Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
WBD recommends shareholders reject Paramount's unsolicited cash bid, calling the offer “illusory” and saying it believes Netflix's proposal is still superior — Warner raised concerns about the credibility of Paramount's ‘illusory’ offer and its backing from the Ellison family
Discussion:
StreamTV Insider, The Hollywood Reporter, CNN, The Wrap, Business Insider, Morningstar, @dylanbyers, Wrestling Inc., Courthouse News Service, TechRadar, HotAir, Implicator.ai, AfroTech, New York Times, Business Insider, Ukrainian National News, Bloomberg, @pkafka, Sharecast, @danprimack, @sherman4949, Axios, @edmundlee, Proactive, Gulf News, The Wrap, @sherman4949, @pkafka, @brianstelter, Barrett Media, @pkafka and @scottnover, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Charles Gasparino / New York Post:
Source: Paramount has no immediate plans to sweeten its $30 per share, all-cash bid for WBD
Discussion:
Proactive, The Wrap, Bloomberg, The Streamable, Telegraph, The National, Dow Jones Newswires, UPI, Business Insider, Business Standard, Reuters, Euronews, NBC Bay Area, Screen, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Times, Financial Times, The Independent, @danprimack, Sports Business Journal, Miami Herald, Investomania, IWCP Online, Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc., Times of India, The Standard, Washington Examiner, BMI, Livemint, ABC13, Cord Cutters News, Mobile World Live, WPXI-TV, Awful Announcing, Semafor and Deadline
Peter Grant / Wall Street Journal:
The WBD deal could worsen soundstage vacancies as productions may shift to the studio's facilities, affecting companies like Hackman, owner of 60+ soundstages
The WBD deal could worsen soundstage vacancies as productions may shift to the studio's facilities, affecting companies like Hackman, owner of 60+ soundstages
Discussion:
Daily Mail
Bloomberg:
Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners is exiting from Paramount's takeover bid for WBD, citing changed investment dynamics since it joined the bid in October
Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners is exiting from Paramount's takeover bid for WBD, citing changed investment dynamics since it joined the bid in October
Discussion:
The Guardian, The American Bazaar, The Verge, Media Play News, Mediaite, CNBC, New York Post, Forbes Middle East, @rogoswami, Sky News, XboxEra, The Guardian, @pkafka, The Standard, ScreenCrush, @w7voa@journa.host, Fortune, GameSpot, @brianstelter, @richlightshed, @charlesarthur, New York Times, Axios, Business Insider, Associated Press, Dow Jones Newswires, Yahoo Finance, The Daily Beast, CBS News, The Information, Raw Story, Fortune, The Hill, NBC News, Reuters, The Wrap, Variety, Benzinga, Variety, BelfastTelegraph.co.uk, Capital Brief, Wall Street Journal and r/MediaMergers
Scott Feinberg / The Hollywood Reporter:
The Academy signs a multi-year deal that will give YouTube the exclusive global rights to the Oscars, beginning in 2029 and running through 2033 — The Academy announced on Wednesday: — LOS ANGELES, CA - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and YouTube signed a multi-year deal …
Discussion:
Variety, CNN, Radio & Television …, YouTube Official Blog, The Streamable, Adweek, TheDesk.net, Billboard, IndieWire, Screen Rant, NBC News, TVLine, The Wrap, AppleInsider, Gizmodo, Vanity Fair, Los Angeles Times, Gold Derby, Associated Press, WPXI-TV, Deadline, Showbiz411, Screen, Media Play News, 9to5Google, The US Sun, @unikunka, @brianstelter, @kattenbarge.bsky.social, @joshsternberg.com, @mgsiegler.com, @lucas_shaw, @jmrivera.bsky.social, @riderbabe52.bsky.social, KFMB, @azalben.bsky.social, CNBC, @brianstelter, @theacademy, Dow Jones Newswires, Consequence, CBS News, The Verge and Just Jared, more at Techmeme »
New York Times:
WBD says the Ellisons have “consistently misled” shareholders, including claiming Paramount's proposal had a “full backstop” but it “does not, and never has” — The claim was made as part of Warner Bros. Discovery's dismissal of Paramount's hostile takeover offer.
RELATED:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
SEC filing: WBD says the Ellisons offered David Zaslav a compensation package of several hundred million dollars, which Zaslav said was inappropriate to discuss — The Ellisons came promising boatloads of cash. … Over a four-month stretch, David Ellison pressed his case aggressively …
Discussion:
TV Tech, The Wrap, Business Insider, Reuters, Forbes, The Movie Blog, GamesIndustry.biz, The Ankler, Benzinga, The Hollywood Reporter, @xpangler, CBS News and Financial Times
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Paramount reaffirms its $30/share all-cash bid after WBD's board officially rejected it, saying its bid offers “superior value and certainty” for shareholders — For now, David Ellison's Paramount Skydance is signaling that it will fight for the hearts and minds of Warner Bros. Discovery …
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Meta is testing limiting Facebook professional accounts and Pages to posting just two links per month, unless they subscribe to $14.99+/month Meta Verified — In a new experiment, Meta is limiting the number of links users can post on Facebook, unless they have a paid Meta Verified subscription.
Discussion:
@TechCrunch@mstdn.social, @mattnavarra@threads.com and Social Media Today
Associated Press:
A US federal judge denied Sarah Palin's bid for a new libel trial against the NYT and rejected her motion for his recusal, after a jury found no libel in April — Regarding the request to recuse himself, the judge said the trial transcript shows he frequently ruled in Palin's favor during the trials.
Discussion:
@lmariev.bsky.social, @volts.wtf and @daviddarmofal.bsky.social
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer:
The FCC updates its site to remove the phrase “independent agency”, after Brendan Carr said in a Congressional hearing it is not independent “formally speaking” — 🚨🚨 This is INSANE. I took this screenshot of the @FCC website at 11:52 a.m. ET where it explicitly states the FCC is an independent agency. 25 minutes later, it has been removed following Carr's comments during this hearing! See before and after screenshots below [image]
Discussion:
COURIER, Mediaite, The Independent, Axios, Barrett Media, @bulwarkonline, @atrupar, @cspan, @sarafischer and @lutherlowe
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix signs a deal with Barstool Sports to stream video versions of three podcasts, initially in the US; full video episodes will be removed from YouTube — Netflix also has podcast distribution deals with Spotify and iHeartMedia — Netflix has gone into business with Dave Portnoy …
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, The Wrap, Business Insider, The Streamable, The Athletic, New Jersey Online, The Hollywood Reporter, @tvgrimreaper, @devonheinen.bsky.social, @devonheinen.bsky.social, Sports Business Journal, Front Office Sports, Deadline, Media Play News, Digital Trends, Podnews, Barrett Media, PodcastingToday, TheGrio, Just Jared, TechCrunch, Digital Music News, RadioInsight, Investing.com, Inside Radio, Engadget, TV Tech, Los Angeles Times, Radio World, CNET, Radio & Television …, The Verge, Dow Jones Newswires and New York Times
Jennifer Maas / Variety:
Sources: Disney has been hesitant to license its IP to Roblox because it doesn't consider it a safe platform, bucking the trend followed by Netflix and others — Here's a stat that might shock anyone who isn't the parent of a Gen Alpha kid: As of October 2025, online gaming platform Roblox boasted …
Discussion:
The Record, Dexerto and Glossy
Joseph Berger / New York Times:
Norman Podhoretz, who transformed Commentary magazine into a controversial and influential neoconservative voice as its EIC from 1960 to 1995, has died at 95 — A New York intellectual and onetime liberal stalwart, his Commentary magazine became his platform as his political and social view turned sharply rightward.
BBC Press Office on LinkedIn:
BBC News hires Lindsay McIntosh, previously Head of News at The Sunday Times, as its Executive News Editor — We are delighted to announce Lindsay McIntosh as the new Executive News Editor, BBC News. — As Executive News Editor, Lindsay will be at the heart of the BBC newsroom …
