Top News:
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
WBD joins Disney and Paramount in claiming infringement on ByteDance's AI video tool Seedance and demands ByteDance cease training AI on Warner Bros. 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 and PetaPixel
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Dominic Patten / Deadline:
Netflix sends ByteDance a C&D letter over Seedance 2.0, joining WBD, Paramount, and Disney, saying “forensic evidence” shows “unauthorized derivative works” — With their two-page correspondence and potential legal action to follow, Netflix have linked arms …
Discussion:
The Wrap, GamesRadar, primetimer.com and Variety
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:
Benzinga, The Guardian, CNN, BMI, Mediaweek, @claytravis, The Contrarian, @lucas_shaw, Al Jazeera, @tvgrimreaper, Sharecafe, @sherman4949, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @sarafischer, Reuters, James Faris on LinkedIn, Joe Flint on LinkedIn, Awful Announcing, The Post Millennial, Business Insider, Daily Mail, The Independent, Telegraph, Axios, Barron's Online, City A.M., Irish Independent, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, New York Post, The Verge and KYMA-TV
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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, CNBC, Financial Times, The Daily Upside, The Wrap, Sports Media Watch, Livemint, Variety, Mumbrella, CNBC, IndieWire, Morningstar, 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 and Telecompaper
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 and CBS News
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, Insider Monkey, ANI News, Screen, The Wrap, Paramount Skydance Corporation, The American Bazaar, CNBC, @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 and Sherwood 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, HuffPost, TheJournal.ie, Deadline, NOTUS, LateNighter, @michaeljstern.bsky.social, The Verge, Reuters, @jamestalarico, Variety, Raw Story, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, ZeroHedge News, @sgmandanas.bsky.social, @charles.littlegreenfootballs …, The Wrap, Deadline, Talking Points Memo, @reckless.bsky.social, Steady, UPI, @adamscochran, @adamscochran, @kurtbardella, @repdarrensoto, @davidsirota, @kylegriffin1, @schmittnyc, @yakhappy.bsky.social, @mollyjongfast, @chrismurphyct, @adamwren, @mikenellis, @timodc, @chriso_wiki, @j_g_allen, Business Insider, @richardhanania, CBS News, @terrymoran, @therickwilson, @nathanleamerdc, Washington Post, @newnarrative.bsky.social, @mehdirhasan, @jayrosen.bsky.social, @mdg650hawk.bsky.social, @ronfilipkowski, New Republic, Peter S. Henne on LinkedIn, Mediaite, The A.V. Club, @meidastouch, Forbes, Forbes, @eddiesheehy.bsky.social, Page Six, Lawyers, Guns & Money, @hissgoescobra, The Dean's Report, @sev.yote.social, New York Post, NewsMax.com, @adamscochran, @redsteeze, @redsteeze, Washington Times, RedState, New Jersey Online, Straight Arrow News, @wjcarter, @nick_field90, @farhip, @johnshirley2024.bsky.social, The Hill, @cat1957.bsky.social, The Siren, Mediaite, The Status Kuo, New York Magazine, Associated Press, @geneha.com, @drewharwell.com, The Wrap, The Nation, OutsideTheBeltway, IJR, MS NOW, USA Today, The Independent, The A.V. Club, Mediaite, @noahshachtman.bsky.social, Axios, @texassignal.bsky.social, Plain Dealer, The Boston Globe, Bloomberg Law, Us Weekly, The Daily Beast, TV Insider, Townhall, @gabrielmalor.bsky.social, Mediaite, Raw Story, TVNewsCheck, 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, The Hill, Mashable, CNBC, Deadline, @jeremylittau.com, Newser, RedState, Al Jazeera, The Philadelphia Inquirer, @jeremymbarr, HuffPost, LateNighter, NewsMax.com, Vox, @karlbode.com, Axios, Washington Examiner, @phoward8020.bsky.social, The Independent, Truth on the Market, Yahoo Finance, MS NOW, FIRE, Fox News, Forbes, New York Sun, PBS NewsHour and NBC News
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:
New York Times, New York Sun, The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Axios, Forbes, Status, The Hill, HuffPost, FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, Fox News, Fast Company, @jeremymbarr, @jmery1985@threads.com, @notcapnamerica@threads.com, Australian Financial Review, @notjessewalker, Mediaweek, NOTUS, Benzinga, Deadline, TV Insider, RADAR, Tampa Free Press, Wonkette, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Associated Press, Raw Story, Blaze Media, TV Tech, Los Angeles Times, CNBC, New York Daily News, Mediaite, twitchy.com, Techdirt, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, @coryupdate@threads.com, Gizmodo, The Gateway Pundit, Polygon.com, Daily Caller News Foundation, Mother Jones, Washington Examiner, Baller Alert, Entertainment Weekly, Decider, Time, KVIA-TV, Newsbusters, @jefftiedrich@threads.com, CinemaBlend, Daily Mail, Washington Times, everyone is entitled …, Breitbart, The Texas Tribune, Pied Type, Scripps News, Politico, Newser, Straight Arrow News, New Republic, LateNighter 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%+ pre-market — In Warren Buffett's last quarter as CEO, his company further trimmed its holdings in iPhone maker — Berkshire Hathaway sold shares in Bank …
Discussion:
Morningstar, RTÉ, Motley Fool, ZeroHedge News, Associated Press, Reuters, SEC.gov, The Hollywood Reporter, Barron's Online and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
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:
Richard Hudock on LinkedIn, @jeremymbarr, Brands, The Wrap, Mediaite, Deadline and Barrett Media
Olivia Empson / Wall Street Journal:
A profile of women-focused conservative magazine Evie, founded in 2019 and named for a modern take on the Bible's original woman, with 192K Substack followers — Named for a modern version of the Bible's original woman, Evie aims to reach a new kind of conservative: the churchgoing, city-dwelling, working young mother
Discussion:
Vanity Fair
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
A US federal judge orders OpenAI to stop using the word “Cameo” for its Sora products and features, in a trademark lawsuit filed by celebrity video app Cameo — A federal district court in Northern California ruled in favor of Cameo, a platform that allows users …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Tech in Asia, Reuters and Chicago Business Journal
Diane Sylvester / Editor and Publisher:
News Literacy Project survey: 84% of US teens describe news media negatively, and 94% think news or media literacy should be part of their education — When the News Literacy Project (NLP) released its national study of teens' views of journalism in November 2025, one figure stood out …
Discussion:
@dankennedy.net
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:
Press Gazette, 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 in late 2025 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:
The Verge, Benzinga, @charlesmok.bsky.social, Business Insider, @cszabla and @homemadehooplah, more at Techmeme »
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.
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