Top News:
David Shepardson / Reuters:
The US FCC officially orders early license reviews of eight Disney-owned ABC stations, in LA, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia, Houston, and more — The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday ordered early license reviews of eight Disney-owned ABC stations in a major escalation …
Discussion:
Federal Communications Commission, New York Times, Washington Post, @katiemiller, Business Insider, The Guardian, The Hollywood Reporter, Axios, @agomezfcc, The Wrap, @brianstelter, New York Times, Deadline, @nicoperrino, @shawnreynolds_, @brianstelter, Politico, MS NOW, @brianstelter, NBC News, @brianstelter, @adamthierer, @rogoswami, Rolling Stone, @mattyglesias, @alexweprin, Washington Post, @freedomofpress@social …, @brianstelter, Adweek, @sarahlongwell25, TV Insider, @brianstelter, @jeremymbarr, RedState, @alexweprin, @TimBondy@mstdn.social, Triangle Business Journal, Newser, Forbes, Variety, The Daily Wire, Ars Technica, TheDesk.net, The Boston Globe, Disney News, CBS News, The Verge, Semafor, @kimmasters.bsky.social, CNBC, @jonastraxler.bsky.social, Awful Announcing, Breitbart, @chadbourn.bsky.social, Bloomberg, Cord Cutters News, Fox News, Forbes, Freedom of the Press …, Newsbusters, Los Angeles Times, NewsMax.com, New York Post, Townhall, Bloomberg Law, Consequence, Media Play News, @oliviaoftroye@threads.com, Mediaite, Breitbart, @sfdb.bsky.social, The Indian Express, Wall Street Journal, Baller Alert, Barrett Media, Variety, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, Time, New York Magazine, The Wrap, LateNighter, CNBC, @karlbode.com, NBC News, @seanokane.bsky.social, Reuters, @semafor.com, New York Daily News, Washington Times, Radio & Television …, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Katie Couric Media, The Hill, Free Press Action Fund Feed and Variety
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Peter Kafka / Business Insider:
Sources: Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro has decided to keep ESPN within Disney for now, rather than spinning it off — - ESPN used to be one of the most important assets in media. — That's changed, because the media world has changed, and Disney has debated spinning out ESPN as a stand-alone company.
Discussion:
Benzinga, Awful Announcing, Sports Business Journal, Fox Business, Cord Cutters News, @sherman4949, @scottgustin, @pkafka and Bloomberg
Brian Morrissey / The Rebooting:
Guardian US MD Steve Sachs says the paper has a larger audience than WaPo, and 700K paid supporters, with reader revenue up 35% per year for the past two years — It's now bigger than The Washington Post — Possible is in full swing. The Rebooting hosted a dinner last night in partnership …
Discussion:
Steve Sachs on LinkedIn, @jayrosen.bsky.social and The Rebooting
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Advocacy groups including WGA West and The Tech Oversight Project write a letter urging the US FTC and DOJ to probe Netflix for antitrust issues — Axios Media Trends … Today's Media Trends, edited by Christine Wang and copy edited by Sheryl Miller, is 1,928 words, a 7½-minute read.
Discussion:
Sludge
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Spotify reports Q1 revenue up 8% YoY to €4.53B, MAUs up 12% YoY to 761M, above 759M est., and forecasts Q2 operating income below est.; SPOT closes down 12.43% — Spotify Technology SA shares plunged the most in more than four years after the music streaming leader gave a forecast …
Matthew Kassel / Jewish Insider:
Leaked audio: Mathias Döpfner told Politico staff that employees who disagree with Axel Springer's values, or “the essentials”, shouldn't work for the publisher — 'Nobody should work for Axel Springer despite the essentials or in disagreement with one of the essentials …
Discussion:
@zaidjilani, @zaidjilani, @zaidjilani, @jgreenbergsez, @joshkraushaar, @jonahdispatch, @elliotmalin and Semafor
Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:
Free TV Networks, a division of Versant, signs a distribution deal with Philo, extending the reach of FAST channels 365BLK, Outlaw, and Pam Grier's Soul Flix — Wallet-friendly streaming service Philo has inked a distribution deal with Versant's multicast business Free TV Networks to offer three of its channels on its free tier.
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, Philo Blog, Cord Cutters News and Media Play News
Matthew Gault / 404 Media:
An analysis of Internet Archive data: by mid-2025, ~35% of newly published websites since ChatGPT's launch in November 2022 were AI-generated or AI-assisted — Researchers found the internet is becoming aggressively positive as AI-generated text floods the web.
Ciara Zavala / Local News Matters:
A case study of using AI to aid election coverage at Bay City News, starting in 2024 and refining later, aiming to reduce journalists' manual, repetitive tasks — In the fast-evolving landscape of AI, we saw an opportunity to revolutionize local election coverage in our newsroom by reducing manual …
Alice Brooker / Press Gazette:
Top English-language news publishers on YouTube averaged 16% subscriber growth since Jan. 2025; 28 news influencers with 1M+ followers grew subscribers by 20% — Ranking of all English-language publishers on Youtube with more than one million subscribers. — The most-subscribed English …
Discussion:
Alice Brooker on LinkedIn
New York Times:
Barry Diller announces a broad overhaul of IAC, changing its name to People, with a focus on its publishing business and MGM stake, and will cut 77 positions — The artificial intelligence giant has reportedly fallen behind on its own user and revenue targets, raising questions about its data center and I.P.O. plans
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, IAC, The Wrap, Barron's Online, @sharonwaxman, The Daily Upside, Gizmodo, @pkafka, @symmetry_invest, Yahoo Finance, Telegraph, CNBC, Deadline, Variety, Decrypt, PYMNTS.com and Semafor
Reuters:
Bertelsmann agrees to combine BMG with Concord in a cash-and-stock deal giving it a 67% stake; Concord shareholders will receive a 33% stake and $1.16B in cash — Bertelsmann (BTGGg.F) will combine its music division BMG with rival Concord in a deal that would create the world's fourth …
