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, Advocate, ZeroHedge News, The Guardian, Breitbart, Straight Arrow News, @realDonaldTrump …, UPI, @whca, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, @harrymccracken.com, DNYUZ, Variety, New York Times, NewsMax.com, Washington Post, Joe.My.God., Politico, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, The Independent, The Hill, KVIA-TV, NOTUS, NBC News, New York Post, Axios, The Wrap, Bloomberg, Fox News, The Post Millennial and Washington Times
Peter White / Deadline:
Banijay and RedBird IMI-owned All3Media announce a merger, creating a production giant with $8B in annual revenue, in a deal expected to close in H2 — The deal between Banijay and All3Media to create a European media powerhouse is done. — The pact, which has been in the works for some time …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, Variety, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, Financial Times and @banijayent
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, Game Developer, The Streamable and Los Angeles Business Journal
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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”
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
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, Peter Kafka on LinkedIn, Media Play News, Blockonomi and Broadband TV News
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:
Screen Rant, CNBC, The Hollywood Reporter, The Guardian, The Wrap, Advanced Television, Trusted Reviews, Digital Trends, FlatpanelsHD, Forbes, Tom's Guide, CNN, Washington Post, @matthewkeyslive, @matthewkeyslive, Gamereactor UK, @jeremymbarr, @tvgrimreaper, @bee_with_mee, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, Deadline, @raykcx, @reelpoporngeek, @film_girl, @whenbatmenfly, @steele131, @zsharf, @jeremymbarr, @sherman4949, 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, Media Play News, TV Tech, StreamTV Insider, Comic Book, Engadget, WPXI-TV, New York Post, Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg, 9to5Mac, Gizmodo, NBC News, @dkaszor.bsky.social, @annala7680.bsky.social, @mhwilliams.bsky.social, @laurenmeidasa.bsky.social, The Streamable, The Verge, Streaming Better, Awful Announcing, Just Jared, MacDailyNews, Barrett Media, The A.V. Club, Reuters, Deadline, Business Insider and LateNighter
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Amazon tells users it is shutting down the Wondery podcast app and Wondery+ subscription service “in the coming months”; some shows will be available on Audible — Amazon is pulling the plug on the Wondery dedicated podcast app and subscription service.
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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
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
Discussion:
TechCrunch, The Streamable, Engadget, 9to5Mac, Deadline, Audible.com, iPhone in Canada and Digital Trends
David Pierce / The Verge:
Yahoo sold tech news site Engadget to Static Media in a deal that was signed in early February and is scheduled to close later in March — The consolidation of iconic internet publishing brands continues, as Static Media takes over another site. … Engadget, the long-running tech news website, has a new owner.
Discussion:
Talking Biz News, @nickstatt.bsky.social and @reckless.bsky.social
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 and Slate
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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, Advanced Television and Variety
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:
The Wrap, @thomaswilburn@hachyderm.io, @davidgerard.co.uk, @baldurbjarnason.com and Talking Biz News
Washington Post:
Trump has been on a media offensive since the Iran strikes, using short “exclusive” calls with mainstream outlets to make his points without cross-examination — The blitz of one-on-one calls reveals a deliberate — and unconventional — media strategy amid a consequential moment in Trump's second term.
Discussion:
Deadline, France 24, @svdate, Politico, @ariehkovler, @bryancurtis, @froomkin.bsky.social, TV Insider, @kelliemeyernews, CBS News, The Wrap, New York Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Mediaite and KVIA-TV
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.
Jacob Cohen Donnelly / A Media Operator:
Axel Springer buys Bisnow, a B2B commercial real estate media and events company, and creates Brew Media Group, a division encompassing Bisnow and Morning Brew — Axel Springer, owner of Politico, Business Insider and German-based Bild, acquired Bisnow, a B2B commercial real estate media …
Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:
Versant reports 2025 revenue fell 5% YoY to $6.69B and net income fell 32% to $930M; platform revenue hit $826M, up 3.9% YoY, the only segment with YoY growth — Versant Media Group, the newly minted spinout of TV networks and digital assets from Comcast, released its first earnings report on Tuesday.
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, primetimer.com, Screen Rant, Los Angeles Times, Mashable and NewsMax.com
Andre Revilla / Engadget:
X announces a policy change suspending users from Creator Revenue Sharing for 90 days if they post AI-generated videos of an armed conflict without disclosure — The new policy is the platform's first rule requiring any kind of AI content disclosure. — X will suspend creators …
Discussion:
Adweek, Nieman Lab, TechCrunch, The Economic Times, Crypto Briefing, @sonnybunch and @nikitabier
