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9:25 PM ET, December 17, 2025

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 Top News: 
Axios:
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr tells a Senate committee the FCC “is not an independent agency”; the agency removed “independent agency” from its site as he testified  —  FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in his Wednesday Senate testimony that the agency he governs “is not an independent agency, formally speaking.”
RELATED:
Steven Portnoy / ABC News:
Members of the Senate Commerce Committee accused FCC Chairman Brendan Carr of making “mafia threats” and encroaching on broadcasters' First Amendment rights  —  Sen. Markey calls him “chairman of the ‘Federal Censorship Commission.’”  —  Brendan Carr, commissioner …
Wall Street Journal:
WBD recommends shareholders reject Paramount's unsolicited cash bid, calling the offer “illusory” and saying it believes Netflix's proposal is still superior  —  Warner raised concerns about the credibility of Paramount's ‘illusory’ offer and its backing from the Ellison family
RELATED:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
SEC filing: WBD says the Ellisons offered David Zaslav a compensation package of several hundred million dollars, which Zaslav said was inappropriate to discuss  —  The Ellisons came promising boatloads of cash. … Over a four-month stretch, David Ellison pressed his case aggressively …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Paramount reaffirms its $30/share all-cash bid after WBD's board officially rejected it, saying its bid offers “superior value and certainty” for shareholders
New York Times:
WBD says the Ellisons have “consistently misled” shareholders, including claiming Paramount's proposal had a “full backstop” but it “does not, and never has”
Scott Feinberg / The Hollywood Reporter:
The Academy signs a multiyear deal that gives YouTube the exclusive global rights to the Oscars, beginning in 2029 and running through 2033, streaming for free  —  The Academy announced on Wednesday:  —  LOS ANGELES, CA - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and YouTube signed …
BBC Press Office on LinkedIn:
BBC News hires Lindsay McIntosh, previously Head of News at The Sunday Times, as its Executive News Editor  —  We are delighted to announce Lindsay McIntosh as the new Executive News Editor, BBC News.  —  As Executive News Editor, Lindsay will be at the heart of the BBC newsroom …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix signs a deal with Barstool Sports to stream video versions of three podcasts, initially in the US; full video episodes will be removed from YouTube  —  Netflix also has podcast distribution deals with Spotify and iHeartMedia  —  Netflix has gone into business with Dave Portnoy …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
YouTube says it will no longer give data to US Billboard charts after January 16, saying Billboard's ranking formula doesn't count ad-supported streams fairly  —  YouTube is pulling its data from Billboard for use in the publisher's industry-leading U.S. music charts.
Raphael Minder / Financial Times:
TV Republika, the largest right-wing broadcaster in Poland, plans an English-language channel, seeking to fill a market gap in Europe for MAGA-aligned outlets  —  Largest rightwing broadcaster in Poland intends to emulate Britain's GB News  —  Poland's largest right-wing broadcaster …
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Meta is testing limiting Facebook professional accounts and Pages to posting just two links per month, unless they subscribe to $14.99+/month Meta Verified  —  In a new experiment, Meta is limiting the number of links users can post on Facebook, unless they have a paid Meta Verified subscription.
Laura Cress / BBC:
Netflix wins rights to a FIFA soccer simulation game, developed by Delphi Interactive and set for release ahead of the 2026 World Cup, for free to Netflix users  —  Fifa will finally release its much-anticipated return to video games in 2026, several years after its acrimonious split with developer EA.
Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:
Filing: Comcast's offer to merge NBCUniversal with WBD valued Comcast's media and theme-park assets at about $81B; Comcast's overall valuation is about $111B  —  Comcast Corp.'s offer to merge its NBCUniversal division with Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. valued the cable giant's media …
Discussion: MediaPost
 
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 More News: 
Joseph Berger / New York Times:
Norman Podhoretz, who transformed Commentary magazine into a controversial and influential neoconservative voice as its EIC from 1960 to 1995, has died at 95
Wall Street Journal:
US prosecutors charge Nick Reiner with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his parents, Hollywood director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner
Payton Turkeltaub / Variety:
UCLA study: among the most-watched streaming series in 2024, 80% of lead actors were white and white men accounted for 79% of all show creators, vs. 77% in 2023
 Earlier Picks: 
Justin Baragona / The Independent:
Nielsen ratings for Bari Weiss' town hall with Erika Kirk were 11% below total viewership for CBS News' standard programs in the same time slot, year to date
 

 
From Techmeme:

Helena Horton / The Guardian:
X limits Grok's image generation and editing to paying subscribers after widespread outcry over its use to create sexually explicit and violent imagery

Carmen Arroyo / Bloomberg:
Docs: xAI had a net loss of $1.46B in Q3, up from $1B in Q1; sources: xAI told investors it plans to build AI that will eventually power Optimus humanoid robots

Shirin Ghaffary / Bloomberg:
OpenAI is rolling out a HIPAA-compliant version of ChatGPT for clinicians to assist with medical reasoning and administrative tasks, at Cedars-Sinai and others
 
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