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:
Media Play News, The Verge, Associated Press, Awful Announcing, @jbflint, Variety, Sports Business Journal, @arielhelwani, Sports Business Journal, How-To Geek, Advanced Television, @sherman4949, Cord Cutters News, StreamTV Insider, @loudmouthjulia, Dana White on Instagram, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, @tvgrimreaper, Deadline, @jeradwalker.bsky.social, @lucas_shaw, @loudmouthjulia, The Fast Mode, @arielhelwani, UPI, @austinkarp, @lthomasnews, TV Insider, @robnashville, WebProNews, Daily Mail, USA Today, al.com, Axios, @sherman4949, SPORTbible, LightShed Partners, Decider, The Wrap, @dovysimumma, @yay_yee, Forbes, @tvgrimreaper, PYMNTS.com, The Independent, TheDesk.net, @erichterrr, @chaddundas.bsky.social, @kasey__moore, Wall Street Journal, @acdmma_, @andrewmarchand, Sportico, Los Angeles Times, @billsimmons, @heynottheface, Engadget, TVNewsCheck, The A.V. Club, WORLD SCREEN, The National Pulse, 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:
New York Times, New York Times, Sports Business Journal, Sportico, TV Tech, @nakisa_bidarian, GiveMeSport, Barrett Media, New York Post, @arashmarkazi@threads.com, Reuters, Streaming Better, Front Office Sports, Paramount Skydance Corporation, @stholeary.bsky.social, Cord Cutters News, The Movie Blog, Adweek, The Information, @chuckmindenhall, @jakepaul, Forbes, Breitbart, Mediaite, Puck and Marchand Sports Media
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:
Cord Cutters News, nScreenMedia, ESPN Press Room U.S., The TV Answer Man!, Awful Announcing, @logandobson, MediaPost, The Wrap, Spyglass, @tvgrimreaper, @andrewmarchand, UPI, How-To Geek, @nolelifestyle, TheDesk.net, Fortune, TVNewsCheck, TV Tech, New York Daily News, @espnflora, Barrett Media, The Streamable, Front Office Sports, Bloomberg, Sports Business Journal, Fox News, 9to5Mac, CNBC, @sportsontvguy, @tvgrimreaper, Streaming Better, Variety, @aagave, @diversetechgeek.bsky.social, TV Insider, Pocket-lint, Media Play News, @jacobfeldman4, @sherman4949, The Verge, @nemalki.bsky.social, StreamTV Insider, @derekcody, The Hollywood Reporter, PCWorld, The US Sun and Droid Life
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, @niemanlab.org, Agence France-Presse, Editor and Publisher, Nippon.com, Mlex and r/japan, more at Techmeme »
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.
Discussion:
MEDIANAMA, Engadget, Mashable, Moneycontrol, Social Media Today, @natejhake, AdExchanger, @thedextriarchy.bsky.social, @quinnypig.com, Gizmodo, @ednewtonrex, @jaubertmoniker.net, @waxy@xoxo.zone, @shiburizu, @cameronwilson.bsky.social, @carnage4life.bsky.social, @asura.dev, SiliconANGLE, @mtrc.bsky.social, The Indian Express, Ars Technica, @xkeeper.net and PC Gamer, more at Techmeme »
Ray Schultz / MediaPost:
Letter: MNG Enterprises, controlled by Alden Global Capital, raises its offer for The Dallas Morning News by $1 to $17.50/share, or $2.50 more than Hearst's bid — Alden Global Capital's firm, MNG Enterprises, has upped its offer for The Dallas Morning News.
Discussion:
@jeffjarvis.bsky.social, US Securities … and Nieman Lab
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, Variety, CNN, ABC, Zeteo, The Times of Israel, Poynter, Australian Financial Review, NBC News, @liamthorp.bsky.social, 9News, Financial Times, NewsMax.com, @brianstelter, Mondoweiss, Truthout, Adweek, Axios, @arutzsheva_en, ZeroHedge News, Media Nation, @manasipathak_, @pressfreedom.bsky.social, Writers Without Money, @muhammadshehad2, Crikey, LewRockwell, CBS News, New York Sun, Mother Jones, JURISTnews, @ryangrim, Breitbart, @saulstaniforth, Drop Site News, @kehyslop.bsky.social, PBS NewsHour, National Union of Journalists …, Mediaite, Reuters, WHDH-TV, UPI, Wall Street Journal, @jonathan-cook.bsky.social, @brenttoderian.bsky.social, Mirror, @ingridrobeyns.bsky.social, Time, @myhlee.bsky.social, @northwestbylines.co.uk, @onemoregoodman.bsky.social, The Hill, @sanasaeed, @lailaalarian, Informed Comment, @alexcrawfordsky, HuffPost, @malsaafin, @nesrinemalik, @dropsitenews, @sanasaeed, @mosababutoha, @lalarian, @ytirawi, @malsaafin, @treyyingst, @sanasaeed, @sanasaeed, @conniewalker.bsky.social, @peterhowitt.bsky.social, @trumpsatwit.bsky.social, @jayapal.house.gov, @karenattiah.bsky.social, @darkskylady.bsky.social, @MissConstrue@mefi.social, @chelseaeharvey.bsky.social, Jeff Jarvis on LinkedIn, @matthewjkuiper.bsky.social, @ashtonpittman.bsky.social, @brian-goldstone.bsky.social, @joolia.bsky.social, @markjacob.bsky.social, @lorak.bsky.social, Jodie Ginsberg on LinkedIn, @deanobeidallah.bsky.social and @meganotoole.bsky.social
Daniel Kaplan / The Hollywood Reporter:
Kevin Durant's Boardroom, a site focused on athletes and other entertainers, plans to launch a print magazine this month, with quarterly issues starting in 2026 — The company run by Rich Kleiman is testing the waters with a U.S. Open-themed cover feature in August and plans to publish quarterly beginning in 2026.
Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:
Hub survey: 42% of Americans say they were more likely to keep subscribing to a streaming bundle over an individual app; only 14% say they were less likely — Consumers are more likely to keep paying for a streaming app if they can bundle it with others at a low price point.
Discussion:
TV Tech
Andrew Deck / Nieman Lab:
In a July 11 arbitration hearing between Politico and the PEN Guild, Politico argued that some Politico AI experiments aren't subject to editorial standards — In a July arbitration hearing, Politico faced allegations that two generative AI tools violated its union contract.
Discussion:
@mattdpearce.com, @newsguild.org and @benjaminharnett.com
Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:
Sinclair's board authorizes a strategic review for its broadcast business and will consider separating its Ventures division, which includes the Tennis Channel — Sinclair, Inc.'s board of directors has authorized a comprehensive strategic review of its broadcast operations …
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
Netflix and Archewell Productions, the company of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, sign a new deal; source: it is worth less for the royals than their last deal — The streaming giant signed a new deal with the production company for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that is much less extensive than an earlier arrangement.
Discussion:
GB News, About Netflix, Associated Press, Business Plus, Miami Herald, The Standard, Deadline, CBS News, The A.V. Club, Now To Love, Agence France-Presse, HOLA!, StyleCaster, Newsweek, Us Weekly, Cele|bitchy, Irish Independent, HELLO!, Daily Mail, New York Post, SheKnows, The Wrap, Axios, Business Insider, The Sun, What's on Netflix, Deseret News, Page Six, Toronto Star, Variety, UPI, Star Magazine, RADAR, BANG Showbiz, People, Entertainment Weekly, Manchester Evening News, Forbes, The Hollywood Reporter, Mirror, Los Angeles Times, Sky News, Global News, NZ Herald, Daily Star, CinemaBlend, Harper's BAZAAR, TheGrio, Advanced Television, Town & Country, WWD and The Independent
