Top News:
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
WWE live events on ESPN's new streaming service will start earlier than expected, with Wrestlepalooza on Sept. 20, followed by Crown Jewel and Survivor Series — ESPN is going to the mat for a special WWE event much sooner than expected. — The Disney sports-media giant will host …
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Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
How bundling ESPN's new streamer, launching August 21, with Disney+ could boost daily engagement with Disney's streamer, reduce churn, and attract sports fans
Isabella Simonetti / Wall Street Journal:
Unredacted court docs in Smartmatic's Fox News lawsuit show how Maria Bartiromo and other Fox hosts privately aided Trump's bid to overturn the 2020 US election — Hundreds of pages of filings were unredacted this week; each party has asked a judge to rule in its favor without a trial
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Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
Newly unredacted documents in the Smartmatic-Fox News defamation case show former host Jeanine Pirro, now a US attorney, bragging about aiding Trump and the GOP
Newly unredacted documents in the Smartmatic-Fox News defamation case show former host Jeanine Pirro, now a US attorney, bragging about aiding Trump and the GOP
Discussion:
Status, Los Angeles Times, Raw Story, @azi, Deadline, HuffPost, RADAR, @jeremymbarr, @jeremymbarr, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, New Republic, The Independent, The Hill, @therafischwartz.bsky.social, TV Insider, @farhip, @justinbaragona.bsky.social, Mediaite, @emptywheel.bsky.social, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, @jenhayden.bsky.social, @nasaisright.bsky.social, @Nonilex@masto.ai, @amyewest.bsky.social, @kylegriffin1.bsky.social, @mattortega.com and @washingtonpost.com
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Yahoo Sports launches a free, ad-supported streaming TV channel called Yahoo Sports Network, featuring original programming covering the NFL, NBA, MLB, and more — ESPN and Fox aren't the only media companies trying to reach an emerging generation of sports fans who are more at home in digital realms then they are traditional ones.
John Semley / Wired:
A look at the 2025 AI Film Festival, backed by Runway AI and screened by Imax; some cinephiles deride it while others say it's part of a natural tech evolution — From a POV butterfly larvae doc to something that resembled a perfume commercial, Runway AI's film festival selections did little to convince me of AI's artistry.
Discussion:
TheGamer, @johnsemley3000.bsky.social, @manishakrishnan.bsky.social and Implicator.ai
John Koblin / New York Times:
Antenna: Americans buy ~30% of all new streaming subscriptions via third-party apps like Prime Video or Roku, rising 40% from 2023, a new kind of cable bundle — A battle is heating up in the streaming world as millions of Americans sign up for multiple services through a single provider instead of separate apps.
Tess Patton / The Wrap:
Ari Shapiro will leave NPR in September after a decade as host of All Things Considered, says it “has nothing to do with the challenges facing public radio” — “The work of public radio is more important today than it has ever been. I intend to continue supporting it," the “All Things Considered” host says
Discussion:
Deadline, @hadas_gold, NPR, CNN, Cord Cutters News, Variety, TVNewsCheck, Barrett Media, Advocate and New York Daily News
Pew Research Center:
A survey of 9,000+ US adults: 59% say journalists are extremely or very important to the well-being of society, while 49% say journalists are losing influence — Americans largely value journalists' role in society but see their influence declining - and often differ over who fits the label
Dylan Byers / Puck:
Sources: CBS News is losing ~$50M per year, as David Ellison plans to right-size the division by reducing salaries, shrinking teams, and repackaging content — Greetings from Los Angeles and welcome back to In the Room. I spent a fair amount of time over the weekend trying to figure …
Discussion:
@calebhowe, @dylanbyers, The Daily Caller and Media Play News
Igor Bobic / HuffPost:
A group of 17 Democratic senators urges US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to press Israel to protect journalists in Gaza and allow international media into Gaza — “It appears Israel is publicly admitting to targeting and killing journalists who have shown the world the scale of suffering in Gaza …
Catherine Perloff / The Information:
Sources: publishers are considering moving from flat-fee AI content licensing deals with companies to usage-based deals; Perplexity is developing such a model — Signs that OpenAI and other artificial intelligence firms are generating ever-increasing revenues are getting attention …
Discussion:
Digiday, AdExchanger, Glenn Gabe on LinkedIn, Catherine Perloff on LinkedIn and B&T
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor / The Athletic:
Germany's Bundesliga awards part of its UK live broadcasting rights to a YouTube content creator, Mark Goldbridge, a first for a major European soccer league — The Bundesliga has become the first major European football league to award part of its live broadcasting rights in the United Kingdom …
Discussion:
Front Office Sports, @stokel, Jonny McFarlane on LinkedIn, The Times, Deadline, The Sun, @raecomm.bsky.social, The Athletic, BBC and @sebsb.bsky.social
Alice Brooker / Press Gazette:
US newsletter publisher The Flyover now has 25 staff, 2.5M subscribers, nine state-specific daily editions, and one national edition, after its 2023 launch — A US-based email-first news publication now has 25 full-time staff after targeting a gap in the market for state-level coverage.
