Mediagazer: Sources: a Sky-ITV merger deal could be reached within weeks; ITV would split in two, with Sky acquiring its TV channels and ITVX streaming service (Joel Hills/ITV News)

6:25 AM ET, May 14, 2026

Top News:

Emma Roth / The Verge:

Netflix says its ad tier now has 250M monthly active viewers, up from 94M in 2025, and is expanding to 15 new countries, as it tests an ad personalization tool — The streaming service's ad-supported tier now reaches 250 million viewers each month. … For the second year in a row …

Discussion: 9to5Mac, Digital Trends, Irish Independent, DutchNews.nl, Screen, Tech Times, BMI, Gizmodo, Mediaweek, Cord Cutters News, Telecompaper, Variety, Media Play News, The Wrap, Deadline, GMA News Online and Hindustan Times, more at Techmeme »

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Netflix says it is adding three NFL games, in addition to Christmas Day rights, plus the NFL Honors awards as it extends its NFL deal through the 2029 season — The streamer will get the Thanksgiving Eve matchup, a week 18 game and the Australia game as well as NFL Honors …

Michael Schneider / Variety:
Netflix secures the rights to the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, starting in early 2027; Fox Sports' 10-year deal to air the show expired in 2026

Discussion: The Westminster Kennel Club, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter

Joel Hills / ITV News:

Sources: a Sky-ITV merger deal could be reached within weeks; ITV would split in two, with Sky acquiring its TV channels and ITVX streaming service — Sky and ITV are closing in on a deal that would pave the way for the TV and telecoms operator to take over the UK's most-watched free …

Discussion: @itvjoel, @paulosbourne and The Independent

Max Goldbart / Deadline:

ITV says it remains in “active discussions” with Sky over a sale of its M&E business, and reports Q1 revenue flat YoY to £877M and Studios up 4% YoY to £400M — ITV is still in “active discussions” with Sky over a sale of its network to the pay-TV giant.

Discussion: Advanced Television, Reuters, The Independent, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters and TVBEurope

Tess Patton / The Wrap:

YouTube announces a full slate of new and returning shows, including four new series from Alex Cooper's company and a global travel series from Trevor Noah — “Recess Therapy” creator Julian Shapiro-Barnum will put his own twist on the late night talk show with “Outside Tonight”

Discussion: YouTube Official Blog, Variety, Tubefilter, Deadline, Page Six, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek, Storyboard18 and Wall Street Journal

Ted Johnson / Deadline:

Over 100 former ABC News journalists sign an open letter supporting the network and Disney, as ABC pushes back against the FCC's investigation of The View — The letter was organized by former ABC News correspondent Lisa Stark and former ABC News executive and senior producer Ian Cameron …

Discussion: Common Dreams, TheDesk.net, @atrupar, Public Notice, TheDesk.net, New York Sun, Free Press Action Fund Feed and One America News Network

Corbin Bolies / The Wrap:
A look at Disney's new defiant stance under CEO Josh D'Amaro against Trump's FCC, a pivot from Bob Iger's conciliatory approach earlier in Trump's second term

Discussion: @corbinbolies, The Verge, Deadline and Barrett Media

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

Analysis: Advance Local, owner of The Oregonian, PennLive.com, and more, has posted 17K+ articles since 2022 pushing promo codes for various betting platforms — A large network of prominent regional newspapers has posted thousands of low-quality articles promoting gambling and prediction markets — and is pretending it's journalism.

Discussion: @newsguyusa@flipboard.social, @intersections.bsky.social, @edroso.bsky.social and @juddlegum.bsky.social

Kendra Barnett / Adweek:

WBD unveils agentic AI ad tools at its upfront presentation, including a Kerv.ai integration for scene-level contextual targeting and shoppable ads — At its upfront presentation to advertisers, the entertainment behemoth showcased plans to enhance targeting and interactivity across media environments with AI

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, The Drum, Derek Gatts on LinkedIn, Kendra Barnett on LinkedIn, Front Office Sports, Variety, Media Play News, AdExchanger, Deadline and Next in Media

Podnews:

Amazon Music starts rolling out video podcasts, initially in the US for customers across all subscription tiers on iOS and Android — Exclusive: Amazon Music begins rolling out video podcasts from today. Video podcasts will initially be available for customers in the US on iOS and Android, across all subscription tiers.

Discussion: 404 Media, @kennysmith.org, @marcoalmada.com, @queenofthinair.bsky.social and Inside Radio

Max Tani / Semafor:

Fortune's Hong Kong-based chairman joined EIC Alyson Shontell's editorial interview with President Trump this week, an unusual move that fueled staff concerns — THE SCOOP — Fortune's Hong Kong-based chairman joined an editorial interview with President Donald Trump this week …

Rob Waugh / Press Gazette:

Four prolific crypto journalists who wrote for 30+ outlets ignored a reporter's ID verification requests; all had sparse LinkedIn profiles and likely AI photos — Four prolific financial journalists who cover the world of cryptocurrency have ignored repeated requests by Press Gazette to verify their identities.

Discussion: Futurism

Selome Hailu / Variety:

Netflix announces it plans a KPop Demon Hunters global concert tour, partnering with AEG Presents; cities, dates, and ticket details have yet to be announced — Netflix is launching a “KPop Demon Hunters” global concert tour. — The news was announced during the streamer's presentation to ad buyers at upfronts in New York City.

Discussion: NME, Gold Derby, CNET, Billboard, Mashable, Comic Book, Forbes, Dread Central, Business Wire, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Sherwood News, Collider, What's on Netflix, Deadline, Kotaku, WWL-TV, KTLA, Animation Magazine, Creative Bloq and GMA News Online

Max Tani / Semafor:

Sources: CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil is broadcasting from Taipei this week after failing to obtain a Chinese visa in time for the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing — The Scoop — CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil will broadcast from Taipei this week after failing to obtain a visa to China in time …

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 6:25 AM ET, May 14, 2026.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Managing Ed. - AUS and NZ, Sydney — Bloomberg

Sports Editor, MD — Baltimore Sun

Newsletter Editor, London — The Grocer

Reporter - Trust in Science — STAT

Pharma Reporter, NY — WSJ

Associate Editor, WI — The Progressive

Editor-in-Chief, WA — Cascadia Media

Metro Editor, OR — The Oregonian

Business Reporter, IA — Corridor Business Journal

Editor-Writer - Wellness, NY/GA/DC — CNN

Managing Editor - Arizona — State Affairs

Head of Content, NY — Dow Jones

Sr. Writer & Press Mgr., Remote — Represent Us

Lifestyle Editor - M/F, Paris — GQ France

Social Media Editor, NY — Morning Brew

Managing Editor, OK — The Junior Times

Head of Editorial - Euro Finance — The Economist

Correspondent - AI & Emerging Tech, NY — NYT

Indigenous Affairs Reporter, CA — CalMatters

Editor-in-Chief, FL — Miami New Times

Features & Enterprise Editor, NY — Fortune

Executive Editor, Remote — The Lever

WH Enterprise Reporter, DC — The Guardian

Defined Contributions Reporter, NY — P&I

North Coast Contributing Editor, CA — SFGATE

Money Editor - CNBC Make It, NJ — CNBC

Executive Director, MN — MinnPost

Executive Editor, AZ — AZ Daily Star

Bureau Chief - US, DC — Stars & Stripes

Investigative Reporter, TX — Houston Chronicle

Associate Legal News Editor, OH — LexisNexis

Editor, AZ — Verde Valley Independent

Night & Weekend Newswriter, Remote — AlterNet

Live Blog Editor, CA — AP

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

Wendy Davis / MediaPost:
Voice actors allege in lawsuits their voices were wrongly used by Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia to develop AI or other voice-related tech

Discussion: @alextecplayz@techhub.social, PYMNTS, Courthouse News Service, Reuters, Bloomberg Law and r/Journalism

Nellie Andreeva / Deadline:
Apple TV Head of International Development Morgan Wandell is leaving to launch a production company, Kismet; Matt Cherniss will take over series Wandell handled

Discussion: Morgan Wandell on LinkedIn, 9to5Mac, Screen, @kaedotcom.bsky.social, AppleInsider, Variety, MacTech.com and C21Media

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
The FTC says Shutterstock will pay $35M to settle charges that Shutterstock misled consumers about its subscription plans and made it too difficult to cancel

Discussion: Politico, Reuters, Dow Jones Newswires and Federal Trade Commission, more at Techmeme »

Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
MS Now overhauls its programming schedule ahead of the 2026 US midterms, with the new weekend programming debuting June 13 and the weekday lineup on June 15

Discussion: Variety, Maritza B. on LinkedIn and The Wrap

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
NBCUniversal, WBD, Paramount, Fox, and five other major TV companies partner with OpenAP to launch a pilot program for measuring TV commercial “outcomes”

Discussion: StreamTV Insider, @bristei, Hollis Guerra on LinkedIn, TheDesk.net, TVNewsCheck, Advanced Television and MediaPost

Earlier Picks:

Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post:
Source: Bari Weiss let Netanyahu choose Major Garrett to interview him over veteran reporter Lesley Stahl for 60 Minutes; Garrett also interviewed Pete Hegseth

Discussion: Zeteo, @semaforben, @michaelsavage, @timjgraham, Newsbusters, @parkermolloy.com, @newsjennifer.bsky.social, New Republic, Barrett Media, @adamrose.bsky.social, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, RADAR, Mondoweiss, The Independent and The Wrap

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Grazia Editor-in-Chief Hattie Brett is stepping down in September after an eight-year tenure during which the outlet launched brand extensions like Grazia CASA

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
More TV news anchors are considering digital options like video podcasts and YouTube shows, as lucrative TV contracts become less valuable and more scarce

Discussion: Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, @kylec.bsky.social, @wajali.bsky.social and @mehdirhasan.bsky.social

Gene Maddaus / Variety:
SAG-AFTRA's tentative contract lets studios use synthetic actors if they add “significant” value and requires bargaining if studios license performances for AI

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and The Hollywood Reporter

Adam Jacobson / Radio & Television Business Report:
Salem Media agrees to be acquired by The Christian Community Foundation, doing business as WaterStone, in a deal that will take Salem Media private

Discussion: Inside Radio, Radio Ink, @larryoconnor, @ounkaonx, @johnnycast60804, Pulse 2.0, Barrett Media, NewsMax.com, HotAir, Radio World, Inside Radio, Salem Media Group, Inc., Radio Ink and Barrett Media

From Techmeme:

Anthropic:
Anthropic says it is disabling Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for all customers after the US government issued an export control order, citing national security concerns

Wall Street Journal:
OpenAI was subpoenaed on Friday by a coalition of state AGs for documents covering a wide range of its activities and impact on users

Sean Michael Kerner / VentureBeat:
Moonshot AI releases Kimi K2.7-Code, claiming 30% lower reasoning token usage compared to K2.6, available under a modified MIT license

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page