Top News:
CNBC:
Paramount launches a hostile bid to acquire WBD, offering WBD shareholders $30/share in a $108.4B all-cash deal; sources say WBD rejected the same bid last week — Paramount Skydance is launching a hostile bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery after it lost out to Netflix in a months-long bidding war …
Discussion:
Axios, Variety, Paramount Skydance Corporation, TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, Deadline, MediaPost, Awful Announcing, Radio & Television …, /Film, The Guardian, Reuters, The Streamable, Fox Business, NBC News, The Hill, Business Insider, Mediaite, Advanced Television, WTTG-TV, Washington Times, Gizmodo, Mirror US, Engadget, France 24, The Information, Yahoo Finance, Blockchain.News, Los Angeles Times, Telegraph, Livemint, Comic Book, The Standard, KDFX-TV, Fortune, @sherman4949, @lucas_shaw, Canoe, @rosesbloom24.bsky.social, Cord Cutters News, @newsguy.bsky.social, @renegadecut.bsky.social, Dow Jones Newswires, The Indian Express, @robertscotthorton.bsky.social, @schooley.bsky.social, @stephentotilo.bsky.social, @kristoncapps.bsky.social, @franciswilkinson.bsky.social, Financial Times, @lucas_shaw, Entrepreneur, Associated Press, Anadolu Ajansı …, @danprimack, @laurenshirsch, Business Today, Media Play News, Far Out Magazine, @sherman4949, Sports Media Watch, @rabichakra.bsky.social, @teroterotero, @alaynatreene, @teroterotero, Straight Arrow News, today.rtl.lu, Screen, @danprimack, Pulse 2.0, WPXI-TV, @sarafischer, @sherman4949, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, @markjacob.bsky.social, @figgityfigs.bsky.social, @edmundlee, @sherman4949, @brianstelter, @annmlipton@esq.social, The Post Millennial, MacDailyNews, Just The News, Barrett Media, World of Reel, CBC News, CBS News, Jerusalem Post, BelfastTelegraph.co.uk, Realscreen and New York Post, more at Techmeme »
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Bloomberg:
Paramount secures up to $54B in bridge loan financing, one of the largest of its kind, from Bank of America, Citigroup, and Apollo Global for its WBD bid — Paramount Skydance Corp. has lined up as much as $54 billion of financing from Wall Street's biggest firms to help support …
Discussion:
Fortune, @devonheinen.bsky.social and Financial Times
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Filing: Paramount's outside partners for its WBD bid include Saudi Arabia's PIF, Abu Dhabi's L'imad, Qatar Investment Authority, and Jared Kushner's Affinity — Paramount on Monday launched a hostile takeover bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, going directly to shareholders with an all-cash, $30-per-share offer.
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: Ted Sarandos met with Trump in November, arguing that Netflix wasn't a monopoly; Sarandos agreed with Trump that WBD should sell to the highest bidder — Netflix Inc. co-Chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos ventured to the White House in mid-November for a meeting with President Donald Trump.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Columbia Journalism Review, The Streamable, Mediaite, GamesIndustry.biz, TVNewsCheck, CampaignUs, PR Daily, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, The Independent, indy100, Deadline, GameSpot, Breitbart, New York Times, CNBC, Semafor, Wall Street Journal, Gizmodo, UPI, @lucas_shaw, @laurenshirsch, Mumbrella, BIG by Matt Stoller, @jason, Mirror US, Benzinga, Variety, NBC News, @cgasparino, TechCrunch, Newsweek, The Statesman, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, al.com, @cgasparino, Bloomberg, Media Play News, The Wrap, @karaswisher.bsky.social, @toomuchtv.substack.com, Newsmax, @gigawattconduit.bsky.social, The Verge, Forbes, New York Post, Just Jared, CBC News, Los Angeles Times and CNBC, more at Techmeme »
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Bloomberg:
President Trump says Netflix's WBD deal has “got to go through a process”, its big market share “could be a problem”, and he will be involved in the decision
Discussion:
The Wrap, Business Insider, Yahoo Finance, New York Post, What's Trending, The Daily Caller, mxdwn Television, CNBC, New York Times, The Post Millennial, The American Bazaar, Crypto Briefing, Fox Business, Nairametrics, Engadget, Fortune, Stratechery, MediaNews4U, Blockchain.News, The Streamable, TheJournal.ie, @senwarren, @rphilly.bsky.social, Washington Post, @ronfilipkowski, @tracinski.bsky.social, Livemint, @nick_field90, Irish Examiner, iPhone in Canada, Truth on the Market, @scottnover, @brianstelter, @caseynewton.bsky.social, @rapidresponse47, USA Today, @mrgq.bsky.social, Business Standard, Far Out Magazine, NBC Bay Area, World of Reel, Mobile World Live, Daily Sabah, Bloomberg Law, CNN, Forbes and Reuters, more at Techmeme »
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
WBD CEO David Zaslav, criticized for cutting costs, scrapping movies, and laying off thousands, may end up having the last laugh thanks to the Netflix-WBD deal
WBD CEO David Zaslav, criticized for cutting costs, scrapping movies, and laying off thousands, may end up having the last laugh thanks to the Netflix-WBD deal
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, Kotaku, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter
Financial Times:
Sources: WBD's board wanted a proposal it could sign immediately, and Netflix was the only bidder whose paperwork was fully executable the night of December 4
Sources: WBD's board wanted a proposal it could sign immediately, and Netflix was the only bidder whose paperwork was fully executable the night of December 4
Discussion:
The Week, Crikey, BMI, The Big Picture, Sharecast, Paul Kedrosky, adnews.com.au, New York Times, @GhostOnTheHalfShell@masto.ai, The Straits Times, ABC, Australian Financial Review, Fox Business, The Observer, Le Monde, Slate, The Guardian, MediaNews4U, TRT World, India Today, Boardroom, dailyjournal.com and Los Angeles Times
Committee to Protect Journalists:
After the building fire, Hong Kong summoned AFP, FT, NYT, AP, Bloomberg, and WSJ journalists, telling them to avoid “trouble making”, and arrested a commentator — Chinese and Hong Kong authorities must immediately stop harassing journalists, release news commentator Wong Kwok-ngon …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, @sensehofstede.nl, @newsguy.bsky.social and The Daily Caller
Variety:
Netflix scores the most 2026 Golden Globe nominations, with 35 nominations across film and TV; Warner Bros. and HBO got a combined 31 nominations — “One Battle After Another,” a blisteringly funny look at a repressive society riven by political violence, dominated the 2026 Golden Globe Awards nominations …
Discussion:
Billboard, TVNewsCheck, New York Times, TVLine, The Wrap, IndieWire, DiscussingFilm, Gold Derby, Daily Star, al.com, Vanity Fair, E! Online, Dexerto, @hollywoodspin, Page Six, Showbiz411, Wall Street Journal, Mirror US, 9to5Mac, Mashable, Media Play News, Mirror, Oh No They Didn't!, Full Feed, WPXI-TV, World of Reel, Extra, People, Decider, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, Mercury News, Just Jared, TODAY.com, KDFX-TV, Associated Press and Offscreen Central
Mark Kleinman / Sky News:
Source: Piers Morgan's YouTube-based venture Uncensored is raising £22.5M from The Raine Group, Theo Kyriakou, and others at a £97M pre-money valuation — The US-based merchant bank Raine and Greek media mogul Theo Kyriakou are among the backers of the former Mirror editor …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Variety, Barrett Media, Mirror and Lawyer Monthly
Kerry Flynn / Axios:
Samba TV raised up to $60M in venture debt to scale through acquisitions and new AI-powered measurement tools; Samba previously raised $69M in equity funding — Samba TV has secured up to $60 million in venture debt to scale through acquisitions and new AI-powered measurement tools, CEO Ashwin Navin exclusively tells Axios.
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
The Academy reports fiscal 2025 revenues of $269.2M, up from $263.1M in 2024, after cutting expenses from $220.1M to $208.1M; Oscars revenue grew to $150.5M — “It is so important that we continue to diversify revenue streams and control expenses to allow for a sustainable and impactful future," Academy CEO Bill Kramer tells THR.
Matt Donnelly / Variety:
A look at the auction for the Oscars' TV rights, as sources say Netflix is out, NBCUniversal gains ground, and YouTube and ABC remain active bidders — There are eight weeks left on the holy Hollywood awards calendar until Oscar nominations are announced, and it's not just artists and craftspeople hunting for trophies.
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, Offscreen Central, Screen Rant, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, The A.V. Club, Deadline and @discussingfilm.net
Megan Graham / Wall Street Journal:
WPP Media expects global ad revenue, excluding US political ads, to grow 8.8% YoY in 2025 to $1.14T, and says AI investment drives more spending than expected — A new report from WPP Media says global ad revenue will reach $1.14 trillion this year — Advertising spending will grow …
Discussion:
Marketing Dive, MediaPost, GeekWire, WPP Media, TVNewsCheck, Communicate Online, Blockchain.News, AdExchanger, Mumbrella, Adweek, The Drum and campaignlive.co.uk
Ellen Gamerman / Wall Street Journal:
Inside the creation of AI actress Tilly Norwood, which included 2,000 iterations; Particle6, its creator, says it has ~60 NDAs for projects involving Tilly — How the human behind Tilly Norwood brought her to digital life
Discussion:
Digital Music News, CBS News, Associated Press and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »
Max Tani / Semafor:
Source: OpenAI privately complained to NBC News that the author of a story about OpenAI pressuring nonprofits was backed by a nonprofit involved in the story — The Scoop — Last month, NBC News broke the news that the artificial intelligence behemoth OpenAI had quietly issued a series …
