Top News:
Lauren Hirsch / New York Times:
WBD says Paramount's new $31-a-share offer could lead to a better deal than Netflix's, potentially triggering a four-day period for Netflix to revise its bid — Warner Bros. Discovery said Paramount's new offer of $31 a share could lead to a “superior proposal” to the deal it signed with Netflix.
Discussion:
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The Hollywood Reporter:
WBD confirms that it received a revised bid from Paramount to acquire the company, but says it still recommends that shareholders vote for Netflix's deal
WBD confirms that it received a revised bid from Paramount to acquire the company, but says it still recommends that shareholders vote for Netflix's deal
Discussion:
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K.J. Yossman / Variety:
The UK plans to update the Media Act 2024 to bring streaming platforms with 500K+ users under “enhanced” Ofcom regulation, giving it power to investigate them — Streaming platforms in the U.K. are set to come under “enhanced regulation” from media regulator Ofcom …
Discussion:
Engadget, Advanced Television, The Guardian, TVBEurope, What's On Disney Plus, The Wrap, @alexarmstrong, EasternEye, GB News, Human Events, @prestonjbyrne, Screen, Mirror, C21Media, Prolific North, Agence France-Presse, The Next Web, Broadband TV News, The Standard, Reuters and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »
New York Times:
The FTC and FCC are engaging in a hostile takeover of the marketplace of ideas by treating editorial decisions as fraud and conditioning mergers on news content — The Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission were designed to be independent stewards of the public interest …
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Mogul, founded by ex-SoundCloud execs to help artists track royalties, raised $5M and says it has helped track $1.5B in lost royalties since 2025 — Music rights and royalties are a complex world. There are multiple types of royalties, and artists need to make sure that their data …
Discussion:
Julie Lein on LinkedIn and Music Business Worldwide
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Google says AI music generation platform ProducerAI is joining Labs and will be powered by a Lyria 3 preview version; ProducerAI was developed alongside artists — ProducerAI will use Google's Lyria 3 AI model to help users generate sounds, workshop lyrics, remix songs, and more.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
YouTube updates its $7.99-per-month Premium Lite subscription to let users download videos for offline access and play videos in the background — YouTube is expanding its more affordable, $7.99 per month Premium Lite subscription service with new features, including the ability to download videos …
Zac Ntim / Deadline:
BAFTA tells members a “comprehensive review” is underway after a Tourette's campaigner involuntarily said a racial slur during the ceremony — BAFTA told its members this afternoon that it has started what it described as a comprehensive review of Sunday's Film Awards …
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Jake Kanter / Deadline:
Source: Warner Bros. raised concerns about the involuntary racial slur during the BAFTA Film Awards and requested the incident be removed from the BBC broadcast
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Movie Blog, BBC, @kebrightbill.bsky.social, @propcazhpm.bsky.social, @fizzvstheworld.bsky.social, Daily Mail, HuffPost, Cele|bitchy, @infinitesnow.bsky.social, Entertainment Weekly, @pwilson720.bsky.social, Forbes, Variety, The Guardian, Screen, E! Online, Dexerto, Mediaite and Al Jazeera
Alex Ritman / Variety:
BAFTA says it takes “full responsibility” for putting its “guests in a very difficult situation”, after a Tourette's campaigner made several offensive comments
BAFTA says it takes “full responsibility” for putting its “guests in a very difficult situation”, after a Tourette's campaigner made several offensive comments
Discussion:
Metro.co.uk, The Guardian, UNILAD, Bossip, The Daily Sceptic, Daily Star, TheJournal.ie, The Wrap, Cele|bitchy, The Hollywood Reporter, Baller Alert, Deadline, HuffPost, Chicago Tribune, Gold Derby, Mediaweek, Sandra Rose, Page Six, The Sun, Screen, Reality Tea, Reuters, Hollywood Life, Daily Mail, Mirror, Mediaite and Associated Press
Gary Baum / The Hollywood Reporter:
An outside law firm is probing a claim that Paramount President Jeff Shell leaked details of 2025's Paramount-UFC deal almost a month before its announcement — The studio has brought on an outside law firm to investigate the allegations, which have also been alerted to the SEC.
Discussion:
Deadline
Perry Stein / Washington Post:
A federal judge in Virginia has denied the DOJ's request to search Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson's devices as part of a national security leak probe — A federal judge in Virginia denied the Justice Department's request to search a Washington Post reporter's devices in a national security leak probe.
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Memos: Disney's chief communications officer, Kristina Schake, is leaving on March 18 after four years, as Bob Iger ends his run as CEO — The former Biden administration and Michelle Obama aide joined the studio in June 2022 — Kristina Schake will end her four-year run …
Discussion:
Deadline, The Wrap and The Hollywood Reporter
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
AWS launches Elemental Inference, an AI tool that lets networks convert live video into vertical clips for mobile and social media use in real time — AWS Elemental Inference will let networks and studios convert live sports, news and other content into vertical video in real-time.
Discussion:
The Wrap, MediaPost, TVNewsCheck, Forbes, Amazon Web Services, SiliconANGLE and Deadline
Robert Channick / Chicago Tribune:
Sources: Nexstar's WGN-TV in Chicago has laid off eight veteran reporters and anchors; the outlet has been eliminating a variety of positions for several months — The ax is falling at WGN-Ch. 9, cutting a wide swath out of “Chicago's Very Own” TV newsroom.
Michael Calderone / The Wrap:
Progressive organizations and media networks, including MeidasTouch and Courier, plan two streaming events to counter Trump's State of the Union speech — Miles Taylor, a former Homeland Security official who emerged as the “Anonymous” author behind a bombshell 2018 op-ed about being …
