Mediagazer: Endeavor combines the WWE with UFC to form TKO Group, and plans to keep the two separate in US rights deals but leverage them together for global rights deals (Tim Baysinger/Axios)

Tim Baysinger / Axios:

Endeavor combines the WWE with UFC to form TKO Group, and plans to keep the two separate in US rights deals but leverage them together for global rights deals — - Tim Baysinger, author of Axios Pro: Media Deals — Endeavor plans to keep UFC and WWE separate in U.S. rights deals …

Discussion: Variety, Fast Company, Awful Announcing, @sherman4949, @joepompliano, Los Angeles Times, Fox Business, CNBC, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, The Messenger and Front Office Sports

Sara Fischer / Axios:

The Sporting News raised $15M led by Playtech, valuing the site in the “eight figures”; TSN was founded as a newspaper in 1886 and became digital-only in 2012 — The Sporting News, a digital sports news site, has raised $15 million in a growth round led by Playtech, a London-based …

Sapna Maheshwari / New York Times:

TikTok begins rolling out TikTok Shop to all US users, adding a button to the app's home screen that sends users to a marketplace, and already has 200K sellers — The company is beginning to introduce TikTok Shop to all of the app's users in the U.S., hoping to add a major new revenue stream.

Discussion: Ad Age, CBS News, Reuters, The Messenger, The Verge, @sino_market, TikTok, Gizmodo, @tiktokcomms, TechCrunch and Insider Intelligence, more at Techmeme »

Andrew Albanese / Publishers Weekly:

The Internet Archive appeals a US judge's March 2023 decision that favors publishers in a copyright infringement case over the nonprofit's ebook lending program — As expected, the Internet Archive this week submitted its appeal in Hachette v. Internet Archive, the closely-watched copyright case involving …

Discussion: Plagiarism Today, Internet Archive Blogs, @remixtures@tldr.nettime.org, MediaNama, The Verge, The Bookseller and @glynmoody@mastodon.social

Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:

Nielsen's Gracenote unveils the FAST Program, a new initiative to help content companies get their FAST channels distributed by major streaming services — Unveiled at IBC in Amsterdam, it promises “better FAST content visibility, consumption and monetization.”

Discussion: Media Play News and MediaPost

Financial Times:

How a decade-long effort to restructure loans extended to the Barclay family culminated in Lloyds Banking Group seizing control of the Telegraph newspaper group — How a decade-long effort to restructure loans extended to the reclusive businessmen's empire culminated in Lloyds Banking Group seizing control of a national newspaper

Rachel Graf / The Information:

Sources describe Apollo's Yahoo turnaround efforts, including layoffs, asset sales, and new partnerships; Yahoo is on pace to generate $7B in 2023 gross revenue — When speaking about the company he inherited in September 2021, Jim Lanzone is remarkably blunt.

Discussion: @rachelagraf, @natebecker, @natebecker, @semaforben, @jessicalessin and @jamesgillespiex

New York Times:

Ex-NFL Network reporter Jim Trotter sues the NFL for racial discrimination, alleging his contract wasn't renewed after he called out the NFL's lack of diversity — Jim Trotter said his contract with the NFL Network was not renewed after he challenged Commissioner Roger Goodell and other executives …

Discussion: Mediaite, Awful Announcing, TMZ.com, Axios, United States District Court Southern District of New York, @claytravis, @nrarmour, The Athletic, @danprimack, @jimtrotter_nfl, Defector, Barrett Media, The Daily Beast, NBCSports.com and The Messenger

Sara Fischer / Axios:

The Economist plans to introduce Economist Podcasts+, a tier that in mid-October will offer exclusive access to all of the Economist's podcasts for $4.90/month — The Economist plans to introduce a new subscription tier this Thursday called Economist Podcasts+ for $4.90 monthly, the Economist president Bob Cohn told Axios.

Discussion: @jackmarshall

Jason Koebler / 404 Media:

As some supposedly “leaked” Harry Styles songs are being sold on Discord, fans and AI-analysis companies struggle to determine if the clips are AI-generated — Discord communities within the Harry Styles and One Direction fandom are tearing themselves apart over “leaked snippets” …

Discussion: @josephfcox and @jason_koebler, more at Techmeme »

Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:

MTV partners with Snapchat to let users vote for the Video Music Awards' Best New Artist category through a special Lens, once the three finalists are decided — MTV has partnered with Snapchat to let users vote for a Video Music Awards category through Lenses.

Discussion: @senoj.bsky.social and MediaPost

Hunter Walk:

Why there has never been a better time to be an online creator: it might be harder than ever to earn $1M per year, but it has never been easier to make $50K — I judge the health of the creator economy by one single controversial factor: ease of access and probability of survival for its participants.

Discussion: @obrien, @hunterwalk, The Information and @carnage4life@threads.net

Emma Roth / The Verge:

Disney and Charter's deal bundles ESPN+ with Spectrum TV Select Plus, and the upcoming ESPN streaming channel and Disney+'s ad tier with Spectrum TV Select — Disney and Charter have resolved the carriage dispute that blocked millions of viewers from watching ESPN, ABC, FX, and other Disney-owned networks.

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Interviews with Disney Entertainment co-chairman Dana Walden and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro about the Charter deal, how Spectrum expands ESPN+'s reach, and more

Discussion: The Streamable, WORLD SCREEN, Yahoo Entertainment, Deadline, Cord Cutters News, Forbes, Comic Book, Hollywood Reporter and Variety