Top News:
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
BBC DG Matt Brittin says the BBC and UK public service broadcasting face “real jeopardy” as license fee erosion drives BBC's third consecutive annual deficit — The BBC closed out a year that included its most-watched title in “The Celebrity Traitors” and its best drama debut in three years with …
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Max Goldbart / Deadline:
The BBC reports license fee payers fell 539K YoY to 23.3M in 2025-26, the biggest fall since 2020-21; license fee income rose £36M to £3.9B after the fee uplift — The number of households paying the BBC license fee plummeted last year at a time when the corporation is desperately seeking a revamp of its funding model.
Discussion:
BBC, The Guardian, Cord Cutters News, Mirror, Telegraph, BBC, Reuters, The Hollywood Reporter, TVBEurope, BBC, BBC and Radio Times
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
BBC Commercial reports 2025-26 revenue flat YoY at £2.2B, EBITDA up 17% to £267M, £377M returned to BBC, down from £391M; DTC and consumer products drove growth
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter
Steven McIntosh / BBC:
Scott Mills was the highest-paid BBC presenter in 2025-26, earning ~£745K before his exit in March, followed by Greg James, Stephen Nolan, and Laura Kuenssberg
Scott Mills was the highest-paid BBC presenter in 2025-26, earning ~£745K before his exit in March, followed by Greg James, Stephen Nolan, and Laura Kuenssberg
Discussion:
Deadline, Press Gazette, Sky News, The Sun, The Standard, Mirror, Daily Express, Daily Star, ITV News, GB News and Radio Times
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
A coalition of 12 US states led by California files an antitrust lawsuit to block Paramount's WBD merger, alleging it lessens competition in three markets — A coalition of 12 states filed an antitrust lawsuit on Monday to block the merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Hollywood Reporter, Status, The Wrap, Deadline, Deadline, State of California, PocketGamer.biz, Paramount, New Jersey Business News, New York Times, @rogoswami, @pweiser, @matthewstoller, @markruffalo, @johnmarknewman, Sports Media Watch, @jbflint, @agrobbonta, @eriqgardner, @eriqgardner, @choprausa, @bedoyausa, @profpaulnary, @gigibsohn, @bedoyausa, @eriqgardner, Los Angeles Business Journal, @richardrushfield, @garyheff, @tedstew, @keithellison, Politico, @brianstelter, @sharonwaxman, @maxwelltani, Raw Story, @jbflint, @jeremymbarr, Wall Street Journal, @profpaulnary, JURISTnews, @alexweprin, @tedstew, @newyorkstateag, @danielnmiller, ByteHaven, @nycmayor, Townhall, @brianstelter, @agrobbonta, @pressgirlk.bsky.social, Wall Street Journal, @ddayen, @bradlander.bsky.social, One America News Network, Gizmodo, The Hollywood Reporter, Salon, NPR, CNN, How-To Geek, The Verge, @kimmasters.bsky.social, UPI, Graphic Policy, New Republic, CNET, @laurenshirsch, Blockonomi, Quartz, Financial Times, TechCrunch, @moondogrick.bsky.social, @tdogmedia.bsky.social, Bloomberg, The Guardian, NBC Los Angeles, Politico, The Wrap, KRON4 and Annotated DC
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Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Paramount says US states' lawsuit “reflects a fundamentally flawed application of the antitrust laws” and the delay “will only harm entertainment workers”
Rohan Goswami / Semafor:
Sources: David Ellison's advisers are urging him to move Paramount's HQ and much of its spending out of California if AG Rob Bonta sues to block the WBD merger
Sources: David Ellison's advisers are urging him to move Paramount's HQ and much of its spending out of California if AG Rob Bonta sues to block the WBD merger
Discussion:
CNN, Variety, Deadline, The Hill, The Hollywood Reporter, Puck, Bisnow, The American Bazaar, American Prospect, Techdirt, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, @tedstew, The Wrap, The Ankler, Blaze Media, Los Angeles Times, CNBC, Ars Technica, Washington Examiner, KARK, CBS News, Fox Business, @annmlipton@esq.social, @annmlipton@esq.social, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post, The Post Millennial, Media Play News, @matthewstoller, @karlbode.com, The Streamable, The Jim Acosta Show, Chris Heatherly on LinkedIn, @william_fitz, @trevorcroker, @chrismurphyct, The A.V. Club, HuffPost, BIG by Matt Stoller, @repdarrellissa, @plaintanjane.bsky.social, The Information, RedState, @laurenmeidasa.bsky.social, New York Times, Cord Cutters News, @artisny.bsky.social, @discussingfilm.net, @hammbear2024.bsky.social, The Daily Caller, @williamfitz.bsky.social, @markruffalo.bsky.social, r/MediaMergers and r/MediaMergers
Variety:
Sources: David Ellison has, for several months, been meeting about a bill to launch a US federal film tax incentive, which is said to have bipartisan support
Sources: David Ellison has, for several months, been meeting about a bill to launch a US federal film tax incentive, which is said to have bipartisan support
Discussion:
Breitbart, New York Times, @danielnmiller, @lucas_shaw, The Wrap, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter
Robert D. McFadden / New York Times:
Pulitzer-winning political cartoonist Pat Oliphant, 90, has died in Santa Fe, NM; at the height of his career, he was syndicated in as many as 500 newspapers — The winner of countless awards, including a Pulitzer Prize, he was described in 1990 as “the most influential political cartoonist now working.”
Discussion:
The Daily Cartoonist, Washington Post, The Wrap and The Indian Express
Hannah Miller / Bloomberg:
Thomson Reuters agrees to sell a 51% stake in its legal and tax publishing business to KKR for $500M, but will keep editorial control of its content portfolio — Thomson Reuters Corp. agreed to sell a 51% stake in its legal and tax publishing business to investment firm KKR & Co. in a $500 million deal.
Discussion:
Canadian Press, Reuters, Dow Jones Newswires and Finimize
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Lionsgate's Michael crosses $1B at the global box office, its first film to reach the milestone, per Rentrak, reviving Hollywood's last major independent studio — Shunned by bigger studios as too risky, “Michael” and other hits have revived Hollywood's last major independent studio. But is it enough?
Discussion:
Variety, UPI, Gamereactor UK, The Wrap, Media Play News and Deadline
Reuters:
Thomson Reuters says it is cutting “a small number of” engineering roles; a source says it plans to cut up to 500 jobs, or 5.2% of its operations and tech unit — Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO) on Monday said it is cutting “a small number of roles” in engineering …
Discussion:
Motley Fool, NewsBlues.com and Silicon Republic
Trishla Ostwal / Adweek:
eMarketer: chatbots like ChatGPT and Google AI Mode will make <$1B in ad revenue in 2026; OpenAI projected $2.5B in ChatGPT ad revenue in 2026 and $100B by 2030 — OpenAI is projecting $100 billion in ad revenue by 2030. Emarketer puts the ceiling for the entire chatbot ad market at just $5.41 billion.
Discussion:
Forbes, John Battelle's Search Blog, @rustybrick, @mgsiegler, @edzitron.com, @garymarcus, @edels0n and @glenngabe, more at Techmeme »
Ben Strauss / ESPN:
Fox will reportedly make $250M on World Cup hydration break ads alone; the new ad slot may be appealing to European national leagues whose revenue is flat — The legacy of this summer's World Cup is not likely to be political interference or referee conspiracies that benefit Lionel Messi.
Discussion:
Renew Economy and Awful Announcing
Steve Dent / Engadget:
Spotify launches a Talk to Spotify feature that lets users create playlists and more, rolling out in beta to Premium users 18+ in the US, Ireland, and Sweden — The new beta feature works from the Home or Now Playing views on mobile. — Spotify already uses a lot of AI (too much some might say) …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Spotify, Thurrott, Android Authority, Hypebot, CNET and GB News
Scott Roxborough / The Hollywood Reporter:
RoseBerry Media launches vertical streamer Epis, featuring originals and versions of BBC, Fremantle, and All3Media shows adapted for vertical viewing — The premium mobile-first streamer is launching with more than 100 titles, including adapted versions of Fremantle, BBC and All3Media formats.
Discussion:
Advanced Television and Deadline
Joe Mandese / MediaPost:
The Media Rating Council's quarterly accreditation status updates show VideoAmp and Nielsen One have pulled out of the accreditation process — In moves that have implications for both the “alternative” ad currency marketplace, as well as cross-media measurement, VideoAmp and Nielsen …
Reuters:
Germany's media regulator says Google's AI Overviews and Perplexity are subject to media law, after a court said Google may be liable for inaccurate AI content — Germany's media regulator said on Tuesday that Google's AI Overviews and Perplexity AI are subject to the country's media laws …
