Top News:
David Shepardson / Reuters:
The FCC officially orders early license reviews of eight Disney-owned ABC stations, in LA, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia, Houston, and more — The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday ordered early license reviews of eight Disney-owned ABC stations in a major escalation …
Discussion:
Federal Communications Commission, The Guardian, The Hollywood Reporter, Business Insider, @katiemiller, Adweek, Axios, Politico, @agomezfcc, TheDesk.net, UPI, CNBC, @brianstelter, @freedomofpress@social …, New York Times, MS NOW, Deadline, Time, Fox News, Triangle Business Journal, NBC News, Rolling Stone, Washington Post, Forbes, The Boston Globe, The Verge, Breitbart, Bloomberg, Forbes, Freedom of the Press …, @jonastraxler.bsky.social, @nicoperrino, Consequence, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, @shawnreynolds_, @TimBondy@mstdn.social, @brianstelter, Newser, New York Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Barrett Media, Media Matters for America, Bloomberg Law, The Wrap, @brianstelter, @oliviaoftroye@threads.com, @brianstelter, @adamthierer, @seanokane.bsky.social, @karlbode.com, @semafor.com, @rogoswami, LateNighter, Breitbart, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Baller Alert, @mattyglesias, Katie Couric Media, @alexweprin, NBC News, CNBC, @brianstelter, @sarahlongwell25, @brianstelter, @kimmasters.bsky.social, Ars Technica, @chadbourn.bsky.social, @sfdb.bsky.social, Disney News, @jeremymbarr, Cord Cutters News, Media Play News, Townhall, @alexweprin, Variety, The Indian Express, Mediaite, New York Daily News, The Hill, NewsMax.com, The A.V. Club, DNYUZ, Free Press Action Fund Feed, Radio & Television … and Lawyers, Guns & Money
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Lauren Feiner / The Verge:
Former FCC Commissioners and staffers ask a federal appeals court to require the FCC to vote on a November 2025 petition to repeal the News Distortion Policy
Discussion:
Radio World and TV Tech
Zack Sharf / Variety:
President Trump says “Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC” over Kimmel's joke about Melania Trump
President Trump says “Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC” over Kimmel's joke about Melania Trump
Discussion:
Jimmy Kimmel Live on YouTube, @realDonaldTrump …, Business Insider, Semafor, New York Post, Celebrity Insider, Blaze Media, Dow Jones Newswires, Billboard, @brianstelter.bsky.social, @bencollins.bsky.social, The Daily Wire, Townhall, @wellborn.net, ZeroHedge News, @jrradcliffe.bsky.social, Page Six, Cele|bitchy, Wall Street Journal, @butterflieskatz.bsky.social, TV Insider, Breitbart, twitchy.com, Mashable, Dexerto, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, HuffPost, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, Rolling Stone, Forbes, DNYUZ, TMZ.com, @pkafka, LateNighter, Charleston Daily Mail, The Wrap, Consequence, Just Jared, The Asia Business Daily, CNN, The A.V. Club, LADbible, Mediaite, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Slate, @ellenenders.bsky.social, Newser, Megyn Kelly, @darrenzone.bsky.social, Baller Alert, @whoa-magic.lol and Deadline
Madeline Halpert / BBC:
Melania Trump calls on ABC to “take a stand” on Jimmy Kimmel, after his joke that she has “a glow like an expectant widow” days before the WHCD shooting
Melania Trump calls on ABC to “take a stand” on Jimmy Kimmel, after his joke that she has “a glow like an expectant widow” days before the WHCD shooting
Discussion:
@flotus, Breitbart, Business Insider, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Post, Charleston Daily Mail, Hollywood Life, Fox News, Page Six, HELLO!, Los Angeles Times, TMZ.com, HotAir, Megyn Kelly, France 24, Washington Times, Media Matters for America, The Free Press, The Hill, Suggest, Mediaite, The Sun, Al Jazeera, FemaleFirst, The Independent, The Guardian, Sky News, American Thinker, Variety, Mirror, @brianstelter, @davidu, MS NOW, Mock Paper Scissors, Forbes, CBS News, Mediaweek, CNN, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, The Wrap, Deadline, Vox, TV Insider, RedState, The Hollywood Reporter, Us Weekly, CNBC, RADAR, Truthout, The Daily Wire, Baller Alert, Australian Financial Review, PJ Media, Yahoo Finance, One America News Network, WTTG-TV, Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Entertainment, NorthJersey.com, The Post Millennial and @thechakrakhan.bsky.social
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Spotify reports Q1 revenue up 8% YoY to €4.53B, MAUs up 12% YoY to 761M, above 759M est., and forecasts Q2 operating income below est.; SPOT closes down 12.43% — Spotify Technology SA shares plunged the most in more than four years after the music streaming leader gave a forecast …
Peter Kafka / Business Insider:
Sources: Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro has decided to keep ESPN within Disney for now, rather than spinning it off — - ESPN used to be one of the most important assets in media. — That's changed, because the media world has changed, and Disney has debated spinning out ESPN as a stand-alone company.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Sports Business Journal, @scottgustin, @pkafka and Bloomberg
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Advocacy groups including WGA West and The Tech Oversight Project have written a letter urging the FTC and DOJ to probe Netflix for antitrust issues — Axios Media Trends … Today's Media Trends, edited by Christine Wang and copy edited by Sheryl Miller, is 1,928 words, a 7½-minute read.
Discussion:
Sludge
Todd Spangler / Variety:
FCC filing: Paramount says the merged Paramount-WBD will be 49.5% owned by foreign investors, with ~38.5% of the equity held by a trio of Middle Eastern funds — Paramount Skydance said the merged Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery will be 49.5% owned by foreign investors …
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Axios, International Business Times, Los Angeles Times, American Prospect, Media & Communications Policy, @douglaslfarrar, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, The Streamable, @crampell, NextDraft, @chrisyogerst.com, @karlbode.com, @padresj.bsky.social, TV Tech, @aravosis, @dylanbyers, @chrismurphyct, @leehepner, @matthewacherry, @amy_siskind, @markruffalo, @mikeisaac, @alexweprin, @matthewacherry, @donwinslow, @michaelsozan, Blockonomi, @mediaevan, Deadline, The Wrap, @staurolitic, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Media Play News and @jekranzberg.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
Reuters:
Bertelsmann agrees to combine BMG with Concord in a cash-and-stock deal giving it a 67% stake; Concord shareholders will receive a 33% stake and $1.16B in cash — Bertelsmann (BTGGg.F) will combine its music division BMG with rival Concord in a deal that would create the world's fourth …
The Guardian:
Australia unveils a draft News Bargaining Incentive scheme that imposes a 2.25% levy on local revenues for platforms; Meta says the government is “simply wrong” — Google also rejects need for reform after Albanese government reveals draft news bargaining incentive scheme
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Snap launches AI Sponsored Snaps, a conversational ad format in Snapchat's Chat tab that lets users talk to brand-specific AI agents for product recommendations — Snapchat announced on Tuesday that it's rolling out “AI Sponsored Snaps,” which will allow users to interact directly with brands' AI agents.
Discussion:
Snap Newsroom, MediaPost, Adweek, Engadget and Forbes, more at Techmeme »
Alice Brooker / Press Gazette:
Top English-language news publishers on YouTube averaged 16% subscriber growth since Jan. 2025; 28 news influencers with 1M+ followers grew subscribers by 20% — Ranking of all English-language publishers on Youtube with more than one million subscribers. — The most-subscribed English …
Discussion:
Alice Brooker on LinkedIn
Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:
Free TV Networks, a division of Versant, signs a distribution deal with Philo, extending the reach of FAST channels 365BLK, Outlaw, and Pam Grier's Soul Flix — Wallet-friendly streaming service Philo has inked a distribution deal with Versant's multicast business Free TV Networks to offer three of its channels on its free tier.
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, Cord Cutters News and Media Play News
Rebecca Stewart / Adweek:
WPP reports Q1 revenue down 6.6% YoY to £3.3B and revenue less pass-through costs down 8.9% to £2.3B, its ninth quarter of decline — Rose will now only lead updates at WPP's half-year and full-year results, the company told ADWEEK … The numbers
Discussion:
MediaPost, WPP, The Drum, MarketBeat, BW Marketing World, PRWeek, MediaPost, adnews.com.au, Marketing Dive, Investing.com, Yahoo Finance, Campaign Asia, BMI, Wall Street Journal and City A.M.
Jakub Krupa / The Guardian:
Journalist Andrzej Poczobut, the 2025 Sakharov prize winner, is freed after five years in a Belarusian prison as part of a US-brokered multi-country swap deal — Sakharov prize winner was given eight-year sentence after process widely condemned as politically motivated
