Top News:
Jem Aswad / Variety:
UMG rejects the $64B acquisition offer from Bill Ackman's Pershing Square, saying the deal is not in the best interests of UMG, shareholders, and stakeholders — The board of Universal Music Group has rejected an unsolicited $64 billion takeover offer from Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital, the company announced on Friday.
CNBC:
Q&A with Brendan Carr, who discusses Disney's claim that the FCC's early TV license renewal orders chill free speech and says the orders are about DEI — Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC interview with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on CNBC's “Squawk on the Street” (M-F, 9AM-12PM ET) today, Friday, May 29.
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Michael Calderone / New York Magazine:
Q&A with the FCC's Anna Gomez on the FCC's “policymaking by mob”, the high likelihood of a Disney win against the FCC, the risks of foreign investment in media — When Disney settled with Donald Trump for $15 million over his defamation suit against ABC News' George Stephanopoulos …
Discussion:
@gypsyrights.bsky.social, CNBC, @calderone.bsky.social, fcc.gov and TVNewsCheck
Todd Spangler / Variety:
ABC submits license renewal applications for its eight local TV stations to the FCC as ordered by the agency but says FCC's order violates the First Amendment
Discussion:
Fox News, The Wrap, Breitbart, MS NOW, Ars Technica, Politico, TechRadar, @brendancarrfcc, Barrett Media, Reuters, TV Tech, Financial Times, TheDesk.net, Newser, Cord Cutters News, Washington Examiner, New York Times, NewsMax.com, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Inside Radio, Raw Story, CNBC, Radio & Television …, KTVZ-TV, Wall Street Journal, The A.V. Club, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter and Bloomberg
George Winslow / TV Tech:
In a public note, the FCC reminds broadcasters of public interest obligations and stresses that the agency can enforce rules and possibly take away licenses
In a public note, the FCC reminds broadcasters of public interest obligations and stresses that the agency can enforce rules and possibly take away licenses
Discussion:
@agomezfcc, FCC, Radio Ink, The Register, Inside Radio, @jonathanuriarte, @brendancarrfcc, Radio World and Radio & Television …
Brian Welk / IndieWire:
After backlash, animator Jorge R. Gutierrez drops plans to make an AI-generated animated series called Punky Duck for Amazon MGM Studios' GenAI Creators' Fund — “My intent was to showcase artists, both new and seasoned, both inside and outside the studios, driving this new tech,” the director said on X.
Meir Orbach / CTech:
Sports Illustrated rights holder Minute Media lays off 12% of staff and reverses its ~$200M deal to buy VideoVerse, an AI platform to extract sports highlights — The unicorn says restructuring reflects push for efficiency and long-term growth amid changes in the media market …
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, New York Post, @stephapstein, Front Office Sports and @layoffai
Max Tani / Semafor:
An interview with Nick Bilton on working in TV news for the first time, building 60 Minutes' digital presence, having support from David Ellison, and more — The News — “My job is going to be rethinking how we tell stories in a completely new way,” Nick Bilton, who was tapped …
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, MediaPost, Poynter, How Things Work, Raw Story, @banikarim, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, @justin_vogt, @davidfolkenflik, @maxwelltani, @jakelahut, @holmesjosh, @benshapiro, @neeratanden, @jeffjarvis, @tvgrimreaper, @neeratanden, @lulumeservey, @andydehnart.com, @freddydeknatel.bsky.social, Variety, Newsbusters, @newsjennifer.bsky.social, CBS News, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, New York Magazine, Radio & Television …, Fox News, New York Post, Axios, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Business Insider, Forbes, Mediaite, Deadline, New Republic and New York Times
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Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Sources: Bari Weiss ousted two senior 60 Minutes executive producers, Tanya Simon and Draggan Mihailovich, and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega
Sources: Bari Weiss ousted two senior 60 Minutes executive producers, Tanya Simon and Draggan Mihailovich, and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega
Discussion:
Status, CNN, The Ankler, Forbes, Deadline, Variety, U.S. Home, @grynbaum, The Bulwark, CNBC, New Republic, Defector, @drewharwell.com, The Wrap, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, @grynbaum, @acosta, @richarddeitsch, @jnicholsonindc, Reality Tea, @aidnmclaughlin, Wall Street Journal, @grynbaum, Barrett Media, @newsjennifer.bsky.social, HuffPost, @passantino.bsky.social, @sherman4949, @benmullin, @grynbaum, @grynbaum, @dylanbyers, Mediaite, @cachiporra.bsky.social, The Daily Wire, Just Jared, LGBTQ Nation, Showbiz411, Advocate, Straight Arrow, Newser, New York Sun, @brucedlittle.bsky.social, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle, @wajali.bsky.social, Washington Post, twitchy.com, Reuters, HotAir, @tomleykis.bsky.social, @bristei.bsky.social, Raw Story, Los Angeles Times and The A.V. Club
James Faris / Business Insider:
Internal doc: Disney plans to bring Hulu's content and features to Disney+ by year's end, and to decommission the Hulu app after users have transitioned — Disney's streaming tech teams are working to make the stand-alone Hulu app obsolete, though the company says “there are no current plans to sunset” it.
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The Wrap, PCMag, 9to5Google, Pocket-lint, The Streamable, Cord Cutters News, @akw.bsky.social, Media Play News, Digital Trends, TheDesk.net, AdExchanger, 9to5Mac, Cord Cutters News and Collider
Michael Crowley / New York Times:
China ordered the expulsion of NYT reporter Vivian Wang in February; a source says the US revoked the visa of a Chinese national working for Xinhua in response — The Trump administration ejected a Chinese journalist amid fresh concerns about Beijing's growing pressure on foreign correspondents.
Discussion:
Mediaite
ElevenLabs:
ElevenLabs launches Dubbing v2, which it says preserves the original speaker's emotion, tone, and pacing across 90+ languages while staying synced to content — Today we're launching Dubbing v2, our revolutionary new AI dubbing model. — For the first time, the emotion and performance …
Discussion:
@altryne, @0xaneri, @elevenlabs, @samuelroy_, @carles_reina, @lukeharries, @surkopu, @angy_knill, @rehensina, @vaibhavsisinty, @wesroth, @mokusa09, @jenniferhli and @kayvonjafar, more at Techmeme »
New York Times:
Sources: early-stage talks over a potential sale of iHeartMedia to SiriusXM have stalled after the two sides were unable to come to terms — The artificial intelligence giant was just valued at $900 billion, surpassing OpenAI. Here are the numbers behind its rise — and headwinds it faces.
Discussion:
Yahoo Finance, Investing.com, Barrett Media, The Indian Express, Mashable, Financial Post, New York Post and Neowin
Holly Bishop / The Independent:
A BBC Question Time episode featured a panel with AI-generated historical figures like Churchill, intended to show AI images' “hyper-real and persuasive” nature — - BBC Question Time aired a special episode on AI, featuring a panel composed of AI-generated historical figures.
Discussion:
@carolecadwalla, thenational.scot, @bbcquestiontime, @realwrongguy, @thewittjones and TVBEurope, more at Techmeme »
Kari McMahon / A Media Operator:
Lookout Local, which launched in 2020 and now has two sites, expects its Santa Cruz, CA, site to be profitable by year-end and plans to have five sites by 2028 — Lookout Local launched as a local news outlet in Santa Cruz, Calif., during the pandemic. This year, it's expected to hit profitability.
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Simon Owens's Media Newsletter
