Top News:
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.
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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+ — Paramount Global is holding talks with other entertainment companies about merging its Paramount+ streaming service with an existing platform.
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, The Hollywood Reporter, @dneg, Business Standard, Financial Times, Proactive, DNEG and @malhotra_namit
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:
Internet Archive Blogs, @jillpantozzi, @center4popmusic, @internetarchive, @variety and POP!
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Imagine Entertainment, led by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, is seeking a buyer after receiving some inbound interest from a potential suitor — Production company behind ‘Apollo 13’ is working with bankers to explore a sale — Imagine Entertainment, the Hollywood production company known …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Variety, The Wrap, Deadline and TVNewsCheck
Lloyd Coombes / Tom's Guide:
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 »
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Terence Samuel, the editor-in-chief of USA Today, leaves the role after a year; Caren Bohan, the executive editor of politics, is named interim EIC — Terence Samuel, a veteran journalist, had been in the role for a year. — Terence Samuel, the editor in chief of USA Today …
Discussion:
USA Today, @tatecurtis, @davidfolkenflik, @deggans, @dankennedy_nu, Poynter, @katie_robertson, The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, MediaPost, The Hill and Deadline
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:
Music Ally, @irgarner, @moscowtimes, Stereogum, Billboard, The Kyiv Independent, Consequence, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Digital Music News, Hotpress and Breitbart
Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
Ampere Analysis: in Q1 2024, Netflix and Amazon commissioned 53% of all original streaming titles globally, spurred by increased investment outside of the US — The growth comes from increased investment in international territories, according to Ampere Analysis
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, Variety, NewscastStudio, @sherman4949, TVNewsCheck, @bmccandless and CNBC Press Releases
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 »
Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
Preliminary findings: the EU says Meta's pay or consent ad model breaches the DMA; Meta faces a fine of up to 10% of its global annual turnover if found guilty — Meta Platforms (META.O) was charged by EU antitrust regulators on Monday for failing to comply with landmark tech rules …
Discussion:
European Commission, MediaPost, The Guardian, CMU, Music Ally, Wall Street Journal, The Overspill, MEDIANAMA, @edri@eupolicy.social, AdExchanger, @thierrybreton, @jason_kint, @tjasa_pet, @jefflonsdale, @beuc, @florian4gamers, @vestager, @eu_competition, @eu_commission, @benedictevans@threads.net, @benedictevans@threads.net, Benedict Evans on LinkedIn, The Register, @andrewpardoe@threads.net, MarTech, New York Post, The Information, @pernillet@mastodon.online, TVNewsCheck, The Verge, @GottaLaff@mastodon.social, Quartz, @Jeremiah@alpaca.gold, Financial Times, @Frederik_Borgesius …, Wired, @Jeremiah@alpaca.gold, TechCrunch, @maik.zumstrull.net, Engadget and CNN