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Sources: Paramount Global is in exclusive talks to sell BET for $1.6B-$1.7B to buyers that include BET CEO Scott Mills and Chinh Chu, who runs CC Capital — - Discussing offer from BET CEO and CC Capital's Chinh Chu — New interest after Paramount talks with Skydance fell apart
Discussion:
IndieWire, Fast Company, Stereogum, Variety, New York Post, The Streamable, @mattbelloni, The Wrap, The Desk and The Hollywood Reporter
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Sources: Skydance reached a preliminary deal to pay $1.75B for National Amusements and agreed to a 45-day period where other Paramount bidders can make offers — Skydance would pay $1.75 billion for National Amusements under the preliminary deal — David Ellison's production company …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Awful Announcing, The Playlist, The Wrap, Media Play News, The Information, Financial Times, TVNewsCheck, Deadline, @sherman4949, Cord Cutters News, @richlightshed, @paulconstant.com, @richlightshed, @rfaughnder, @sherman4949 and Forbes, more at Techmeme »

Sources: Barry Diller is exploring a bid to take control of Paramount; his digital media conglomerate, IAC, has signed NDAs with National Amusements
Discussion:
The Ankler, Fast Company, New York Post, Cord Cutters News, The Streamable, NewscastStudio, Axios, CNBC, The Wrap, @webbarr, @davidkeithlaw, @jbmp51, @jgdean14, @davidpoland, @susanlitv, @davidgura, @benmullin, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, Variety, IndieWire, The Hollywood Reporter, Alex Sherman on LinkedIn, TVNewsCheck, Deadline, Bloomberg, Media Play News and CNBC


Mastodon adds clickable bylines under article links, pointing to the author's fediverse account; The Verge and MacRumors are among the pubs using the feature — A new feature for media organizations, journalists and bloggers — To reinforce and encourage Mastodon as the go-to place for journalism …
Discussion:
The Verge, @Mastodon@mastodon.social, TechCrunch, @frozencanuck@mas.to, @bretcarmichael@mastodon …, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @dimillian@mastodon.social, @nileane@nileane.fr, J. Nathan Matias on LinkedIn, @btp@fosstodon.org, @Edent@mastodon.social, @ernie@writing.exchange, @seanfobbe@fediscience.org, @amberage@eldritch.cafe, @IceCubesApp@mastodon.online, @mho@social.heise.de, @buddiesofbudgie@floss.social and Melanie Sill on LinkedIn


EverPass Media, which has commercial rights to NFL's Sunday Ticket, acquires UPshow, a service that enables live sports streaming at commercial establishments — A satellite dish is no longer the only way bars and restaurants can air the National Football League's package of “Sunday Ticket” games.
Discussion:
EverPass Media, Deadline, The Hill, Barrett Media, The Media Leader, Sportico, Awful Announcing and The Hollywood Reporter


AI spam still sometimes ranks higher than original reporting in Google Search despite Google's adjustments to target AI spam in March 2024 — Google adjusted its policies to target AI spam earlier this year, but plagiarizing content still comes up higher in search results months later—and SEO experts aren't sure why.
Discussion:
Quartz, @wired, @wired, @wired and Beyond Search, more at Techmeme »


Judges have allowed First Amendment free speech rights to be hijacked to suppress the sovereignty of humans in favor of the power of companies and machines — The First Amendment was written in the 18th century with the noble and vitally important goal of ensuring robust political debate and a free press.
Discussion:
Fox News, Ann Rutledge on LinkedIn, @g_shullenberger, @elonmusk, Electronic Frontier Foundation, @mkhammer, @rationalist69, @alex, @jess_miers, @sergiovengeance, @murielblaivephd, @aaron_renn, @scottgreenfield, Reason, @jeninyounesesq, @pluribuspub, @KevinCarson1@kolektiva.social, Freedom of the Press …, @centralunplan, @jeninyounesesq, @g_shullenberger, @aricohn, @michaelkpate, @g_shullenberger, @emmma_camp_, @scottlincicome, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, News/Media Alliance, Engadget, The Verge, Voice of America, Bloomberg, Free Press, Slate, Techdirt and Deadline, more at Techmeme »


Snapchat adds new features, including letting Snapchat+ subscribers design a personalized house on Snap Map and send Snaps that last less than .5 seconds — Snapchat is introducing new ways for users to personalize their accounts, the company announced on Tuesday.
Discussion:
Snap Newsroom and The Verge, more at Techmeme »


Journalists need to reject formulas that have made them ineffective, like presenting “both sides”, after the SCOTUS ruling giving presidents unrestricted power — This is the first in a series of posts. — Dear journalists: This is your moment.


Following Paramount's takedown of MTV News, the Internet Archive has assembled a searchable index of 460,575 web pages earlier published at MTV.com/news — MTV News lives! Well, sort of. … You can search the MTV News archive on the organization's Wayback Machine at this link.
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, @ernie@writing.exchange, Internet Archive Blogs, @internetarchive, Deadline, POP!, @jillpantozzi, @center4popmusic and @variety


The London Stock Exchange Group partners with Dow Jones to share news and data; the companies plan a curated news space in LSEG's Workspace platform in 2025 — The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.L) announced a multi-year news and data partnership with Dow Jones that will include content …
Discussion:
MediaPost, Dow Jones Newswires and Talking Biz News


Memo: News Corp CEO Robert Thomson signals the company is weighing legal action against at least one generative AI firm, weeks after finalizing an OpenAI deal — In the memo, the CEO shared more detail on his approach to generative AI, which he considers a major risk to journalism — even as the company strikes deals with AI firms.
Discussion:
@kalihays1@threads.net and @johnbuckley_


Source: Runway, a startup focusing on generative AI video for Hollywood and other filmmakers, is in talks to raise $450M at about a $4B valuation — Runway, already the best funded among a cluster of startups developing artificial intelligence software to generate videos for Hollywood …
Discussion:
@steph_palazzolo, more at Techmeme »