Top News:
Melissa Korn / Wall Street Journal:
News Corp extends CEO Robert Thomson's contract through June 2030, as it faces AI headwinds; Thomson joined in 2013 and his previous deal expired in June 2027 — Thomson has pursued digital growth and focused the company on core areas of news, book publishing and digital real estate
Matt Grobar / Deadline:
Punchup Live, a ticketing and analytics platform for stand-up comedians, raised a $2.3M seed led by Social Leverage, and plans to expand into more live events — Led by Social Leverage, the round saw participation from all major existing investors including Hustlefund and Evil Twin Capital.
Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
Senate disclosure: Florida judge Ed Artau was lobbying for a federal judiciary nomination when he sided with Trump in the case against the Pulitzer Prize board — Ed Artau was already meeting with Senate staff about securing a nomination to the federal bench when he sided with Trump in a case …
Discussion:
Original Jurisdiction, @flingjore.com, @dejayk.bsky.social, @joshgerstein, @literaryeric, @fedtfupofthemall.bsky.social, @dicktofel.bsky.social, @annestclair.bsky.social, @davidenrich.bsky.social, @phds2.bsky.social, @cooperhamilton.bsky.social, @realworldrj.bsky.social, @GottaLaff@mstdn.social, Raw Story and Alternet.org
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Will Payne, The Sun's director of digital (editorial), is leaving after almost 11 years to become deputy editor-in-chief of News Corp's New York Post Group — Will Payne, The Sun's director of digital (editorial), is leaving after almost 11 years to join fellow News Corp title the New York Post.
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Apple strikes a first-look deal with Peter Chernin's North Road studio, which has been aligned with Netflix for five years, to give Apple access to new films — The producer of Ford v. Ferrari and Back in Action moves from Netflix to Apple … North Road's Chernin Entertainment …
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Spyglass Spiral, MacDailyNews and Comic Book, more at Techmeme »
Pamela McClintock / The Hollywood Reporter:
AMC Theatres, facing financial pressure, reverses course and joins its rivals in adding regular ads to its pre-movie lineup, in a worrying trend for studios — Industry leader AMC Theatres is reversing course and joining its rivals on July 1 in adding regular ads to its pre-movie lineup in a worrisome trend for studios.
Meera Pattni / Semafor:
Semafor appoints Andrew Friedman as General Manager and Head of Public Affairs; he joins Semafor from Google, where he served on the US Elections team — Semafor today announced the appointment of Andrew Friedman as General Manager and Head of Public Affairs, as the global news platform accelerates …
Discussion:
@davelee.me
Jody Godoy / Reuters:
The FTC approves Omnicom's $13.5B acquisition of rival Interpublic on the condition that the new company does not boycott platforms over political content — Omnicom's (OMC.N) $13.5 billion acquisition of rival Interpublic (IPG.N) can move forward on the condition that the new company does …
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Disney's Elio, which cost $250M to make and market, collected just $21M from its opening domestic weekend, per Comscore, Pixar's worst opening weekend ever — The original space adventure sold about $21 million in tickets at domestic theaters from Thursday night through Sunday, putting new pressure on the once-unstoppable studio.
Discussion:
Screen Rant, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, @moviemantz, @ingelramdecoucy, Spyglass, @aerocles, Animation Magazine, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Wrap and Deadline
Samuel Agini / Financial Times:
F1 owner Liberty Media completes its €4.3B acquisition of MotoGP owner Dorna after EU approval, and says growing in the US is its main goal for MotoGP — The group controls two of the biggest brands in motorsport after winning approval for €4.3bn takeover of MotoGP owner
Discussion:
European Commission, Reuters, Gamereactor UK, New York Times, KSTP-TV and The Hollywood Reporter
David Marchese / New York Times:
Q&A with comedian Andrew Schulz about becoming America's “foremost political journalist”, interviewing Donald Trump and others, “podcast bros”, and more — Devin Oktar Yalkin for The New York Times — The comedian Andrew Schulz has risen to arena-headliner status …
Discussion:
Daily Mail and @chrisvannini.com
Jack Buehrer / The Verge:
The music industry is developing tools to detect AI-generated music across the music pipeline, focusing on proactive licensing and control rather than takedowns — With no way to stop the onslaught of AI music, the industry is taking a different approach: figuring out how to make money off of it.
Discussion:
Jesper W. on LinkedIn, more at Techmeme »
