Top News:
Bloomberg:
Sources: ByteDance is expected to receive ~50% of TikTok US' overall profit despite selling majority ownership to US investors, including a 20% licensing fee — TikTok's Chinese parent company will likely get about half of the profit from the platform's US operation even after it sells majority ownership …
Discussion:
Newsmax, more at Techmeme »
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Bloomberg:
The Trump administration's $14B valuation of TikTok's US business falls well below previous estimates of around $40B, considered a bargain by investors — The $14 billion valuation that the Trump administration has estimated for TikTok's US business falls well below projections …
Discussion:
MediaPost, PocketGamer.biz, Business Standard, Trak.in, The Business Times, Modern Diplomacy, Music Business Worldwide, The Information, Verdict, Digit, Proactive, Spyglass, The Irish Times, Digital Music News, Phandroid, Livemint, The Daily Signal, Washington Times, PitchBook, New York Times, Financial Times, Newsmax and Daring Fireball, more at Techmeme »
Associated Press:
Trump signs an EO declaring that a proposed deal allowing TikTok to continue operating in the US will be a qualified sale that meets national security concerns — President Donald Trump has signed an executive order declaring that a proposed deal allowing TikTok to continue operating …
Discussion:
UPI, Music Ally, Reuters, CNN, The Economic Times, Bitcoin Insider, @nicksortor, @whitehouse, @thebluenami.is.democrat, Fortune India, @rapidresponse47, @whitehouse, @rapidresponse47, Mobile World Live, @senmullin, @armanddoma, Social Media Today, SiliconANGLE, PhoneArena, Justin's Political Corner, The A.V. Club, TelecomTV, The White House, JURISTnews, Political Wire, Türkiye Today, The Sun, Boston.com, ANI News, PCMag, Marketing Brew, Deseret News, Al Jazeera, Los Angeles Times, Politico, CNET, @jenni4iowa.bsky.social, NOTUS, The Independent, masslive.com, Bloomberg, Washington Times, KEYE, Newsweek, CBS News, Fox News, Barron's Online, Daily Kos, Associated Press, The News International and The Standard, more at Techmeme »
Dylan Butts / CNBC:
China and its media are quiet about the TikTok deal, a notable silence as China can still decide the app's fate; Chinese social media chatter has been limited
Jonathan Vanian / CNBC:
Trump says Xi Jinping approved the TikTok deal, and JD Vance says the transaction values TikTok US at $14B; ByteDance hasn't acknowledged the deal
Trump says Xi Jinping approved the TikTok deal, and JD Vance says the transaction values TikTok US at $14B; ByteDance hasn't acknowledged the deal
Discussion:
South China Morning Post, Ukrainian National News, Profectio, The Guardian, @rapidresponse47, Breitbart, @dougkass, @margomartin47, Android Headlines, TheStreet, @rapidresponse47, The Verge, Bloomberg, Vogue Business, NBC News, The Hill, iClarified, RedState, Bloomberg, Financial Express, Metro.co.uk, MacRumors, TechCrunch, Fortune, Daily Mail, PetaPixel, TipRanks Financial, Sharecafe, Project Syndicate, Mashable, KYMA-TV, Business Insider, NPR, Washington Examiner, Adweek, MSNBC, Benzinga, The i Paper, @michaelmartinez.co, Reuters, Wired, ABC News, India Today, Times of India, The Japan Times, The Information, Tom's Guide, Semafor, The Economic Times, Sky News, Just Jared, BelfastTelegraph.co.uk, CBS News and Silicon Republic, more at Techmeme »
Ari Levy / CNBC:
Sources: Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi's MGX will be the main TikTok USA investors, with a ~45% stake; ByteDance will own 19.9% and ByteDance investors 35%
Sources: Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi's MGX will be the main TikTok USA investors, with a ~45% stake; ByteDance will own 19.9% and ByteDance investors 35%
Discussion:
Lawfare, DatacenterDynamics, Reason, The White House, Poynter, Semafor, The Guardian, Times of India, Asia Financial, Australian Financial Review, The Daily Upside, Mediaweek, Silicon Republic, Common Dreams, @kennysmith.bsky.social, Gizmodo, @jessecharleslee, @theatlantic, Forbes, Newser, Yahoo Finance, Investor's Business Daily, Axios, FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth, Washington Post, Just The News, Baller Alert, Variety, Wall Street Pit, Techstrong IT, Mobile World Live, The American Bazaar, TVNewsCheck, TipRanks Financial, Fox Business, The Wrap, Reuters, Bloomberg and @confunctionist.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
Alex Ritman / Variety:
Internal memo: Pam Kaufman, the head of Paramount's international business and a longtime studio veteran, is leaving the company after almost 30 years — According to sources, Kaufman will be stepping back from her current position as president and CEO of international markets …
Discussion:
Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter
Bloomberg:
Meta plans to launch paid, ad-free versions of Instagram and Facebook in the UK, each costing £2.99 per month on the web, and £3.99 on iOS and Android — Meta Platforms Inc. will soon offer paid versions of Facebook and Instagram in the UK that will remove advertising from both platforms.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, TechRadar, Engadget, City A.M., PYMNTS.com, Geekout Newsletter, The Independent, LADbible, Proactive, TipRanks Financial, The Independent, Euractiv, BetaNews, Telegraph, BBC, Reuters, Mirror, Daily Mail, The Standard, The Verge, The Sun, @louisanslow, @chribjel, @tomwarren, @goodlawproject, CampaignUK, Meta Newsroom and MLex, more at Techmeme »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
NBCUniversal warns customers that its networks may be dropped from YouTube TV if the two parties cannot reach a new distribution agreement by September 30 — NBCUniversal on Thursday warned customers that its networks may be dropped from YouTube TV if the two parties cannot reach a new distribution agreement by Sept. 30.
Discussion:
Front Office Sports, Sports Business Journal, Tech Times, @michaelsaves, @sherman4949, Benzinga, TVNewsCheck, @kennysmith.bsky.social, Financial Times, Sports Media Watch, @simonowens.bsky.social, The Wrap, Bloomberg, CNBC, Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Android Authority, Cord Cutters News, 9to5Google, Sports Business Journal, The Streamable, Fox Business, Streaming Better and Awful Announcing
Elissa Welle / The Verge:
As the lyricist behind AI artist Xania Monet signs a $3M record deal, experts say current copyright law may only protect the human-made expressive elements — Two weeks ago, record company Hallwood Media signed a deal with Telisha “Nikki” Jones after negotiations that purportedly included an offer of $3 million, Billboard reported.
Discussion:
Billboard, @elissawelle and EBONY, more at Techmeme »
Matthew Leake / Reuters Institute:
An interview with Dzaky Putra, editor-in-chief of Indonesian political news outlet WIUI, which shares news with its Gen Z audience using a casual tone and memes — Following the biggest protests in decades, the editor-in-chief of ‘What Is Up, Indonesia?’ explains how the ‘not yet official’ news site doubled its following in a year
Discussion:
@reutersinstitute.bsky.social
Jacob Judah / MIT Technology Review:
How inaccurate AI translations of Wikipedia pages, which AI models use for training, may cause a doom spiral that further marginalizes vulnerable languages — When Kenneth Wehr started managing the Greenlandic-language version of Wikipedia four years ago, his first act was to delete almost everything.
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Filing: Lachlan Murdoch's fiscal 2025 compensation jumped to $33M, including a $3M salary and $10.6M in stock awards, up from $23.8M in 2024 and $21.8M in 2023 — Weeks after settling with his siblings over who will control Fox, the company revealed that the CEO's fiscal 2025 pay rose significantly from 2024.
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, The Wrap and Deadline
Kristin Robinson / Billboard:
AI music startup Suno launches Suno Studio, in beta with its premier plan; the digital audio workstation combines Suno's music generation tools into one product — The company says it has been quietly introducing Suno Studio to professional musicians at songwriting camps.
Discussion:
Music Ally, Suno, Music Business Worldwide and Music Ally
Matthew Keys / The Desk:
IAB lowers its 2025 US ad spend forecast to 5.7% growth, down from 7.3%, citing tariffs and economic headwinds; digital channels including CTV remain resilient — IAB lowered its 2025 U.S. ad spend forecast based on concerns about tariffs and further economic headwinds. … Key Points:
Discussion:
IAB, Music Ally, Advanced Television, Inside Radio, TV Tech, TVNewsCheck and MediaPost
