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Netflix walks away from a deal to buy WBD's studio and streaming assets after WBD deemed Paramount's $31/share bid to be superior; NFLX jumps 8%+ — Netflix is walking away from a deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's studio and streaming assets after the WBD board on Thursday deemed a revised bid by Paramount Skydance to be superior.
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Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Memo: CNN CEO Mark Thompson urged employees to avoid jumping to conclusions after Netflix pulled out of the WBD deal and to focus on serving CNN's audience — That has triggered a new level of consternation at the network, not just because of the every present worries about cutbacks …
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
US Senator Elizabeth Warren calls a potential Paramount-WBD merger an “antitrust disaster” and questions the influence of the Trump White House on the deal — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) continued her criticisms of Paramount-Skydance as it is poised to win the bidding …
Discussion:
Free Press Action Fund Feed, Deadline, TVBEurope, Screen, Reuters, CBS News, Blockonomi, Hypebeast, @matthewkeyslive, Benzinga, International Business Times, @simonowens, @scaredbisexual.bsky.social, @nemalki.bsky.social, @senwarren, primetimer.com, @emptywheel.bsky.social, @hshaban, @film_girl, @oliverdarcy.bsky.social, @lukerussell.bsky.social, @wajali.bsky.social, The Wrap, Ukrainian National News, @bselena.bsky.social, RedState, @ddayen.bsky.social, @ddayen.bsky.social, @ddayen.bsky.social, @ddayen.bsky.social, @ethanpfreedman.com, The Wrap, @ethanpfreedman.com, @matthew.flux.community, @timkarr.bsky.social, @jamellebouie.net, @jamellebouie.net, @jamellebouie.net, @jamellebouie.net, @jamellebouie.net, @rbreich.bsky.social, TheDesk.net, Annotated DC and New York Post
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
California AG Rob Bonta says Paramount-WBD “is not a done deal” as CA DOJ “has an open investigation” and the companies haven't “cleared regulatory scrutiny” — If the Justice Department and foreign regulators approves the deal, it'll be up to state attorneys general to challenge the merger.
Discussion:
TheDesk.net, Deadline, What Hi-Fi?, The Bulwark, The Irish Times, Comic Book, The American Bazaar, @somenobody24.bsky.social, @paulhikari.bsky.social, Business Insider, Variety, ANI News, The Wrap, Bloomberg, CBS News, Livemint, Australian Financial Review, Sports Business Journal, Empire, The Business Times, Nerdist, CinemaBlend, Newser, Engadget, New York Times, CNET, Channel NewsAsia, Time, Sky News, Just Jared and Reality Tea
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Since bidding for WBD began in September, its stock price has risen 148% and Paramount raised its bid by 63%, a testament to David Zaslav's dealmaking abilities — In repeatedly rebuffing takeover offers from Paramount Skydance, Warner Bros. Discovery's board managed to create one of Hollywood's …
Discussion:
@canteverdie, @sonnybunch, @dorkly, Paramount, The Wrap, Screen and Business Insider
Marcus Mendes / 9to5Mac:
In an interview, Apple's SVP of Services Eddy Cue says Brazil is Apple TV's second-largest and fastest growing market in terms of subscribers — In an interview with Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, Cue emphasized Brazil's growing role in Apple TV's global business …
Discussion:
MacRumors, AppleInsider and Asymco
Arijeta Lajka / New York Times:
An analysis of 1,000+ YouTube Shorts videos recommended to kids: the algorithm pushes bizarre, often nonsensical, AI-generated videos, and many lack disclosures — Experts caution that low-quality, A.I.-generated videos on YouTube geared toward children often feature conflicting information …
Discussion:
Dexerto, Globe and Mail, Indicator, Digital Trends and Politico
Reggie Ugwu / New York Times:
A look at the appeal of video podcasts for Netflix: they're cheap to produce, may attract viewers interested in topical news, and could fuel Netflix's ad tier — The podcasts in the streamer's debut crop, including “The Pete Davidson Show,” have revived metaphysical questions about the definition of the medium.
Discussion:
@dannygroner.bsky.social, Jen Sargent on LinkedIn, Bloomberg and Fast Company
Ben Johansen / Politico:
USAGM offers employees a chance to leave via a deferred resignation program, as a judge weighs the legality of earlier efforts to lay off most of the staff — The agency gave employees a March 9 deadline to accept the package, just before Lamberth's expected ruling.
Discussion:
KJZZ, Fakti.bg, @savevoa.bsky.social and @laurenmeidasa.bsky.social
John Koblin / New York Times:
Nielsen: ~32.6M viewers watched Trump's State of the Union address, not including people who watched via streaming; Fox News led with 9M+ viewers — The audience was roughly on par with former President Biden's final State of the Union address in 2024. — About 32.6 million viewers tuned …
Discussion:
The Hill, Mediaite, TV Insider, Axios, LateNighter, Reality Tea, Nielsen, Newser, TV Tech, Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Post, Barrett Media and Mashable
Jennifer Maas / Variety:
Starz reports Q4 revenue fell to $322.8M vs. $344.5M a year ago, net loss narrowed to $20.7M vs. $31.8M a year ago, and US streaming subs hit 12.7M, up 370K QoQ — Starz ended 2025 with things looking up post-Lionsgate split the now-standalone company narrowed its losses to $20.7 million vs. $31.8 million in the comparable Q4 of 2024.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap and Media Play News
Riddhi Setty / Columbia Journalism Review:
The Cleveland Plain Dealer says adding an “AI rewrite specialist” has saved reporters enough time for an extra day to report while producing as many stories — Cleveland.com is embracing AI tools, including an AI rewrite desk. — In October of last year, Chris Quinn …
Discussion:
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