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Sources: talks between Skydance and Shari Redstone's National Amusements resume, just weeks after the parties called off initial negotiations — Just weeks after the Paramount's controlling shareholder and Skydance scuttled their talks about a potential deal, the two media companies have tentatively agreed to a merger.
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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:
Variety, The Streamable, The Wrap, The Desk, New York Post, @mattbelloni and The Hollywood Reporter

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, Axios, Cord Cutters News, The Wrap, The Streamable, NewscastStudio, CNBC, @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


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, Awful Announcing, The Media Leader, The Hill, Deadline, Barrett Media, Sportico 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 »


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:
Deadline, Rolling Stone, Internet Archive Blogs, @internetarchive, POP!, @jillpantozzi, @center4popmusic and @variety


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 »


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, TechCrunch, @Mastodon@mastodon.social, Melanie Sill on LinkedIn, @frozencanuck@mas.to, @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 and @buddiesofbudgie@floss.social


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


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 »


Generative AI music service Suno launches its iOS app in the US, with plans for a global rollout and an Android app — An AI studio in your pocket. — You're in luck if you've ever wanted to make music using Suno while away from your computer. It is now available on iOS — at least, it is if you're in the U.S.
Discussion:
VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »


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


Candle Media plans to split into two divisions: animation will be folded into Moonbug and the rest will move into a live-action division called Candle Studios — The Scoop — Candle Media, the Blackstone-backed firm rolling up Hollywood production companies, is moving to slash costs …
Discussion:
Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, @semaforben and The Wrap