Top News:
The Hollywood Reporter:
Paramount CEO Bob Bakish steps down; Brian Robbins, Chris McCarthy, and George Cheeks will run Paramount on an interim basis as an “Office of the CEO” — The entertainment company, in the midst of a sale process, has tapped Brian Robbins, Chris McCarthy and George Cheeks to run Paramount on an interim basis.
Discussion:
Variety, Sportico, @benmullin, Deadline, @jeremymbarr, The Wrap, @dylanbyers, @sherman4949, IndieWire, @alexweprin, The Guardian, StreamTV Insider, @benmullin, Variety, Media Play News, Adweek, Paramount, New York Times, @jeremymbarr, The Streamable, Wall Street Journal, Axios, Next TV, The Hill and WORLD SCREEN
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Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
Paramount Q1: revenue of $7.69B, up 6% YoY, and operating loss of $417M, down from $1.2B YoY; Paramount+ reached 71M+ global subscribers with revenue up 51% YoY — The studio unveiled its first quarter earnings amid talk of deal-making options and a CEO shake-up.
Discussion:
AdExchanger, Paramount, Next TV, Bloomberg, @sherman4949, Deadline, @jbflint, @sherman4949, The Daily Beast, @sherman4949, The Wrap and Media Play News
Madhumita Murgia / Financial Times:
The Financial Times signs a deal with OpenAI to train AI models on the publisher's archived content and to let ChatGPT reply 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:
Financial Times, TechCrunch, Fast Company, @chrisgiles_, @bondhack, @mhbergen, Philipp Mueller on LinkedIn, @decka227, @btibor91, @gadget_ry@threads.net, @rasmus_kleis, @mattlcapon, @pressgazette, Press Gazette, @bradlightcap, @thanosalifantis, Journalism.co.uk, Michael Hobbs on LinkedIn, @jjvincent, @jenit, @mikeyearworth, @stokel, @mdbaccardax, The Information, @james_muldoon_, @maurobattellini, @gdb, @alexrkonrad, Damian Burns on LinkedIn, @andrewcurran_, City A.M., @ftpressoffice, @lukolejnik, The Times, @petepachal, @mattgarrahan, @rasmus_kleis, @openai, Observer, @robinwigg, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Press Gazette, The Verge and Reuters, more at Techmeme »
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: Shari Redstone agreed to take less than $2B for her Paramount stake as part of Skydance's “best and final” offer, lower than what was initially offered — Bob Bakish, CEO of Paramount, speaks with CNBC's David Faber on Sept. 6, 2023. — In what could easily be a plotline …
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New York Times:
Sources: in a revised bid, Skydance offered Paramount shareholders a larger stake in the combined company and a $3B cash infusion to pay debt and buy back stock — The terms of the new deal would provide Paramount shareholders with an investment to pay down debt and buy back stock.
Discussion:
The Desk, The Hollywood Reporter, @sherman4949, @benmullin, The Streamable, @benmullin, New York Post, Barrett Media and The Wrap
Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Paramount is planning for what happens if no big deal arises, mulling cutting $2B in costs, selling BET and TV stations, starting a streaming JV, more
Discussion:
Bloomberg, New York Times, Deadline, The Streamable, New York Post, CBS News, @waystarcroixco, @jtoonkel and Awful Announcing
New York Times:
OAN retracts a story that said Trump's ex-lawyer Michael Cohen had an affair with Stormy Daniels, apologizes as part of a settlement with no monetary damages — Michael D. Cohen's lawyers took on OAN over the false story. The settlement came as right-wing news outlets face a barrage of defamation suits.
Discussion:
One America News Network, Mediaite, The Daily Beast, HuffPost, Deadline, CNN, @nycsouthpaw and The Hill
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: NBCUniversal is prepared to pay an average of about $2.5B a year to air a package of NBA games, as WBD makes last-ditch efforts to keep those rights — Comcast's NBCUniversal is prepared to pay an average of about $2.5 billion a year to air a package of National Basketball Association games …
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Deadline, @2xaught7.bsky.social, Sports Media Watch, @tvgrimreaper, Barrett Media and Reuters
Laura Wagner / Washington Post:
Over 50 journalism professors call on the NYT to address questions on its report that described a “pattern of gender-based violence” in Hamas' October 7 attack — A major investigative report into sexual violence in the Hamas attack on Israel has drawn criticism inside and outside the newspaper
Discussion:
Amal Ghandour on LinkedIn, @thrasherxy, @peterkirstein, @matteomedia, @bazzinyu and @jayrosen_nyu
Todd Spangler / Variety:
NBCUniversal plans to raise Peacock Premium with ads by $2 to $7.99/month and Premium Plus by $2 to $13.99/month starting July 18, its second hike in two years — NBCUniversal is looking to wring more money out of Peacock subscribers, with the streamer set to raise prices this summer — one year after its last fee hike.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, ComingSoon.net, CNBC, TVLine, The Desk, @xpangler, The Streamable, Adweek, Deadline, Screen Rant, UPROXX, The Verge, BGR, IndieWire, The Wrap and Next TV, more at Techmeme »
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, @akarl_smith, @maxwelltani and Talking Biz News
Benjamin Hart / New York Magazine:
Q&A with Axios CEO Jim VandeHei on AI, “smart brevity” bullet point format, Puck's and Punchbowl's business models, his new book Just the Good Stuff, and more — Jim VandeHei has a knack for being ahead of the curve. In 2006, he bolted from the Washington Post with John Harris …
Discussion:
A Media Operator
Jon Henley / The Guardian:
In its annual report, Civil Liberties Union for Europe says media freedom is declining across the EU and “perilously close to breaking point” in some countries — Civil liberties network warns of decline across the bloc as a result of harm or neglect by governments
Discussion:
@jeffjarvis, National Union of Journalists … and Politico
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