Mediagazer: Brendan Carr proposes repealing the national ownership cap, which restricts amassing TV stations that cover more than 39% of households, and sets an Aug. 6 vote (Ted Johnson/Deadline)

Gene Maddaus / Variety:

Paramount agrees to a request from 12 states, led by CA, to link their federal antitrust case in the WBD merger to an existing Paramount+ subscriber lawsuit — Paramount has agreed to a request from 12 states to link their federal antitrust case to a pre-existing suit brought by Paramount+ subscribers.

Discussion: Reason, The Wrap, @agomezfcc.bsky.social, Politico, JURISTnews and ByteHaven

Brian Stelter / CNN:

Sources: execs expect a judge to grant a temporary restraining order requested by 12 state AGs in the Paramount-WBD merger, delaying it by two to three weeks — Executives involved in the pending Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal expect that a judge will hit pause on the takeover plan in the coming days.

Discussion: MediaPost, The Hill, The American Bazaar, The Wrap and Deadline

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.

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.

Discussion: The Wrap, Bisnow, LaineyGossip, The Streamable, Cord Cutters News, @danielnmiller, Raw Story, New York Post, @losangeles1850.bsky.social, @filmbrainbmb.bsky.social, @karlbode.com, @willmckinley.bsky.social, New York Sun, The Daily Wire, Breitbart and r/MediaMergers

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: Variety, MS NOW, Reuters, New York Magazine, Columbia Journalism Review 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

Discussion: Deadline, StockStory, Front Office Sports, PC Gamer, Fox Business, Barrett Media, The Wrap, Fast Company, LightShed Partners and Reuters

Ted Johnson / Deadline:

Brendan Carr proposes repealing the national ownership cap, which restricts amassing TV stations that cover more than 39% of households, and sets an Aug. 6 vote — FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is proposing a repeal of the national ownership cap, which restricts broadcasters from amassing stations …

Discussion: Breitbart, CNN, Reuters, TV Tech, Radio & Television …, Variety, The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, Politico, The Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg, Barrett Media, @lucas_shaw, @jeremymbarr, Blockonomi and Bloomberg Law

Corey G. Johnson / ProPublica:

Ethics disclosures show 7 out of 10 FCC commissioners since 2016 have accepted Kennedy Center tickets worth thousands courtesy of CBS or its parent company — Reporting Highlights — Expensive Gifts: Despite regulating broadcast media, FCC commissioners have accepted pricey tickets …

Discussion: Mediaite, The Wrap and New Republic

Patrick Coffee / Wall Street Journal:

How TikTok Shop sellers are using AI creators and AI twins to boost sales; eMarketer: US sales on TikTok Shop are expected to hit $23.4B in 2026, up 48% YoY — Brands issue warnings as more creators use avatars and duplicates of themselves to boost affiliate sales

Discussion: The Independent and PR Daily

Jessica Davies / Digiday:

Ozone: publisher ad supply in Q2 fell by 32% to 37% YoY in the US and 39% to 41% YoY in the UK, driven by AI-era zero-click search and reduced referral traffic — Publisher ad supply fell by up to 40% in Q2 of 2026 as AI era, zero-click search choked the flow of traffic to news and other open-web sites …

Ethan Baron / Mercury News:

California and Google will contribute $20M each over two years to the CA Civic Media Program, far below the $250M promised in 2024, with grants of up to $250K — Critic says the funding ‘goes backwards’ for local news — Months after Gov. Gavin Newsom stripped state funding from a much larger plan …

Discussion: Governor of California

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: The Wrap, Variety, Deadline, Bloomberg and r/MediaMergers

Bauer Media:

Bauer Media appoints Frances Hedges as Editor of Grazia; she was previously Deputy Editor of Harper's Bazaar UK — Bauer Media has appointed Frances Hedges as Editor of Grazia. She joins from Harper's Bazaar UK where she was Deputy Editor since 2019. — Frances will lead Grazia's editorial vision …

Aaron Smith / Pew Research Center:

Survey: 57% of US women and 47% of men ages 18 to 29 say they get health and wellness information from influencers; women say they see such content more often — Although health providers are the most common place Americans turn for information about their health, social media influencers and podcasts also play a major role.

Discussion: New York Post