Top News:
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: Shari Redstone, Paramount Global's controlling shareholder through National Amusements, reaches a tentative deal to sell her stake to Skydance Media — - Redstone is the controlling shareholder of Paramount — Ellison's Skydance has partnered with Paramount on films
RELATED:
Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Paramount's board and Skydance Media agree to exclusive merger discussions, and Paramount will pause talks with other bidders; PARA rises ~15% — Agreement paves the way for an exit by controlling shareholder Shari Redstone — A deal between Paramount and Skydance is potentially one step closer to happening.
Discussion:
@variety, The Information, New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Next TV, The Streamable and Variety, more at Techmeme »
Amrita Khalid / The Verge:
X adds blue checks to some accounts, including journalists, as part of its plan to give free Premium status to those with 2,500+ “verified subscriber followers” — Just as Elon Musk said, X is doling out free Premium and Premium memberships to accounts with a high number of verified followers.
Discussion:
The Desk, 9to5Mac, Engadget, Rolling Stone, @jason_kint, @inafried, @pilgrimaltsburg.bsky.social, @evacide, Raw Story, @jason_kint, @mattbinder, @inafried, @angie_rasmussen, @natesilver538, @willoremus, @johnonolan, @tomwellborn3@threads.net, @brandyzadrozny, @harrymccracken, @seungminkim, @monaeltahawy, @radleybalko, @sethabramson, @jason_kint, @sarahspain, @holy_schnitt, @aodespair, @mattdpearce, @timnitgebru, @alexeheath, @alexrkonrad, @kevinmkruse.bsky.social, Deadline, @radiofreetom.bsky.social and @w7voa@journa.host, more at Techmeme »
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Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
X rolls out support for posting Community Notes in India ahead of the 2024 general elections and says the program now has contributors in 69 countries — Weeks before the national elections in India, Elon Musk-owned X said it is rolling out support for posting Community Notes — the company's crowd-sourced fact-checking program.
Discussion:
Popular Information, @communitynotes, Livemint, @elonmusk, Inc42 Media and @kcoleman, more at Techmeme »
CNBC:
Disney prevails in the proxy fight with Nelson Peltz's Trian Partners as shareholders vote to reelect its full board, a stamp of approval for Bob Iger's efforts — (L to R) Chief executive officer and chairman of The Walt Disney Company Bob Iger and Mickey Mouse look on before ringing …
Discussion:
CNN, NBC News, Variety, Poynter, Hollywood Reporter, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, @ivanthek, @alexweprin, @sherman4949, Fortune, @scottgustin, @tvgrimreaper, @xpangler, Next TV, @jbflint, @jbflint, The Desk, @lmoses, @jbflint, World of Reel, @tvgrimreaper, Variety, Observer, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, SlashFilm, @annmlipton@esq.social, @annmlipton@esq.social, @annmlipton@esq.social, Financial Times, @annmlipton@esq.social, @elonmusk, @billackman, Yahoo Finance, @passantino@threads.net, Associated Press, Gizmodo, Deadline, Forbes, Bill George on LinkedIn, New York Post, The Wrap, The Walt Disney Company, Bloomberg, CNN, Axios, Business Insider, Media Play News, Fox Business, Forbes, New York Times, Fox Business, @josie.zone, Advanced Television, Fortune, Variety, @sinboy.bsky.social, @mousterpiece.bsky.social, @vossbrink.bsky.social, @thielman.bsky.social, @alishagrauso.bsky.social, @blackamazon.bsky.social, Deadline, Quartz, New York Post, CNBC, CNN, Los Angeles Times, Business Insider and Reuters
Andrea Grimes / Home With The Armadillo:
Substack's new emphasis on followers, not subscriptions, and its opaque steps to migrate paid subscriptions off the platform make leaving harder for writers — And it'll be worse this time around! — The writing life, which has never exactly been a picnic for independent journalists and freelancers …
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
US rock band Kiss sells rights to its music, name, image, and likeness to Swedish entertainment company Pophouse to create a live show, a source says for ~$300M — Sale to Swedish entertainment group Pophouse set to 'fulfil the band's vision to become immortal'
Discussion:
Bloomberg, RTÉ and Raw Story, more at Techmeme »
Richard Lawler / The Verge:
Apple resolves an outage impacting some of its online services, including the App Store, Apple TV, Podcasts, and Music, that lasted for over an hour on April 3 — Apple's online services were hit with an outage that cut many of us off from the App Store, Apple TV, and Apple Music on Wednesday night.
Discussion:
The Desk, @glyph@mastodon.social, MacRumors, IGN and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Fox and AEG announce a week-long post-season college basketball tournament starting on March 31, 2025, as media companies devise sports events they control — Does the sports world have room for April Action after weeks of March Madness? — Fox aims to answer the question in 2025 …
Shannon Ryan / ABC13:
US Sen. Ted Cruz pushes back against reports that iHeartMedia, which hosts his podcast, gave $630K+ in 2023 to a PAC that exists solely to ensure his reelection — Sen. Ted Cruz is facing questions over a tangled web of political contributions involving the company that airs his podcast.
Discussion:
The Daily Beast and Mediaite
Devin Leonard / Bloomberg:
A look at the success of Bluey, the hit Australian animated TV show for kids estimated to be worth $2B, whose future is uncertain after the third season ends — The Australian children's show auteur Joe Brumm is at a crossroads: Keep growing, or end one of the best runs on TV.
Discussion:
@derekeb, @bradstone, @daniellesacks, @business and @timsteno
Adam Morgan / Literary Hub:
Small book publishers worry following the abrupt closure of Small Press Distribution, which was one of the last independent book distributors in the US — Adam Morgan Talks to Small Press Publishers About What Happens Next — Last week, Diane Goettel was on vacation in Florida when she saw an alarming email on her phone.
Discussion:
Mary Gannon on LinkedIn, @megireid, @adamm0rgan, @grammargirl@zirk.us, bookforum.com and Publishers Weekly
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