Top News:
Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:
In a letter to WBD shareholders, David Ellison says Paramount filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Chancery Court seeking information in its hostile takeover attempt — Paramount Skydance is suing Warner Bros. Discovery and CEO David Zaslav as its latest step in a hostile pursuit to acquire WBD …
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount, Variety, Tech Times, Barron's Online, Hypebeast, Benzinga, Times of India, Front Office Sports, Associated Press, Engadget, New York Sun, CNN, Los Angeles Business Journal, Awful Announcing, The Information, ANI News, Communicate Online, Axios, Gizmodo, Deseret News, Washington Examiner, New York Post, Ars Technica, GameSpot, @lucas_shaw, Variety, @johnhudgens.bsky.social, @brianstelter, @cgasparino, Mediaite, TVNewsCheck, @stagewrite.bsky.social, @brianstelter, Bloomberg and Irish Independent
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Reeves Wiedeman / Vulture:
A profile of David Ellison, who is trying to build a media empire that could dwarf even the Murdochs' with help from his father and Oracle founder Larry Ellison — One weekend in 2006, Dean Devlin, a movie producer, was driving across Los Angeles to deal with an emergency.
Discussion:
Deadline, Advanced Television, @joshsternberg.com, @jakevk.bsky.social, @benmullin, The A.V. Club, @dylanbyers, Fortune, New York Post, @lucas_shaw, WebProNews, @beccalew.bsky.social, @reeveswiedeman, @ericvb.bsky.social, @loudmouthjulia, @pkafka, @pbump.com, Reuters, @film_girl, @ryuspaeth.bsky.social, @tvaziri.com, @mikeisaac, @nkulw, @kimmasters.bsky.social, @kevdgrussing.bsky.social, Los Angeles Times, KYMA-TV and Barrett Media
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
Paramount says it will nominate directors for election at WBD's annual meeting, usually held in June, to vote against the approval of WBD's deal with Netflix — Paramount also files lawsuit seeking disclosure of financial information related to $82.7bn agreement
Discussion:
Yahoo Finance, Mediaweek, Livemint, Reuters, Wrestling Inc., Sky News, Tech in Asia, @tvgrimreaper, GamesIndustry.biz, Global Competition Review and GAMINGbible
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Amy Poehler's Good Hang won the Golden Globes' inaugural podcast award, beating five other nominees, including Call Her Daddy, SmartLess, and NPR's Up First — Amy Poehler won the inaugural Golden Globes podcast award for her talk show “Good Hang,” which features her freestyle riffs with fellow comedians, friends and celebs.
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Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Chartbeat data: global Google search referrals to publishers fell by 33% in the year ending November 2025, with US-specific organic search traffic down 38% — Google search traffic to publishers declined globally by a third in the year to November, according to new Chartbeat data.
Discussion:
The Guardian, @chrisharihar, Search Engine Land, @mikeelgan.bsky.social and @timstevens.bsky.social
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Yang Tian / BBC:
The BBC files a motion to dismiss Trump's lawsuit over how his January 6 speech was edited in Panorama, saying the Florida court lacks “personal jurisdiction” — The BBC will file a motion to dismiss Donald Trump's lawsuit over how his 6 January 2021 speech was edited in a Panorama documentary.
Discussion:
Reuters, Variety, Financial Times, Advanced Television, The Guardian, Associated Press, HuffPost, Deadline, Sky News, The Independent, The Scottish Sun, GB News, Insurance Journal, Mirror and Bloomberg
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Eddy Cue says 2025 was a “record-breaking year” for Apple services: Apple TV set a monthly engagement record in December, with total hours viewed up 36% YoY — The Apple services executive released a note saying that Apple TV set new monthly engagement records, while Apple Music has hit subscriber records.
Discussion:
Apple, Deadline, Mirror, TechCrunch, PPC Land, Media Play News, Apple Must, iClarified, Christopher Moser on LinkedIn, 9to5Mac, Forbes, @tvgrimreaper, Daniel Matray on LinkedIn, MacRumors, WebProNews, Appleosophy, Tech in Asia, Thurrott, The Mac Observer, Kartik Subramanian on LinkedIn, The Wrap, Cult of Mac, MacTech.com and Daring Fireball, more at Techmeme »
Max Goldbart / Deadline:
Ampere Analysis expects streaming services' content spend to grow 6% in 2026 to $101B, crossing $100B for the first time, and overall content spend to grow 2% — Streamer spend on content is set to top the $100BN mark for the first time this year, according to an Ampere Analysis report.
Discussion:
Advanced Television, Ampere Analysis, Media Play News, The Streamable and Screen Rant
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Interviews with Spotify founder Daniel Ek on his CEO exit, and new co-CEOs Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström, who face algorithmic fatigue and angry artists — And they're hoping AI can help solve some of those problems. — Peaceful transfers of executive power tend to be plain affairs …
Discussion:
Spotify
Rob Waugh / Press Gazette:
An investigation finds 50+ apparently fake experts who offered commentary to the UK press in recent years, getting featured 1,000+ times in various articles — Press Gazette today names more than 50 apparently fake experts who have offered commentary to the British press in recent years …
Discussion:
@ianbetteridge.com, @robinwigglesworth.ft.com, The Overspill, @petertl.bsky.social and journalists.org
Josh Dickey / The Wrap:
Penske Media sues Google for allegedly monopolizing the digital ad market and depriving publishers of billions in revenue, following a 2025 US court ruling — The publisher of Billboard, Rolling Stone, THR and others says the digital giant unfairly starves them of billions in ad revenue
Anna Betts / The Guardian:
David Letterman calls CBS News a “wreck”, and says its integrity “has been trampled on, pissed on, and eviscerated by these idiots that have taken it over” — Former late-night host makes comments amid merger of CBS's parent company Paramount with Skydance Media
Wall Street Journal:
Corporate and foreign interests that once relied on paid Washington lobbyists are now spending heavily on pro-Trump influencers, often without disclosures — Corporate and foreign interests pour money into getting pro-Trump social-media stars to push their causes
