Top News:


Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada says the French media group doesn't regret its London IPO and “we're not in a hurry”, after its market cap fell to £1.7B, below ITV's — French broadcaster posts higher revenue in first results since UK listing last year
Discussion:
Variety, Reuters, @mediaevan and @canalplusgroupe
RELATED:


Canal+ reports FY 2024 revenue up 3.6% YoY to €6.45B, EBITA up 5.4% YoY to €503M, subscribers up 0.4% YoY to 26.9M, and a debt level of €355M — The company is “firmly on track to reach 50-10 million subscribers, says CEO Maxime Saada, touting the importance of cinema …
Discussion:
WORLD SCREEN, Investing.com, Deadline, Canal+, BusinessLIVE, Deadline and C21Media


Sources: incoming Paramount president Jeff Shell asked CBS News chief Wendy McMahon and 60 Minutes boss Bill Owens in October to release the Harris transcript — As Paramount's merger with Skydance nears the finish line, CBS News chief Wendy McMahon and “60 Minutes” boss Bill Owens …


Jeff Bezos handled his ownership of The Washington Post admirably for over a decade but then faltered badly, cozying up to Trump to avoid the president's wrath — The day the world learned that Jeff Bezos would buy The Washington Post, the Amazon founder offered assurances that he would not cower …


Sources: WaPo CEO Will Lewis and Executive Editor Matt Murray skipped a screening of Becoming Katharine Graham, a new documentary on the WaPo's fabled publisher — A premiere for a documentary about Katharine Graham, the longtime publisher, had people talking about changes at the paper, and in Washington.


Source: E.W. Scripps is laying off staff across multiple local news stations and it will not fill any open positions; Scripps operates 61 stations in 41 markets — - Tegna laid off members from its fact-checking team in February. — Nexstar said it would lay off 2% of staffers in December.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Adweek, @jaymesl.bsky.social and @sarafischer


Patrick Soon-Shiong says LAT opinion pieces will show an AI-generated rating of their political content, and an AI-generated list of alternative political views — Los Angeles paper's ‘Insights’ tool comes after months of public debate between opinion staff and billionaire owner
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, @sallyshin, @rachelmcohen.bsky.social, @rmac.bsky.social, @timcarvell.bsky.social, Raw Story, @mikeananny.bsky.social, @joelhs.bsky.social, @twyspy.bsky.social, @jeridansky@sfba.social, The Wrap, @glynmoody@mastodon.social, @brianstorms@mastodon.social, @crof.bsky.social, @karlbode.com and @laurenmeidasa.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »


Reach reports FY 2024 revenue down 5.3% YoY to £539M, operating profit up 6% to £102M, digital revenue up 2.1% to £130M, and print revenue down 7.3% to £407M — Cost cuts and growing digital revenue helped Reach to increase its annual profits in 2024 as it released its results for the year.
Discussion:
HoldtheFrontPage, Reach plc and The Independent


WBD says Max will launch in Turkey on April 15, replacing BluTV, acquired in late 2023, and reiterates plans to increase its investment in local productions — Turkey becomes the 77th Max territory and “marks a significant moment in the globalization of WBD's streaming service,” the company said …
Discussion:
Variety, Media Play News, Broadcast, Pressroom, Advanced Television, Deadline and C21Media


India's top court allows podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia, charged with obscenity, to resume airing his shows, provided they meet “decency and morality” standards — India's top court allowed a podcaster charged with obscenity to resume airing his shows on the condition they met standards of …
Discussion:
CNBC-TV18, @rshivshankar, @aditi_muses, @vivekagnihotri, @padmajajoshi, @nalinisharma_, Times of India, Times of India, Times of India, NDTV, The Hindu, Times of India, NDTV, NDTV, Hindustan Times, Hindustan Times, International Business Times, NDTV, Livemint, International Business Times, Hindustan Times, Financial Express, Hindustan Times, Livemint, @ani, ANI News, Telegraph India, The Week, NDTV on YouTube, The Indian Express, The Week, NewsBytes, The Indian Express, The New Indian Express, @ani, Mashable India tech, Times Now, ANI News on YouTube, NEWS9 Live on YouTube, India Today, Wion, Deccan Herald, NDTV on YouTube, The Week, Geo News on YouTube, The Wire, ET Now, Times Now, The Indian Express, The Indian Express, The Tribune, NDTV Profit on YouTube, Outlook India, News18, ET NOW on YouTube, News18, ABPLive and Telegraph India


Amazon launches Complete TV, an AI-powered ad tool to let advertisers track their upfront commitments and to buy scatter TV inventory not sold in the upfront — The tool is free for advertisers buying programmatic guaranteed deals on Amazon's own properties
Discussion:
MediaPost, Digiday, Business Insider, @daveclark, Lauren Johnson on LinkedIn and What's New in Publishing


After the success of crowdfunded show The Chosen, streamers are focusing on Bible stories with Game of Thrones-style intrigue and romantic comedy elements — After the success of “The Chosen,” Amazon and Netflix are converting Bible stories into films and TV shows with “Game of Thrones”-style intrigue and romantic comedy elements.