Top News:
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: Alphabet and Meta have talked to Hollywood studios about licensing content for AI video generation tools; Disney and Netflix aren't willing to license — - Studios seek to harness AI's promise without losing control — Warner weighs licensing content; Disney, Netflix say no
Discussion:
Engadget, @lucas_shaw, @loudmouthjulia, The Information, @intelwire.bsky.social, @tv-ma.bsky.social, @coachfinstock.bsky.social, @lucas_shaw, @tomlommel.com, @rickywlmsbong.bsky.social, @framethenarrative.bsky.social, @zitron.bsky.social, @sababausa.bsky.social, @villagegenius.bsky.social and @causamdicere.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
The Hollywood Reporter:
Paramount and Charter reach a new multiyear carriage deal, adding the ad-supported versions of Paramount+ and BET+ for free to Charter subscribers later in 2024 — The news comes at a critical moment for the entertainment company.
Discussion:
The Desk, Reuters, The Wrap, Variety, Los Angeles Times, Charter Communications, Inc., Deadline, Cord Cutters News and Media Play News
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Leave the World Behind was the most-watched title on Netflix globally in H2 2023, with 121M views, while One Piece was the most-watched series, with 71.6M views — Dystopian thriller “Leave the World Behind” was the most-watched film — and title overall — on Netflix globally in the second half of 2023 …
Discussion:
About Netflix, Deadline, Screen Rant, The Streamable, Business Insider, @emohorgan, @marypot, @jgolden5, @shamankingnews, @loudmouthjulia, @joshacarpenter, @podkatz, @kasey__moore, @kasey__moore, @whatonnetflix, @whatonnetflix, @zonozi, Polygon, The A.V. Club, Benzinga, Deadline, Next TV, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Digital Trends, Deadline, Bollywood and Media Play News
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Ben Smith and Nayeema Raza plan to launch Mixed Signals, a podcast about media, on May 31, sponsored by Google and available as audio-only and on YouTube — Sponsored by Google, the show will be available as an audio-only production and as a video offering on YouTube — Welcome back to Soundbite.
Discussion:
@semafor@threads.net, @mattdpearce@threads.net, @brianstelter and Billboard
Sapna Maheshwari / New York Times:
TikTok limits the spread of videos from state-affiliated media outside their home countries and disrupted 15 influence operations in 2024, including from China — The platform will keep state-affiliated media accounts out of users' feeds if they “attempt to reach communities outside …
Discussion:
Washington Post, TikTok, The Verge and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Pete Brown / Columbia Journalism Review:
An overview of existing deals between news publishers and AI companies and the questions they raise regarding long-term costs, the selection process, and more — In the past few weeks, News Corp, the Financial Times and Dotdash Meredith became the latest news organizations to strike licensing deals …
Discussion:
@jonkeegan@mastodon.social, @nw@ioc.exchange, Press Gazette and Benzinga
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Wall Street Journal:
News Corp and OpenAI announce a multiyear agreement to bring News Corp's news content to OpenAI; sources say the deal could be worth $250M+ over five years
News Corp and OpenAI announce a multiyear agreement to bring News Corp's news content to OpenAI; sources say the deal could be worth $250M+ over five years
Discussion:
Engadget, News Corp, New York Times, Conor Grennan on LinkedIn, @iape1096, The Information, @emilybell, Music Ally, Breitbart, How Things Work, Luke Sikkema on LinkedIn, Ricky Sutton on LinkedIn, Press Gazette, City A.M., Digital Trends, @marlownyc, The Register, Digiday, The Verge, VentureBeat, The Wrap, Nicholas Gray on LinkedIn, Washington Post, @benny6toes.bsky.social, Artem Fishman on LinkedIn, Variety, Axios, Sydney Morning Herald, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, The Hollywood Reporter, MediaPost, Talking Biz News and The Hill, more at Techmeme »
Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
Lionsgate Q4: a net loss of $39.5M vs. a loss of $96.8M a year ago, overall revenue of $1.117B; Starz had 12.59M streaming subscribers, down from 12.63M in Q3 — The latest quarterly earnings follows a spin of its studio business into a separately traded company, Lionsgate Studios.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Variety, Deadline, Lionsgate and Media Play News
Wall Street Journal:
Trump says that if he's elected, Russia would release WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich; the Kremlin denies any contact between Putin and Trump on the matter — Kremlin says Russian leader isn't in contact with former U.S. president about journalist — Former President Donald Trump …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Guardian, Reuters, Mediaite, New York Times, Metro.co.uk, The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, New Jersey Online and The Hill
Selena Kuznikov / Variety:
Hollywood Commission, an advocacy organization chaired by Anita Hill, launches MyConnext, a website for entertainment industry workers to report workplace abuse — Since the #MeToo movement began gained momentum in Hollywood back in 2017, entertainment workers have voiced concerns …
Discussion:
IndieWire, The Wrap, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times and Rolling Stone
Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
A bill strengthening the CMA, UK's competition watchdog, heads toward approval; the CMA could push tech giants to pay publishers for news linked on their sites — The UK has paved the way for Australia-style payments to news publishers from tech giants as the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill was passed by Parliament.
Discussion:
TechCrunch and Game Developer, more at Techmeme »
CNBC:
The DOJ and 30 state AGs sue Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation to break it up, alleging “anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control” — The U.S. Department of Justice is suing to break up Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, over alleged antitrust violations.
Discussion:
Live Nation Entertainment, @abughazalehkat, The Verge, Variety, Engadget, The Information, Gizmodo, Rolling Stone, PBS NewsHour, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, The Register, The Hollywood Reporter, CNN, UPI, Consequence, New York Times, Metro.co.uk, NPR, Wired, Nate Dorough on LinkedIn, The US Sun, Wall Street Journal, Clayton Durant on LinkedIn, masslive.com, @eriqgardner, Digital Music News, @tracyalloway, TechCrunch, New York Post, Politico, CMU, Semafor, @evacide, Fast Company, Washington Post, UPROXX, Vibe, New York Daily News, Benzinga, CBS News, Music Business Worldwide, Fortune, DC News Now, Reuters, The A.V. Club and RTÉ, more at Techmeme »
Oliver Darcy / CNN:
WaPo CEO Will Lewis outlines plans for Post Pro and Post Plus subscriptions, and “flexible payments” to let readers make a one-time payment for reading a story — On Wednesday, Will Lewis, the newly minted publisher and chief executive of The Washington Post …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Breitbart, Washington Post, @carnage4life@mas.to, Poynter, @sarafischer, @oliverdarcy@threads.net and @maxwelltani