Top News:
Michael Schneider / Variety:
Nielsen: CBS was 2025's most-watched network in primetime despite a 12% YoY drop in average viewers, followed by NBC, ABC, and Fox, up 10% due to the Super Bowl — Complete Broadcast, Cable and Pay TV Ratings Primetime Ranker for 2025 in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 — What a difference a Super Bowl makes.
Discussion:
@nemalki.bsky.social, @xpangler, @variety, TV Series Finale and The Daily Signal
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New York Post:
Leaked letter: a group of “prominent journalists” at CBS News are preparing a petition urging David Ellison to uphold editorial independence at the network — CBS News journalists are preparing a petition urging Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison to uphold editorial independence …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, New York Sun, The Independent, Fox News, RedState, @alexsteigrad, twitchy.com, Mediaite and The Hill
Will Sommer / The Bulwark:
The Trump administration helps Tenet Media's Lauren Chen return to the US; she lost her visa after a 2024 indictment alleging illicit funding from Russia's RT — Tenet Media's Lauren Chen is back—even though the illegal-influence and money-laundering investigation remains open.
Discussion:
MS NOW, Gizmodo, @zguz, @sarahlongwell25, @reichlinmelnick, @timodc, @therickwilson, Raw Story, @chrismurphyct, Lauren Chen on Instagram, @matthew_kupfer, @ruthbenghiat, @themainewonk, @hissgoescobra, @emptywheel, @willsommer, @toddzwillich, @scarylawyerguy, @overlord26, Alternet.org, @KimPerales@toad.social, @ryano_chosencoy, @luismorenolg, @jaynordlinger, @thelaurenchen and @jodysaigs.bsky.social
Zac Ntim / Deadline:
Angel Studios says Angel Guild, its program through which members are given a say on which projects the studio produces, has two million paid subscribers — The Angel Guild is the studio's grassroots membership program. Members pay a monthly fee and serve as virtual co-producers on every project …
Discussion:
Arthur Van Wagenen on LinkedIn, Cord Cutters News and Ryan Svendsen on LinkedIn
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: WBD plans to reject Paramount's revised takeover bid at a board meeting next week, viewing the $30-a-share cash bid as still inferior to Netflix's bid — Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. plans to once again reject a takeover bid from Paramount Skydance Corp. after the rival media company amended …
Tess Patton / The Wrap:
Job cuts across TV, film, broadcast, news, and streaming in the first 11 months of 2025 grew 18% YoY to 17K+; news suffered 2,254 job cuts, down about 50% YoY — A wave of consolidation, AI-driven change and cost-cutting pushed entertainment and media layoffs sharply higher in 2025
Discussion:
Always Be Watching and New York Post
Max Tani / Semafor:
Ezra Klein, Ben Shapiro, Steve Bannon, Vanity Fair's Mark Guiducci, Puck's Matt Belloni, Verge's Nilay Patel, and others on what media leaders got wrong in 2025 — Semafor asked journalists, content creators, and other media-watchers what they'd gotten wrong at the end of a wild year.
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
A profile of NPR CEO Katherine Maher, who has taken an unyielding approach to NPR's biggest battles, causing rifts with the right and her public media allies — Katherine Maher knew that running NPR was going to be difficult. But since taking over as chief executive last year, she has confronted one crisis after another.
Summer Ballentine / The Detroit News:
The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press ended their joint operating agreement, which began in 1989; The News plans to launch a Sunday print edition January 18 — A nearly four-decade-long business partnership between The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press ended Sunday …
Jordy Fee-Platt / The Athletic:
Kalshi and Polymarket have partnered with social media accounts purporting to be breaking news reporters, some of which have repeatedly posted false information — Unknown just a few years ago, the prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket have gained wider recognition in recent weeks.
Discussion:
@cooperlund.online, Event Horizon, Front Office Sports, New York Post, Decrypt and The Intercept
The Hollywood Reporter:
Among media stocks in 2025, WBD surged 172%, Fox jumped 47.3%, Paramount Skydance rose 29%, Netflix was up just 5.7%, and Disney was up 2.25%; Comcast fell ~20% — The M&A-boosted Warner Bros. Discovery, as well as Sphere Entertainment, Fox, and Imax were among the gainers, while Netflix moved little …
Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg / Wall Street Journal:
In 2025, several books saw audiobook sales outperform hardcovers, even as digital audiobook growth slowed to 1% through October after 2024's ~24% jump to $1.1B — Though the pace of growth has slowed, audiobooks remain a bright spot in publishing — Author S.A. Cosby's southern crime novel …
Discussion:
Semafor, Scott Dickey on LinkedIn and @dannygroner.bsky.social
Deadline:
Streaming metrics underwent a rethink in 2025, as Netflix and Disney pivoted away from subscriber numbers to revenue per user, engagement, and other metrics — After more than five years of gushing red ink, 2025 was the year when streaming across the board started to turn a profit.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Page Six, Business Insider, Observer and Decider
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