Top News:
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
President Trump says that he will attend this year's White House Correspondents' Association dinner, marking the first time he will do so as president — Donald Trump said that he will attend this year's White House Correspondents' Association dinner, marking the first time he will do so as president.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, The Guardian, Bloomberg, @realDonaldTrump …, UPI, @whca, @harrymccracken.com, DNYUZ, Washington Examiner, Variety, New York Times, NewsMax.com, Washington Post, Politico, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, The Hill, KVIA-TV, The Independent, NOTUS, NBC News, New York Post, Axios, The Wrap, Bloomberg, Fox News, The Post Millennial, Washington Times and Joe.My.God.
CNBC:
Brendan Carr says Paramount's deal for WBD has “real consumer benefits” and is “cleaner” than Netflix's and that he expects it to be approved “pretty quickly” — FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has told CNBC that Paramount's bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery is …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, PocketGamer.biz, Financial Times, Fortune India, Reuters, The Wrap and Dark Horizons
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Financial Times:
Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters says he is “nervous” about severe job cuts after Paramount's WBD acquisition and “a bunch of people are going to lose their jobs” — Co-chief Greg Peters is ‘nervous for the industry’, days after streaming group cedes WBD tie-up to David Ellison's company
Discussion:
TVBEurope, The Streamable and Los Angeles Business Journal
Bloomberg:
Sources: Paramount's proposed $110B acquisition of WBD remains under active review by US antitrust officials, even though the odds of a legal challenge are low
Discussion:
Techdirt, @2xaught7.ing, @karlbode.com, Media Play News, Blockonomi and Broadband TV News
Peter Kafka / Business Insider:
Paramount says the Ellisons and RedBird pledged $47B in the WBD deal but won't say if Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar are funding $24B announced in December
Paramount says the Ellisons and RedBird pledged $47B in the WBD deal but won't say if Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar are funding $24B announced in December
Discussion:
@pkafka, @pkafka, @ddayen, Peter Kafka on LinkedIn, @radiodeadair.com and American Prospect
Jennifer Maas / Variety:
David Ellison says Paramount plans to combine Paramount+ and HBO Max into one streamer with 200M+ subscribers, but will let HBO “operate with independence”
David Ellison says Paramount plans to combine Paramount+ and HBO Max into one streamer with 200M+ subscribers, but will let HBO “operate with independence”
Discussion:
CNBC, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, The Guardian, Advanced Television, Washington Post, Trusted Reviews, Forbes, Digital Trends, FlatpanelsHD, Deadline, @matthewkeyslive, @matthewkeyslive, Tom's Guide, @jeremymbarr, @tvgrimreaper, @bee_with_mee, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, @raykcx, @reelpoporngeek, @film_girl, @whenbatmenfly, @steele131, @zsharf, @jeremymbarr, @sherman4949, Gamereactor UK, IndieWire, Mediaweek, Breitbart, TV Insider, Digital Music News, The Movie Blog, Deseret News, Dow Jones Newswires, Animation Magazine, MMA Fighting, @azalben.bsky.social, Axios, PCMag, TechCrunch, TheDesk.net, /Film, Cord Cutters News, Alex Sherman on LinkedIn, PCWorld, Android Authority, CNET, UPI, Joe.My.God., Front Office Sports, Broadband TV News, CNN, TV Tech, StreamTV Insider, Comic Book, Engadget, New York Post, Media Play News, Bloomberg, 9to5Mac, Gizmodo, NBC News, @dkaszor.bsky.social, @annala7680.bsky.social, @mhwilliams.bsky.social, WPXI-TV, Yahoo Finance, @laurenmeidasa.bsky.social, The Streamable, The Verge, Streaming Better, Awful Announcing, Screen Rant, Just Jared, MacDailyNews, Barrett Media, The A.V. Club, LateNighter, Reuters and Deadline
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
A.G. Sulzberger encourages listeners “to support any news organization that's dedicated to original reporting”, in his first ad running across most NYT podcasts — The New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger has voiced a new ad encouraging listeners to support any news organization dedicated …
Discussion:
Inside Radio, Ryan Frank on LinkedIn, @niemanlab.org, @jayrosen.bsky.social, @niemanlab.org, Slate and Crooks and Liars
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Maggie Harrison Dupré / Futurism:
Source: Ars Technica fired senior AI reporter Benj Edwards after his February 13 story had AI-fabricated quotes; Edwards admitted to using Claude and ChatGPT — Sign up to see the future, today — The Condé Nast-owned Ars Technica has terminated senior AI reporter Benj Edwards following …
Discussion:
Talking Biz News, @davidgerard.co.uk and @baldurbjarnason.com
Max Goldbart / Deadline:
Israeli media: the IDF destroyed the HQ of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting; the English-language site of Iran's official news agency is offline — Israel has been targeting the Iranian state broadcaster with its latest volley of bombs in the region, with Iran pushing back on the extent of the damage.
K.J. Yossman / Variety:
Source: HBO Max is proceeding with its UK and Ireland launch on March 26, offering TNT Sports as a standalone or add-on service, despite Paramount's WBD deal — HBO Max is still going ahead with its U.K. launch, despite questions over its future as a standalone platform.
Discussion:
The Indian Express, Screen Rant, Los Angeles Times, Mashable and NewsMax.com
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Audible launches a cheaper, $8.99/month streaming tier in the US, vs. $14.95 for its premium plans, to compete with Spotify; the plan includes ad-free podcasts — - New plan costs $8.99 in US versus $14.95 for premium offering — Offering includes ad-free podcasts available on Wondery+ app
Discussion:
Deadline and iPhone in Canada
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Reach reports 2025 revenue down 3.7% YoY to £518.4M, adjusted operating profit up 2.4% YoY to £104.7M, and Google Discover traffic down 46% YoY in H2 — Reach boosted profits in 2025 by cutting costs faster than falling revenue. — Major cost cuts at Reach helped keep profits …
Discussion:
A Media Operator and @jim.londoncentric.media
Jake Kanter / Deadline:
BBC COO Leigh Tavaziva says she is leaving in September, making her the third board-level executive to quit in four months after Tim Davie and Deborah Turness — Per an internal email, Tavaziva has told employees that she will exit the BBC in September. She has worked at the corporation …
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter and Variety
Blake Brittain / Reuters:
SCOTUS declines to hear a dispute over copyrights for AI-generated material, in a case where a computer scientist was denied a copyright for AI-generated art — The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to take up the issue of whether art generated by artificial intelligence …
Discussion:
Engadget, ABA Journal, Music Ally, Android Headlines, SCOTUSblog, Shelly Palmer, Fortune, The Rundown AI, @alexanderchee.bsky.social, Social Media Today, IPWatchdog.com, @maho-studio.bsky.social, ARTnews, Catherine Zaller Rowland on LinkedIn, Marc Rotenberg on LinkedIn, Decrypt, The Verge, Courthouse News Service, @tyleraking.com and Bloomberg Law, more at Techmeme »
Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
The UK's GB News reports revenue up 66% YoY to £26M in the year to May 2025, annual pre-tax losses down 34% YoY to £22M, and TV viewership up 18% YoY to 3.7M — Right-leaning news broadcaster GB News grew revenue by 66% to just over £26m in the year to May 2025 as losses narrowed.
Discussion:
Telegraph, City A.M. and Financial Times
