Top News:
Financial Times:
WBD tells Paramount to make its “best and final offer” within seven days, or get out of the way of Netflix's agreed $83B deal; Netflix granted a weeklong waiver — Netflix grants weeklong waiver to rival bidder in high-stakes battle for control
Discussion:
CNN, Mediaweek, Al Jazeera, Awful Announcing, @brianstelter, James Faris on LinkedIn, @brianstelter, Sharecafe, @tvgrimreaper, @sarafischer, @lucas_shaw, Joe Flint on LinkedIn, @claytravis, The Contrarian, The Post Millennial, Business Insider, @sherman4949, Daily Mail, The Independent, Telegraph, The Guardian, Barron's Online, City A.M., New York Times, Axios, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, New York Post, The Verge, KYMA-TV, Advanced Television and EasternEye
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Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
WBD says Paramount informed WBD on February 11 that it would pay $31 per share, up from $30, if the sides engaged, and that $31 was not its best and final offer — Warner says that the Ellison camp had verbally agreed to boost its bid to $31 or higher if two the sides engaged, which WBD today has agreed to do.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Straight Arrow News, Cord Cutters News and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Paramount says it is “prepared to engage” with WBD on takeover talks during a seven-day negotiating window, but doesn't say whether it will raise its bid
Discussion:
Deadline, Variety, Mumbrella, IndieWire, Livemint, CNBC, Morningstar, Deadline, Agence France-Presse, Ars Technica, Front Office Sports, CinemaBlend, Anadolu Ajansı …, Los Angeles Business Journal, CBC News, UPI, The Hill, Ukrainian National News, Associated Press, Screen Rant, Telecompaper, The Movie Blog, Realscreen and International Business Times
Todd Spangler / Variety:
WBD sets March 20 as the date for a special shareholder meeting to vote on the proposed $83B Netflix deal, which its board “continues to unanimously recommend”
Discussion:
Deadline, Deadline, HuffPost, CNBC, Paramount Skydance Corporation, Benzinga, The Wrap, The American Bazaar, @serrata.org, Washington Examiner, Screen, ZeroHedge News, Media Play News, Yahoo Finance, Advanced Television, The Streamable, Dow Jones Newswires, Livemint, New York Times, Commercial Observer, Netflix, Inc., Channel NewsAsia, The Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg, The A.V. Club, Sherwood News, Sharecast and The Guardian
Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
Netflix says Paramount has caused “ongoing distraction” and “mischaracterized the regulatory review process”, and its WBD bid raises national security concerns
Discussion:
Proactive, Spyglass, New York Post, @brianstelter, Screen, Economic news, CBS News, Deadline, The American Bazaar, Barrett Media, Blockonomi, Broadband TV News, The A.V. Club and TVBEurope
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Stephen Colbert says CBS lawyers blocked an interview with Democratic US Senate candidate James Talarico, citing the FCC's equal time guidance for TV talk shows — Colbert and ‘The Late Show’ posted the interview with James Talarico on the show's YouTube page to bypass the FCC's oversight.
Discussion:
YouTube, YouTube, New York Times, Deadline, LateNighter, The Wrap, The Verge, ZeroHedge News, @jamestalarico, Forbes, Mediaite, The Wrap, UPI, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, CBS News, @repdarrensoto, @schmittnyc, @kurtbardella, @therickwilson, @chriso_wiki, @cat1957.bsky.social, @adamscochran, Mediaite, @mollyjongfast, @sev.yote.social, OutsideTheBeltway, The Nation, Straight Arrow News, @terrymoran, Steady, Washington Times, @timodc, RedState, The Status Kuo, @meidastouch, @mehdirhasan, New York Post, @nathanleamerdc, @jayrosen.bsky.social, Washington Post, @drewharwell.com, @adamscochran, @mdg650hawk.bsky.social, @j_g_allen, @kylegriffin1, @yakhappy.bsky.social, New Jersey Online, @geneha.com, @richardhanania, @ronfilipkowski, @eddiesheehy.bsky.social, @davidsirota, @chrismurphyct, @adamwren, Raw Story, @mikenellis, @newnarrative.bsky.social, @johnshirley2024.bsky.social, @reckless.bsky.social, Peter S. Henne on LinkedIn, MS NOW, @hissgoescobra, USA Today, The Independent, The A.V. Club, Mediaite, @noahshachtman.bsky.social, Axios, @texassignal.bsky.social, @adamscochran, @redsteeze, @redsteeze, The Boston Globe, @wjcarter, @nick_field90, @farhip, Us Weekly, NOTUS, The Hill, Variety, New Republic, The Daily Beast, TV Insider, Townhall, The Siren, IJR, @gabrielmalor.bsky.social, Plain Dealer, NewsMax.com, Mediaite, The Dean's Report, Raw Story, Page Six, TVNewsCheck, Bloomberg Law, Mashable and Eschaton
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
CBS says The Late Show was not prohibited from broadcasting a James Talarico interview and was given “legal guidance” that a broadcast could trigger an FCC rule — CBS said it did not force “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” to pull an interview with Texas state Rep. James Talarico …
Discussion:
Ars Technica, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Associated Press, RedState, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, The Independent, Vox, Axios, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Yahoo Finance, NewsMax.com, LateNighter, @phoward8020.bsky.social, FIRE, NBC News, @jeremymbarr, Truth on the Market, @karlbode.com, Fox News, Forbes and PBS NewsHour
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
By not airing Colbert's interview with Talarico, CBS bowed to FCC pressure preemptively as the agency hasn't formally eliminated talk show equal time exemptions
Discussion:
Fox News, The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, Mediaweek, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Fast Company, Australian Financial Review, Deadline, New York Daily News, RADAR, Washington Examiner, Entertainment Weekly, KVIA-TV, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, Polygon.com, Decider, New York Times, Breitbart, @jmery1985@threads.com, Mother Jones, Newsbusters, @jeremymbarr, The Texas Tribune, Tampa Free Press, Newsweek, CinemaBlend, CNBC, Wonkette, New York Magazine, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Techdirt, Washington Times, @jefftiedrich@threads.com, TV Insider, Daily Mail, Gizmodo, @coryupdate@threads.com, @notcapnamerica@threads.com, Daily Caller News Foundation, New York Sun, @notjessewalker, Forbes, twitchy.com, everyone is entitled …, The Hill, TV Tech, Mediaite, Scripps News, Baller Alert, Blaze Media, The Gateway Pundit, Newser, Politico, Straight Arrow News, LateNighter, Time, HuffPost, New Republic and Just Jared
Krystal Hur / Wall Street Journal:
Filing: Berkshire Hathaway reports that it purchased 5.1M shares of The New York Times during the December quarter; NYT rises 3%+ after hours — In Warren Buffett's last quarter as CEO, his company further trimmed its holdings in iPhone maker — Berkshire Hathaway sold shares in Bank …
Discussion:
MarketWatch, Barron's Online, Associated Press, ZeroHedge News, Morningstar, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, SEC.gov and Bloomberg
Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Versant's MS Now signs a deal with Crooked Media to air highlights from Crooked podcasts such as Pod Save America and Lovett or Leave It, at 9pm ET on Saturdays — In a notable video podcast pact, highlights from Crooked shows such as ‘Pod Save America’ and ‘Lovett or Leave It’ will air Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET.
Discussion:
The Wrap, @jeremymbarr, Richard Hudock on LinkedIn, Brands, Mediaite, Deadline and Barrett Media
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Automattic adds an AI assistant to WordPress.com, enabling users to perform site-wide layout and style modifications via natural language commands — WordPress.com, the website hosting platform from Automattic, will now include a built-in WordPress AI assistant, the company announced on Tuesday.
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Condé Nast names Adam Baidawi as GQ's global editorial director; Baidawi previously led British GQ and wants GQ to be a “North Star of masculinity” — Adam Baidawi recalls being enthralled by GQ magazine the first time he pored through an issue as a teenager in suburban Melbourne, Australia.
Discussion:
Condé Nast, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, @nicolegelinas, Feed Me and The Business of Fashion
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Memo: Hearst CEO Steve Swartz says 2025 revenue grew 3% YoY to $13.5B and the company hit record profit levels, with B2B business accounting for 60% of profits — Hearst, the 138-year-old media giant, saw record revenues and profits last year, CEO Steve Swartz wrote in an annual memo to employees Tuesday, obtained by Axios.
Discussion:
Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter and Bloomberg
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / TechCrunch:
Amnesty research: a government customer of spyware maker Intellexa hacked the iPhone of journalist Teixeira Cândido in Angola in 2024 via Predator spyware — A government customer of sanctioned spyware maker Intellexa hacked the phone of a prominent journalist in Angola …
Discussion:
Reuters, Amnesty International …, Bloomberg, Committee to Protect … and @lorenzofb.bsky.social
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Talent agency Night Media, which represents social media celebrities and owns a podcast network, raised $70M to expand into gaming, sports, and music — Night Media Inc., the talent management firm that represents social media celebrities such as popular Twitch streamer Kai Cenat …
Discussion:
Aisha Counts on LinkedIn, Tubefilter and The Hollywood Reporter
John Stang / Columbia Journalism Review:
Three right-wing media figures, who were denied press credentials in WA because of political affiliation, sue to get permanent press passes to the statehouse — In Olympia, Washington, a few right-wing media figures have been trying to get credentialed to cover the statehouse.
Discussion:
KUOW News and Information, @agomezfcc, @cjr and @emilybell.bsky.social
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