Top News:
Financial Times:
The High Court in London rules against Prince Harry and six other claimants in the privacy lawsuit against Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers — High Court in London rules against Duke of Sussex and six other claimants — Prince Harry's third and final legal offensive …
Discussion:
CNN, Variety, New York Times, The Daily Caller, E! Online, UPI, The Guardian, Marie Claire, @danwootton, @richardaeden, Wall Street Journal, Metro.co.uk, TMZ.com, The Hollywood Reporter, Us Weekly, Associated Press, Australian Financial Review, Telegraph, Mirror, The Standard, The Independent, The Sun, The i Paper, Daily Mail, RTÉ, Politico, GB News, @chrisshipitv, GB News, NBC News, Newsweek, @jacob_rees_mogg, Newser, The Indian Express, @katemansey, Reuters, WPXI-TV, Deadline and Sydney Morning Herald
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Sky agrees to acquire ITV's TV business for £1.6B, uniting the UK's two largest commercial broadcasters; ITV says shareholders will receive £950M from the deal — Combination will leave US media group Comcast in control of a broadcaster that reaches 21mn households
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Deadline:
Sky strikes a £2.1B output deal with ITV Studios, ITV's production arm, until 2032; ITV Studios is not part of Sky's deal to acquire ITV's TV network — Sky has finally sealed a £1.6 billion ($2.1 billion) deal to acquire ITV's television network operations.
Discussion:
Variety, Associated Press, The Hollywood Reporter, Sky Group, Telegraph, Sky News, GSMArena.com, The Movie Blog, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, TV Tech, The Independent, UPI, The Sun, Forbes Middle East, The Wrap, T3, CNBC, TechRadar, Media Play News, Forbes, Blockonomi, Dow Jones Newswires, MediaPost, The Standard, The Irish Times, The Guardian, TheDesk.net, Mirror, Bloomberg, RTÉ, BusinessCloud, @jakekanter.bsky.social, TVBEurope, National Union of Journalists …, Bloomberg Law, GB News and Telecompaper
Alice Brooker / Press Gazette:
Sky's ITV deal sees ITV's 40% stake in news producer ITN split equally between Sky and ITV Studios; Sky says ITV News and Sky News will stay distinct until 2030
The Hollywood Reporter:
The Sky-ITV deal raises questions about US ownership of the UK's largest commercially funded free-to-air network and a key part of its cultural landscape
The Sky-ITV deal raises questions about US ownership of the UK's largest commercially funded free-to-air network and a key part of its cultural landscape
Discussion:
Variety, Pulse 2.0, Mumbrella, Deadline, The Guardian, Mirror, The Drum, The Standard, Sky News, Ronan Scanlan on LinkedIn, Euronews, The Next Web, Finimize, The Independent, Dow Jones Newswires and Telegraph
Max Tani / Semafor:
Analysis: ABC's The View hasn't featured a single candidate running in a competitive midterm race since the FCC launched an “equal time” rule probe in February — THE SCOOP — The Federal Communications Commission has already changed the programming of one of television's …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Variety, New York Post, HotAir, Townhall, Reuters, The Daily Caller, Poynter, Status, @maxwelltani, @scottnover, Fox News, Talking Points Memo, Daily Mail, The Gateway Pundit, @evelyndouek.bsky.social, Raw Story, twitchy.com, Bloomberg, Mediaite, @BlueWaver22@genomic.social, @avi.zollman.com, New York Sun, @annmlipton.bsky.social, Inside Radio and Election Law Blog
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Ted Johnson / Deadline:
In a filing, ABC says the FCC has targeted daytime and late-night TV the administration doesn't like while “leaving untouched the vast landscape of talk radio” — ABC contends that a “broad and cross-ideological consensus of commenters” backs the editorial independence of The View …
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, @jeremymbarr, @jbflint and Fox News
Alex Ritman / Variety:
AI-focused studio Particle 6 plans a full-length feature film to be led by the AI “actor” Tilly Norwood, as a hybrid production using film and TV professionals — Tilly Norwood, the AI “actor” who sparked a frenzy of anger in Hollywood and across the wider industry in late 2025, is set to front her first feature film.
Discussion:
Engadget, TODAY.com, abc7NY, The Daily Wire, WPXI-TV, Gizmodo, Shelly Palmer, The Asia Business Daily, Futurism, New York Sun, The Wrap, Global News, San Francisco Chronicle, The Movie Blog, CNET, Breitbart, CBS News, Los Angeles Times, Polygon.com, @devonheinen.bsky.social, @sentammoses.bsky.social, NBC News, Forbes, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and The A.V. Club
William Earl / Variety:
Netflix signs deals with Penske Media, Condé Nast, Hearst, People, and other publishers to carry a range of programming from 2 to 20+ minutes, starting August 3 — Netflix is further expanding the mix of content available on its platform through licensing partnerships with a range of top publishers …
Discussion:
Advanced Television, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, @theinsneider, @lucas_shaw and Eater
Lily Mae Lazarus / Fortune:
A profile of David Senra, whose popular Founders podcast attracts billionaire CEOs and generates millions of dollars annually through a flat ad partnership rate — David Senra will tell you he doesn't care if you listen to his podcast. And he means it. — For five and a half years …
Discussion:
@sarthakgh, @davidsenra, @eglyman, Android Authority, Alyson Shontell on LinkedIn, @simonowens.bsky.social and Fortune
Tife Owolabi / Reuters:
Nigeria's competition regulator will investigate tech companies over news content use and alleged anti-competitive practices, after complaints by media groups — Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has directed the country's competition regulator to investigate major technology companies …
Discussion:
Techpoint Africa, WeeTracker, allAfrica.com, Punch Newspapers, Condia, Premium Times Nigeria, The Nation Newspaper and The ICIR
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
Four animated titles from Disney, DreamWorks, and Pixar made up over 38% of the ~$186.6M handed out to 41 new movies selected to receive California tax credits — This round of subsidies is headlined by DreamWorks' ‘Donkey,’ Disney's ‘Hexed,’ and an untitled movie from Pixar.
Discussion:
Variety, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap and Governor of California
Nilay Patel / The Verge:
Q&A with United Talent Agency executives Ali Berman and Raina Penchansky about UTA's Creators division, helping creators launch products, AI, and more — Raina Penchansky and Ali Berman on helping human creators in the age of AI — We've got another special episode of Decoder today …
Anna Tobin / Press Gazette:
An interview with Le Monde CTO Paul Laleu about “fiercely defending” the French outlet's journalism from AI bots, including by generating infinite content mazes — French newsbrand Le Monde is “fiercely defending” its journalism from AI bots that don't offer a value exchange while still letting the “good bots” in.
