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CNBC:
Netflix walks away from a deal to buy WBD's studio and streaming assets after WBD deemed Paramount's $31/share bid to be superior; NFLX jumps 8%+ after hours — Netflix is walking away from a deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's studio and streaming assets after the WBD board on Thursday deemed …
Discussion:
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Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Memo: CNN CEO Mark Thompson urged employees to avoid jumping to conclusions after Netflix pulled out of the WBD deal and to focus on serving CNN's audience — That has triggered a new level of consternation at the network, not just because of the every present worries about cutbacks …
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
California AG Rob Bonta says Paramount-WBD “is not a done deal” as CA DOJ “has an open investigation” and the companies haven't “cleared regulatory scrutiny” — If the Justice Department and foreign regulators approves the deal, it'll be up to state attorneys general to challenge the merger.
Discussion:
TheDesk.net, Deadline, What Hi-Fi?, The Bulwark, Marketing Week, The Irish Times, Variety, Comic Book, The Wrap, The American Bazaar, @somenobody24.bsky.social, @paulhikari.bsky.social, Business Insider, City A.M., Bloomberg, ANI News, Livemint, Australian Financial Review, Sports Business Journal, Empire, The Business Times, Newser, Engadget, New York Times, CNET, Channel NewsAsia, Sky News and Time
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
US Senator Elizabeth Warren calls a potential Paramount-WBD merger an “antitrust disaster” and questions the influence of the Trump White House on the deal — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) continued her criticisms of Paramount-Skydance as it is poised to win the bidding …
Discussion:
Deadline, Free Press Action Fund Feed, TVBEurope, Screen, Reuters, The Wrap, Benzinga, Blockonomi, Hypebeast, @matthewkeyslive, @simonowens, @scaredbisexual.bsky.social, @nemalki.bsky.social, @senwarren, @bselena.bsky.social, primetimer.com, @emptywheel.bsky.social, RedState, @hshaban, @film_girl, @oliverdarcy.bsky.social, @lukerussell.bsky.social, @wajali.bsky.social, Ukrainian National News, @ddayen.bsky.social, @ddayen.bsky.social, @ddayen.bsky.social, @ddayen.bsky.social, @ethanpfreedman.com, The Wrap, @ethanpfreedman.com, @matthew.flux.community, @timkarr.bsky.social, @jamellebouie.net, @jamellebouie.net, @jamellebouie.net, @jamellebouie.net, @jamellebouie.net, @rbreich.bsky.social, TheDesk.net and New York Post
Marcus Mendes / 9to5Mac:
In an interview, Apple's SVP of Services Eddy Cue says Brazil is Apple TV's second-largest and fastest growing market in terms of subscribers — In an interview with Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, Cue emphasized Brazil's growing role in Apple TV's global business …
Discussion:
Asymco and AppleInsider
Reggie Ugwu / New York Times:
A look at the appeal of video podcasts for Netflix: they're cheap to produce, may attract viewers interested in topical news, and could fuel Netflix's ad tier — The podcasts in the streamer's debut crop, including “The Pete Davidson Show,” have revived metaphysical questions about the definition of the medium.
Discussion:
Jen Sargent on LinkedIn, @dannygroner.bsky.social, Bloomberg and Fast Company
Ben Johansen / Politico:
USAGM offers employees a chance to leave via a deferred resignation program, as a judge weighs the legality of earlier efforts to lay off most of the staff — The agency gave employees a March 9 deadline to accept the package, just before Lamberth's expected ruling.
Discussion:
KJZZ, Fakti.bg, @savevoa.bsky.social and @laurenmeidasa.bsky.social
Arijeta Lajka / New York Times:
An analysis of 1,000+ YouTube Shorts videos recommended to kids: the algorithm pushes bizarre, often nonsensical, AI-generated videos, and many lack disclosures — Experts caution that low-quality, A.I.-generated videos on YouTube geared toward children often feature conflicting information …
Discussion:
Dexerto, Globe and Mail, Indicator, Digital Trends and Politico
John Koblin / New York Times:
Nielsen: ~32.6M viewers watched Trump's State of the Union address, not including people who watched via streaming; Fox News led with 9M+ viewers — The audience was roughly on par with former President Biden's final State of the Union address in 2024. — About 32.6 million viewers tuned …
Discussion:
The Hill, Mediaite, LateNighter, Axios, Nielsen, Reality Tea, Newser, TV Tech, Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter and New York Post
Jennifer Maas / Variety:
Starz reports Q4 revenue fell to $322.8M vs. $344.5M a year ago, net loss narrowed to $20.7M vs. $31.8M a year ago, and US streaming subs hit 12.7M, up 370K QoQ — Starz ended 2025 with things looking up post-Lionsgate split the now-standalone company narrowed its losses to $20.7 million vs. $31.8 million in the comparable Q4 of 2024.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap and Media Play News
Riddhi Setty / Columbia Journalism Review:
The Cleveland Plain Dealer says adding an “AI rewrite specialist” has saved reporters enough time for an extra day to report while producing as many stories — Cleveland.com is embracing AI tools, including an AI rewrite desk. — In October of last year, Chris Quinn …
Madeline Coleman / The Athletic:
Apple TV will offer Season 8 of Netflix's Drive to Survive F1 docuseries in the US; in turn, Netflix will air Apple TV's Canadian Grand Prix coverage in the US — Share full article — In a shocking move, Apple TV and Netflix are collaborating with each other this Formula 1 season …
Discussion:
EasternEye, F1i.com, Formula 1, C21Media, Sports Media Watch, GPBlog, Agence France-Presse, Awful Announcing, Cord Cutters News, The Mac Observer, Decider, TechRadar, The Verge, Deadline, Netflix Tudum, Engadget, Sportsnaut, WTOP News, Reuters, Awful Announcing, The Race, CNET, AppleInsider, Speedcafe.com, TODAY.com, 9to5Mac, @madelinecoleman.bsky.social, Motorsport.com and Awful Announcing
