Top News:
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Disney says Hulu will replace the Star hub on Disney+ on October 8 in international markets as part of Disney's plan to expand Hulu globally — Starting on October 8th, Hulu will replace Star on Disney Plus in international markets. … Disney is expanding Hulu to worldwide streaming audiences …
Discussion:
Variety, Deadline and The Walt Disney Company
Elizabeth A. Harris / New York Times:
A Florida judge rules that a local school district did not violate 1A by removing a book from school libraries because a school library is not a public forum — The lawsuit was an effort to keep ‘And Tango Makes Three,’ about two male penguins raising a chick, in a county's school libraries.
Discussion:
LGBTQ Nation
RELATED:
Burgess Everett / Semafor:
Source: Brendan Carr has agreed to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee over his public pressure on Disney and ABC about Kimmel's Charlie Kirk monologue — FCC Chair Brendan Carr has agreed to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee, a person familiar with the matter told Semafor.
Discussion:
TV Tech, Mediaite, NBC News, NewsMax.com, Reuters, City Journal and Deadline
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
ESPN and Fox One's streaming bundle launches for $39.99 per month — “We are in a little bit of a crawl/walk/run here,” John Lasker, SVP of ESPN Direct-to-Consumer told Deadline in an interview, “especially being in the aftermath of massive product launches on both sides.”
Discussion:
Media Play News
Sara Guaglione / Digiday:
The Guardian launches its product recommendation site, The Filter, in the US, one year after its UK launch, with a focus on ethical consumption — The Guardian is bringing its product recommendation site, The Filter, stateside - a year after its U.K. launch - as it looks to push harder into commerce revenue.
Discussion:
The Guardian
Ivan L. Nagy / Columbia Journalism Review:
A look at Middle East 24, a new project from right-wing X news aggregator Visegrád 24 that posts articles from anonymous authors and relies on crowdfunding — A site called Visegrád 24 rode the waves of military conflicts and social media angst to become a household name on X. Its new project …
Reuters:
Some Bollywood stars sue YouTube, seeking the removal of AI videos infringing their IP, and want safeguards to stop other AI models from training on such videos — - Bollywood couple fight for personality rights in New Delhi court — Actors argue AI videos cause harm, should not be used in training
Discussion:
@adityakalra, @basuashis, @adityakalra and Semafor
Reuters:
Sources: Yahoo nears a deal to sell AOL to Italian app developer Bending Spoons for ~$1.4B; AOL.com's traffic has recently grown 20% YoY among users aged 25-54 — - Bending Spoons in advanced talks to buy AOL from Yahoo, sources say — The Italian unicorn has been on an acquisition spree, may IPO
Discussion:
Neowin and Benzinga, more at Techmeme »
Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:
Sources: Universal Music and Warner Music are nearing landmark AI licensing deals with companies including Google, ElevenLabs, Stability AI, Suno, and Udio — Universal and Warner seek payment structure similar to streaming as more disruption looms — Universal Music and Warner Music …
Discussion:
Music Ally, Reuters, NewsMax.com and The Verge
Ivan L. Nagy / Columbia Journalism Review:
US 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, New York Times, @nedprice.bsky.social and twitchy.com
Jake Kanter / Deadline:
Veep creator Armando Iannucci says he is struggling to raise funding for a project based on Trump's speeches amid fears of MAGA retribution — Armando Iannucci, the Emmy-winning British showrunner behind HBO's Veep and Avenue 5, has revealed that he has struggled to raise funding …
Discussion:
HuffPost, FemaleFirst, Mediaite, The A.V. Club, The Hill and Raw Story
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
Discussion:
KnowTechie, Ghacks, WinBuzzer, Tom's Guide, The Hans India, Fortune, PCMag, @aparanjape, GSMArena.com, Times Now, @rwang07, @zephyr_z9, @gsterling, The Independent, SiliconANGLE, @georgehopkin, Adam Mosseri on Instagram, Politico, Social Media Today, Terra Higginson on LinkedIn, iPhone in Canada, Tech.co, Meghan Bobrowsky on LinkedIn, @justinhendrix.bsky.social, Entrepreneur, Investor's Business Daily, Engadget, The Peninsula Newspaper, @stardustbluepr.com, @quillmatiq.com, @jackcarterbenjamin …, Bloomberg, @capemaydave.bsky.social, Reuters, Financial Times, TechCrunch and The American Bazaar
