, @shwinyo, @maya__salam, @richantoniello and @kerrymflynn
Peter White / Deadline:
Vice Media signs a deal with Fox-owned Tubi to make eight documentaries for the ad-supported streamer, starting with The Cult of Elon, set to debut on April 24 — EXCLUSIVE: Vice Media has a new partner in the documentary space. — The youth-media company, which recently saw …
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
How Netflix, which long thought ad spending doesn't increase viewers, shifted its strategy under new marketing chief Marian Lee to push content that can “pop” — The streaming service long thought spending on ads didn't result in more viewers. That has subtly changed under the marketing chief Marian Lee.
Discussion:
The Wrap, @mediasnarking, @raypride, @snyderqueen_, @thealikarimi, @rachelmercer and @papi_thegreat
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