Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: after Netflix announced its WBD deal, Larry Ellison called Trump to argue it would hurt competition; Paramount CEO David Ellison promised CNN changes — David Ellison has launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Discovery, taking his case directly to shareholders after Netflix clinched a deal
Discussion:
Financial Times, The Wrap, Mediaite, @brianstelter, The Economist, TV Insider, Techdirt, The Hollywood Reporter, Wonkette, Joe.My.God., New York Times, Politico, The Hill, Fortune, Times of India, 80 Level, @lulugnavarro, Reuters, @carnage4life@mas.to, @thetnholler.bsky.social, @brianstelter.bsky.social, Malay Mail, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, @annmlipton@esq.social, Business Insider, Observer, Inc.com, Hollywood Life and MS NOW, more at Techmeme »
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Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Netflix changed movie distribution and its executives now think that licensing shows leaves money on the table; YouTube may help Netflix's WBD antitrust case — Netflix is driving the Hollywood end game, likely confident it can increase the value of IP, and fend off YouTube.
Discussion:
@simonowens.bsky.social, Tech Times, @kwcollins.bsky.social, /Film, Fortune, @buccocapital, AppleInsider and Comic Book
Financial Times:
Inside Paramount's new WBD bid: after six failed proposals across 12 weeks, and alleging WBD's board ignored a final offer, Paramount went hostile to buy WBD — Ellison's approach was rebuffed over concerns about financial backing from China and Middle East sovereign funds
Discussion:
@marychilds.bsky.social, TechCrunch, New York Times, France 24, Livemint, primetimer.com, The Times, IWCP Online, Business Insider, CBC News, Fortune, Sports Media Watch, Axios, PitchBook, The North West Star, Sydney Morning Herald, BBC, The Wrap, The Guardian, SiliconANGLE, ABC, Deadline, Bloomberg, Ars Technica, TheDesk.net, The Independent and Reuters
Rohan Goswami / Semafor:
Sources: Paramount's Gulf sovereign funding, accounting for ~30% of the deal's value, and potential political scrutiny led WBD to reject Paramount's initial bid — The News — Paramount's reliance on Gulf sovereign money was a major reason why the company's bid for Warner Bros. Discovery failed …
Discussion:
The Streamable, TVNewsCheck and Reuters
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Ted Sarandos says Paramount's “move was entirely expected”, but Netflix is “super confident” that it will get the WBD deal “across the line and finish”
Discussion:
The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, Media Play News, Mediaweek, World of Reel, Deadline, Business Insider, Politico, Los Angeles Business Journal, Screen, Investor's Business Daily, StreamTV Insider, Cord Cutters News, CinemaBlend, Axios, Screen Rant, Benzinga, Bloomberg, The Movie Blog and The Hollywood Reporter
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
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
Discussion:
Business Insider, The Bulwark, Poynter, Raw Story, Proactive, @brianstelter, @atrupar, @maxwelltani, @semaforben, @semaforben, The Wrap, Benzinga, Mediaite, Axios, Cageside Seats …, Vanity Fair, Media Play News, MobileSyrup, HuffPost, Deadline, @karlbode.com, Sports Business Journal, Awful Announcing and /Film
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
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
Discussion:
Axios, Bloomberg, Democracy Now, Game World Observer, @vanhollen.senate.gov, New York Times, TV Tech, Gulf News, @sherman4949, Financial Post, Fortune, @scottnover, @kasparov63, @rpsagainsttrump, @sarafischer, Australian Financial Review, @lucas_shaw, B&T, @hshaban, The Times of Israel, @scottnover, @sarafischer, @jczive, @semaforben, @kylegriffin1.bsky.social, @sarafischer, @lucas_shaw, Motley Fool, CBC News, Fast Company, Bloomberg Law, The Hill, Reuters, NME, The Moderate Voice, @chris@mstdn.chrisalemany.ca, Financial Times, @vanhollen.senate.gov, The Movie Blog, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Screen Rant, @ryanenos.bsky.social, The National, @karlbode.com, Inc.com, Yahoo Finance, UPI, Benzinga, masslive.com, @panda-news.bsky.social, WTTG-TV, @kcfennessy.bsky.social, Business Insider, @rosesbloom24.bsky.social, @newsguy.bsky.social, @renegadecut.bsky.social, PC Gamer, @schooley.bsky.social, @stephentotilo.bsky.social, @kristoncapps.bsky.social, @franciswilkinson.bsky.social, Gizmodo, @emptywheel.bsky.social, @bmdrew73.bsky.social and CNBC
Barbara Moens / Financial Times:
The European Commission opens an investigation into Google to assess possible anticompetitive conduct by Google in “the use of online content for AI purposes” — Investigation is the bloc's latest challenge to American Big Tech companies — Brussels has launched an investigation …
Discussion:
Variety, TVNewsCheck, Computerworld, eWeek, Benzinga, PYMNTS.com, Engadget, The Decoder, The Irish Times, Blockonomi, Digit, Deutsche Welle, NDTV Profit, Euronews, Channel NewsAsia, Dow Jones Newswires, The Verge, Business Today, European Commission, Politico, Livemint, Sharecast, Ukrainian National News, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Agence France-Presse, Türkiye Today, Reuters, Novinite.com, Bloomberg Law and CNBC, more at Techmeme »
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Matt Gutman is leaving ABC News to join CBS News as chief correspondent on January 5, reporting across the network as well as lead correspondent for 48 Hours — Gutman also will contribute to future seasons of 60 Minutes, and will serve as fill-in anchor. He will start in Jan. 5 and will be based in Los Angeles.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, Variety, CBS News, Paramount Press Express, The Hollywood Reporter, Barrett Media and New York Post
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Deborah Mary Sophia / Reuters:
Wikimedia Foundation names Bernadette Meehan, who was the US Ambassador to Chile from 2022 to 2025, as its new CEO — Wikimedia Foundation, the operator of Wikipedia, on Tuesday named Bernadette Meehan its chief executive officer, tapping an administrator with deep policy expertise …
Discussion:
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Jaspreet Singh / Reuters:
Spotify rolls out music videos to Premium subscribers in the US and Canada, following a beta launch in nearly 100 markets last year — Spotify (SPOT.N) said on Tuesday it is making music videos available to premium subscribers in the U.S. and Canada, as the Swedish streaming giant challenges YouTube for market share.
Discussion:
Billboard, TechCrunch, MobileSyrup, The Verge, Engadget, iPhone in Canada, Spotify, Hypebot and Inside Radio, more at Techmeme »
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Trump attacks Paramount owners as “no better than the old ownership”, demanding an apology from 60 Minutes and Lesley Stahl for Marjorie Taylor Greene interview — Donald Trump said that the Ellison-owned Paramount is “no better than the old ownership,” as he lashed out at the company …
Discussion:
@realDonaldTrump …, @rayrobid, HuffPost, Entertainment Weekly, Newsbusters, Deseret News, Los Angeles Times, RUMBLE, LGBTQ Nation, Reuters, New York Post, Mediaite, CBS News, Wonkette, Washington Examiner, Fox News, People, Raw Story, Townhall, Showbiz411, Salon, Polygon.com and Mirror US
Jesse Whittock / Deadline:
Steven Bartlett's FlightStory makes a “seven-figure” investment in Maggie Sellers Reum's Hot Smart Rich, whose podcast reached 1.8M+ downloads in its first year — Terms of the deal haven't been fully revealed and the size of the stake isn't known, but the cash will go towards scaling HSR …
Discussion:
PodcastingToday, Forbes and BusinessCloud
Praveen Paramasivam / Reuters:
JioHotstar plans to invest $444M over five years to acquire and produce content from South India, as it plans to more than double its 200M+ subscriber base — India's JioHotstar plans to invest $444 million over five years to acquire and produce content from south India, an executive said on Monday …
Discussion:
Press Trust of India, Moneycontrol, Livemint, Deccan Chronicle and BMI
Newley Purnell / Bloomberg:
Reddit rolls out new safety features globally for all users under 18, ahead of Australia's social media ban for under-16s that takes effect on December 10 — Reddit Inc. is launching new safety features globally for all under-18s on its popular online forums ahead of Australia's groundbreaking social media ban.
Discussion:
Metro.co.uk, Reuters, Kyodo News, Breitbart, Associated Press, Silicon Republic, Macau Business, Türkiye Today, 9to5Mac, BBC, Daily Record, The Guardian, Christian Science Monitor, Mashable, TheJournal.ie, Financial Times, Euro Weekly News, Firstpost, Moneycontrol, Africanews, Tech in Asia, TechIssuesToday.com, Windows Report, Reuters, The Economic Times, Mumbrella, PR Week UK, Tom's Guide and r/RedditSafety, more at Techmeme »
