Top News:
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 Wrap, The Verge, Reuters, @jamestalarico, @repdarrensoto, @kurtbardella, Raw Story, @adamscochran, Steady, The Hollywood Reporter, ZeroHedge News, @sgmandanas.bsky.social, @adamscochran, @charles.littlegreenfootballs …, @yakhappy.bsky.social, UPI, Talking Points Memo, @reckless.bsky.social, @davidsirota, Business Insider, @kylegriffin1, @schmittnyc, @mollyjongfast, CBS News, @chrismurphyct, @adamwren, @mikenellis, Forbes, @timodc, Washington Post, @newnarrative.bsky.social, @chriso_wiki, @jayrosen.bsky.social, @j_g_allen, @mdg650hawk.bsky.social, @richardhanania, Peter S. Henne on LinkedIn, Mediaite, @terrymoran, @therickwilson, @nathanleamerdc, @mehdirhasan, @ronfilipkowski, @eddiesheehy.bsky.social, @sev.yote.social, @meidastouch, New York Post, New Republic, The Dean's Report, Washington Times, RedState, Mediaite, New Jersey Online, NewsMax.com, Straight Arrow News, @johnshirley2024.bsky.social, Page Six, The Hill, @cat1957.bsky.social, The Wrap, The Status Kuo, @hissgoescobra, The Siren, Variety, @adamscochran, Associated Press, @redsteeze, @redsteeze, @wjcarter, @nick_field90, @farhip, NOTUS, @geneha.com, @drewharwell.com, The Nation, OutsideTheBeltway, IJR, Lawyers, Guns & Money, MS NOW, USA Today, The Independent, The A.V. Club, Mediaite, @noahshachtman.bsky.social, Axios, @texassignal.bsky.social, The Boston Globe, Plain Dealer, Us Weekly, Bloomberg Law, The Daily Beast, TV Insider, Townhall, @gabrielmalor.bsky.social, Mediaite, Raw Story, TVNewsCheck, HuffPost, 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
Discussion:
Ars Technica, Associated Press, LateNighter, HuffPost, The Hill, CNBC, Newser, Deadline, MS NOW, NewsMax.com, @jeremylittau.com, RedState, Al Jazeera, Vox, @phoward8020.bsky.social, Washington Examiner, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Axios, @jeremymbarr, Truth on the Market, @karlbode.com, Yahoo Finance, FIRE, Fox News, The Independent, Forbes, NBC News 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:
Wall Street Journal, Axios, The Guardian, The Wrap, Forbes, Status, Deadline, The Hill, HuffPost, Australian Financial Review, @jmery1985@threads.com, @jeremymbarr, Fast Company, TV Insider, FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, @notcapnamerica@threads.com, Fox News, @notjessewalker, RADAR, Tampa Free Press, Wonkette, Benzinga, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Mediaweek, Associated Press, Raw Story, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, TV Tech, CNBC, New York Daily News, twitchy.com, Mediaite, Blaze Media, Techdirt, NOTUS, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, @coryupdate@threads.com, Gizmodo, Polygon.com, New York Sun, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Caller News Foundation, Mother Jones, Washington Examiner, New York Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Baller Alert, Decider, KVIA-TV, Newsbusters, @jefftiedrich@threads.com, CinemaBlend, Daily Mail, Washington Times, everyone is entitled …, Breitbart, Time, The Texas Tribune, Scripps News, Politico, Newser, Straight Arrow News, New Republic, LateNighter and Just Jared
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 — The company didn't indicate that it is willing to increase the price tag for its hostile takeover bid but said it was ready …
Discussion:
Deadline, CNBC, Financial Times, Variety, The Daily Upside, Mumbrella, Morningstar, CNBC, Sports Media Watch, Livemint, IndieWire, Los Angeles Business Journal, CinemaBlend, Ars Technica, Front Office Sports, Agence France-Presse, CBC News, Anadolu Ajansı …, UPI, The Hill, Ukrainian National News, Associated Press, Screen Rant, Telecompaper, Realscreen and The Movie Blog
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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:
The Guardian, CNN, Reuters, Mediaweek, Sharecafe, BMI, @claytravis, The Contrarian, Al Jazeera, @lucas_shaw, @tvgrimreaper, @sherman4949, James Faris on LinkedIn, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @sarafischer, Joe Flint on LinkedIn, Awful Announcing, The Post Millennial, Business Insider, Daily Mail, The Independent, Telegraph, Axios, Irish Independent, Barron's Online, City A.M., New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, New York Post, The Verge and KYMA-TV
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
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Straight Arrow News, Cord Cutters News and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.
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:
Deadline, OLD GOATS with Jonathan Alter, @brianstelter, Spyglass, New York Post, Proactive, Screen, Economic news, CBS News and The American Bazaar
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:
Advanced Television, Deadline, Deadline, B&T, The Indian Express, Screen, Insider Monkey, ANI News, The Wrap, Paramount Skydance Corporation, CNBC, The American Bazaar, @serrata.org, Benzinga, Media Play News, Washington Examiner, ZeroHedge News, Yahoo Finance, The Streamable, Dow Jones Newswires, Commercial Observer, Livemint, New York Times, Netflix, Inc., Channel NewsAsia, The Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg, The A.V. Club, Sherwood News and Sharecast
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
Warner Bros. joins Disney and Paramount claiming infringement on ByteDance's AI video tool, Seedance, and demands ByteDance cease training AI on WB characters — The studio's legal counsel fired off a letter on Tuesday to John Rogovin, the general counsel of ByteDance who happens …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, PetaPixel, MediaNews4U, Advanced Television and WinBuzzer
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:
Motley Fool, The Hollywood Reporter, Associated Press, MarketWatch, Barron's Online, Reuters, ZeroHedge News, SEC.gov, Morningstar 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:
@jeremymbarr, Richard Hudock on LinkedIn, Brands, The Wrap, 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.
Freddie Sayers / The Spectator:
The Spectator has 113K subscribers, a record, print is its fastest-growing type of subscription, and it is offering its subscription service to external clients — Something remarkable is happening at the world's oldest weekly magazine. After years of relatively flat subscriber numbers …
Discussion:
Advanced Television and The Streamable
Cristina Criddle / Financial Times:
Perplexity says it has no plans to further pursue ads, which it introduced in 2024, after phasing them out late last year over fears they would erode user trust — Leading start-ups have recently embraced sponsors as they search for revenue — AI start-up Perplexity has abandoned advertising …
Discussion:
Business Insider, more at Techmeme »
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:
Amnesty International …, @lorenzofb.bsky.social, Committee to Protect …, Bloomberg and Reuters
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Snapchat launches creator subscriptions in alpha, available to some creators in the US starting February 23; creators set custom monthly pricing — Social network Snapchat announced today it's launching creator subscriptions in alpha with select people in the U.S. starting on February 23.
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:
@agomezfcc, @cjr, KUOW News and Information and @emilybell.bsky.social
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