Mediagazer: 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 (Sara Fischer/Axios)

11:25 AM ET, April 4, 2023

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.

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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 …

Discussion: Awful Announcing, Insider, @sarafischer, OutKick, Barrett Media, @sarafischer, Front Office Sports, @brandonthurston, Financial Times, @aaronbronsteter, The Streamable, Sportico, Los Angeles Times and Pro Wrestling Torch

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 …

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 …

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

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

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.

Discussion: The Verge, Complete Music Update, 9to5Mac, The Hollywood Reporter, Gizmodo, @andysternberg, Engadget, @glenngabe, TechCrunch, @pjbrown_iii, @billboard and Billboard, more at Techmeme »

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."

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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.

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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 …

Discussion: MediaPost, The Hollywood Reporter, The Streamable, The Wrap, Broadband TV News, The Desk, Fox Corporation, Cord Cutters News and Media Play News

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

Craig Lord / Global News:

Rogers Communications, one of Canada's largest cable providers, closed its ~$15B deal to merge with rival Shaw on Monday, two years after first announcing it — Rogers must fulfill list of conditions in Shaw merger or face stiff financial penalties — Rogers Communications Inc. has closed …

Discussion: Bloomberg and Reuters

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