Top News:
Rohan Goswami / Semafor:
Sources: Netflix is interested in acquiring Lionsgate and took a look at Roku, but a Roku deal would have faced tougher antitrust scrutiny than Fox's — The Scoop — It failed in a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. Then, it bowed out of its pursuit of Roku, according to people involved in the sale process.
Discussion:
Digiday, Comic Book, New York Post, Cord Cutters News, @rogoswami, Yahoo Finance, Straight Arrow, @rogoswami, @semafor.com, World of Reel, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, Media Play News, Sherwood News, Morningstar, Matt Barsomian on LinkedIn, Washington Times, @damon.kiesow.net and r/MediaMergers
RELATED:
Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
Netflix says it is “not interested” and has no plans to pursue Lionsgate; Lionsgate shares closed up 13.85% on Tuesday before falling ~4% after hours — Shares of the Hollywood studio jumped 13% after Semafor reported the streamer was interested in a potential acquisition
Discussion:
Deadline, Yahoo Finance, The Motley Fool, Investor's Business Daily and Media Play News
CBC News:
Canada's CBC, which began televising NHL games in 1952, will no longer show NHL games after it was unable to reach a new sublicense deal with Rogers Sportsnet — CBC Sports will launch new Saturday night prime time show focused on Olympic-oriented competition
Discussion:
Associated Press, @njiska.com, @fiverdrive.bsky.social, @trapdinawrpool.bsky.social, @rhinestonecanuck.bsky.social, Defector, @canada-dry.bsky.social, @ithx1138.bsky.social, @rachelgilmore.bsky.social, @sportsnetpr, The Detroit News, New York Times, @chris@mstdn.chrisalemany.ca, @allanis.gay, The Athletic, Awful Announcing, @puzzled@coales.co, @rachelgilmore.bsky.social, @lisafellaantifa.bsky.social, @scottinmontreal.ca, MobileSyrup, @strayarc.bsky.social, Sports Business Journal, Canadian Press, iPhone in Canada, @lukelebrun.ca and Barrett Media
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Consultancy Madison & Wall estimates a combined Fox and Roku would capture 14% of all US TV ad revenue and 16% of US streaming ad revenue — Lachlan Murdoch has for years downplayed the appeal of streaming when it came to a company like his Fox Corp., which remains one of the biggest suppliers …
Discussion:
TheDesk.net, CNBC, The Verge, FlatpanelsHD, Baller Alert, @bristei.bsky.social, Poynter, Axios, Stratechery, Bloomberg, American Prospect, Media Play News, Hürriyet Daily News, Sydney Morning Herald, Seoul Economic Daily, New York Times, The Week, Breitbart, TechCrunch, Mediaweek, StreamTV Insider, Forrester, Deseret News, CNN, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Financial Times, The Tech Portal, Business Insider, IGN, Front Office Sports, Washington Post, PYMNTS, New York Business Journal, Telegraph, TechRadar, Inc.com, Tom's Guide, Pocket-lint, Financial Post, NBC Bay Area, Mashable, The Hill, Awful Announcing, CNET, Fast Company, How-To Geek, Reuters, Thurrott, Los Angeles Times, Screen, Digital Trends, The Next Web, New York Post, Sky News, WPXI-TV, The Information, Broadband TV News, The Independent and r/cordcutters
RELATED:
James Faris / Business Insider:
Buying Roku would make Fox the third-largest TV distributor in the US, behind YouTube and Disney, but ahead of Netflix, according to Nielsen's March data
Buying Roku would make Fox the third-largest TV distributor in the US, behind YouTube and Disney, but ahead of Netflix, according to Nielsen's March data
Discussion:
International Business Times, The Ankler, Yahoo Finance, ScreenRant, TheDesk.net, The Independent, Motley Fool, @tvgrimreaper, @pkafka, @pkafka, The A.V. Club, Next in Media, Forbes, The Daily Upside, Bloomberg, TechRepublic, Tubefilter, Sportico, The Wrap, AdExchanger, PCMag, Wall Street Journal and The Hollywood Reporter
Nieman Lab:
RISJ's 2026 Digital News Report: social media and video networks are now more popular as a source of news than TV and owned and operated news websites and apps — Facebook for news is on the rebound, impartial news isn't dead, and other findings from RISJ's 2026 Digital News Report
Discussion:
Inside Radio, University of Canberra, Reuters Institute, Press Gazette, Reuters Institute, Reuters Institute, The Guardian, Social Media Today, MediaPost, @dankennedy.net, @abramjee, Dow Jones Newswires, The Rebooting, @sorayanadiamcdonald.com, Mediaweek, @ifanmj, @ianguider, Election Law Blog, @risj_oxford, @risj_oxford, @risj_oxford, @risj_oxford, @risj_oxford, @risj_oxford, @risj_oxford, @risj_oxford, Reuters on YouTube, @rationaldoge@hachyderm.io, @claeshs.bsky.social, @damon.kiesow.net, GMA News Online, MediaPost, Reuters Institute, Reuters Institute, Reuters Institute, DutchNews.nl, Press Gazette, Agenzia ANSA, Advanced Television, WAN-IFRA, BBC, Australian Financial Review, The Hindu, Gamereactor UK, The Japan Times, Doc Searls Weblog, VERA Files and Journalism.co.uk
Mitchell Armentrout / Chicago Sun Times:
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signs a state budget that levies taxes on social media giants, digital advertising, and prediction and crypto markets — The eighth state spending plan of Pritzker's tenure includes additional funding for food assistance in the wake of deep federal funding cuts under President Donald Trump.
Discussion:
Cointelegraph, The Center Square, Pluribus News, PwC, CBS News, Illinois Policy, WTTW Chicago Politics News, Bloomberg Law and Audacy, more at Techmeme »
Kerry Flynn / Axios:
New York Post Media Group is launching its first FAST channel with 150 hours of programming from across the NY Post, California Post, Page Six, and more — New York Post Media Group is launching its first free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel, head of video and audio Warren Cohen exclusively tells Axios.
Discussion:
TheDesk.net, Cord Cutters News, Media Play News and ExchangeWire.com
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Meta says Threads now has 500M MAUs, adds a “Your Algo” tool that lets users privately control what they see in their feed, and launches Communities out of beta — Nearly three years after launching as a competitor to Twitter (now X), Threads has reaches 500 million monthly active users, the company announced Tuesday.
Rebuild Local News:
The 2026 Local Journalist Index shows a persistent shortage of local journalists; states with fewer local journalists face higher municipal borrowing costs — MIAMI and BROOKLYN — The 2026 Local Journalist Index, a landmark annual study by Muck Rack, the AI communications platform …
Discussion:
Steven Waldman on LinkedIn, Tim Franklin on LinkedIn and Washington Monthly
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
WordPress survey: 60% of US consumers say “AI” in a brand's messaging is a turnoff, 86% always or sometimes check the original source after seeing an AI summary — Getting cited by AI is easier than earning consumers' trust, according to a new report from WordPress VIP …
Discussion:
@mattnavarra@threads.com, @Sarahp@mastodon.social and @drbarnard
Sara Fischer / Axios:
People Inc. acquires Hot Luck, an Austin-based food and music festival, as part of a push to bring live experiences to lifestyle brands — - It also gives People Inc. access to a younger live audience within its food vertical. … - The event drew more than 10,000 attendees in 2025 …
Sara Fischer / Axios:
USA Today adds 1,000 Marvel comics and an exclusive weekly, vertically formatted Spider-Man series to USA Today Play, expanding the app beyond puzzles and games — USA Today is adding 1,000 Marvel digital comics and an exclusive new, vertically formatted Marvel Infinity series, “Spider-Man TODAY …
Discussion:
Comic Book and @dude.computer
