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4:50 PM ET, February 19, 2026

Top News:

After a backlash, AMC opts out of screening an AI short film during its pre-show, programmed by ad company Screenvision, before feature films — AMC has opted out of screening the award-winning short film during its third-party programmed pre-show, and it's unclear if other chains will follow suit.

Discussion: Variety, Blaze Media, @gwaynee.blacksky.app, @riodylan.bsky.social, @hypercubexl.bsky.social, @laurbits.bsky.social, @stevensantos.bsky.social, @nelson545alex, @thetoonkeeper.bsky.social and @saveyourcinema

Selome Hailu / Variety:

Matthew McConaughey and Timothée Chalamet discuss AI's potential to replace actors and win awards; McConaughey said AI actors will “infiltrate” the Oscars — Matthew McConaughey and Timothée Chalamet are telling young people to brace themselves and lead the entertainment industry through the rise of AI.

Discussion: Entertainment Weekly and @everyfilmnow.bsky.social

Rohan Goswami / Semafor:

In a letter, six Democratic senators ask David Ellison to save communications with Trump, his family, lobbyists, and the DOJ about Paramount's pursuit of WBD — The Scoop — A group of Democratic senators, unhappy with Paramount CEO David Ellison's refusal to appear at a hearing two weeks ago …

Discussion: Deadline, Variety, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter and The Streamable

Bloomberg:

Ted Sarandos says a winning Netflix bid for WBD would lead to more films in theaters because Netflix would distribute its films via WBD's distribution system — Ted Sarandos, co-chief executive officer of Netflix Inc., said his company's bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. will lead …

Discussion: The Wrap, Observer, @business, Bloomberg, Bloomberg, Business Insider, What's on Netflix, World of Reel, Breitbart, Media Play News and Awful Announcing, more at Techmeme »

Thomas Buckley / Bloomberg:
Sources: the US DOJ has summoned some of the largest theater chains to private conversations about the potential impact of a sale of WBD

Discussion: New York Post, Economic news, Benzinga, Reuters and CBS News

Michael Lynton / Wall Street Journal:

Book extract: ex-Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton recounts how greenlighting The Interview sparked North Korea's massive 2014 cyberattack — In an exclusive book excerpt, the former CEO of Sony Entertainment opens up about his role in unleashing one of the worst cyberattacks in corporate history.

Discussion: @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, Yahoo Finance and @metacurity.com, more at Techmeme »

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

The UK CMA says Getty and Shutterstock's $3.7B merger could lead to a “substantial lessening of competition” in the UK editorial market for news events — The $3.7bn merger of rival image providers Getty and Shutterstock could lead to a “substantial lessening of competition” …

Discussion: GOV.UK and Reuters

Anhata Rooprai / Reuters:

Apple TV has signed a distribution deal with EverPass Media to bring live sports content to US businesses such as bars, restaurants, hotels, and gyms — Apple TV (AAPL.O) has signed a distribution agreement with EverPass Media to bring the streamer's live sports content to businesses such as bars …

Discussion: MacRumors, Apple Must, Cult of Mac, iClarified, Apple, 9to5Mac, The Mac Observer, MacTech.com, Business Wire, Cord Cutters News, MacDailyNews, iDrop News, T3 and O'Grady's PowerPage

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

Reach makes its national UK newspapers' ABC print sales circulation figures private, joining News UK, Telegraph Media Group, and The Guardian — Print circulation figures for the Mirror, Express and Star newspapers will no longer be made public. — Publisher Reach has decided to keep …

Discussion: @iainhepburn.me

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:

Apple Podcasts' fresh leap into video podcasts accelerates the podcast industry's shift from an audio-centric medium to a decidedly video-focused one — Apple Podcasts' fresh leap into video podcasts refocuses the audio medium on visuals — Welcome back to Soundbite.

Discussion: Podnews, ExchangeWire.com, Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, Ashley Carman on LinkedIn, @simonowens.bsky.social and Barrett Media, more at Techmeme »

Rob Tornoe / Editor and Publisher:

Q&A with Walt Handelsman, who retired at the end of 2025 as an editorial cartoonist at New Orleans' Times-Picayune, on the changes in a dwindling profession — Walt Handelsman reflects on retirement and the collapse of staff editorial cartooning — In 1987, Walt Handelsman sat …

Discussion: MediaPost

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

Reddit is testing an AI search feature that takes community recommendations and shows matching products from its advertisers in the results — Reddit announced on Thursday that it's testing a new AI search tool that takes community recommendations and matches them with products …

Discussion: Search Engine Land, Reddit Upvoted and @TechCrunch@mstdn.social, more at Techmeme »

Nellie Andreeva / Deadline:

Apple plans to release the delayed show The Hunt on March 4, after producer Gaumont resolved plagiarism claims by getting authorizations from rightsholders — That is three months after the acquired series from Gaumont was slated to premiere on Dec. 3 but was delayed, with the French …

Discussion: The Wrap, Screen Rant, AppleInsider, The Verge, MacTech.com, 9to5Mac and The Hollywood Reporter

Julianna Bragg / Axios:

Stephen Colbert's interview on YouTube with US Senate candidate James Talarico draws 7M+ views after it was posted on Monday, bypassing TV restrictions — Stephen Colbert alleged that President Trump's talk show directive kept his interview with a Texas Democratic Senate candidate off CBS airwaves …

Discussion: YouTube, Deadline, American Prospect, The Guardian, Newser, The Wrap, LateNighter, The Hill, The Moderate Voice, Barrett Media, Mediaite and masslive.com

Jack Dunn / Variety:
Stephen Colbert says CBS released its statement “without ever talking to me” and talk shows have long been exempt from “equal time” rules

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More News:

Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
Imax partners with Apple TV to show five 2026 Formula One races across at least 50 US Imax locations, as Imax continues to push into live events

Discussion: Sports Business Journal, Advanced Television, Cult of Mac, The Streamable, Cord Cutters News, The Ankler, Jalopnik, imax.com, iClarified, Variety, 9to5Mac, Deadline, Redmond Pie, AppleInsider and MacTech.com

Deutsche Welle:
Germany public broadcaster Deutsche Welle's 2026 budget shrinks by €21M, prompting the closure of its Greek-language service, cuts to 160 positions, and more

Discussion: Dóra Diseri on LinkedIn, Economic news and Broadband TV News

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
BAFTA Chair Sara Putt says the charity is adding “human creativity” as a guiding principle for its awards in 2026, as the film industry grapples with AI

Discussion: FemaleFirst and Screen

Committee to Protect Journalists:
Palestinian journalists describe being systematically tortured, abused, beaten, and starved in Israel's prisons between October 2023 and January 2026

Discussion: @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social, The Guardian, Al Jazeera and Committee to Protect …

K.J. Yossman / Variety:
Barb: 54% of all YouTube viewing in the UK is on a TV set across all demographics, making the streaming platform a “significant part of the UK's AV ecosystem”

Discussion: TechCrunch, TVBEurope, Advanced Television, Engadget, The Guardian, The Drum, Ghacks, Telecompaper and Broadband TV News

Hazel Gandhi / Rest of World:
Nonprofit What To Fix says Facebook's content monetization program grew from under 3M to over 12M participants in just over a year; 8M+ accounts are in English

Discussion: AppleInsider and Forbes, more at Techmeme »

Earlier Picks:

Ece Yildirim / Gizmodo:
An experiment finds X's feed algorithm favored conservative content, and switching to the For You feed shifted users' views toward more conservative positions

Discussion: @researchbuzz@researchbuzz …, @purchase-w-purpose …, The Debrief, @metin@graphics.social, @mortenstostad, Nature, @koysino.com, @razarumi, @hanaatameez, @phinifa, @dwallacewells, @ezhuravskaya, Forbes and Ben Werdmuller, more at Techmeme »

Gene Maddaus / Variety:
Sony sends ByteDance a C&D letter over Seedance 2.0, joining Netflix, Paramount, WBD, and Disney in condemning the model's AI-generated copyright infringement

Discussion: Deadline, Breitbart, eWeek, The Movie Blog, Cord Cutters News, Dark Horizons, GamesRadar and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »

Pranav Baskar / New York Times:
Journalists say an AP reporter and three other journalists were detained in Cameroon while probing a secretive US program that deports migrants to Cameroon

Discussion: New Yorker, Reuters, Washington Times, @twrling@sfba.social, New Republic, @martyswant.bsky.social, @KimPerales@toad.social, @urocklive1.bsky.social, @newsjennifer.bsky.social, @jonfr500.bsky.social, @natcad.bsky.social, @sdkstl.bsky.social, @owillis.bsky.social and Cameroon News Agency

The Wrap:
UCLA cancels Bari Weiss' Daniel Pearl Memorial Lecture on “the future of journalism”, following student protests; a source says it will be rescheduled

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, Breitbart, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, @jeffjohnroberts, Joe.My.God., @amerliberal.bsky.social, @publichealthguy1.bsky.social, @chrisgeidner.bsky.social, @eoinhiggins.bsky.social and r/ucla

David Shepardson / Reuters:
FCC Chair Brendan Carr says, “We're going to be moving forward” with Nexstar's acquisition of Tegna, a merger that requires lifting the station ownership cap

Discussion: Barrett Media, Inside Radio, The Independent, The Gateway Pundit, Fox News, WWL-TV, TheDesk.net, HuffPost and Bloomberg Law

From Techmeme:

Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google rolls out Gemini 3.1 Pro, which it says is “a step forward in core reasoning”, for all users in the Gemini app; the .1 increment is a first for Google

Saritha Rai / Bloomberg:
India's AI Summit: Modi orchestrated a photo op with tech and business leaders holding hands in a line, but Sam Altman and Dario Amodei refused to clasp hands

Jordyn Holman / New York Times:
Ring founder Jamie Siminoff is on an apology tour to quell an outcry over privacy concerns after Ring's Super Bowl Search Party ad, calling it a “perfect storm”

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