Mediagazer: YouTube launches the ad-free tier of Peacock on YouTube Primetime Channels, as part of a distribution agreement with NBCUniversal announced in October 2025 (Dade Hayes/Deadline)

2:50 AM ET, June 30, 2026

Top News:

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Comcast plans to spin off its media and entertainment assets, including NBCUniversal and Sky, into a new publicly traded entity, set to close by mid-2027 — Comcast, just months after shedding most of its cable TV business into Versant Media, is now again cleaving itself into two separate companies …

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Mike Cavanagh will become NBCU CEO after the spin-off; Comcast co-CEO Brian Roberts says the separation isn't designed to pursue M&A deals; CMCSA closed up 4.5% — Now it's unwinding the media business from the broadband and TV pipes, planning to spin off NBCU and Sky into a stand-alone entity.

Discussion: The Wrap, Adweek, Pulse 2.0, The Movie Blog, Deadline, Sports Media Watch, The Hollywood Reporter, Dow Jones Newswires, @justinbaragona.bsky.social, @mgsiegler, @xpangler, Blockonomi, Advanced Television and Mediaite

M.G. Siegler / Spyglass:
A look at the potential buyers of NBCUniversal, including Netflix, Apple, Amazon, or YouTube, and the hurdles they would face

Discussion: The Daily Upside, Financial Times, Barron's Online, Axios, NBC News, Awful Announcing, Washington Post, Business Insider, Bloomberg, CNBC and Brand Innovators

Amy Thomson / Bloomberg:
Comcast says NBCUniversal will hold theme parks, Universal studios, NBC, Telemundo, Peacock, Bravo, and Sky; Comcast will hold broadband, wireless, and cable

NPR:

SCOTUS finds that Trump's 2025 firing of FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter without cause was lawful, placing independence of several agencies in doubt — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a 91-year-old precedent that has prevented presidents from removing members of independent agencies at will.

Discussion: Supreme Court of the United States, @realDonaldTrump …, Forbes, @realDonaldTrump …, The Guardian, TheDesk.net, @realDonaldTrump …, @klasfeldreports, PCMag, Raw Story, CleanTechnica, @senmikelee, @bykatiebuehler, @agomezfcc, @chrisvanhollen, The Hill, @jbsdc, @jon_hartley_, @stevesi, MediaPost, Slate, The Verge, Hartford Courant, NBC News, NextDraft, Radio World, @chriswithans, Newsbusters, NBC New York, @mitchellvii, @blumenthal.senate.gov, @scotus_wire, @jedshug.bsky.social, @benrossen, @agomezfcc, Reason, Legal Insurrection, Law Dork, @scott_wiener, @julie_kelly2, The Contrarian, TV Tech, Inside Radio, @froomkin.bsky.social, New York Post, New York Times, @douglaslfarrar, @johnshirley2024.bsky.social, @sayssimonson, The Wrap, New Republic, @hissgoescobra, SCOTUS Wire, @scotus_wire, Mediaite, Free Press Action Fund Feed, CNBC, Deadline and New York Times, more at Techmeme »

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Justice Gorsuch cited FCC chairman's threats against ABC as evidence of agency overreach in a SCOTUS ruling expanding presidential control over federal agencies — In a landmark decision Monday, the Supreme Court overruled a decision that will give the President vastly more control over federal agencies.

Discussion: NewsMax.com, The Hill, New York Times, Mediaite and New Republic

Rebecca Rubin / Variety:

Industry sources estimate Supergirl could lose $100M to $120M during its theatrical run after a $37.1M domestic and $62.6M worldwide opening weekend, below est. — In “Supergirl,” a melodramatic cover of Jimmy Eat World's “The Middle” scores a climactic battle sequence …

Ben Fritz / Wall Street Journal:
Rentrak: total US Box Office sales so far in 2026 are ~$4.46B, the highest since 2019 and above 2025's $3.91B; EntTelligence says tickets sold are up 7% to 312M

Discussion: The Ankler, @philthepill.online and Ben Fritz on LinkedIn

Madeline Halpert / BBC:

Film director Carl Erik Rinsch, who was convicted last year of defrauding Netflix of $11M, is sentenced to two and a half years in prison — A Hollywood director convicted of defrauding Netflix of $11m (£8.3m) last year has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

Discussion: The Wrap, Mandatory, Associated Press, New York Times, World of Reel, Business Insider, The Hollywood Reporter, Screen, Ukrainian National News and Rolling Stone

Murray Stassen / Music Business Worldwide:

Tidal adopts an AI policy that blocks wholly AI-generated music from earning royalties and removes AI-generated music that impersonates artists — TIDAL is introducing an AI policy that will automatically tag wholly AI-generated music in its app and block it from earning royalties.

Discussion: Tidal, TechCrunch, 404 Media, The Next Web, CNET, Neowin, The Verge, Baller Alert, @theslowmusicmovement.org, Variety and PYMNTS, more at Techmeme »

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg:

The Supreme Court rejects Alan Dershowitz's bid to revive a defamation suit accusing CNN of mischaracterizing his remarks during Trump's first impeachment trial — Controversial lawyer Alan Dershowitz lost a US Supreme Court bid to revive a defamation suit accusing CNN of mischaracterizing remarks …

Dan Mangan / CNBC:

SCOTUS rejects President Trump's bid to appeal a New York federal court jury's $5M verdict that found he sexually abused and defamed E. Jean Carroll — The Supreme Court on Monday said it would not hear an appeal by President Donald Trump of a New York federal court jury's verdict awarding …

Peter Vercoe / Bloomberg:

Australia's ACCC sues Amazon for allegedly introducing ads to Prime Video under unfair contract terms and forcing existing subscribers to pay more to avoid them — Amazon.com Inc. has been sued by Australia's consumer watchdog for introducing advertising to its Prime Video streaming service …

Discussion: Australian Competition …, Tom's Guide, Australian Financial Review, Sydney Morning Herald, CNBC, SmartCompany, Mumbrella, Streaming Better, Reuters, Associated Press, Mediaweek and Information Age, more at Techmeme »

Jake Kanter / Deadline:

FOIA disclosure: the BBC had five sexual harassment disciplinary cases open in March amid a crackdown on power abuses following a 2025 workplace culture review — Deadline can reveal that the BBC had five sexual harassment disciplinary cases open as recently as the end of March amid a crackdown …

Discussion: Seoul Economic Daily

Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:

The US DOJ seizes nearly 400 domains for illegally streaming 2026 FIFA World Cup matches; last week, ACE, UEFA, and more shut down 44 domains linked to PirloTV — The U.S. Justice Department's Criminal Division has seized nearly 400 web domains used for illegally streaming matches at the FIFA World Cup.

Discussion: The Cyber Express, Cyber Security News, eSecurity Planet, Washington Times, Mashable, Gizmodo, The Record, Alliance for Creativity …, Media Play News, Tom's Hardware and The Indian Express, more at Techmeme »

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More News:

Dade Hayes / Deadline:
YouTube launches the ad-free tier of Peacock on YouTube Primetime Channels, as part of a distribution agreement with NBCUniversal announced in October 2025

Discussion: Variety, Cord Cutters News, Streaming Better, CNET, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, TheDesk.net and YouTube Official Blog

Katie Kilkenny / The Hollywood Reporter:
Directors Guild Pension Plan sues MGM Pictures, alleging the studio engaged in self-dealing through a “sweetheart” licensing agreement with its subsidiary MGM+

Discussion: The Wrap

Rob Waugh / Press Gazette:
Valnet transitions freelance writers at The Gamer to a “Pay Per Session” model; sources say The Gamer is paying a traffic-only rate of $8 per 1,000 clicks

Discussion: Rob Waugh on LinkedIn

Steven Sloan / Associated Press:
An interview with Kara Swisher about her podcast, interviewing Democratic presidential candidates, why she is not a left-leaning counter to Joe Rogan, and more

Discussion: @karlbode.com, PR Daily, Bangor Daily News, Newser, @tackettdc and @bluestormcomin1.bsky.social

Michael Savage / The Guardian:
Sources: BBC told Radio 4's Today staff that social and digital platforms were now the top priority for correspondents, effectively deprioritising TV and radio

Discussion: @airbagmoments.bsky.social, @jimallthetime.bsky.social, @lawrencehurley.bsky.social and @newsguy.bsky.social

Earlier Picks:

The Intercept:
The KIDS Act, set for a US House vote as early as next week, could eliminate online anonymity, raising the risk for journalists, dissidents, and whistleblowers

Discussion: @theintercept.com, @nemo@mas.to, @kryton3298.bsky.social and The Wizard House

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
A look at AI's potential for animation as Hollywood stays cautious; some animators expect better, not cheaper, films, while others see costs falling 30% to 90%

Discussion: Variety and @dannygroner.bsky.social

Emily Dreyfuss / The San Francisco Standard:
An interview with Brian Stelter about the Murdoch family's moves to boost their political influence in California, including the launch of the California Post

Scharon Harding / Ars Technica:
Streaming services must comply with a California law that bans playing ads louder than the content being watched from July 1, but its implementation is unclear

Discussion: Digital Trends, Pocket-lint, @misskayrenee.bsky.social, @losangeles1850.bsky.social, Baller Alert, Android Authority, CinemaBlend, TechCrunch, Fox Business, Dexerto, The Verge and @arstechnica@mastodon.social

New York Times:
Sources: CNN CEO Mark Thompson told Paramount he would not share oversight of CNN with another exec, as David Ellison weighs whether to put Bari Weiss in charge

From Techmeme:

TechCrunch:
SCOTUS limits the law enforcement use of “geofence” warrants, saying people have “a reasonable expectation of privacy” in their cell-phone location data

Wired:
Sources: hundreds of Meta contractors posed as minors to probe how competitor chatbots responded to prompts involving suicide, sex, and other high-risk subjects

Julie Bort / TechCrunch:
AI coding startup 8090 raised a $135M Series A led by Salesforce Ventures; founder Chamath Palihapitiya announces that he will lead the company as CEO

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