Top News:
Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:
Source: Byron Allen submits a preliminary $10B offer to Disney to acquire its ABC TV network, local stations, and the FX and National Geographic cable channels — - Disney said it hasn't made any decisions on sale of properties — Nexstar has also held early talks for ABC and local stations
RELATED:
Oliver Darcy / CNN:
Sources including ABC News staffers describe a feeling of dread and trepidation inside ABC; employees say they heard news of a possible sale from the press — Editor's Note: A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. Sign up for the daily digest chronicling the evolving media landscape here.
Discussion:
New York Post, Columbia Journalism Review and Reuters
Bloomberg:
Sources: Disney held talks exploring selling its ABC network and TV stations to Nexstar Media Group, which has 200 owned or partner TV stations in 116 markets
Sources: Disney held talks exploring selling its ABC network and TV stations to Nexstar Media Group, which has 200 owned or partner TV stations in 116 markets
Discussion:
MediaPost, Forbes, The Streamable, Axios, The Verge, @mattbelloni, @nick_weather, @willthelandman, @lucas_shaw, @jayrosen_nyu, @lucas_shaw, Ad Age, The Desk, Reuters, Bleeding Cool News, Sports Media Watch, Los Angeles Times, Deadline, The Wrap, Insider, TVLine, Variety, The Hill, 9to5Mac, Next TV, Barrett Media, The Messenger, Cord Cutters News, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and The Wrap
Mediaite:
Sources: Fox News fired veteran executive John Finley on September 9 after a woman alleged he sexually harassed and stalked her; Fox settled with the woman — John Finley, a top Fox News executive who was fired last week after more than 20 years at the network, was ousted after a woman alleged …
Discussion:
The Wrap and @joelmathis.bsky.social
David Marchese / New York Times:
An interview with Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner on his new book about seven white male musicians, interviewing his friends, and his generation's legacy — “We've lived really privileged lives,” says the co-founder of Rolling Stone. “Now we get to rest.”
Discussion:
ET Canada, @jayrosen_nyu, @jodyrosen, @moorehn, @franklinleonard, @johntomlinson, Consequence, @jacobtwop, @jkarsh, @lebassett, @mitchellepner.bsky.social, @bowiesongs.bsky.social, @thisismari.at, @nberlat.bsky.social, @nedraggett.bsky.social, @electriceden92.bsky.social, @bowiesongs.bsky.social, @usefulnoise.bsky.social, @bowiesongs.bsky.social and UPROXX
Max Goldbart / Deadline:
Sources: VFX firm DNEG told staff to take pay cuts of 20%+ for 7 months or agree to a 3-year loan scheme; it laid off ~7.5% of its London HQ workforce in July — EXCLUSIVE: Just weeks after laying off dozens in its London HQ, Dune VFX firm DNEG is asking staff to take up to 25% pay cuts …
Discussion:
Collider
Financial Times:
Sources: Meta is exploring whether to show ads in WhatsApp and charge a subscription fee to use the app without ads; WhatsApp denies working on such a feature — Talks are at an early stage, sources say, as Facebook parent looks for new ways to increase revenue
Discussion:
The Information, @wcathcart, @edzitron, The Drum and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Alyssa Boyle / AdExchanger:
Q&A with Rob Emrich, executive chairman of ad tech platform Infillion, on his plans for ad tech company MediaMath, which Infillion bought out of bankruptcy — Infillion is finally unveiling its intentions for MediaMath after buying the company out of bankruptcy during an auction last month.
Discussion:
@kerrymflynn, Digiday, Insider and Axios
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
X changes its crowdsourced fact-checking Community Notes feature to show contributors other note proposals and see other viewpoints before they submit a rating — X (formerly Twitter) this week changed how its crowdsourced fact-checking Community Notes feature works.
Discussion:
@communitynotes
Haroon Siddique / The Guardian:
MailOnline to pay BBC presenter Gabby Logan and her husband “substantial damages” over false claims; ex-Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie will pay damages for a tweet — Payout relates to article that wrongly claimed pair had received £500,000 to promote tax avoidance schemes
Benjy Sarlin / Semafor:
Sources: the New York Times has been in talks with Politico Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza about helping the paper relaunch its On Politics newsletter — Punchbowl News: As negotiations within the House GOP conference continue over a stopgap funding bill, some GOP members are hopeful the bill …
Discussion:
@sauthoff.bsky.social, @joshuaerlich and @agoldmund
Joe Otterson / Variety:
Study: US major streamers canceled TV series at a combined average rate of 12.2% from 2020 to 2023; Max had the highest rate at 26.9%, Apple TV+, the lowest — WBD's Max wielded the heaviest ax from 2020 to 2023 while Apple TV+ was most merciful — The Streaming Era began with a promise …
Discussion:
The Streamable and Wall Street Journal
Josef Adalian / Vulture:
Hulu launches Top 15 Today, updated daily to list trending movies and TV shows; source: the list uses a formula weighing viewership, popularity surges, and more — Hulu is finally getting into the numbers game — but on its own terms. Vulture has learned that the Disney-owned streamer …
Discussion:
Variety, The Verge, Decider, 9to5Google, The Streamable, The Walt Disney Company and Cord Cutters News