Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
The FCC approves the Paramount-Skydance deal, granting the transfer of licenses for 28 CBS-owned local TV stations to the Skydance-led ownership group — The FCC has granted approvals necessary to clear the way for the $8 billion merger of Paramount Global and David Ellison's Skydance Media.
Discussion:
CNN, New York Times, NPR, Australian Financial Review, Mediaite, Adweek, Financial Times, Awful Announcing, TVNewsCheck, Bloomberg, Deadline, CNBC, IJR, The Verge, Front Office Sports, @cdarwin@c.im, The Information, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, @agomezfcc, @agomezfcc, @agomezfcc, @juliezebrak.bsky.social, @agomezfcc, The Ankler, @agomezfcc, @brendancarrfcc, @agomezfcc, Newsbusters, Cord Cutters News, CBS News, Forbes, Globe and Mail, Los Angeles Times, Fox Business and Salon
RELATED:
Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Anna Gomez, the sole Democrat on the FCC, dissents against the Paramount-Skydance merger and says the FCC made “unprecedented” moves to help broker the deal — “Despite this regrettable outcome, this Administration is not done with its assault on the First Amendment.
Discussion:
Mumbrella, Deadline, TV Tech, Wall Street Journal, TheDesk.net, The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, Business Insider, Salon, TrekMovie.com, Newser, Baller Alert, CBS News, Benzinga, Bloomberg Law, TVNewsCheck, WORLD SCREEN, The Independent, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, Breitbart and Adweek
Nellie Andreeva / Deadline:
Chris McCarthy, co-CEO of Paramount Global and president of Showtime/MTV, plans to depart the company once its acquisition by Skydance is completed — Chris McCarthy, co-CEO of Paramount Global and president of Showtime/MTV Entertainment, has opted to depart the company once its acquisition by Skydance is completed early next month.
Discussion:
The Guardian, TheDesk.net, The Wrap, Variety, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and @sarafischer
Amy Walker / BBC:
BBC News, AFP, the AP, and Reuters say they are “desperately concerned for our journalists in Gaza, who are increasingly unable to feed themselves” — BBC News and three leading news agencies have expressed desperate concern for journalists in Gaza, who they say are increasingly unable …
Discussion:
Fox News, Washington Post, The Guardian, Associated Press, @abiwilks, @cpjmena, @reuterspr, @scottygb, @bbcnewspr, The Free Press, Middle East Monitor, Associated Press, European Federation …, BBC, @cpjmena, France 24, Telegraph, The Times of Israel, The Daily Caller, The Wrap, Al Jazeera, Mirror, Press Gazette, TVNewsCheck, Politico, سبأ …, The Associated Press, Deadline, Reuters, RTÉ, WTOP News, WWL-TV, Semafor, Committee to Protect …, Arab News, Columbia Journalism Review and ProtoThema English
Peter White / Deadline:
Source: E! News, the long-running celebrity news show, will end on September 25; its digital brand will continue with a focus on social platforms — Versant, the nascent company that oversees E! as well as a number of former NBCUniversal cable networks, is axing the show, which first launched in 1991, in September.
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
CBS News names Tanya Simon as executive producer of 60 Minutes; she has served as interim executive producer since Bill Owens resigned in April — Tanya Simon has been named the executive producer of 60 Minutes, taking the helm of the CBS News broadcast amid the aftermath of Paramount Global's settlement …
Discussion:
The Wrap, New York Times, CBS News, Variety, The A.V. Club, @brianstelter, @cbsnewspress, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, @jeremymbarr, Mediaite, @brianstelter, Fox News, The Hill, Adweek, New York Post, TV Insider, CNN, Washington Examiner, Barrett Media, Paramount Press Express and The Hollywood Reporter
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Donations to US public media surge amid funding cuts, up by ~$70M YoY so far in 2025, but still fall well short of the annual $550M that Congress has cut — Donors are turning out to support local stations, but those contributions so far fall well short of the annual $550 million that Congress cut.
Discussion:
TheDesk.net, Raw Story, TVREV, @benmullin.bsky.social, @torrleonard.bsky.social, KTUU and Marin Independent Journal
Jenna Amatulli / The Guardian:
One day after signing a $1.5B deal with Paramount, South Park satirizes Paramount's settlement with Trump, pro-Trump PSAs, and the cancellation of The Late Show — Show begins 27th season covering Trump's lawsuit against Paramount and cancellation of Stephen Colbert's show, depicting Trump in bed with Satan
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Rolling Stone, HuffPost, @heyitsmk, Washington Post, 9News, Deadline, al.com, Wired, @rpsagainsttrump, Los Angeles Times, Mercury News, TVLine, The A.V. Club, @dylanbyers, New Republic, KVUE-TV, Global News, KTVU-TV, Benzinga, Thought Catalog, Variety, Animation Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, Forbes, @tinaturnacorner, @tltanicsss, @ooccouchgags, Mashable, Daily Mail, The Daily Caller, TMZ.com, @keithedwards, @dudeonthebay, NBC News, People, Full Feed, @mattgertz, @sonnybunch, CNN, @esjesjesj, New Jersey Online, World of Reel, Rolling Out, @bloomser1, Entertainment Weekly, @_wanderingloner, The Wrap, Semafor, @whygarth, @rspolitics, masslive.com, @kevflix, @wlowosjdndnnd, Fortune, New York Sun, The Bulwark, Advocate, TV Insider, The Indian Express, Polygon, The Hill, PinkNews, Comic Book, Daily Kos, Just Jared, @esqueer.net, @wajali.bsky.social, @flyingwalruss.bsky.social and Consequence
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: the NFL is in talks to take a minority stake of up to 10% in ESPN, which would own NFL Network and RedZone rather than just hold a controlling stake — CNBC's Most Valuable Sports Empires 2025: Here's how the top 20 empires in the world stack up — Eli Manning invests in sports equipment maker XTech
Jesse Whittock / Deadline:
Sony acquires a ~2.5% stake in Tekken and Pac-Man owner Bandai Namco for $464M, to expand “the fan community for IP such as anime and manga around the world” — Sony Corp. has taken a small stake in Tekken and Pac-Man games giant Bandai Namco, as part of a strategic business alliance.
Discussion:
Sony Group PortalSony …, Kyodo News, Game Developer, KitGuru, IGN, Shacknews, HotHardware, Screen Rant, The Verge, TweakTown, GamesHub, Eurogamer.net, Game Rant, TechRaptor, GamingBolt, Pure Xbox, Engadget, Variety, Video Games Chronicle, VideoGamer, Push Square, Game World Observer, Morningstar, Inc., MarketWatch, GamesRadar, Gamereactor UK, r/gaming and r/playstation
Charlotte Klein / New York Magazine:
A look at WaPo's recent staff departures: five WaPo Opinion columnists, including Philip Bump, have taken buyouts, while two have moved to the newsroom — It briefly felt like the Washington Post had gained a semblance of stability after a tumultuous six months.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Status, HotAir, Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, Simon Owens on LinkedIn, @crampell, @ddiamond, Politico, @leadergrev.bsky.social, @spignal.bsky.social, @tonytassell.bsky.social, @jeffpearlman.bsky.social, Financial Times, @charlottetklein.bsky.social, @froomkin.bsky.social, The Washington Free Beacon, The Wrap and Poynter
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Fortune laid off its European editorial team, including Executive Editor Alex Wood Morton; the layoffs took place before its 10% global workforce cut on July 21 — The redundancies are separate to newly-announced plans to cut 10% of the Fortune global workforce.
Discussion:
Alex Wood Morton on LinkedIn, Fortune and Talking Biz News
