Top News:
Thomas Buckley / Bloomberg:
SAG-AFTRA criticizes AI-generated actress Tilly Norwood, the subject of a viral UK TV parody, and says that it opposes replacing performers with “synthetics” — SAG-Aftra, the union of film and TV industry actors, criticized the AI-generated character Tilly Norwood …
Discussion:
Deadline, Global News, NPR, Fortune, Associated Press, Music Ally, @variety, @stoptweetingmia, @davidehrlich, @lunch_enjoyer, @variety, @tillynorwood, @culturecrave, @filmupdates, @moreperfectus, Reuters, UPI, Tubefilter, CNN, Decrypt, Esquire, The A.V. Club, Techstrong.ai, Screen, TODAY.com, Forbes, The Movie Blog, NBC News, Gizmodo, Full Feed, New York Daily News, Entertainment Weekly, IndieWire, Polygon, CBS News, Daily Mail, Variety, IGN, The Wrap, FemaleFirst, The Hollywood Reporter and Screen Rant, more at Techmeme »
Meghan Bobrowsky / Wall Street Journal:
Meta plans to start using users' AI chatbot conversations to help personalize ads and content, starting December 16, but not in the UK, South Korea, and the EU — While users won't be able to opt out from the new policy, the content of some conversations will be automatically excluded
Joe Otterson / Variety:
Apple TV+ extends its deal for Peanuts content, including its library and new shows, until 2030 and continues to offer holiday specials for free on set dates — The “Peanuts” gang is staying put at Apple TV+, with the streamer inking a five-year deal extension to keep Charlie Brown and friends on the service until 2030.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Streaming Better, New Statesman, Apple TV+ Press, 9to5Mac, AppleInsider, The Hollywood Reporter, KSTP-TV and Deadline
Ivan L. Nagy / Columbia Journalism Review:
Officials give Pentagon reporters a handful of days to “consult with legal counsel” about new rules restricting reporting in exchange for press passes — “None of us are signing this pledge,” said one reporter. — Pentagon reporters are scrambling to come up with a response …
Discussion:
@joshuahersh, Associated Press, The Preamble, @nedprice.bsky.social, New York Times, twitchy.com, Metro.co.uk and Raw Story
Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
NBCUniversal and YouTube TV agree to a short-term carriage agreement extension to prevent a blackout of NBC, Bravo, and other channels on YouTube TV — The companies avoid a blackout of NBC, Bravo, Telemundo and more on the Google-owned distributor — NBCUniversal and YouTube TV extended negotiations …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Spotify and Amazon Ads announce a global partnership to give advertisers using Amazon DSP programmatic access to Spotify's streaming audio and video inventory — Spotify competes directly with Amazon Music for subscribers and ad dollars — but now Spotify is teaming up with a different division …
Joseph Cox / 404 Media:
Freedom of the Press Foundation and 404 Media file a FOIA lawsuit against the US DHS and CMS, seeking documents about Medicaid patient data sharing with ICE — Last week Freedom of the Press Foundation and 404 Media filed a lawsuit against the multiple parts of the U.S. government demanding …
Charlotte Klein / New York Magazine:
A profile of Cultured, a profitable art magazine founded in 2012 by collector Sarah Harrelson, who has maintained long-term relationships with major advertisers — The sudden, unlikely rise of Cultured. — In April, a friend texted me to ask if I was planning to go to Cultured magazine's …
Discussion:
Sarah Harrelson on LinkedIn
Sara Fischer / Axios:
People acquires Feedfeed, a food publisher and creator network with ~1,000 influencer partners, its first acquisition since the 2021 Dotdash/Meredith merger — - Dotdash Meredith rebranded to People Inc. in July. … - When Dotdash previously did acquisitions — before merging with Meredith …
Discussion:
@sarafischer
Dan Kennedy / Media Nation:
Boston's GBH launches a $225M fundraising campaign to sustain its operations over the next three years following the end of federal funding for public media — Today marks the end of government funding for public media, and Boston's GBH is announcing a major fundraising initiative to fill the gap.
Discussion:
The Boston Globe, @dankennedy.net and Current
Eric Fisher / Front Office Sports:
MLB viewership rose in 2025: ESPN averaged 1.8M viewers, up 21% YoY; Fox rose 9% to 2.04M viewers, MLB Network up 13%, MLB.TV up 34% to 19.39B minutes, a record — While Major League Baseball reported solid attendance numbers this year, the story on television was even better.
Discussion:
@kennysmith.bsky.social, OutKick, The US Sun, @aericfisher.bsky.social, @mlb_pr, @jonheyman, @mattmccarthy985, @benverlander, Awful Announcing, Sports Business Journal, MarketWatch, Awful Announcing, Sports World News, Field Level Media, MediaPost, Sports Business Journal and The Athletic
Daphné Leprince-Ringuet / Sifted:
Vibe.co, a self-serve platform for businesses to run targeted ads on streaming services, raised a $50M Series B led by Hedosophia at a $410M valuation — The round was led by Uber backer Hedosophia with participation from Nik Storonsky's QuantumLight — Vibe.co, a Paris-based startup …
Discussion:
Vibe.co on LinkedIn, Vibe.co, Advanced Television and EU-Startups
