Top News:
Charles Gasparino / New York Post:
Sources: Paramount Skydance is in talks with private equity firms including Apollo Global Management to join its potential $60B bid for Warner Bros. Discovery — Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison is in talks with major private equity firms to join his possible bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery …
CNN:
The Pentagon Press Association formally objects to Defense Department rules “that appear designed to stifle a free press” and “further isolate reporters” — Military officials are pushing forward with new restrictions on the Pentagon press corps despite objections from news organizations and watchdog groups.
Discussion:
Washington Post, @phildstewart, @natashabertrand, @karyncaplan, Deadline, @nedprice, @brianstelter.bsky.social, Newser, Raw Story, @mwilsonmusic07, @brettbruen, @dianaresists.bsky.social, @franklinh3000, @ktoropin, The Hill, @jeremymbarr, @scottnover, @jamiedupree, Bloomberg, @halbritz, @scottnover, The Independent, @huntclancy, Mediaite, @ktoropin, TVNewsCheck and NewsMax.com
Bloomberg:
Sources: WMG is nearing a deal with Netflix for films and documentaries based on its artists and songs; WMG closed its film and TV division earlier this year — Warner Music Group Corp. is close to an agreement with Netflix Inc. to create a slate of movies and documentaries based …
Discussion:
Reuters, Metro.co.uk and Digital Music News
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Leonard Blavatnik injects $587M into DAZN, taking his total investment above $7B in under a decade; DAZN losses narrowed last year to $936M from $1.4B in 2023 — Sports streamer expects to be profitable next year and looks to potential listing or private investors for more capital
Discussion:
TV Blackbox, Australian Financial Review, Mediaweek, City A.M., Advanced Television and Telegraph
Rob Waugh / Press Gazette:
A UK PR agency is offering a £250/month AI tool called Olivia Brown, which creates press releases and expert quotes, and “relentlessly” emails journalists — ‘Olivia Brown’ reads websites, writes press releases then ‘relentlessly’ sends emails.
Discussion:
Tom Chivers on LinkedIn, Alex Lopez on LinkedIn and @josiah.writes.news
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Netflix is making its video games available on smart TVs and streaming devices like Roku for the first time, with phones serving as controllers — Netflix Inc. wants you to play Boggle in between binges of Stranger Things. — The streaming service is making its video games available …
Discussion:
Business Standard, more at Techmeme »
Glenn Peoples / Billboard:
Live Nation plans to offer $1.3B of convertible senior notes with 2031 due dates, seeking to repay existing debt and possibly fund concert venues — As of June 30, the concert giant had $6.48 billion of debt on its balance sheet. … Live Nation plans to offer $1.3 billion of convertible senior notes …
Discussion:
Yahoo Finance, Music Business Worldwide and Digital Music News
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Analysis: Google Search favored global news brands like CNN and Al Jazeera over Manchester Evening News coverage, following an attack on a Manchester synagogue — SEO expert explains why local news providers can “miss out” amid major news events. — Google search results favoured coverage …
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr:
[Thread] Filings in the Fox News/Smartmatic case show internal criticism from Fox employees about coverage, including their condemnation of opinion hosts — Some filings made public yesterday in the Fox News/Smartmatic case include some internal criticisms from Fox employees about coverage (I BELIEVE from an internal 2020 company survey) One said: “The content we produce has made the world, and especially our country, a worse [image]
Discussion:
Alternet.org, @jeremymbarr, @jeremymbarr, @jeremymbarr, @jeremymbarr, @jeremymbarr, @jeremymbarr, @jeremymbarr, @jeremymbarr, @jeremymbarr and @jeremymbarr
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Lemonade Stand, a business podcast launched seven months ago by three Twitch streamers, grows to over 16,000 Patreon subscribers, generating $58K+ per month — The business show Lemonade Stand has an audience that is 91% male and 60% Gen Z — Welcome back to Soundbite.
Colby Hall / Mediaite:
On his two-year anniversary as CNN CEO, Mark Thompson talks about the core value proposition of CNN, cable news, CNN's alleged left-leaning bias, and more — Since taking the helm of CNN two years ago, Sir Mark Thompson—both a British Knight and American citizen—has been something …
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck
Washington Post:
An analysis of 1,100 TikTok users' watch histories across six months in 2024 shows just how effective TikTok is at getting even its heaviest users to watch more — More than 800 U.S. TikTok users shared their data with The Washington Post. We used it to find out why some people become power users, spending hours per day scrolling.
Discussion:
Social Media Today, iPhone in Canada, @hern.bsky.social, Meghan Hoyer on LinkedIn, @BenjaminHCCarr@hachyderm.io, @sfcpoll.bsky.social, @remixtures@tldr.nettime.org, @meghanhoyer.bsky.social, @caulfieldtim.bsky.social, @justinhendrix.bsky.social, @bradheath.bsky.social, The Boston Globe, NextDraft and FlowingData
