Top News:
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, Reason, @realDonaldTrump …, Paul Krugman, Forbes, Slate, The Guardian, @realDonaldTrump …, New York Daily News, TheDesk.net, @agomezfcc, @chrisvanhollen, @jbsdc, @agomezfcc, New York Post, The Wrap, Law Dork, @mitchellvii, @hissgoescobra, @douglaslfarrar, @stevesi, @benrossen, @klasfeldreports, NBC News, @scott_wiener, @julie_kelly2, @jon_hartley_, @senmikelee, @sayssimonson, @chriswithans, @scotus_wire, @scotus_wire, @bykatiebuehler, PCMag, Newsbusters, Inside Radio, New Republic, CleanTechnica, MediaPost, NextDraft, New York Times, @blumenthal.senate.gov, Radio World, @realDonaldTrump …, The Hill, @johnshirley2024.bsky.social, Hartford Courant, The Contrarian, CBS News, TV Tech, Legal Insurrection, Raw Story, @froomkin.bsky.social, @jedshug.bsky.social, SCOTUS Wire, The Verge, Mediaite, Axios, NBC New York, New York Times, CNBC, Deadline and Free Press Action Fund Feed, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
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:
New York Post, Mediaite, NewsMax.com, New York Times, The Hill and New Republic
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.
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 …
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, New York Times, CNET, Bloomberg, @mgsiegler, @xpangler, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek, Reuters, CNBC, Courthouse News Service, Pulse 2.0, Deadline, Sports Media Watch, Fast Company, Fierce Network, @justinbaragona.bsky.social, Chicago Tribune, Media Play News, Business Insider, Dow Jones Newswires, Blockonomi, Advanced Television and Mediaite
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Wall Street Journal:
A profile of Michael Angelakis, who will lead Comcast after the NBCU spin-off; he was Comcast CFO in 2007-2015 and runs Comcast-backed investment firm Atairos
Discussion:
Fortune and Philadelphia Business Journal
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 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
Discussion:
CNN, Ars Technica, Game Developer, Sky News, ExchangeWire.com, NBC News, @brianstelter, @mgsiegler, Comcast, @claireatki, @xpangler, @great_katzby, @pkafka, @pkafka, @xpangler, @xpangler, @vk_hm, @pkafka, @pkafka, @andrewcoye, The Movie Blog, @brianstelter, @jakeakline, @davidpoland, @firstadopter, @benmullin, @davidpoland, The American Bazaar, Deadline, TheDesk.net, Proactive, Telegraph, @jamesaltonsanders.com, @rwmead.bsky.social, @dtgeek@mastodon.social, TV Tech, CBS News, @followtheh.bsky.social, Sportico, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, ISPreview UK, The Independent, Yahoo Finance, Cord Cutters News, Radio & Television …, Reuters, Barron's Online, Financial Times, @kevdgrussing.bsky.social, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The Verge, Finimize and Light Reading
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
Comcast says NBCUniversal will hold theme parks, Universal studios, NBC, Telemundo, Peacock, Bravo, and Sky; Comcast will hold broadband, wireless, and cable
Discussion:
Motley Fool, Deseret News, Barchart.com, How-To Geek, Lucas Shaw on LinkedIn, Barron's Online, UPI, Streaming Better, Screen, Denver Business Journal, MediaPost, New York Post, CBS News, Yahoo Finance, GSMArena.com, Philadelphia Business Journal, The A.V. Club, The Independent, Deadline, The Times, Adweek, MarketWatch, Forbes, WPXI-TV and Sports Business Journal
M.G. Siegler / Spyglass:
A look at the potential buyers of NBCUniversal, including Netflix, Apple, Amazon, or YouTube, and the hurdles they would face
A look at the potential buyers of NBCUniversal, including Netflix, Apple, Amazon, or YouTube, and the hurdles they would face
Discussion:
The Daily Upside, NBC News, Financial Times, Barron's Online, Bloomberg, CNBC, Axios, Washington Post, Awful Announcing, Business Insider and Brand Innovators
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 …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Wrap, World of Reel, Mandatory, Stacy Calabrese on LinkedIn, Sky News Australia on YouTube, @culturecrave, Screen, CBC News, Comic Book, @bendreyfuss, @sonnybunch, @borys_kit, @therochasays, @ianmsc, @timcastnews, The Wrap, Variety, The Ankler, Deadline, IndieWire, Gizmodo, Hollywood in Toto, The Verge, Fox News, Collider, The Wrap, Collider, IGN, The Daily Wire, The Hollywood Reporter, Forbes and TechRadar
RELATED:
Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
NBCUniversal unveils a deal to offer Starz to Peacock subscribers on the Select, Premium, and Premium Plus tiers as an add-on subscription for $11.99 per month — Select Peacock subscribers can get the ‘Outlander’ and ‘Power’ franchises' service for $11.99 per-month.
Discussion:
Streaming Better, The Streamable, Tom's Guide, Digital Trends, Variety and YouTube Official Blog
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, @rsa, TechCrunch, CNET, @steeltippeddove, @nine4west, @lindseycreated, Baller Alert, @theslowmusicmovement.org, The Verge, PYMNTS, 404 Media, Variety, The Next Web and Neowin, more at Techmeme »
Bloomberg:
How Spain's LaLiga uses nationwide IP blocking to combat illegal sports streams, impacting an estimated 550K+ domains, putting it in conflict with Cloudflare — From small businesses to government agencies, legitimate websites are getting caught in the crossfire of LaLiga's fight against illegal sports streams
Discussion:
TorrentFreak, more at Techmeme »
Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:
C-SPAN announces a new initiative to provide video coverage of Senate, House, and gubernatorial campaigns to independent and non-profit local newsrooms for free — C-SPAN has unveiled a new initiative that aims to assist local newsrooms across the country with nonpartisan coverage of the midterm elections.
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 — YouTube has made good on a provision in a 2025 distribution agreement with NBCUniversal, launching the ad-free tier of Peacock on its channel store.
Discussion:
Cord Cutters News, TheDesk.net, Streaming Better, CNET, Reuters and The Hollywood Reporter
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+ — The pay TV-slash-streaming arm of MGM, now called MGM+, allegedly inked a “sweetheart” licensing deal with its owner that shortchanged the union benefits plan.
Discussion:
The Wrap
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Axel Springer completes its £575M acquisition of Telegraph Media Group, ending a three-year sales process, and promises an “AI-powered transformation” — Axel Springer's acquisition of The Telegraph will complete today (Tuesday 30 June), ending “three difficult years” without an owner for the UK national newspaper.
Discussion:
InPublishing, The Guardian, The Independent, Reuters, Telegraph and Deadline
