Top News:
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: Ted Sarandos met with President Trump in November, and both agreed WBD should go to the highest bidder; Sarandos argued that Netflix wasn't a monopoly — 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, Gizmodo, GameSpot, Proactive, primetimer.com, UPI, Wall Street Journal, @lucas_shaw, @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, @gigawattconduit.bsky.social, @toomuchtv.substack.com, USA Today, Newsmax, Semafor, The Verge, New York Times, New York Post, Just Jared, CBC News, Los Angeles Times, VICE, Kotaku, TheDesk.net, Morningstar, The Movie Blog, The Times of Israel, The Boston Globe, STV News, Proactiveinvestors UK and Channel NewsAsia, more at Techmeme »
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Bloomberg:
President Trump says Netflix's planned acquisition of WBD will have “to go through a process” and he will be personally involved in the decision-making process — US President Donald Trump raised potential antitrust concerns around Netflix Inc.'s planned $72 billion acquisition …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Financial Times, Engadget, Fortune, Stratechery, @senwarren, @ronfilipkowski, @nick_field90, @brianstelter, @rapidresponse47, Far Out Magazine, Forbes, Mobile World Live, The Independent, Irish Examiner, Business Standard, Benzinga, Associated Press, Blockchain.News, @rphilly.bsky.social, Washington Post, @tracinski.bsky.social, B&T, @caseynewton.bsky.social, Deadline, @mrgq.bsky.social, Sharecast, Media Play News, World of Reel, Investing.com, Anadolu Ajansı …, Bloomberg Law, BelfastTelegraph.co.uk, OdishaTv, Taipei Times, Breitbart, Finbold, Business Insider, The Economic Times, The Wrap, Washington Examiner, The Daily Beast, The Motley Fool, Ars Technica, Le Monde, Observer, CBS News, Al Jazeera, Rogue, StreamTV Insider, PCMag and Livemint, 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
Discussion:
Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Business Insider, Deadline, Puck and The Indian Express
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:
Crikey, BMI, Paul Kedrosky, @GhostOnTheHalfShell@masto.ai, adnews.com.au, The Straits Times, ABC, Australian Financial Review, Fox Business, The Observer, Le Monde, Slate, The Guardian, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, TRT World, India Today, Boardroom, dailyjournal.com, Bloomberg, BBC, KEYE, The Verge, New York Sun, Wired, Daily Mail, Deseret News, WCTV, The Direct, Barchart.com, Macworld, Destructoid, Associated Press, Miami Herald, New Jersey Online and Yahoo Finance
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:
Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, The Guardian and The Daily Caller
Barbara Moens / Financial Times:
The EU says Meta agreed to make changes to its “pay or consent” model in the EU, including ad-lite Instagram and Facebook versions, but “the case is not closed” — Facebook agrees changes to ‘pay or consent’ model after talks with European Commission
Discussion:
Reuters and European Commission
Variety:
The WGA, which routinely opposes media mergers, says the Netflix-WBD deal must be blocked, and the Producers and Directors guilds express concern over the deal — SAG-AFTRA says proposed pact raises ‘serious questions about its impact on the future of the entertainment industry’
Discussion:
Financial Times, GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT, IndieWire, @sharonwaxman, New York Times, Gizmodo, The Hollywood Reporter, Mirror US, Media Play News, Pressing Issues, Communicate Online, wga.org, Deadline, mxdwn Television, The A.V. Club, Techdirt, The Ankler, Washington Post, Mediaite, Michael Tsai, ProtoThema English, Digital Music News, Deadline, Bloomberg, NBC News, The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, Screen, Esquire, Screen Rant, Truth on the Market, Time, Breitbart, SFist, Common Dreams and Deadline
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Jody Godoy / Reuters:
Congressional Democrats and Republicans criticize the Netflix-WBD deal, saying it would raise streaming subscription prices and lessen workers' pay and control
Discussion:
Yahoo Finance, The Economic Times, BIG by Matt Stoller, ZeroHedge News, Livemint, IGN, Daily Sabah, The Wrap, The Independent, @mattgaetz, @rogermarshallmd, @berniesanders, CNN, Just Jared, Variety, Forbes, Reuters, International Business Times, Deadline, Reason, Sportico, Newsmax, Wall Street Journal, @editorialboard.bsky.social, Bloomberg, The Guardian, mxdwn Television, Consequence, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren …, CampaignUs, Quartz, The Hill, Channel NewsAsia and Silicon Valley Business …
Isabella Simonetti / Wall Street Journal:
Vanity Fair and Olivia Nuzzi agree to part ways and let her contract expire at the end of the year, following new allegations about her affair with RFK Jr. — Nuzzi joined the magazine as an editor earlier this year — Vanity Fair and Olivia Nuzzi have agreed to part ways following …
Discussion:
Liberal Currents, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Associated Press, @bryancurtis, @tomgara@threads.com, Politico, Blaze Media, Business Insider, Newser, @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social, New York Daily News, RADAR, @ericmgarcia.bsky.social, Northeastern Global News, The National Pulse, DNYUZ, @davelevitan.bsky.social, Mediaite, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, The Guardian, @alexshultz.bsky.social, The Independent, @zeeshanaleem.bsky.social, @joshsternberg.com, New York Post, The Hill, The Wrap, @bselena.bsky.social, @mbkplus.bsky.social, Fox News and r/Journalism
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.
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:
The Drum, WPP Media, Communicate Online, Blockchain.News, AdExchanger, Mumbrella, Adweek and campaignlive.co.uk
Pamela McClintock / The Hollywood Reporter:
A look at Paramount's culture shift under David Ellison, where the focus is on male-driven action movies, and not on prestige films seen as critics' darlings — It's a brand-new day at the legacy studio, where prestige films are out, testosterone-heavy tentpoles are in and Brett Ratner is back on the call sheet.
RELATED:
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:
CBS News, Digital Music 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 …
Chris Kerr / Game Developer:
WBD confirms that Netflix is set to acquire Warner Bros. Games along with its wider streaming and TV business — A Warner Bros. spokesperson has confirmed the video game division will be acquired by Netflix alongside its wider streaming and television business.
Discussion:
Games, About Netflix, Gamereactor UK, TechCrunch, Mirror US, Far Out Magazine, New York Times, CNN, iDrop News, Kotaku, Engadget, Yahoo Finance, PocketGamer.biz, Metro.co.uk, Game Informer, Aftermath, Dexerto, Gizmodo, @matpiscatella.bsky.social, @knoebel.bsky.social, @wario64.bsky.social and @kerrblimey.bsky.social
John Koblin / New York Times:
Netflix's WBD deal should quiet concerns, for now, from CNN employees worried about the prospect of Paramount combining CBS News and CNN in a WBD acquisition — The prospect of Paramount's buying Warner Bros. Discovery had led CNN journalists to wonder if the channel may be combined with CBS News.
Discussion:
Semafor, Straight Arrow News, Forbes, Mock Paper Scissors, World of Reel, TVNewsCheck, Mirror US, American Prospect and NPR
Dominic-Madori Davis / TechCrunch:
A look at Hamlet, a startup that uses AI to process local government meeting videos and which plans to provide the tool to local journalists for free — The launch of Hamlet was quite personal for Sunil Rajaraman. — Back in 2022, he ran for city council in a small California town.
Discussion:
Mariesa Lenz on LinkedIn and Plain Dealer
