Top News:
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
SpaceX filing: X's ad revenue was $1.8B in 2025, $1.7B in 2024, and $2.3B in 2023, below Twitter's $4B in 2021; X and Grok now have 6.3M active paid subscribers — SpaceX's IPO filing reveals ad revenue for X is still below what it was when Musk acquired Twitter, but it is growing again.
Discussion:
New York Magazine
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Tegna names Fox Television Stations veteran Patrick Paolini as CEO; former CEO Mike Steib stepped down in March after Nexstar announced its merger with Tegna — Paolini spent 26 years at the Fox stations, including most recently as EVP of ad sales, departing the company last week.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Variety, Washington …, Barrett Media, Tegna, @benmullin, The Hollywood Reporter and Reuters
Max Goldbart / Deadline:
Gary Lineker's Goalhanger launches Goalhanger Ventures, an arm to provide infrastructure and funding, and makes an investment in Charlie Tymon's Invisible Media — It has also struck a partnership with Backyard Cricket, a sports creator brand. — Invisible Media said its videos …
Politico:
The US DOJ charges Thomas Pauken II, a US journalist who worked for Chinese state-run news outlets, for allegedly acting as an unregistered agent for China — The individual Pauken reached out to, who is not named in public court papers, “was not hired for the exact job he wanted …
Jesse Whittock / Deadline:
UK private equity firm Goldenpeak acquires Ampere Analysis for an undisclosed fee, marking the entertainment analysis company's first institutional investment — Ampere Analysis today has a new owner and another research house in its stable. — Private equity firm Goldenpeak has acquired …
Discussion:
TVBEurope, C21Media, Media Play News, Broadband TV News and Advanced Television
Reuters:
Handelsblatt: the EU plans to fine Google a high triple-digit million euro amount as part of a 2025 probe over concerns it favors its own services in Search — The European Union is planning to fine Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google a high triple-digit million euro amount as part of an antitrust investigation …
Discussion:
MediaPost, ResearchBuzz, ITPro, Benzinga, Mashable, @owa@mastodon.social, Neowin, SiliconANGLE, Silicon Republic, Reuters and @justinhendrix.bsky.social
Tariq Panja / New York Times:
Sources: Fox is paying $485M for 2026 World Cup broadcast rights, an estimated $500M to $1B below market value, after FIFA moved to avoid litigation with Fox — A decision to stave off litigation between Fox and FIFA turned into a bonanza worth hundreds of millions of dollars in discounted World Cup rights to the broadcaster.
Discussion:
PhoneArena, The Drum, @anotherdancohen and Australian Financial Review
Financial Times:
Spotify co-CEO Alex Norström defends the company's expansion into AI-generated music, arguing that “controlled” products are superior to unregulated AI “slop” — Streaming app strikes deal with Universal allowing subscribers to create ‘controlled’ covers and remixes
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Irish Times, Music Ally, Inc.com, Blockonomi, The Economic Times, iClarified and Futurism
Lakshmi Varanasi / Business Insider:
X says it is cracking down on large accounts that have been gaming its revenue-sharing program by “programmatically reuploading content from smaller accounts” — X is introducing new strategies to rein in its copycat economy. — Elon Musk's social media platform is now cracking …
Discussion:
PetaPixel, Digit, @ianmiles, @jarvis_best, @saurabhverma, @nikitabier, @rainmaker1973, @beffjezos, @jason, @rainmaker1973, @patel_patriot, @marionawfal, @pitdesi, @devahaz, @fb_filmanalysis, @tomwarren, The Indian Express, @nikitabier, @devahaz, WeRSM, @nikitabier, @datachaz, @marionawfal, @djsnm, @rainmaker1973, @ianmiles, @minchoi, @nikitabier, @rnaudbertrand, @rainmaker1973, @congressdj, @being_humor, @nikitabier, @nikitabier, @allegrajacchia, @viralrushx, @greg16676935420, @adriandittmann, @thefigen_, @nicholasmoreano, @viralrushx, @rainmaker1973, @lolhith07, @coreyseidman, @jason, @nikitabier, @cremieuxrecueil, @dsonoiki, @nikitabier, Social Media Today, Livemint and Digital Trends, more at Techmeme »
Lewis Parker / Kotaku:
Sources: Valnet issued new “Pay Per Session” contracts to TheGamer staff, including not paying writers if their articles do not exceed a minimum views threshold — Editors and writers at the Valnet-owned site TheGamer will now reportedly not be paid for their work if their articles do not accrue enough views
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
ITN rebrands its ITN Archive YouTube channel as Frontline by ITN, with a £3.99-per-month subscription option, and launches two new consumer-facing channels — Move supports digitisation of the ITN archive on new Frontline by ITN channel. — ITN has expanded the use of its archive footage …
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Spotify launches a library of over 650 narrated long-form magazine articles in English for Premium users; free users can buy articles “individually for $1.99” — More than 650 long-form articles are available starting today as part of Spotify's audiobook library.
Michael Schneider / Variety:
CBS issued takedown notices to YouTube users over Stephen Colbert's return to public access series Only in Monroe, but says it will stand down after outcry — Yes, it's true, Paramount/CBS had been issuing takedown notices to YouTube users who were uploading bootleg copies …
Discussion:
The Wrap, ScreenRant, The Desk on YouTube, LateNighter, Deadline, @michellekinney, Poynter, Reality Tea, New York Post, Page Six, @scottdagostino.ca, @chiky_handlr, Boing Boing, Kotaku, @hammancheez.bsky.social, @robertscotthorton.bsky.social, @rebeccaaguilar, @tombunchofnumbers.bsky.social, Mediaite, @jimiadams.bsky.social, @omgitsemilyward, NME, @livelaughnot, @julieroginsky, @jonpaula, kottke.org, @laurenshirleyj.bsky.social, @adamrose.bsky.social, @crabapplejones.bsky.social, @socialmedialab.ca, @twstedtv.bsky.social, @bristei.bsky.social, @maxkennerly.bsky.social, Decider, WJBK-TV, Associated Press, Billboard, Us Weekly, New York Times, E! Online, Showbiz411, Consequence, Mother Jones, The Hollywood Reporter and Rolling Stone, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
CBS says Colbert's Only in Monroe episode was financed and produced by CBS Studios but it has decided to stop issuing takedown notices “until additional review”
CBS says Colbert's Only in Monroe episode was financed and produced by CBS Studios but it has decided to stop issuing takedown notices “until additional review”
Discussion:
NBC News, Suggest, TheDesk.net, @justadude-69.bsky.social, @matthewkeyslive, The Detroit News, NPR, Reality Tea, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, CNBC and Deadline
