Mediagazer: French production group Mediawan acquires German rival Leonine for €500M; Mediawan is unaffected by streaming cuts due to EU quotas on locally produced content (Leila Abboud/Financial Times)

8:45 AM ET, April 29, 2024

Top News:

Alex Sherman / CNBC:

Sources: Paramount Global's board is preparing to fire CEO Bob Bakish as soon as Monday, after he lost the trust of controlling shareholder Shari Redstone — Bob Bakish, then president and chief executive officer of Viacom Inc., speaks during the Mobile World Congress Americas event in Los Angeles …

Discussion: Financial Times, Deadline, Bloomberg, Variety, @animated_antic, @sherman4949, @tvgrimreaper, @sherman4949, @slim_saidi_, @bristei, Deadline, IndieWire, Variety, Cord Cutters News, The Information and The Wrap

Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Paramount is planning for what happens if no big deal happens, mulling cutting $2B in costs, selling BET and TV stations, starting a streaming JV, more — The storied Hollywood company behind ‘The Godfather’ faces its biggest battle yet as Shari Redstone's merger plans collide with shareholder fury and a CEO on the outs

Discussion: CNBC, Awful Announcing, @jtoonkel and @waystarcroixco

Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Paramount Global's board is considering replacing CEO Bob Bakish with an “Office of the CEO” made up of division heads on an interim basis

Discussion: Broadband TV News, Cord Cutters News, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, New York Times, Amol Sharma on LinkedIn, The Information, New York Post, Media Play News, Jessica Toonkel on LinkedIn, Variety, Alex Sherman on LinkedIn and CNBC

Ben Smith / Semafor:

Sources: Nicholas Carlson, who has been the global editor-in-chief of Business Insider since 2017, is expected to leave the publication later this summer — After a nine-month span in 2020, in which social media furors forced the resignations of editors at Condé Nast titles …

Discussion: @semaforben, @maxwelltani and @akarl_smith

Sammy Gecsoyler / The Guardian:

BBC presenter Liz Bonnin's likeness was used in an ad after the company running the campaign was tricked by a fake, likely AI-generated, version of her voice — Exclusive: Liz Bonnin's face used on insect repellant advert after deal negotiated via WhatsApp and voice notes generated by AI

Discussion: Media Voices, The Drum, Deadline, @sammygecsoyler, Lynne Stainthorpe on LinkedIn, The Overspill and Steve Gray on LinkedIn

Leila Abboud / Financial Times:

French production group Mediawan acquires German rival Leonine for €500M; Mediawan is unaffected by streaming cuts due to EU quotas on locally produced content — French TV and film company Mediawan is benefiting from EU quotas on locally produced content

Discussion: Deadline, Variety, Broadband TV News and The Hollywood Reporter

Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:

Some founders say the TikTok ban won't impact creator economy startups much, as they have diversified across multiple platforms after Trump's 2020 ban attempt — ‘Two years ago, this would have been devastating’ — President Joe Biden signed a bill on Wednesday that could ban TikTok — for real this time.

Discussion: @robertoblake, TIME, Traackr, Polygon and ICYMI, more at Techmeme »

Sara Guaglione / Digiday:

Some publishers are hesitant to monetize generative AI chatbots with ads because of low CPMs and lack of scale, opting to build a subscription model first — This article was provided as an exclusive preview for Digiday+ members, who were able to access it early.

Discussion: @caddymarketing

Mike Fleming Jr / Deadline:

Producers United, a grassroots group of 86 top Hollywood “career producers”, launches to advocate for reforms, including changing their fee structure — EXCLUSIVE: As signatories prepare to negotiate new deals with IATSE and Teamsters, it might seem like the last thing the town wants …

Discussion: @mynette, @deadline, @ezhossington, @franklinleonard, @lynettehtaylor and New York Times

Ashley Capoot / CNBC:

Meta, Alphabet, and Snap beat analysts' estimates in their Q1 results, showing acceleration in advertising growth after struggling to rebound from a dismal 2022 — A view of Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California, United States on March 23, 2024. — Advertising is so back.

Discussion: Bloomberg, @brianstelter, The Verge, The Media Leader, Wall Street Journal and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »

Elise Morton / Associated Press:

Russia arrests journalists Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin on “extremism” charges for allegedly working for a group founded by the late Alexei Navalny — Two Russian journalists were arrested by their government on “extremism” charges and ordered by courts there on Saturday …

Discussion: Washington Post, Reuters, @polinaivanovva, Financial Times, The Wrap, @journalist_guy, The Hill, @jason_corcoran, @maimunkanews, @moscowtimes, The Insider, NHK WORLD, Deutsche Welle, Agence France-Presse, Politico and Fox News

Bloomberg:

Blackstone offers $1.30 per share in cash for Hipgnosis, valuing the business at ~$1.57B, above Concord's $1.51B offer; Hipgnosis' board recommends the deal — - Fresh bid of $1.30 per share surpasses Concord deal price — Hipgnosis owns songs catalogs from Blondie, Kaiser Chiefs

Discussion: Music Ally, City A.M., Music Business Worldwide, Reuters, Sky News and Financial Times

Madhumita Murgia / Financial Times:

The Financial Times signs a deal with OpenAI to train AI models on its archived content, and to let ChatGPT respond with short summaries of FT articles — Agreement comes as Microsoft-backed start-up seeks data from reliable sources to train latest artificial intelligence models

Discussion: The Guardian, TechCrunch, Reuters, Bloomberg, Press Gazette, @lukolejnik, @stokel, @jjvincent, @rasmus_kleis, @rasmus_kleis, @mhbergen, Music Ally, The Verge and @james_muldoon_, more at Techmeme »

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