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4:25 PM ET, December 17, 2025

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 Top News: 
Axios:
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr tells a Senate committee the FCC “is not an independent agency”; the agency removed “independent agency” from its site as he testified  —  FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in his Wednesday Senate testimony that the agency he governs “is not an independent agency, formally speaking.”
RELATED:
Steven Portnoy / ABC News:
Members of the Senate Commerce Committee accused FCC Chairman Brendan Carr of making “mafia threats” and encroaching on broadcasters' First Amendment rights  —  Sen. Markey calls him “chairman of the ‘Federal Censorship Commission.’”  —  Brendan Carr, commissioner …
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
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 …
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 …
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”
Charles Gasparino / New York Post:
Source: Paramount has no immediate plans to sweeten its $30 per share, all-cash bid for WBD
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
Scott Feinberg / The Hollywood Reporter:
The Academy signs a multiyear deal that gives YouTube the exclusive global rights to the Oscars, beginning in 2029 and running through 2033, streaming for free  —  The Academy announced on Wednesday:  —  LOS ANGELES, CA - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and YouTube signed …
Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:
Filing: Comcast's offer to merge NBCUniversal with WBD valued Comcast's media and theme-park assets at about $81B; Comcast's overall valuation is about $111B  —  Comcast Corp.'s offer to merge its NBCUniversal division with Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. valued the cable giant's media …
Discussion: MediaPost
Jennifer Maas / Variety:
Sources: Disney has not partnered with or licensed its IP to Roblox, unlike Netflix, Lionsgate, and others, because it doesn't consider Roblox a safe platform  —  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: Kotaku, The Record, Dexerto and Glossy
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 …
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.
 
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 More News: 
BBC Press Office on LinkedIn:
BBC News hires Lindsay McIntosh, previously Head of News at The Sunday Times, as its Executive News Editor
Wall Street Journal:
US prosecutors charge Nick Reiner with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his parents, Hollywood director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner
 Earlier Picks: 
Justin Baragona / The Independent:
Nielsen ratings for Bari Weiss' town hall with Erika Kirk were 11% below total viewership for CBS News' standard programs in the same time slot, year to date
Todd Spangler / Variety:
E.W. Scripps' board unanimously rejects Sinclair's unsolicited acquisition proposal of $7 per share in cash and stock, offered in November
 

 
From Techmeme:

Tulsee Doshi / The Keyword:
Gemini 3 Flash costs $0.50 per 1M input tokens and $3 per 1M output tokens, vs. Gemini 2.5 Flash's $0.30 per 1M input tokens and $2.50 per 1M output tokens

Financial Times:
Sources: Blue Owl Capital won't back Oracle's planned $10B, 1GW data center in Michigan, after funding talks stalled due to concerns over debt terms and delays

Lawrence Abrams / BleepingComputer:
Pornhub is being extorted by ShinyHunters after the search and watch history of its Premium members was reportedly stolen in a recent Mixpanel data breach
 
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