Mediagazer: Sources: Sky has agreed on terms to buy ITV's broadcast and streaming unit in a £1.6B deal, which will include ITV Studios acquiring Sky's Love Productions (Reuters)

Top News:

Sources: the EU is set to approve Paramount's $111B WBD takeover provided the company accepts certain remedies, the details of which are still being worked out — David Ellison's media group is discussing remedies with Brussels in order to clear key regulatory hurdle

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, The Wrap, Awful Announcing, BMI, Cord Cutters News, Deadline, @nancylevinestearns …, Politico, Variety, @jamescdownie.bsky.social, @amandacarpenter.bsky.social, Blockonomi, Advanced Television and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:

Source: Paramount is prepared to sell its film distribution joint venture with Universal Pictures to address EU antitrust concerns over its WBD acquisition — Paramount Skydance Corp (PSKY.O) is prepared to divest its film distribution joint venture with Universal Pictures …

Discussion: New York Post

New York Times:

A profile of NFL reporter Dianna Russini, who resigned from The Athletic after photos of her with the coach of New England Patriots prompted an internal probe — Dianna Russini had been busted. — It was January, and Ms. Russini — then the star N.F.L. reporter for The Athletic …

Jonathan Abrams / New York Times:

Fox, Bravo, BET, and other major networks are embracing microdramas; Omdia says the short-form video format made $11B in global revenue in 2025 — Major networks like Fox, Bravo and BET are translating shows to the short-form video format that last year made $11 billion in global revenue.

Thomas Buckley / Bloomberg:

Sony Pictures Entertainment invests $100M in Cosm, a startup specializing in immersive, large-screen theaters, which has partnerships with NBCUniversal and WBD — Sony Pictures Entertainment is investing $100 million in Cosm, an operator of large-screen theaters that show films and sporting events.

Discussion: BMI, The Wrap, Sports Business Journal, Los Angeles Times, IndieWire, Reuters, Deadline, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter

Reuters:

Sources: Sky has agreed on terms to buy ITV's broadcast and streaming unit in a £1.6B deal, which will include ITV Studios acquiring Sky's Love Productions — Sky, the Comcast (CMCSA.O)-owned British pay TV group, has agreed on terms to buy ITV's (ITV.L) broadcast and streaming unit …

Discussion: Variety, Deadline and TVBEurope

Ethan Millman / The Hollywood Reporter:

Court docs: Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino spoke with President Trump in the weeks before the company settled with the DOJ in its monopoly lawsuit — In court filings this week, Live Nation confirmed Michael Rapino had spoken with Trump before the settlement but said that …

Discussion: Billboard, Associated Press, Reality Tea, Digital Music News, The Wrap, KRDO, Variety, Sports Business Journal and CMU

James Hibberd / The Hollywood Reporter:

Alex Cooper described reports alleging that her husband, Matt Kaplan, verbally abused Unwell Media staff as “lies” and part of “a smear campaign” against her — The podcaster suggested the allegations are false and adds that “women are held to a different standard.”

Discussion: Deadline, Us Weekly, People, E! Online, @dumbjosh.bsky.social and Just Jared

Bloomberg:

Sources: a Chinese court sentenced the former CIO of GroupM's Chinese operation to life in prison for taking ~$176M in bribes through rebate-driven deals — A former executive of WPP Plc, one of the world's biggest advertising companies, has been sentenced to life in prison by a Chinese court …

Jake Kanter / Deadline:

Source: the BBC plans a pilot program to live stream its 24-hour rolling news channel on YouTube in some international markets, including Australia — Deadline understands that the BBC is planning to make the 24-hour rolling news channel available on YouTube in select countries outside of the UK.

Discussion: TheDesk.net, Texas Scorecard and @davelee.me

Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:

Court records: federal prosecutors have prolonged an appeal in former Deadspin editor Timothy Burke's criminal hacking case, leaving him in legal limbo — Federal prosecutors have prolonged a critical appeal over an unfavorable decision in a former journalist's criminal hacking case …

Scharon Harding / Ars Technica:

Disney agrees to pay $50M to YouTube TV and DirecTV subscribers to settle a lawsuit claiming Disney forced higher prices by requiring the bundling of ESPN — The Walt Disney Company has agreed to pay $50 million to subscribers of YouTube TV and DirecTV's live TV streaming services to settle …

Discussion: Android Authority, TheDesk.net, @arstechnica@mastodon.social, al.com, 9to5Google, Newsweek, New York Post and Tom's Guide