Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
Filing: Sinclair built an ~8% stake in E.W. Scripps and is vying to acquire the local TV broadcaster; Scripps has a market value of ~$270M and Sinclair $1.1B — The media companies have discussed a potential tie-up in recent months — Sinclair built a roughly 8% stake in E.W. Scripps …
Discussion:
E.W. Scripps Company, Sportico, TheStreet, Deadline, Associated Press, Dow Jones Newswires, al.com, Baltimore Business Journal, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Poynter, TV Tech, TheDesk.net, Axios, @matthewkeyslive, Benzinga, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, Cincinnati Business Journal, Sports Business Journal, Barrett Media, Front Office Sports, Cord Cutters News, Awful Announcing, Reuters, TVNewsCheck, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, Advanced Television and Radio & Television …
Press Gazette:
The Telegraph seeks a quick auction after Redbird dropped its £500M bid; former bidders, including Spectator owner Paul Marshall, could re-enter the race — Redbird drops £500m Telegraph bid in face of internal backlash. — Redbird Capital Partners has dropped its £500m bid …
Discussion:
Telegraph and @russincheshire.bsky.social
David Folkenflik / NPR:
CPB agrees to fulfill a $36M, multi-year contract with NPR, resolving litigation filed by NPR accusing CPB of illegally yielding to Trump's demands — The Corporation for Public Broadcasting agreed Monday to fulfill a $36 million, multi-year contract with NPR that it had yanked after pressure from the Trump White House.
Discussion:
@davidfolkenflik.bsky.social
Scott Nover / Washington Post:
A look at MSNBC's rebrand as MS Now, as it builds an independent newsroom, hiring 36+ reporters, aiming to maintain its liberal opinion and news analysis — Going it alone without NBC's name or deep bench of reporting talent, the newly rebranded cable news network is staffing up.
Emma Rossiter / BBC:
Sky Sports shuts down its new female-focused TikTok channel Halo after three days, following online backlash for “sexist” posts, saying it “didn't get it right” — Sky Sports has scrapped its new female-focused TikTok channel, Halo, after it faced a backlash online …
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Sun, @avfcfern, @samfonsecaa, TVNewsCheck, CNN, @oscgoat, @safsmiless, @cawthornejosh, The Tab, @freyaquinton, @jamesdsmitth, Deadline, Mediaweek, ABC, The Athletic, The Verge, Andy Gill on LinkedIn, Broadband TV News, Sydney Morning Herald, Advanced Television, The Independent, Mirror and Daily Star
Ben Smith / Semafor:
Jeffrey Epstein's emails, released by the US House Oversight Committee, contain Michael Wolff's unpublished Epstein profile, raising access journalism concerns — THE SCOOP — Buried deep in the House Oversight Committee's recent release of 20,000 emails from Jeffrey Epstein's inbox …
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: Starz is interested in buying Hearst and Disney's A+E, the owner of its namesake channel and the History channel, but A+E is seeking a wealthier buyer — Who wants to buy a bunch of declining TV networks? — Good afternoon from Los Angeles, and thanks to those of you who came to the podcast business summit this past week.
Discussion:
The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, Cord Cutters News, @lucas_shaw and The Streamable
Avery Lotz / Axios:
Trump defends Tucker Carlson after his podcast interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes, saying Carlson has the freedom to choose his interviewees — President Trump backed Tucker Carlson on Sunday after the ex-Fox News host's interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes triggered contentious MAGA-world infighting.
Discussion:
New York Times, @nickjfuentes, Associated Press, Catholic World Report, Mediaite, New York Magazine, Washington Examiner, The Independent, @atrupar, @laurenmeidasa.bsky.social, TMZ.com, @acyn, The Post Millennial, NewsMax.com, Washington Post, Forbes, One America News Network, Deseret News, Daily Mail, New York Post, IJR, Raw Story, Algemeiner.com, Straight Arrow News, The Hill, Barrett Media, CBS News, Los Angeles Times, The Gateway Pundit and Semafor
Wall Street Journal:
Pinkfong prices its South Korea IPO at ~$26 per share, valuing the company behind Baby Shark Dance, YouTube's most-watched video with 16.4B views, at ~$375M — Company behind ubiquitous song is hampered by ad restrictions on children's content, wants to raise funds for expansion via an IPO
Discussion:
Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Corbin Bolies / The Wrap:
Source: OANN fired Vish Burra, a producer of The Matt Gaetz Show, after he posted a cartoon that executives deemed “highly offensive” and “antisemitic” — Vish Burra's posts characterizing Jewish people as “vermin” were “highly offensive” and “antisemitic,” a source tells TheWrap
Irina Aleksander / New York Times:
A profile of Matthew Belloni, the writer of Puck's What I'm Hearing newsletter and host of The Town podcast, who has become a must-read for Hollywood news — On a Friday night in September, a few days after news broke that David Ellison, the new billionaire owner of Paramount …
Discussion:
@hollywoodspin, @mediaevan, @mikeisaac, @mikiebarb, @sorrogrande, @mattbelloni, @mihirpshah and @emilyyoshida.bsky.social
Alex Ritman / Variety:
Vue CEO Tim Richards criticizes Netflix's deal giving Imax a two-week exclusive run for the Narnia film, arguing it undermines the theatrical ecosystem — The founder and CEO of Vue Entertainment, the largest privately owned cinema operator in Europe, has written a public letter attacking …
Discussion:
Tim Richards Cbe on LinkedIn and Screen Rant
