Top News:
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
A judge orders a temporary halt to the Paramount-WBD merger, as a 12-state coalition, led by California, argues it would violate federal antitrust law — Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin issued the order after hearing argument from both sides on Friday morning.
Discussion:
State of California, NBC News, Axios, The Ankler, The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, CNN, ScreenRant, NPR, UPI, Todd Spangler on LinkedIn, Al Jazeera, Rolling Stone, JURISTnews, GamesIndustry.biz, @edmundlee, CBS News, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, @justinbaragona.bsky.social, Barron's Online, Straight Arrow, @maxwelltani, @leehepner, Cosmic Book News, IGN, CinemaBlend, New Republic, Comic Book, Reuters, Bloomberg, The Verge, @brianstelter, @jbflint, @brianstelter, @agrobbonta, ZeroHedge News, Courthouse News Service, Quartz, @sharonwaxman, @eriqgardner, @mhwilliams.bsky.social, @danielnmiller, @leonenglish.bsky.social, Kotaku, @balancecrafting, @juliorvarela.com, @eriqgardner, Blockonomi, @willmckinley.bsky.social, @laurenshirsch, @balint.house.gov, @rogoswami, @danielnmiller, @scondrasht.bsky.social, @brianstelter, TheDesk.net, Consequence, Gizmodo, NewsMax.com, dailyjournal.com, MS NOW and Fox Business
RELATED:
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
In the temporary restraining order, a US judge says Paramount's anticipated 27% market share in theatrical distribution is likely to violate antitrust laws — A court issued a temporary restraining order freezing the deal for a short period. Next, it will consider whether to issue …
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Unsealed docs: the DOJ sought phone records of NYT reporters and their relatives in an extraordinary attempt to unmask sources of NYT's Air Force One coverage — The government is aggressively seeking the confidential sources of Times reporters who wrote about the president's new Air Force One.
Discussion:
TheDesk.net, Associated Press, The Wrap, KALW, Wall Street Journal, @alexbruell, TWZ, NOTUS, Freedom of the Press …, @bynum.house.gov, Politico, The Independent, The Hill, @schiff.senate.gov, @peterbakernyt.bsky.social, @madisonmcvan.bsky.social, @banmarnj.bsky.social, @jswatz.bsky.social, The Boston Globe, @kennysmith.org, @KimPerales@toad.social, @crampell.bsky.social, @matthewkeyslive, MS NOW, @froomkin.bsky.social, NewsMax.com, @timobrien.bsky.social, @kylegriffin1.bsky.social, @robertscotthorton.bsky.social, @justinbaragona.bsky.social, UPI, @tom_winter, @grynbaum, @grynbaum, CNN and New Republic
RELATED:
Jon Passantino / Status:
Sources: a US judge granted NYT temporary reprieve from Trump admin subpoenas targeting three reporters, ahead of a July 23 hearing over confidential sources
Sources: a US judge granted NYT temporary reprieve from Trump admin subpoenas targeting three reporters, ahead of a July 23 hearing over confidential sources
Discussion:
@passantino.bsky.social, @willpollock.com, @oliverdarcy.bsky.social, Raw Story, New Yorker and ZeroHedge News
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey nets $124.5M at the domestic box office and $264.1M worldwide on its opening weekend; Universal spent ~$250M to make the film — Christopher Nolan's nearly three-hour epic was No. 1 over the weekend, with about $124.5 million in ticket sales in the United States and Canada.
Discussion:
IndieWire, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Rolling Stone, Bloomberg, Variety, CinemaBlend, MediaPost, The Hollywood Reporter, TV Central, ScreenRant, GamesRadar, Yahoo Entertainment, Cosmic Book News, Barron's Online, Gold Derby, Los Angeles Times, NewsMax.com, CNBC, Media Play News, Reuters, The Wrap, CBS News and What's on Netflix
K.J. Yossman / Variety:
Holly Willoughby, until recently the host of ITV's daytime show This Morning, plans a lifestyle series on YouTube, as the platform dominates viewing figures — Holly Willoughby, best known until recently as the host of ITV's daytime show “This Morning,” is set to make a comeback.
Discussion:
The Sun, The Standard, Mirror, Press Association and Radio Times
Wall Street Journal:
A look at Israel's influence campaign in the US, including a $45M+ contract with Brad Parscale, chief strategy officer of conservative media network Salem Media — The Israeli government is trying to shore up its U.S. reputation with help from influencers, Trump insiders and millions of AI-driven texts
Wall Street Journal:
Source: FIFA plans to open media rights bidding for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups but faces headwinds, like media companies locking in billions for other sports — Soccer's governing body plans to open bidding on media rights for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups but faces headwinds
Discussion:
Mirror, TheDesk.net, Awful Announcing, The Wrap, Front Office Sports, SportsPro and Barrett Media
RELATED:
Bloomberg:
Snap reaches a deal to settle the second case set for trial over social media harm to minors, following TikTok and YouTube, leaving Meta as the only defendant — Snap Inc. said it has reached a tentative agreement to settle the second case set for trial over claims that the world's largest …
Eliza Gkritsi / Politico:
Draft: the Trump admin plans to use the UN General Assembly to push a global “freedom of expression” declaration that EU lawmakers call an attack on tech rules — BRUSSELS — The Trump administration will use the upcoming U.N. General Assembly to push a global “freedom of expression” …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, @wood5y@mastodonapp.uk, @glynmoody@mastodon.social and Reason, more at Techmeme »
Ned Holmes / Radio Times:
Netflix and Goalhanger agree to a new two-year deal to broadcast The Rest Is Football podcast through the next two Premier League seasons and the Euros in 2028 — It's good news for fans of Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards... The Rest Is Football will be back on Netflix …
Discussion:
Televisual, Advanced Television, PodcastingToday, BANG Showbiz, Daily Mail, Podnews, The Standard, Goal.com, Broadband TV News and Broadcast
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
YouTube clarifies its policies around AI slop and upsetting videos, including breaking down such content into three non-monetizable categories — A recent change sees YouTube further cracking down on AI slop by clarifying its policies around how content on its platform can be monetized.
Discussion:
Business of TV and Music Ally
Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
AMC's stock jumps 14%+ after reporting Q2 revenue up 14% YoY to $1.6B, driven by a box office rebound and its highest quarterly revenue in its 106-year history — The movie theater chain's second-quarter revenue grew 14% to $1.59 billion, though it posted a widened net loss of $11.4 million
Discussion:
Benzinga, Deadline, Quartz, Barron's Online, Proactive, The Hollywood Reporter, Barchart.com, Yahoo Finance and Media Play News
