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Nielsen: the 96th Oscars averaged 19.5M viewers in the US, up 4% YoY, the biggest audience for any awards show since 2020, when the Oscars drew 23.64M viewers — The 96th Academy Awards draw 19.5 million viewers, the most for any awards show since 2020. — The 2024 Oscars were the most watched in four years.
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Variety, The Hill, The Ankler, TVLine, IndieWire, @jbflint, The Wrap, CNN, The Walt Disney Company, Deadline, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, Agence France-Presse, Adweek, @r0bwatson, New York Times, Bloomberg, The Playlist, Vulture, Next TV and Fast Company
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Netflix won only one Oscar award, for Wes Anderson's short film, and Apple TV+ won zero, despite 32 combined nominations; Universal won big with Oppenheimer — The streamers combined for 32 nominations but Netflix won just a single award. — Despite combining for 32 nominations …
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@carnage4life, @andrew__boley, @tvgrimreaper, @pooroldrolotony, @fleetstreetfox, Looper, IndieWire, @judysquirrels, @frankieboyle, Deadline, @beckyjane02, @carnage4life, @lucas_shaw, @robdenbleyker, @xpangler, Media Play News, The Playlist, The Wrap, Forbes, GoldDerby, What's on Netflix, @lucas_shaw, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, Deadline, NME, iMore, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and Bloomberg


Mstyslav Chernov's 20 Days in Mariupol won the Oscar for best documentary, a first for AP and PBS' Frontline — Mstyslav Chernov's “20 Days in Mariupol,” a harrowing first-person account of the early days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, won the best documentary Oscar on Sunday night.
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Current, Voice of America, Vlad Mykhnenko on LinkedIn, Karen Kaiser on LinkedIn, Lisa Gibbs on LinkedIn, Global Investigative …, Obi Adumekwe on LinkedIn, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, New York Times, IndieWire, Anna Johnson on LinkedIn, SlashFilm, Paul Haven on LinkedIn, The Hill, Deadline, Politico, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter and Associated Press


G/O Media sells Deadspin to European company Lineup, which won't keep the sports news outlet's staff; CEO Jim Spanfeller says G/O didn't actively shop Deadspin — The beleaguered media company has sold its key sports property off to a European publisher who will gut the website and replace its staff.
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Getty, Reuters, AP, the AFP, and other news outlets withdraw a photo issued by the UK's Princess of Wales, after analysis suggested the photo had been altered — Several leading news organisations have withdrawn a photograph issued by Kensington Palace of Kate, Britain's Princess of Wales …
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Warner Bros. Discovery renews its multiyear agreement with movie distributor GKids to extend Max's exclusive US streaming rights for Studio Ghibli films — Hayao Miyazaki's “The Boy and the Heron,” which just won the Oscar for feature animated film, is streaming to Max in the U.S.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter


In a video, Disney warns shareholders that adding Nelson Peltz and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo to the company's board would be “disruptive and destructive” — Walt Disney Co. is stepping up its campaign against activist investor Nelson Peltz, warning shareholders in a new video that it would be …


Thomson Reuters CEO Steve Hasker says the group has $8B to spend on AI acquisitions and investments, to transform its businesses of supplying professional data — Media and data group will develop its own technology and scoop up targets with AI capabilities


Sources: Apollo Global Management has reached out in recent days to a special committee formed by Paramount Global about a possible takeover or asset purchase — - That rival group, which includes private equity firms KKR and RedBird Capital Partners, is evaluating an all-cash bid for Paramount's parent …
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The Streamable, The Wrap, @jyarow and @tvgrimreaper


The Associated Press plans to launch AP Buyline, a product recommendations site powered by Taboola, on March 18, part of plans to attract more consumer revenue — - The company, which has historically made most of its money from licensing its content to other media organizations …
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@tomaxwell, @ckrewson, @qlquanle, @adamsingolda, Taboola, Inc., @taboola, @adamsingolda and @sarafischer


Scholastic invests $186M to acquire full economic interest in 9 Story Media Group, a Canadian children's content producer and distributor — The book publishing giant proposes taking 100 percent of the economic interests and a minority of voting interests in the Canadian kids and family content producer.
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Variety, Publishers Weekly, Canada NewsWire Group and Deadline


A profile of Donna Langley, NBCUniversal's chief content officer and studios chairwoman, who has led Universal to creative dominance and commercial supremacy — Under Donna Langley's leadership, Universal has managed the rare feat of achieving creative dominance and commercial supremacy at the same time.
Discussion:
@thehofstatter, The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire and The Wrap