Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Disney says it is “fully integrating” Hulu into Disney+, plans to launch a “unified” Disney+ and Hulu app in 2026 and migrate Hulu's live TV subscribers to Fubo — Hulu will replace the Star brand on Disney+ internationally this fall
Discussion:
Mediaweek, Cord Cutters News, iDrop News, The A.V. Club, HELLO!, Ars Technica, ZDNET, Marketing Brew, AdExchanger, MediaPost, TechRadar, 9to5Mac, Consequence, Engadget, TheDesk.net, Business Insider, The Streamable, The Information, Pocket-lint, ABC7, Gizmodo, Decider, New Jersey Online, How-To Geek, GamesRadar, KIII-TV, The Verge, Digital Trends, The Shortcut, Bleeding Cool News, The Wrap, Screen Rant, Android Headlines, JJ Sawyer on LinkedIn, PCMag, Adweek, Collider, Comic Book, Tom's Guide, PCWorld, TVLine, Android Authority, CBS News, New York Daily News, Just Jared, Oh No They Didn't! and Game Rant, more at Techmeme »
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Deadline:
Disney plans to replace the Star tile with Hulu on the international Disney+ service; Star was widely used and well-known across Latin America and Asia — This marks the first major international expansion for Hulu and closely follows Disney buying Comcast out of the U.S. streamer last month.
Discussion:
Screen, Dexerto, Streaming Better, Jesse Whittock on LinkedIn, AFTVnews and Advanced Television
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Disney says it will no longer report paid subscribers or average revenue per unit for ESPN+ as of its Q4 2025 and for Disney+ and Hulu as of its Q1 2026 — Disney, following in the footsteps of Netflix and others, soon will no longer report the number of subscribers for its Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ streaming services.
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Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:
Disney plans to launch its new flagship sports streaming service ESPN on August 21 for $29.99 per month or $35.99 per month when bundled with Disney+ and Hulu
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, ESPN Press Room U.S., TheDesk.net, Fast Company, ESPN Front Row, Plain Dealer, Yahoo Finance, Engadget, Awful Announcing, 9to5Google, Android Headlines, CNN, Streaming Better, Decider, Droid Life, Los Angeles Times, How-To Geek, KTFT, The Verge, ABC7, The Streamable, 9to5Mac, One America News Network, PCWorld, TVLine, Thurrott, TVNewsCheck, The Wrap, Variety, Reuters, Orlando Sentinel, NBC News and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Liz Reid / The Keyword:
Google says total organic click volume from Search to websites has been “relatively stable” YoY and it's sending “slightly more quality clicks” than a year ago — We continue to send billions of clicks to the web every day and are committed to prioritizing the web in our AI experiences in Search.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, MediaPost, WinBuzzer, Engadget, The Verge, @kasey__moore, Debbie W. on LinkedIn, 9to5Google, Search Engine Land, Matthew Rivard on LinkedIn, Lily Ray on LinkedIn, @nickleroy, @glenngabe.bsky.social, Scott Sinclair on LinkedIn, @btabke, @gaganghotra_, Ars Technica, Search Engine Journal, @ethanhays, @realtaylorkurtz, Search Engine Roundtable and Digital Journal, more at Techmeme »
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
ESPN signs a deal to show the WWE's biggest live events, including WrestleMania, from 2026; sources say ESPN will pay $325M on average per year for five years — The WWE is coming to ESPN. — The Disney-controlled sports and entertainment business will pay an average of $325 million per year …
Discussion:
ESPN Press Room U.S., Yahoo Finance, Awful Announcing, TODAY.com, Sherwood News, Benzinga, Wrestlezone, New York Post, Sports Business Journal, Comic Book, Associated Press, Sports Media Watch, Bleeding Cool News, The Streamable, The Information, Greg Stern on LinkedIn, @kennysmith.bsky.social, Front Office Sports, South Shore Press, @wrestleops, TVNewsCheck, Wall Street Journal, Variety, City A.M., al.com, Puck, NewsMax.com and WPXI-TV, more at Techmeme »
Mike Florio / NBCSports.com:
The ESPN-NFL deal will require US regulatory approval, giving President Trump the kind of leverage he seemingly exercised in the 60 Minutes settlement — It was a footnote to the reporting regarding a deal being done. It could, in time, become a headline.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, @kennysmith.bsky.social and Front Office Sports
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
The NFL agrees to take a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN in exchange for control over NFL Network, RedZone, and more; analysts estimate ESPN is valued at $25B-$30B
The NFL agrees to take a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN in exchange for control over NFL Network, RedZone, and more; analysts estimate ESPN is valued at $25B-$30B
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, CNN, Front Office Sports, The A.V. Club, ESPN Press Room U.S., Washington Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Tubefilter, Associated Press, New York Post, Straight Arrow News, UPI, Fortune, The Wrap, That Park Place, Sports Media Watch, Business Insider, Newser, WORLD SCREEN, Joe.My.God., Mediaite, Axios, MediaPost, New York Times, The Streamable, Yahoo Finance, @mysportsupdate, Sports Business Journal, Rolling Out, Florida Politics, Decode TV, TV Tech, StreamTV Insider, Sportico, CNBC, Mediaweek, Benzinga, @matthewberrytmr, @adamschefter, @drewdisneydude, Fox Business, Proactive, Blockchain.News, Deadline, NPR, Media Play News, TVNewsCheck, The Hill, Bloomberg, Bleeding Cool News, Daily Disney News, @kennysmith.bsky.social, Financial Times, Cord Cutters News, Deadline, Bloomberg, Sportico, NBCSports.com, Los Angeles Times, ESPN, The Japan Times, The Wrap and Variety
Katcy Stephan / Variety:
Memo: Paramount Global co-CEO Brian Robbins announces his departure from the company following the Skydance merger, calling the transition “bittersweet” — Brian Robbins is Co-CEO of Paramount Global, and President and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon …
Discussion:
The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, Los Angeles Times, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter and The Information
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Resilience Media, which aims to be the defense tech industry's “publication of record”, adds several ex-TechCrunch staff, including Ingrid Lunden and Matt Burns — Former Techcrunch staffers have joined a new title covering the defence tech industry which has just expanded after a successful fundraising round.
Discussion:
Resilience Media, FinSMEs, Silicon Canals and Tech.eu
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
The New York Times reports 11.88M subscribers in Q2, total revenue up 9.7% YoY to $685.9M, and adjusted operating profit up 28% YoY to $133.8M; NYT jumps 15%+ — The company added 230,000 digital-only subscribers in the second quarter. It now has 11.88 million total subscribers.
Scott Nover / Washington Post:
NPR is offering $8M in “fee relief” to stations that relied on federal funding for 10%+ of their budgets and negotiating to take over music rights management — Katherine Maher is leading the public radio organization and member stations through their biggest crisis in decades, but she thinks they'll weather it.
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, PBS North Carolina, @scottnover.bsky.social, Techdirt, Current, TheGrio and American Thinker
Ian Walker / Wall Street Journal:
The UK CMA clears Omnicom's $13B acquisition of rival Interpublic after launching an investigation into the deal on June 23; the FTC cleared the deal on June 25 — The watchdog had been considering whether the deal would lead to a substantial lessening of competition
Discussion:
Adweek, Reuters, campaignlive.com and campaignlive.co.uk
Clyde Haberman / New York Times:
Longtime WNYC radio talk-show host Leonard Lopate, who was fired in 2017 for inappropriate behavior that he vehemently denied, died on Tuesday at 84 — He mastered the art of the interview over 32 years on public radio, at WNYC. He was fired in 2017 amid allegations of sexual harassment, which he vehemently denied.
Discussion:
@pescami
