Top News:
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Fox reports Q4 revenue up 6% YoY to $3.29B, ad revenue up 7% YoY to $1.1B, driven by Tubi and Fox News, and a net income of $719M, up from $320M in Q4 2024 — The company saw revenues rise across the board in tis fiscal Q4 quarter, as it prepares to launch its Fox One streaming service.
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Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch says Fox One, a streaming service offering NFL and MLB games, Fox News programs, and more, will debut August 21 at $19.99 per month — The new broadband outlet, a venue that offers Fox Corp.'s Sunday-afternoon NFL games and post-season MLB play along with Fox News programs and more …
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Adweek, The Streamable, TVLine, Los Angeles Times, TheDesk.net, TVNewsCheck, Engadget, The Wrap, New York Times, The Verge, Fox Corporation, CNBC, Deadline, Streaming Better, @jbflint, @tvgrimreaper, @jbflint, Media Play News, @tvgrimreaper, Oh No They Didn't!, Bloomberg and The Hollywood Reporter
Rebecca Falconer / Axios:
Court filing: Trump and Rupert Murdoch agree to postpone Murdoch's deposition in the Epstein letter libel suit until after a ruling on the WSJ's dismissal case — President Trump and Rupert Murdoch reached a deal Monday to postpone the media mogul's deposition in a libel lawsuit related …
Discussion:
New York Times, Deadline, TVNewsCheck, The Wrap, The Hill, @joshgerstein, Business Insider, Los Angeles Times, CNBC, HuffPost, @hissgoescobra, @jeremymbarr, @meiselasb, Bloomberg, Telegraph, NewsMax.com, Southern District of Florida, @davidfolkenflik, Sydney Morning Herald, Joe.My.God. and Forbes
John Herrman / New York Magazine:
Search-engine optimization feels dated as marketers look to generative-engine optimization, or GEO, which focuses on tricking AI chatbots rather than Google — Search-engine optimization now feels dated. Generative-engine optimization is all about trying to trick AI chatbots.
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
David Ellison names Paramount Global's senior leadership team, appointing himself as CEO, Jeff Shell as president, and RedBird Capital's Andy Gordon as COO — George Cheeks, Cindy Holland, Josh Greenstein, Dana Goldberg will all get new roles, joining Jeff Shell and Ellison in the C-suite.
Discussion:
The Information, Forbes, Deadline, Reuters, Variety, Deadline, The Wrap, Variety, Deadline, Sports Business Journal, New York Post, Adweek, Los Angeles Times, WORLD SCREEN and MediaPost
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
Skydance announces the 10 board directors for Paramount Skydance, including Oracle CEO Safra Catz and former Paramount Pictures CEO Sherry Lansing
Discussion:
Radio & Television …, TVNewsCheck, The Wrap, Skydance Media and The Hollywood Reporter
Jennifer Maas / Variety:
Skydance TV President Matt Thunell will run a merged division with Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, reviving Paramount TV Studios which was shut down in 2024
Skydance TV President Matt Thunell will run a merged division with Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, reviving Paramount TV Studios which was shut down in 2024
Discussion:
The Wrap, Deadline, C21Media, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, LateNighter and Sports Media Watch
Jon Blistein / Rolling Stone:
A Parkland shooting victim's parents created an AI version of their late son to speak about gun safety, starting with an interview with journalist Jim Acosta — AI-generated Joaquin Oliver, which was created by his parents, discussed gun control measures and movies in a new interview
Discussion:
Variety, Fox News, @acosta, HuffPost, Mediaite, WPLG-TV, The Guardian, @robbysoave, Newser, @acosta, @redsteeze, @jarvis_best, Decrypt, @jarvis_best, @redsteeze, IJR, Moneycontrol, The Post Millennial, Townhall, Straight Arrow News, The Daily Caller, Jim Acosta on YouTube, Salon, Instapundit, twitchy.com, Blaze Media, RedState and The Gateway Pundit, more at Techmeme »
Kelly Lawler / USA Today:
Roku launches Howdy, an ad-free streaming service for $2.99 per month, initially only on Roku devices, with content from Lionsgate, WBD, FilmRise, and others — Roku is ready to say Howdy. — The company − which sells set-top streaming devices, smart TVs and has its own free …
Discussion:
CNBC, The Streamable, StreamTV Insider, The Wrap, Variety, TheDesk.net, The Hollywood Reporter, TechCrunch, Advanced Television, Roku, Android Authority, The Verge, Lifewire, Engadget, PCWorld, Investor's Business Daily, Android Police, CNET, PCMag, @loudmouthjulia, Streaming Better, How-To Geek, Broadband TV News, Deadline, Cord Cutters News, Media Play News and WORLD SCREEN, more at Techmeme »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Japanese news aggregator SmartNews releases NewsArc, a new AI-powered, subscription-based news discovery app, available on iOS and Android in the US — SmartNews, the Japanese news discovery app founded in 2012, is releasing a new subscription news discovery app, powered by artificial intelligence, executives tell Axios.
Discussion:
@sarafischer, SmartNews and @smartnews
Oliver Darcy / Status:
Axios shutters its Pro: Policy product, which launched in September 2022 and offered legislative tracking tools, breaking news alerts, and more for $4,500+/year — It began with a thank you for being a “valued subscriber” and expressed a desire to “better serve” both them and the outlet's “entire audience.”
Discussion:
@murshedz.bsky.social, @passantino.bsky.social and @oliverdarcy.bsky.social
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Linda Yaccarino is named CEO of digital health platform eMed Population Health less than a month after stepping down as CEO of X — Yaccarino has been named CEO of Miami-based eMed Population Health, which calls itself “the leading digital health platform for GLP-1/GIP population health management.”
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, CNN, CNBC, New York Post, UPI, Deadline, Reuters, Axios, eMed and Bloomberg
Max Goldbart / Deadline:
BAFTA changes its rules to let all 6,000 members vote in the international TV category; the 2026 TV awards are set for May 10, and the craft awards for April 26 — BAFTA has tweaked its international TV category so that all of its 6,000 members are allowed to determine the nominations and winners.
Discussion:
Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Broadcast, Bafta and MacTech.com
Jay Peters / The Verge:
IGN lays off staff, including eight members of the IGN Creators Guild, representing 12% of the bargaining unit, as parent company Ziff Davis cuts costs — The ‘perplexing’ cuts laid off eight employees at IGN. … Ziff Davis-owned IGN Entertainment has laid off staff, including eight members of the IGN Creators Guild.
Josh Axelrod / Nieman Lab:
How some news organizations are using AI models powered by retrieval-augmented generation to surface the most newsworthy elements from very large datasets — “If we sit on the sideline and observe, I think the risk is too high that we are gonna be left behind.”
Discussion:
@klingebeil.bsky.social, The Register, @tongli.bsky.social, @mikeananny.bsky.social and @niemanlab.org
