Top News:
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Paramount acquires the US rights to UFC for $7.7B over seven years, beginning in 2026, making all 43 annual live events available exclusively on Paramount+ — Days after completing its merger with Skydance, Paramount has acquired the U.S. rights to TKO Group's UFC for seven years, beginning in 2026.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, TheDesk.net, StreamTV Insider, @dovysimumma, TV Insider, @heynottheface, How-To Geek, Engadget, UPI, Daily Mail, Sports Business Journal, The Independent, Axios, Los Angeles Times, Forbes, @jbflint, Variety, @arielhelwani, Media Play News, @sherman4949, Cord Cutters News, @loudmouthjulia, Dana White on Instagram, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, @tvgrimreaper, Deadline, @jeradwalker.bsky.social, @lucas_shaw, The Verge, @loudmouthjulia, Associated Press, @arielhelwani, @austinkarp, @lthomasnews, @robnashville, USA Today, al.com, @sherman4949, SPORTbible, LightShed Partners, Decider, The Wrap, Front Office Sports, @tvgrimreaper, @chaddundas.bsky.social, @kasey__moore, Wall Street Journal, @acdmma_, @andrewmarchand, Sportico, TVNewsCheck, WORLD SCREEN, The National Pulse, WPXI-TV, r/MMA, r/MMA and r/sports
RELATED:
Financial Times:
As part of the Paramount-UFC deal, premium fights will be available for free to Paramount+ subscribers, ending the pay-per-view model present on ESPN — Agreement with mixed martial arts promoter is the largest since David Ellison took charge of Hollywood studio
Discussion:
Adweek, TV Tech, Sportico, Forbes, naked capitalism, GiveMeSport, New York Times, New York Times, The Information, New York Post, @nakisa_bidarian, Barrett Media, @arashmarkazi@threads.com, Streaming Better, Paramount Skydance Corporation, @stholeary.bsky.social, @chuckmindenhall, @jakepaul and Mediaite
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Paramount plans to show select UFC live events on CBS and will explore buying international rights in the future as they become available — - David Ellison closed the deal days after taking over Paramount — Martial arts league more than doubles its annual rights fees
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Business Insider, Barrett Media, @arielhelwani, @jedigoodman, @pkafka, @loudmouthjulia and Variety
Al Jazeera:
Al Jazeera journalists Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh and three colleagues have been killed in an Israeli attack on a tent housing journalists in Gaza City — Al Jazeera staff killed in targeted Israeli attack on a tent housing journalists near al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza City.
Discussion:
Committee to Protect …, U2.com, New York Times, BBC, The Guardian, CNN, Variety, Zeteo, ABC, Adweek, New York Sun, ZeroHedge News, Truthout, Poynter, Reuters, Mother Jones, Media Nation, Writers Without Money, NBC News, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, Breitbart, @malsaafin, @lalarian, @liamthorp.bsky.social, The US Sun, WHDH-TV, @brenttoderian.bsky.social, @MissConstrue@mefi.social, Le Monde, @onemoregoodman.bsky.social, 9News, Financial Times, @brianstelter, @ytirawi, @malsaafin, @jayapal.house.gov, @myhlee.bsky.social, @arutzsheva_en, @karenattiah.bsky.social, @alexcrawfordsky, @manasipathak_, The Sun, @chelseaeharvey.bsky.social, Global News, Mirror, @nesrinemalik, @treyyingst, Informed Comment, The Wrap, UPI, @deanobeidallah.bsky.social, Wall Street Journal, CBS News, @lorak.bsky.social, @matthewjkuiper.bsky.social, @darkskylady.bsky.social, @trumpsatwit.bsky.social, @conniewalker.bsky.social, @mosababutoha, @jonathan-cook.bsky.social, Newsweek, @ryangrim, @dropsitenews, @ashtonpittman.bsky.social, @northwestbylines.co.uk, @saulstaniforth, @joolia.bsky.social, @sanasaeed, Jeff Jarvis on LinkedIn, @sanasaeed, @brian-goldstone.bsky.social, @peterhowitt.bsky.social, Jodie Ginsberg on LinkedIn, @markjacob.bsky.social, @sanasaeed, @lailaalarian, @sanasaeed, @ingridrobeyns.bsky.social, @meganotoole.bsky.social, National Union of Journalists …, Mediaite, Deadline, HuffPost, Fox News, Washington Examiner and Politico
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Fox and ESPN plan to launch a bundle of their upcoming streaming services, Fox One and ESPN respectively, on October 2 for $39.99 per month — Fox One, which brings together sports, news and entertainment from across Fox's broadcast and cable channels, and ESPN's dramatically beefed-up direct …
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, MediaPost, The Streamable, TVNewsCheck, TV Tech, TheDesk.net, The Wrap, Variety, The US Sun, Pocket-lint, Fox News, Front Office Sports, PCWorld, Bloomberg, Sports Business Journal, CNBC, The Verge, The Hollywood Reporter, Fox Corporation, The TV Answer Man!, @logandobson, Cord Cutters News, @tvgrimreaper, @andrewmarchand, @nolelifestyle, Barrett Media, 9to5Mac, @sportsontvguy, @tvgrimreaper, Streaming Better, @aagave, Media Play News, @jacobfeldman4, @sherman4949 and @derekcody
Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
LAPD officers struck and injured UK photojournalist Nick Stern twice while he was covering LA immigration protests, and assaulted multiple other journalists — The latest Los Angeles protest march against President Donald Trump's aggressive deportation arrests took off from the city's …
Sam Tobin / Reuters:
A UK judge dismisses Wikimedia's Online Safety Act challenge over requiring Wikipedia to verify users and contributors' IDs, but says it can file new challenges — The operator of Wikipedia on Monday lost a legal challenge to parts of Britain's Online Safety Act, which sets tough new requirements …
Andrew Deck / Nieman Lab:
The Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's largest newspaper by circulation, sues Perplexity, alleging unauthorized reproduction of its articles, and seeks $14.7M in damages — The Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's largest newspaper by circulation, has sued the generative AI startup Perplexity for copyright infringement.
Discussion:
The Japan News, Editor and Publisher, Mlex, Nippon.com, @niemanlab.org, Agence France-Presse and r/japan
Amy Thomson / Bloomberg:
Martin Sorrell's S4 says it is in early talks to combine with private equity-owned MSQ; S4 has a ~£130M market cap after its stock has declined ~35% in 2025 — S4 Capital Plc, the advertising agency founded by Martin Sorrell, is in talks to combine with private equity-owned MSQ Partners.
Discussion:
Adweek, The Times, campaignlive.com, The Drum, The Independent, Financial Times, Proactive, Telegraph, The Standard, Sky News and Reuters
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Reddit says it will block the Internet Archive from indexing most of its pages after it caught AI companies scraping its data from the Wayback Machine — The company says that AI companies have scraped data from the Wayback Machine, so it's going to limit what the Wayback Machine can access.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
iHeartMedia hires ex-Amazon exec Lisa Coffey in the newly created role of chief business officer, overseeing iHeart's new ad products and digitization efforts — Ad-tech and digital media veteran Lisa Coffey has joined iHeartMedia, the biggest U.S. radio broadcaster and a major podcast producer …
Discussion:
RADIO ONLINE, Radio & Television …, Inside Radio, The Hollywood Reporter, iHeartMedia and Barrett Media
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Wondery's restructure suggests the end of the “Serial” podcasting era and the start of a new one, marked by investment tied to video and the creator economy — With the rise of video-centric podcasting, the industry is poised to usher in a new wave of series and deals.
Discussion:
Semafor and Ashley Carman on LinkedIn, more at Techmeme »
