Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
A combined DirecTV and Dish would have ~18M customers total, down 63% from the peak levels in 2016; DirecTV has ~10M pay-TV subscribers, down from 25.5M in 2016 — TPG will acquire AT&T's 70% stake in DirecTV, giving it 100% ownership in the pay-TV provider
Discussion:
DIRECTV, CNBC, Sportico, Radio & Television …, Fast Company, Hugh Scallon on LinkedIn, The Streamable, Gizmodo, The Desk, Business Insider, New York Post, The Wrap, Front Office Sports, Cord Cutters News, @xpangler, Next TV, Lewiston Sun Journal, Associated Press, Awful Announcing, Bloomberg and Deadline
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Amy Thomson / Bloomberg:
AT&T agrees to sell its majority stake in DirecTV to private equity firm TPG for $7.6B in cash, including $1.7B in pre-tax quarterly distributions in H2 2024 — The World's Call Center Capital Is Gripped by AI Fever — and Fear … Hello World
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
DirecTV and EchoStar reach a definitive agreement for DirecTV to acquire EchoStar's video business Dish DBS, including Dish TV and Sling TV
Discussion:
The Verge, CNBC, Bloomberg, Reuters, MediaPost, StreamTV Insider, Axios, @sherman4949, CNN, Streaming Better, @tvgrimreaper, Quartz, Ars Technica, Advanced Television, Cord Cutters News, Deadline, @bryanruby@me.dm, @mtfiii, Radio & Television …, @sherman4949, Media Play News, Broadband TV News, @bristei, @sherman4949, Los Angeles Times, WORLD SCREEN, Adweek, DNyuz, Variety and The Wrap
New York Times:
CBS plans to show an onscreen QR code for the VP debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz to direct users to fact checks on the CBS News website — CBS is experimenting with a novel way to offer real-time fact-checking of the vice-presidential debate on Tuesday. Just don't expect the moderators to frequently jump in.
Discussion:
Adweek, Business Insider, Associated Press, Mediaite, @jayrosen_nyu, Media Matters for America, @repriggleman, CBS News, Los Angeles Times, The Hill, @benjaminjs, @bloodravenlib@mas.to, @PamelaBarroway@mstdn.social, @jayrosen_nyu, @cindyweinstein@mastodon.world, Axios, @markagee, @cmclymer, @chrismohney, Fox News, @mollyjongfast, @GottaLaff@mastodon.social, @CindyWeinstein@zirk.us, @williambibbiani, @patrickdehahn, @jrubinblogger, @samlindauer, @rotopat, @davewiner, @bdquinn, @cindyweinstein@mastodon.world, @WarnerCrocker@mastodon.social, @budrykzack, @wtflanksteak, @jrubinblogger, NPR, @barney@mas.to, Poynter, @sykoscorch, The Wrap, Boing Boing, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, TVNewsCheck, New Republic and Deadline
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
CNN revives CNN Films, which was shut down in 2022, with plans to finance and release documentary series and films as part of an overhaul by Mark Thompson — The network is again financing and releasing documentary series and films after backing away from the genre two years ago.
Discussion:
GoldDerby and TVNewsCheck
Umar Shakir / The Verge:
YouTube reaches a deal with SESAC that will bring back songs by Adele, Bob Dylan, Nirvana, and others that were removed over the weekend in the US — YouTube has reached a deal with the music licensing organization SESAC that will bring back songs that were removed over the weekend.
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Reddit moderators must now submit a request to Reddit staff before changing a subreddit's public/private status, making sitewide mod-led protests much harder — Reddit is giving its staff a lot more power over the communities on its platform. Starting today, Reddit moderators will not be able …
Jason Parham / Wired:
An interview with Eric Eddings, who leads podcast development for Kevin Hart's Hartbeat, on the rise of “chatcasts” and their impact in the podcasting industry — “The industry part of podcasting has to not be afraid to invest in innovation,” says audio executive Eric Eddings.
Discussion:
@jb4nay, @jvquantum and @bonybean
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Sources: Amazon Prime Video is in talks with veteran anchor Brian Williams to host a live Election Night special, its first entry into news-related programming — Brian Williams may have found his next TV-news job....except it won't be on traditional TV. — The veteran NBC News …
Discussion:
Business Insider, CNN, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, The Streamable, The Ankler, Cord Cutters News, Fox News, New York Post, Adweek, Dan Rayburn on LinkedIn, @dylanbyers, @bristei, @daveleebbg@threads.net, The Daily Beast, @dylanbyers, @brianstelter, @hbraun.jackson@threads.net, @stevemberkowitz@threads.net, @crumbler@threads.net, @mcbride.david.j@threads.net, The Verge, The Hill, Mediaite, TVLine, TechCrunch, @fivesilhouettes.bsky.social, DNyuz, The Hollywood Reporter and @wagatwe.com, more at Techmeme »
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Internal memo: Michael Caruso, who became the CEO and publisher of The New Republic in February 2023, stepped down from his role on Thursday — The resignation comes just 18 months after he took the role — The chief executive and publisher of the left-leaning news publication The New Republic …
Discussion:
@markstenberg3
Max Tani / Semafor:
Politico and Capitol AI partner for an AI tool to let users create topical reports from Politico and Politico Pro content, available for Pro users later in 2024 — THE SCOOP — Politico is launching a strategic partnership with a Y Combinator-backed artificial intelligence startup …
Discussion:
Quartz, @tomgara@threads.net, @maxwelltani, @garrytan, @shaunmodi and Adweek
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
Gaming and entertainment media publisher Gamurs Group cuts 30 staff worldwide, blaming Google changes in late 2023, including its “helpful content” update — Gaming and entertainment media publisher Gamurs Group has cut 30 staff worldwide, saying the layoffs were necessitated …
Discussion:
@matthewkeyslive
Mark Landler / New York Times:
How the opacity of The Jewish Chronicle's ownership has reinforced suspicions that it is being used to promote the agenda of right-wing Israeli politicians — When several prominent journalists resigned this month from the British newspaper over false news articles, they also raised a broader question: Who owns it now?
Discussion:
@marklandler and @arusbridger
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