Mediagazer: 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 (Yadarisa Shabong/Reuters)

Top News:

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: The Wrap, The Desk, Variety, The Streamable, @mattbelloni and The Hollywood Reporter

New York Times:

Sources: Barry Diller is exploring a bid to take control of Paramount; his digital media conglomerate, IAC, has signed NDAs with National Amusements — Mr. Diller, a digital media pioneer, lost a bidding war for Paramount Pictures decades ago. Now, he's making a run at its parent company.

Discussion: Axios, The Streamable, NewscastStudio, CNBC, Cord Cutters News, The Wrap, @webbarr, @davidkeithlaw, @jbmp51, @jgdean14, @davidpoland, @susanlitv, @davidgura, @benmullin, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, Variety, IndieWire, The Hollywood Reporter, TVNewsCheck, Deadline and Bloomberg

Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: Paramount Global is in discussions with other companies about merging Paramount+ with their streamers; WBD is interested in merging Max and Paramount+

Discussion: The Streamable, Variety, Broadband TV News, MediaPost, @sherman4949, @culturecrave, @rdd147, @cnschedules, @cynicalfate, The Information, The Wrap, The Desk, Alex Sherman on LinkedIn, Cord Cutters News and Media Play News

Yadarisa Shabong / Reuters:

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, Talking Biz News and Dow Jones Newswires

Todd Spangler / Variety:

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, @jillpantozzi, @center4popmusic, @internetarchive, @variety, POP! and Internet Archive Blogs

Stephanie Palazzolo / The Information:

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 »

Melanie Goodfellow / Deadline:

VFX company DNEG raised $200M from Abu Dhabi's UASG at a $2B+ valuation to expand its Brahma division, which is developing an AI-powered, photo-real CGI creator — London-based The DNEG Group has secured a $200M capital injection from Abu Dhabi investment firm United Al Saqer Group (UASG).

Discussion: The Wrap, @dneg, Business Standard, Proactive, DNEG, @malhotra_namit, The Hollywood Reporter and Financial Times

Reece Rogers / Wired:

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: @wired, @wired, @wired and Beyond Search

Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:

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: The Media Leader, EverPass Media, Sportico, Deadline, Barrett Media and The Hollywood Reporter

Eugen Rochko / Mastodon Blog:

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: TechCrunch, @buddiesofbudgie@floss.social, @seanfobbe@fediscience.org, J. Nathan Matias on LinkedIn and @frozencanuck@mas.to

Sara Fischer / Axios:

CNBC launches a sports vertical as part of its broader plan to shift its editorial and business focus to cross-platform verticals led by subject-matter experts — - The company is expected to make more announcements about other topic areas soon. … - CNBC has hired sports valuation expert …

Discussion: Talking Biz News, TVNewsCheck, @bmccandless, NewscastStudio, @sherman4949, CNBC Press Releases and Variety

Paresh Dave / Wired:

Some YouTube employees detail internal deliberations about content relating to the Israel-Hamas war and accuse the company of inconsistent moderation — Insiders have shared YouTube's playbook for handling the Gaza crisis. They argue that it shows inconsistent enforcement.

Discussion: The Guardian, more at Techmeme »

The Moscow Times:

Spotify has removed the songs and profiles of pro-war Russian artists sanctioned by the EU; their profiles remain accessible on Apple Music and YouTube — Music streaming service Spotify has removed the songs and profiles of pro-war Russian artists sanctioned by the West, the Sweden-based company told The Moscow Times on Thursday.

Discussion: @irgarner, @moscowtimes, Music Ally, Stereogum, The Kyiv Independent, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Hotpress, Breitbart, Consequence, Billboard and Digital Music News