Top News:
Spotify:
Spotify says Daniel Ek will step down as CEO and become executive chairman in January 2026, and names CPTO Gustav Söderström and CBO Alex Norström as co-CEOs — Today, Spotify (NYSE: SPOT) announced that Founder and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ek will transition to the role …
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Ted Johnson / Deadline:
The FCC launches a Congressionally mandated review of its media ownership rules, including a rule limiting a company from owning over two stations in a market — The FCC launched a new review of its media ownership limits, amid broadcasters' lobbying push to modernize the restrictions in the face of competition from tech giants.
Discussion:
Reuters, Inside Radio, The Hollywood Reporter, TVNewsCheck, TV Tech, Radio Ink, The Wrap, @airbagmoments.bsky.social, Bloomberg and TheDesk.net
Jessica Golden / CNBC:
Versant, the NBCUniversal spinoff, signs an 11-year media rights deal with the WNBA, starting in the 2026 season and including at least 50 WNBA games annually — Versant has signed a new 11-year media deal with the Women's National Basketball Association, the company announced Tuesday.
Kurt Schlosser / GeekWire:
Amazon announces new features ahead of its NBA on Prime streams, starting Oct. 24: multiview, shoppable merch, and Rapid Recaps and Key Moments, both AI-powered — Amazon is planning a number of interactive features and personalization for fans when it begins airing NBA games on Prime Video starting Oct. 24.
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Scott Murdoch / Reuters:
Australia's Seven West Media agrees to merge with Southern Cross Media, forming a ~$274M metropolitan and regional group to better compete with streaming giants — - Southern Cross shareholders to own 50.1% of merged group — Merger expected to save A$25-30 million annually
Discussion:
The Australian, The Australian, news.com.au, Business News Australia, Daily Mail, Sky News Australia, The Australian, 7NEWS, TV Tonight, @markdistef, Mediaweek, Business News, @markdistef, The Advertiser, ABC News (Australia) on YouTube, Broadcast, Colitco, The Australian, The Canberra Times, 7NEWS Australia on YouTube, Sky News Australia, @daanysaeed, The Australian, The Australian, ABC, Mumbrella, Australian Financial Review, Australian Financial Review, Australian Financial Review, Australian Financial Review, Mediaweek, ABC, Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Morning Herald, 9News and MarketWatch
Ram Iyer / TechCrunch:
Imgur blocks UK access after the ICO notified it of a possible fine over its handling of kids' data; the ICO calls Imgur's move a “commercial decision” — Imgur, one of the web's most popular image sharing and hosting platforms, has shut off access to its site to users in the United Kingdom …
Erik Gruenwedel / Media Play News:
Ampere: in July, 39% of all TV seasons and movies on US streaming platforms appeared on 2+ services, while 21% of titles were on 3+ services, up from 9% in 2020 — There's a reason you can stream episodes of “Young Sheldon,” “NCIS” and “Suits” across multiple platforms.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Broadband TV News and Advanced Television
Ina Fried / Axios:
OpenAI releases an invitation-only Sora app on iOS, powered by Sora 2, to let people create and share AI-generated videos of themselves and their friends — An Android version will follow eventually, OpenAI told Axios. — The social app is powered by Sora 2, a new version of OpenAI's video model, which also launched Tuesday.
Discussion:
OpenAI, Forbes, The Hollywood Reporter, eWeek, France 24, Business Insider, TestingCatalog, KSTP-TV, Gizmodo, Curb Cuts, TechCrunch, Redmond Pie, Thurrott, The Verge, Blockchain.News, ZDNET, PCMag, The Decoder, Yahoo Finance, Dexerto, Livemint, Tom's Guide, Reuters, CNET, Bloomberg, Music Ally, Decrypt, BGR, CNBC, MacRumors, The Indian Express, Android Headlines, Venturebeat, Motley Fool, iClarified, iPhone in Canada, MarkTechPost, 9to5Mac, TVNewsCheck, Wall Street Journal, Notebookcheck, Silicon Republic, Engadget, WinBuzzer, The Hans India, Times Now, TipRanks Financial, Simon Willison's Weblog, Barron's Online, Techstrong.ai, Crypto Briefing, Wired and The US Sun, more at Techmeme »
Samantha Cole / 404 Media:
Google's Ad Transparency tool no longer shows any political ads, past or present, from any EU countries ahead of new EU ad transparency regulations — Google's Ad Transparency tool no longer shows political online advertisements that ran on its platforms, in the past or present …
Discussion:
@josephcox.bsky.social, @susanpotter.net, @404media.co and Beyond Search, more at Techmeme »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Disney sent a cease-and-desist to Character.AI for misusing its characters in harmful ways, including sexual exploitation; the startup removed Disney characters — - Disney said the report underscores its concern with the way its characters have been utilized on the platform.
Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:
A group of ~40 First Amendment watchdogs and civic organizations urge FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to resign over his comments about ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! — The chairman's veiled threat against ABC over a “Jimmy Kimmel Live” monologue was overly political, the groups argue.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Free Press, Weekend Reading, Reuters, @imlistening51.bsky.social and techfreedom.org
Ben Mullin / @benmullin:
Memo: CPB says the court did not grant NPR's request for a restraining order blocking CPB from awarding $57.9M in satellite funds to a public media consortium — New: CPB says NPR's restraining order did not prevail. “It is deeply disappointing that...NPR is forcing CPB to expend scarce funds that could otherwise support stations in defending a lawsuit that has no merit and does not benefit the system.” [image]
Discussion:
CNN, Fox News, Current, Inside Radio, Barrett Media, Cord Cutters News, TVNewsCheck and Radio Ink
Bloomberg:
In the US v. Google ad tech trial, Google says it's willing to provide publishers with the data for how its ad server decides what online display ads to show — Google is willing to share more data with publishers to remedy a court's finding that the Alphabet Inc. unit illegally monopolized …
Discussion:
New York Post and Courthouse News Service, more at Techmeme »
