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:
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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.
Discussion:
Axios, Sydney Morning Herald, Bloomberg, Reuters, The National, Deseret News, International Business Times, BNN Bloomberg, @sarafischer, @lucas_shaw, @hshaban, Business Insider, PC Gamer, Washington Post, Agence France-Presse, Dow Jones Newswires, @lucas_shaw, @emptywheel.bsky.social, @jczive, @bmdrew73.bsky.social, @sarafischer, @semaforben, @sarafischer, @scottnover, Yahoo Finance and Barrett Media
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Comcast President Mike Cavanagh says the company did not have a “high likelihood of prevailing” in its WBD bid but believed the attempt was worthwhile — Mike Cavanagh said Monday that the company “did not expect that we had a high likelihood of prevailing” in its Warner Bros. bid, but wanted to try.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Business Insider, Bloomberg and Deadline
Rohan Goswami / Semafor:
Paramount's WBD bid is backfiring in DC; a Trump official says Paramount seems to “believe the worst possible tropes” about corruption in the administration — The Scene — Paramount's aggressive quest for Warner Bros. — which escalated into a hostile $108 billion bid …
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:
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RELATED:
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
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:
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PodcastingToday:
Piers Morgan's Uncensored launches its first spin-off, History Uncensored, hosted by former CNN anchor Bianca Nobilo, airing weekly on YouTube and as a podcast — Piers Morgan Uncensored is launching its first ever spin-off series, History Uncensored, presented by former CNN anchor and reporter Bianca Nobilo.
Discussion:
@gregianjohnson.bsky.social, Variety and Barrett Media
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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
Lara O'Reilly / Business Insider:
Uber launches Uber Intelligence, an insights platform that lets advertisers tap into Uber's data about customer trips and deliveries — - Uber Advertising is launching an insights platform for marketers called Uber Intelligence. — It has partnered with LiveRamp to aggregate users' data without revealing their identities.
Discussion:
TheDesk.net, How-To Geek and Engadget, 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 …
Discussion:
@jeffjarvis.bsky.social, @binarybits, @lopatto.bsky.social and @maxwelltani
Mike Butcher / Pathfounders:
Alexandru Stan, founder of the software marketplace Tekpon, has acquired The Next Web media and events brands from The Financial Times — The European tech media space has been in quite a state of flux this past year or so, to put it mildly. Under assault, it said, from an AI-driven plumet in traffic …
Discussion:
@martinsfp.bsky.social
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.
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 …
