Top News:
Nellie Andreeva / Deadline:
Sources: Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters held a town hall to explain Netflix's decision to withdraw from the WBD bid; the town hall excluded a Q&A session — With Netflix employees still absorbing the news that the streamer won't be buying Warner Bros. per the two companies' December 5 agreement …
Discussion:
Benzinga, Los Angeles Business Journal, Hindustan Times, New York Post, BGR, Appleosophy, The Verge, Reality Tea, The Sun, Inven Global, Kansas City Star, thepeoplesmovies.com, New York Times, Fox Business, Joe.My.God., Politico, MacRumors, El País, International Business Times, Türkiye Today, Hypebeast, Fortune India, BMI, Mumbrella, Barrett Media and Times of India
RELATED:
New York Times:
Sources: WBD staff are bracing for widespread layoffs as David Ellison wants $6B in “synergies”; the internal mood is grim as staff preferred Netflix's proposal — It was a Hollywood battle royal, one filled with feints, bruised egos, strategic leaks, boardroom intrigue and old guard vs. new guard tension.
Discussion:
The Ankler, @jenrubin.bsky.social, The Olympian, Deadline, NBC News, The Daily Beast, The Hollywood Reporter, Wall Street Journal and TODAY.com
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Ted Sarandos discusses the scenario planning Netflix did before Paramount's final WBD bid, how if Paramount's deal closes there will be cuts of $16B+, and more — When Netflix Inc. dropped out of the bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. on Feb. 26, the news came as a surprise to many in Hollywood.
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Paramount agrees to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, paying $31 per share in cash, giving WBD an enterprise value of $110B — Netflix backed away from its $87.2 billion deal on Thursday. … The two companies formally unveiled the deal Friday after Netflix formally bowed out of the running a day earlier …
Discussion:
Variety, Deadline, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Decider, TMZ.com, Türkiye Today, Paramount Skydance Corporation, Hindustan Times, Sky News, Screen, Washington Examiner, TV Blackbox, iClarified, FinancialContent, Wrestling Inc., @steppencat.bsky.social, Superman, Times of India, Media Play News, NBC Bay Area, Engadget, @musiccomposer.com, The Wrap, The Verge, Crypto Briefing, ABC7, Reuters, Dallas Express, New York Post, Blockonomi, MediaPost, Agence France-Presse, ir.netflix.net, GamingBolt, Rock, Paper, Shotgun, NME, The Post Millennial, KVIA-TV, Proactive, MediaNews4U, iPhone in Canada and Pulse 2.0
Dan Gallagher / Wall Street Journal:
Netflix actually won by walking away from the WBD bid, collecting a $2.8B termination fee and driving up the price and debt load of the Paramount-WBD merger — King of streaming preserves its business model, while Paramount will have to deal with a massive debt load
Bloomberg:
How Paramount's David Ellison deployed financial backing and political lobbying, including his well-connected chief legal adviser, to beat Netflix and win WBD — After the board of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. concluded a meeting Thursday afternoon, Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav called David Ellison …
Discussion:
New York Times, Variety, New York Times, TechCrunch, The A.V. Club, Deadline, @mikeisaac, The Boston Globe, @lucas_shaw, @dyckron@mstdn.ca, The Hollywood Reporter, Tempo English, primetimer.com, Los Angeles Times, Polygon.com, Times of India, Forrester, Straight Arrow News, Sports Media Watch, @andkenbrbr.bsky.social, Reuters, Business Insider, @robertscotthorton.bsky.social, @karlbode.com, @karlbode.com, What's Trending, Financial Times, New York Post, The Motley Fool, Dow Jones Newswires, The Gateway Pundit, American Prospect, Kidscreen, Front Office Sports, The Week, Esquire, iDrop News, Telegraph, Android Headlines, Reality Tea, CinemaBlend, BBC, What Hi-Fi?, Entrepreneur, Metro.co.uk, Benzinga, The Irish Times, City A.M., Rolling Stone, ZeroHedge News, ANI News, Agence France-Presse, Bloomberg, RedState, Australian Financial Review, Sports Business Journal, Empire and The Business Times
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
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
Discussion:
Essence, Business Insider, @hunteryharris, GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT, @dorkly, @sonnybunch, @canteverdie, The Hollywood Reporter, Too Much TV Newsletter, BANG Showbiz, Quartz, World of Reel, The Shortcut, TV Insider, New York Times, The Streamable, The A.V. Club, Sports Business Journal, Marketing Week, PCMag, The Indian Express, Sharecast, The Standard, Broadband TV News, Gamereactor UK, News18, Reuters and SiliconANGLE
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Inside the Podcast Business Summit and interviews with Kara Swisher, Adam Friedland, and others about how video podcasts won over audio, paywalls, ads, and more — The six biggest takeaways from this week's podcast business summit — Welcome back to Soundbite. This week has been a doozy.
Discussion:
Podnews
Jordyn Holman / New York Times:
Q&A with Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor on modernizing the platform, attracting new creators, managing a fully remote, four-day-per-week workplace, and more — Everette Taylor took over Kickstarter at a low moment for the crowdfunding pioneer, which made its name with small projects …
New York Times:
An interview with Rick Ardon and Susannah Carr, who have helmed 7News Perth's nightly TV news for 40+ years and are the world's longest-serving news anchor team — On a sunny recent afternoon, Rick Ardon was having trouble picking out the right tie. — His first choice was vetoed as …
Nieman Lab:
Q&A with Houston Chronicle executives and local creator Shawn Singh on partnering with creators, who the outlet sees as “freelancers for the digital age” — “We are thinking of creators almost as, like, freelancers for the digital age.” — Earlier this month …
Discussion:
Simon Owens's Media Newsletter
CNN:
CNN employees and viewers have serious concerns about whether Ellison will uphold CNN's editorial independence amid severe political pressure — Viewers and readers of CNN might be wondering the same thing that CNN employees are asking right now: What will Paramount's ownership mean?
Discussion:
The Guardian, @murderedbybluesky.bsky.social, Washington Post, Barrett Media, Meidas+, RADAR, Deadline, Bloomberg, NPR, New York Times, The Observer, Breitbart, Christian Grece on LinkedIn, Joe.My.God., Variety, Techdirt, @semaforben, NewsMax.com, @eriqgardner, @thespaceshipper.com, @hugolowell, The Gateway Pundit, NBC News, Los Angeles Times, Daily Caller News Foundation, DNYUZ, @lukesteuber.com, Newsbusters, Associated Press, CNBC, Adweek, @songsung.bsky.social, The Post Millennial, @christianed2.bsky.social, @jayrosen.bsky.social, Fox News, Defector, Reality Tea, Mediaite, MS NOW, The Wrap, Daily Mail, The Hollywood Reporter, TV Insider, New York Sun and Dow Jones Newswires
RELATED:
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
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
Discussion:
The Guardian, @freedom.press, Status, New York Times, @patricia-ann.bsky.social, Poynter, @simonmarksfsn.bsky.social, @chadbourn.bsky.social, Lenny Mendonca on LinkedIn, Snopes, @willpollock.com, Truthout, @Sustainable2050 …, Rodney Benson on LinkedIn, @andrewlevesque.bsky.social, The Hollywood Reporter, Jeff Jarvis on LinkedIn, Barrett Media, @socialmedialab.ca, @karlbode.com, HuffPost, Newser, Times of India, The A.V. Club, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, @oliverdarcy.bsky.social, @jaymesl.bsky.social, @parkerdw.bsky.social and @justinbaragona.bsky.social
Jeremy Barr / The Guardian:
Memo: another CBS News producer leaves, after 46 years, and says, “We've been told to aim our reporting at a particular part of the political spectrum” — Mary Walsh, leaving after 46 years, says staffers told to ‘aim our reporting at a particular part of the political spectrum’
Discussion:
@barbarasobel.bsky.social, @joelmathis.bsky.social, TV Insider, @jjtb4v.bsky.social, @cernovich, @eenaruffini, @trumpactiontracker …, @rwindrem, @davidfolkenflik, @abbeyarletto.bsky.social, The Wrap, @mattmcneilshow.bsky.social, @newsguyusa@flipboard.social, DNYUZ, The Hollywood Reporter, @samlitzinger.bsky.social, Fox News, @newnarrative.bsky.social, @laurenmeidasa.bsky.social, The A.V. Club and @oliverdarcy.bsky.social
Chris Gardner / The Hollywood Reporter:
Equalpride, parent company of LGBTQ+ outlets like Out and The Advocate, cuts staff, including the EICs of Pride.com and The Advocate — Commenting on the latest round of cuts, a source tells THR, “These brands mean a lot to people, and we need to be telling our stories now more than ever.”
Discussion:
@kishizuka.bsky.social
RELATED:
