Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Paramount has begun talks with the FCC on the necessary steps to gain approval for its Skydance merger, including concessions on its diversity policies — The discussions are a small step in a complex effort to secure federal approval for the media company's deal with Skydance
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Desk, Deadline, Financial Times, Cord Cutters News, Fox News and New York Post
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Alphabet says it surpassed 270M paid subscriptions, driven by YouTube and Google One, and reports YouTube Q1 ad revenue up 10.3% YoY to $8.93B, vs. $8.97B est. — YouTube continues to rake in money from advertisers worldwide, with the video giant's ad revenue reaching $8.93 billion …
Discussion:
Adweek, Neowin, MediaPost, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, TVNewsCheck, The Desk, The Wrap, Business Insider, Investor's Business Daily, Benzinga, Reuters, The Information, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Deadline, 9to5Google, Alphabet, @munster_gene, The Hollywood Reporter, @crumbler@threads.net, The Verge, Thurrott and CNBC, more at Techmeme »
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Ziff Davis sues OpenAI, alleging it used Ziff Davis' content to train AI models; sources say Ziff Davis is seeking at least hundreds of millions of dollars — Ziff Davis, which owns more than 45 media properties, is accusing the tech company of infringing on the publisher's copyrights and diluting its trademarks.
Discussion:
Reuters, The Verge, @seldo.com and @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, more at Techmeme »
Michael Savage / The Guardian:
The BBC launches BBC News Burmese in Myanmar on a satellite video channel formerly used by VOA, citing an “audience in need” in the aftermath of the earthquake — Corporation responds to ‘urgent need’ following earthquake by taking over Voice of America's former channel
Discussion:
Thu Thu Aung on LinkedIn, @michaelsavage.bsky.social, Broadband TV News, CBS News and BBC
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Netflix rolls out subtitles with just spoken dialog, without audio cues or speaker names, and says ~50% of US viewing hours happen with subtitles or captions on — The new option drops sound descriptions and speaker names from subtitles. … Netflix is rolling out a new subtitle option that shows just spoken dialogue.
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Facebook will reduce the reach of accounts sharing spammy content and make them ineligible for monetization, after Zuckerberg promised a return to “OG Facebook” — Facebook will begin lowering the reach of accounts sharing spammy content and making them ineligible for monetization, Meta announced on Thursday.
Discussion:
Meta, The Verge, Thurrott, iPhone in Canada Blog, Engadget, What's Trending, Tubefilter and @karissabe.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
A profile of Paramount co-CEO Chris McCarthy, who led the expansion of Yellowstone franchise and says Paramount+ will turn a profit for the first time in 2025 — Chris McCarthy has helped create one of the biggest franchises in Hollywood. He may soon be out of a job. — Chris McCarthy is shaking his head.
Discussion:
@lucas_shaw
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
An interview with Politico Europe's Kate Day on the outlet ten years in: ~50% of its 350 staff are journalists and Politico Pro makes up 50% to 60% of revenue — Senior executive editor Kate Day said mixed business model gives brand resilience despite DOGE-related cutbacks.
Discussion:
Simon Owens's Media Newsletter
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Meta moves Threads from Threads.net to Threads.com and updates its web app, including features to more easily access custom feeds, create new columns, and more — Instagram Threads, Meta's newest social network and X competitor, is officially relocating from the website Threads.net to Threads.com.
Discussion:
Neowin, Thurrott, Meta, @threads@threads.net, Engadget, CNET, Search Engine Land, @mosseri@threads.net, The Verge, MediaPost, Adweek, Mercury News and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
Comcast reports Peacock losses fell to $215M in Q1 from $639M in Q1 2024, revenue rose 16% YoY to $1.2B, and paying subscribers hit 41M, up from 36M in Q4 2024 — The cable giant also unveiled its first-quarter results for the entertainment unit and other operations.
Discussion:
The Desk, Broadband TV News, The Information, Streaming Better, @tvgrimreaper, MediaPost, Media Play News and Wall Street Journal
RELATED:
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Comcast reports Q1 revenue down 0.6% YoY to $29.89B, Media revenue up 1% YoY to $6.4B, and adjusted EBITDA up 21.5% to $1B; Comcast lost 427K cable subscribers
Comcast reports Q1 revenue down 0.6% YoY to $29.89B, Media revenue up 1% YoY to $6.4B, and adjusted EBITDA up 21.5% to $1B; Comcast lost 427K cable subscribers
Discussion:
The Desk, Music Business Worldwide, @scottgustin, @tvgrimreaper, Radio & Television …, TVNewsCheck, @tvgrimreaper, Ars Technica, Sherwood News, Barrett Media, Benzinga, Yahoo Finance, Cord Cutters News, Wall Street Journal, Investor's Business Daily, The Wrap, Bloomberg, Media Play News, Variety, Barron's Online and Reuters
Danny Goodwin / Search Engine Land:
YouTube is testing a new AI Overviews carousel in its search results for queries focused on products and location information, for some US Premium subscribers — YouTube is testing a new AI Overviews carousel. It will appear in search results for select queries.
Discussion:
Adweek, Search Engine Journal, Search Engine Journal, BGR, Digital Trends, Neowin, Wired, Futurism and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Cydney Henderson / USA Today:
Shannon Sharpe says he is stepping away from his duties at ESPN and plans to return at the start of the NFL preseason, as he faces a $50M sexual assault lawsuit — Pro Football Hall of Famer and media personality Shannon Sharpe said on Thursday he is stepping away from ESPN.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Fox News, Page Six, NBC News, The Guardian, TVLine, Associated Press, Mediaite, New York Times, Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Sports Business Journal, RADAR, Defector, Deadline, BroBible, KWES, Crossing Broad, HotNewHipHop, Us Weekly, KENS, Newser, The Wrap, TotalProSports, New York Post, masslive.com, Los Angeles Times, The Root, Bossip, Variety, Vibe, TMZ.com, ClutchPoints, @officiallyice, Daily Snark, The US Sun, @chiclone69, Barrett Media, @shannonsharpe, Blaze Media, thesource.com, Awful Announcing, Us Weekly, The Daily Caller, Just Jared, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Daily News, Forbes and FOX 26 Houston
Michael Schneider / Variety:
The Golden Globes plans to air the 83rd annual ceremony on January 11, 2026, live on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ in the US — The Golden Globes has unveiled its 2026 ceremony date — and it's moving back a week. The 83rd annual Golden Globes is set to be held on Sunday, Jan. 11 …
Discussion:
Billboard, The Wrap, IndieWire, Deadline, What's Trending, TVLine, The Hollywood Reporter, GoldDerby, Time and Just Jared
