Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Disney and Comcast's NBCUniversal hit an impasse in Disney's buyout plans for NBCU's 33% Hulu stake, with a significant disagreement over valuation — Companies are discussing a Disney buyout of Comcast's stake in streaming service; with a big valuation gap, the prospect of a court battle looms
Discussion:
The Desk, The Information, The Streamable, The Media Leader and @tvgrimreaper
Max Tani / Semafor:
Details of CNN's ad packages for its Biden-Trump debate on June 27: a top-tier level with a $1.5M minimum, limits on spending by campaigns and PACs, and more — The Scoop — The Donald Trump-driven boom times are back for the business of American television — at least, for one night in June.
RELATED:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Moonbug Entertainment names Courtney Holt, previously Spotify's head of studios and video, as managing director for the Americas, taking over from Andy Yeatman — Holt takes over the position from Andy Yeatman, who is departing Moonbug for an unspecified new gig.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Courtney Holt on LinkedIn, Deadline and Advanced Television
Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
A look at Robert Allbritton's NOTUS, a nonprofit national politics outlet that employs 10 full-time fellows and is intended to act as a journalist incubator — When he was the owner of Politico, Robert Allbritton sat atop a farm system that hired scores of young reporters to work alongside veteran editors …
Zheping Huang / Bloomberg:
Sources: TikTok pauses plans to launch its e-commerce business in major European markets to focus on growth in the US where it's fighting the divest-or-ban law — - ByteDance halts plan to roll out shopping from Spain to Italy — Company aims to entrench itself in its most lucrative market
Discussion:
Benzinga, @carnage4life, PYMNTS.com, The Register, Tubefilter, The Information, 9to5Mac, New York Times and Reuters, more at Techmeme »
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
Startup Fable Studio announces Showrunner, a streaming service that lets users watch AI-generated series and create their own series by writing prompts — Fable, the studio behind the viral AI-generated ‘South Park’ clips, has announced a streaming platform that allows users to create their own content.
Discussion:
Tubefilter, The Guardian, B. Earl on LinkedIn, Gizmodo, VentureBeat and IndieWire, more at Techmeme »
Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Meta says 40M+ US and Canadian adults aged 18 to 29 use Facebook daily, the highest number in three years, reflecting efforts to win back younger users — - Feed now features a broader array of posts based on interest — More young adults are back on Facebook after years of declines
Discussion:
Reuters, Engadget, Meta and Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, more at Techmeme »
Nieman Lab:
A look at the term “fact-based journalism”: its rise coincided with “fake news” in 2016, but the term is redundant as all journalism is fact-based — “To describe one form of journalism as ‘fact-based’ is to tacitly acknowledge that there is also such a thing as ‘non-fact-based journalism.’ And there isn't."
Discussion:
Josh M. on LinkedIn, @davidpwhelan@mastodon.world and @nw@ioc.exchange
Michael Hytha / Bloomberg:
LA-based Webtoon, owned by South Korea's Naver, files for a US IPO; sources: the online comics platform could seek to raise up to $500M at a $3B-$4B valuation — Los Angeles-based Webtoon said in a filing Friday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that South Korean internet company Naver …
Discussion:
US Securities and Exchange Commission, Reuters, The Korea Times and @ca_ecostrategy
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
Rest of World retracts an article on WhatsApp misinformation “tip lines” in India after several fact-checking orgs detail how it was “riddled with inaccuracies” — Last week, the technology site Rest of World published a story on the apparent failings of WhatsApp misinformation “tip lines” in India.
Discussion:
@dau_mca and @india_mca, more at Techmeme »
Diana Falzone / Mediaite:
Eric Bolling, formerly of Sinclair and Fox News and host of Newsmax's 8pm show The Balance, is leaving the network after three years — Eric Bolling has parted ways with Newsmax. — The veteran television host, who helmed the conservative network's 8 p.m. hour with The Balance …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Deadline, The Daily Beast, @ericbolling, The Wrap and Media Matters for America
Financial Times:
Sources: a Paramount special committee approved the sweetened offer from Skydance; Paramount's board, chaired by Shari Redstone, will vote on the deal June 4 — Final decision over Hollywood studio group rests with controlling shareholder Shari Redstone — A special committee …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, The Desk, The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times and Variety
Tom Dreisbach / NPR:
Salem Media is halting distribution of the film and book 2000 Mules and removing the film from its platforms; it apologized to a man who sued for defamation — The conservative media company behind the book and film “2,000 Mules,” which alleged a widespread conspiracy by Democrats to steal …