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:
@brianstelter, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, Politico, The Hill, @thetnholler.bsky.social, @carnage4life@mas.to, Times of India, 80 Level, @lulugnavarro, Reuters, Fortune, @brianstelter.bsky.social, Malay Mail, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, @annmlipton@esq.social, Business Insider, The Wrap, Observer, Inc.com, Hollywood Life, MS NOW, HotAir, Kotaku and Washington Examiner, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
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:
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:
TechCrunch, France 24, New York Times, Livemint, primetimer.com, The Times, CBC News, Business Insider, IWCP Online, 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:
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”
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, New York Times, TV Tech, Gulf News, @scottnover, @sherman4949, Financial Post, @kasparov63, @rpsagainsttrump, Australian Financial Review, B&T, Fortune, The Times of Israel, @sarafischer, @lucas_shaw, @hshaban, @kylegriffin1.bsky.social, @scottnover, @sarafischer, @jczive, @semaforben, Motley Fool, @sarafischer, @lucas_shaw, CBC News, Fast Company, The Hill, Bloomberg Law, Reuters, NME, @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, masslive.com, Benzinga, @panda-news.bsky.social, WTTG-TV, @kcfennessy.bsky.social, Business Insider, @rosesbloom24.bsky.social, @newsguy.bsky.social, @renegadecut.bsky.social, @schooley.bsky.social, @stephentotilo.bsky.social, PC Gamer, @kristoncapps.bsky.social, @franciswilkinson.bsky.social, Gizmodo, Anadolu Ajansı …, @emptywheel.bsky.social, France 24, @bmdrew73.bsky.social, Media Play News and CNBC
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, Benzinga, The Wrap, Axios, Cageside Seats …, Vanity Fair, The Moderate Voice, Mediaite, MobileSyrup, Media Play News, HuffPost, Deadline, @karlbode.com, Sports Business Journal, Awful Announcing, /Film, Mirror US, Business Today and Yahoo Finance
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:
Variety, Paramount Press Express, The Hollywood Reporter, Barrett Media and New York Post
RELATED:
Oliver Darcy / Status:
Sources: Tony Dokoupil is set to be the next CBS Evening News anchor beginning in the new year, despite an external search for a high-profile star — Earlier this fall, on the second Sunday of September, David Zaslav welcomed David Ellison to his Beverly Hills home.
Discussion:
New York Post, Barrett Media, Mediaite, @nickfield.bsky.social and @oliverdarcy.bsky.social
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:
TVNewsCheck, eWeek, Benzinga, Engadget, The Decoder, PYMNTS.com, The Irish Times, Blockonomi, Deutsche Welle, Digit, NDTV Profit, Reuters, The Guardian, Business Today, Türkiye Today, Dow Jones Newswires, Channel NewsAsia, Euronews, The Verge, Livemint, Agence France-Presse, Politico, European Commission, Sharecast, Ukrainian National News, Bloomberg, Novinite.com, Bloomberg Law and CNBC, 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, Entertainment Weekly, HuffPost, Newsbusters, Deseret News, Los Angeles Times, RUMBLE, LGBTQ Nation, Reuters, New York Post, Mediaite, CBS News, Wonkette, Washington Examiner, Fox News, Raw Story, People, 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
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: ABC extended Jimmy Kimmel's deal until May 2027; the deal was reached months ago, but the announcement was delayed out of respect for Stephen Colbert — Walt Disney Co. is bringing Jimmy Kimmel back for at least one more year. — The late-night star, who was suspended in September …
Discussion:
Deadline, Straight Arrow News, TV Insider, LateNighter, Mashable, Variety, The Wrap, @brianstelter, Mirror US, Hollywood in Toto, @lucas_shaw, UPI, Benzinga, The A.V. Club, E! Online, FemaleFirst, TVLine, The Hill, NBC News, National Enquirer, Blaze Media, New York Times, Screen Rant, TMZ.com, People, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Reuters, Entertainment Weekly, Axios, Business Insider, The Guardian, Showbiz411, TVNewsCheck, Fox News, Daily Mail, Mediaite, CNN, The US Sun, Plain Dealer, Consequence and New York Daily News
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:
Associated Press, Türkiye Today, BBC, 9to5Mac, Daily Record, TechIssuesToday.com, Firstpost, The Guardian, Christian Science Monitor, Mashable, The Economic Times, Reuters, TheJournal.ie, Financial Times, Euro Weekly News, Moneycontrol, Africanews, Tech in Asia, Windows Report, Mumbrella, PR Week UK, Tom's Guide and r/RedditSafety, more at Techmeme »
Mark Kennedy / Associated Press:
The Golden Globes' inaugural best podcast award nominations avoided controversy by passing on popular politics-related podcasts and personalities like Joe Rogan — The Golden Globes this year introduced a best podcast category and, predictably, the nominees announced Monday will get people talking.
RELATED:
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
Netflix scores the most 2026 Golden Globe nominations, with 35 nominations across film and TV; Warner Bros. and HBO got a combined 31 nominations
Discussion:
NDTV Profit, @hollywoodspin, Gold Derby, Decider, DiscussingFilm, New Jersey Online, Queerty, Semafor, Hollywood Life, Bossip, Le Monde, France 24, Esquire, Deseret News, Al Jazeera, The Movie Blog, Deadline, FemaleFirst, Forbes, San Francisco Examiner, The Hollywood Reporter, Daily Star, al.com, Vanity Fair, Showbiz411, Billboard, E! Online, 9to5Mac, CBS News, Mashable, Media Play News and Wall Street Journal
The Guardian:
Premier League football club Brighton & Hove Albion bans Guardian reporters from its stadium after the Guardian reported on allegations against the club's owner — - Reporters and photographers barred from Amex Stadium — Guardian says reporting is in the public interest
Discussion:
@casmudde.bsky.social, @wearebrighton.com and @uglygame.bsky.social
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
RELATED:
