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 …
RELATED:
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 Sun, Telegraph, BBC, Cord Cutters News, Mirror, BBC, Digital Spy, BBC, Reuters, Broadband TV News, The Guardian, The Hollywood Reporter, TVBEurope 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 and Broadband TV News
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, Radio Times, Press Gazette, Mirror, The Standard, The Sun, Sky News, The Standard, Mirror, Daily Express, Daily Star, ITV News and GB News
Todd Spangler / Variety:
The Writers Guild of America sues Paramount and WBD in an effort to stop their merger, claiming the deal would hurt wages and working conditions for writers — The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, IndieWire, US District Court, Northern District of California, Reuters, Associated Press, Writers Guild of America West, MediaPost, The Wrap, Oh No They Didn't!, Deadline, The Streamable, Cord Cutters News, @cinephiliabeyond.org, @filmbrainbmb.bsky.social, @susanrinkunas.com, Bloomberg, Sports Media Watch, Bloomberg Law, StreamTV Insider, Ars Technica, CNN, Barrett Media, NewsMax.com, Fox Business, Common Dreams, CNBC, Media Play News and ScreenRant
RELATED:
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
Letter: Tennessee Deputy Governor Stuart McWhorter urged David Ellison to move Paramount's corporate headquarters from California to Tennessee — Paramount CEO David Ellison and his family have deep ties to the Volunteer State and the mogul is now in a legal battle with California.
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Trump's recent comment on a “normal path” for CNN raised eyebrows amid the Paramount-WBD merger; Paramount would need CNN revenue to help pay off $80B in debt
Discussion:
MS NOW, Variety, Reuters, New York Magazine, Columbia Journalism Review, New York Post, TV Insider and r/MediaMergers
Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:
Paramount's lead trial counsel says the company is still aiming to close the WBD deal by the end of September and is prepared to bring the case to SCOTUS
Paramount's lead trial counsel says the company is still aiming to close the WBD deal by the end of September and is prepared to bring the case to SCOTUS
Discussion:
Deadline, PC Gamer, Fox Business, StockStory, Front Office Sports, Fast Company, The American Bazaar, The Wrap, Barrett Media, Axios, Reuters, Salon, CNET, Quartz, CBS News, Bloomberg, Business Insider and New York Times
The Athletic:
German soccer league Bundesliga is moving its US TV rights from ESPN to Versant's USA Network and Fandango in a deal, sources say, worth $100M over five seasons — Germany's Bundesliga — featuring Harry Kane, Bayern Munich and United States stars like Bayer 04 Leverkusen's Malik Tillman …
Reuters:
Sources: Lionsgate has attracted takeover interest from France's Bolloré Group, owner of Canal+, and Banijay, which just completed an $8B merger with All3Media — Lionsgate Studios (LION.N), the entertainment company behind the “Hunger Games” and “John Wick” franchises …
Discussion:
Bloomberg and r/MediaMergers
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:
Globe and Mail, Reuters, Dow Jones Newswires, Canadian Press and Publishers Lunch
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:
Deadline, StreamTV Insider and Advanced Television
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 …
A.J. Katz / The Wrap:
Hachette, Elsevier, Cengage Learning, and author Scott Turow sue Google for allegedly using millions of copyrighted books and articles to build AI models — Publishers claim the tech giant used millions of copyrighted works without permission to build its Gemini artificial intelligence models
Discussion:
Publishers Weekly, Engadget, @ednewtonrex, The Guardian, CNET, Gizmodo, Adweek, Plagiarism Today, The Bookseller, Books+Publishing and Good e-Reader, more at Techmeme »
Steve Dent / Engadget:
Spotify launches Talk to Spotify, letting users create playlists and more via voice, rolling out in beta to Premium users age 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:
Spotify, WeRSM, How-To Geek, TechCrunch, Thurrott, Digital Trends, @spotify, Tom's Guide, Lifehacker, GB News, Android Authority, Hypebot, @spotify, The American Bazaar, @spotifynews, The Verge, Mashable, CNET, 9to5Mac, Phandroid and GSMArena.com
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.”
