Top News:
Natalie Korach / Status:
Eight antitrust experts assess what Paramount's pause on WBD acquisition means, which side it benefits most, and where the merger is headed over the next year — The pause is the latest update in what is shaping up to be one of the most consequential antitrust trials Hollywood has faced in decades, with the saga far from over.
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New York Times:
Sources: Paramount proposed to pause its merger with WBD because the company thought going to a trial was the fastest way to complete the deal — A flurry of negotiations last week cleared the way for an antitrust court battle with states that could determine the fate of the two iconic media giants.
Discussion:
Tubefilter, Hindustan Times, The Ankler, BMI, Cord Cutters News, Media Play News, Forbes, Deadline, CNN, TV Tech, International Business Times and The Wrap
Katie Kilkenny / The Hollywood Reporter:
SAG-AFTRA's board adopts a resolution to formally resist the Paramount/WBD merger unless “enforceable safeguards” are established against a drop in production — The national board of Hollywood's largest union has adopted a resolution to oppose the mega-transaction unless “enforceable safeguards” are put in place.
Discussion:
SAG-AFTRA, The Guardian, The Wrap, Benzinga and Cord Cutters News
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
The suspension of the Paramount/WBD merger lengthens limits on WBD's ability to pursue asset sales or some content deals and postpones promised cost savings — The companies can't combine yet, meaning promised cost savings and strategic moves are on hold while rivals push ahead
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Filing: Paramount and state AGs agree to freeze the WBD merger until an antitrust trial occurs or until June 2027; a preliminary injunction hearing is canceled
Filing: Paramount and state AGs agree to freeze the WBD merger until an antitrust trial occurs or until June 2027; a preliminary injunction hearing is canceled
Discussion:
The Guardian, Deadline, Variety, Mashable, LaineyGossip, IGN, @katherinestewart.bsky.social, @benmullin, The Preamble, New York Post, The Hollywood Reporter, Media Play News, Telecompaper, Breitbart, Awful Announcing, Variety, @tedstew, @jimsciutto, @balancecrafting, @brianstelter, Polygon.com, @bedoyausa, @balancecrafting, @danielnmiller, @balancecrafting, @markruffalo, @mgsiegler, @newjerseyoag, State of California, CNN, CNBC, UPI, NBC News, US District Court, Northern District of California, New York Times, Forbes, Joe.My.God., Sports Media Watch, @brianstelter.bsky.social, The Contrarian, Associated Press, Front Office Sports, Newser, Gizmodo, Cord Cutters News, Wall Street Journal, World of Reel, Barron's Online, Barrett Media, @normeisen.bsky.social, Business Insider, The Wrap, @katzish.bsky.social, @azalben.bsky.social, KTLA, The A.V. Club and r/MediaMergers
Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:
NBCU and YouTube reach a multiyear deal to include all Peacock content in YouTube Premium subscriptions in the US starting in early 2027 — NBCUniversal's Peacock is officially landing on YouTube. — All of the streaming service's content — including NBC Sports' portfolio of the NFL and NBA …
Discussion:
The Wrap, YouTube Official Blog, Sports Business Journal, TechCrunch, ABC7, Gizmodo, Engadget, CNET, NBCUNIVERSAL MEDIA, Deadline, Pocket-lint, KTLA, StreamTV Insider, @jbflint, Dexerto, How-To Geek, Android Authority, Awful Announcing, TheDesk.net, @austinkarp, Reuters, Media Play News, Digital Trends, Chrome Unboxed, Variety, @sportsontvguy, @nealmohan, 9to5Google, The Hollywood Reporter, IGN, Spyglass, Android Police, Cord Cutters News, The US Sun, Los Angeles Times, Streaming Better, @tvgrimreaper, The Mac Observer, Pulse 2.0, @mgsiegler, LinkedIn, The A.V. Club, Thurrott, Barrett Media, ScreenRant, The Verge, Finimize, LightShed Partners, Droid Life and The Movie Blog, more at Techmeme »
Dominic-Madori Davis / TechCrunch:
London-based European Technology Network, a TBPN-like show livestreaming 5x a week on YouTube and X, raised a $1.6M seed round from Axel Springer and others — The European answer to TBPN is here and ready to go live five days a week, starting June 27. — Luke Knight and Ronan Chambers …
Discussion:
Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, Telegraph, @lukeknight, @inversemdia, @etnshow, Sifted, @elktalkstech and Talking Biz News
Inside Radio:
Nielsen plans to discontinue its radio and TV audience-ratings measurement services for TV and radio in Puerto Rico at the end of 2026 — Nielsen plans to discontinue measuring radio and TV audiences in the Puerto Rico market in December 2026. That means the island of 3.2 million people …
Discussion:
Pedro Javier González on LinkedIn, TheDesk.net and Barrett Media
Erik Hayden / The Hollywood Reporter:
In a memo, BuzzFeed announces plans to lay off ~35% of staff, or 180 people, across BuzzFeed, HuffPost, and Tasty — The move marks a major restructuring at the Byron Allen-controlled media company. … BuzzFeed, across all its units, had approximately 510 employees prior to the cuts.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, @kevinjallen.bsky.social, Variety, Baller Alert, StreetInsider.com and @rcmacleod.bsky.social
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Alyssa Ray / The Wrap:
At the rescheduled WHCA dinner, Trump praised the press corps' response to the April shooting before insulting journalists and celebrities who criticized him — “[Collins] shouldn't get the award. It was a fake,” the president rails in his White House Correspondents' Dinner speech
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, Raw Story, Washington Post, CNN, The Independent, Us Weekly, LateNighter, Poynter, Staff Stories, LGBTQ Nation, The Hollywood Gossip, The Present Age, Variety, Ace of Spades HQ, Fox News, Rolling Stone, HuffPost, Mediaite, Washington Examiner, PinkNews, New York Post, TMZ.com, RADAR, twitchy.com, Joe.My.God., @defiantls, The Gateway Pundit, @billkristol, @lutherlowe, The Daily Caller, @cspan, @acyn, @nicksortor, @emkenobi, @acyn, Just Jared, @rpsagainsttrump, @cnnpr, @bristei, @bristei, @rapidresponse47, Straight Arrow, TV Insider, ZeroHedge News, Salon, @newsguy.bsky.social, The Dean's Report, @ashleyvotesblue.bsky.social, Associated Press, New York Times, @janetskwatson.bsky.social, The Guardian, Townhall, Crooks and Liars, C-SPAN on YouTube, Diane Ravitch's blog, Deadline, New York Times, Daily Mail, Variety, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Breitbart, Financial Times, The Hill, RedState, GB News, CBC News, Al Jazeera, The Independent, Axios, Advocate, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, One America News Network, MS NOW, WAGA-TV, FOX 11 Los Angeles, Washington Post, The Hill, CBS News and Time
Michael Savage / The Guardian:
A UK-backed probe finds journalists self-censor coverage of right-wing protests, Trump, and trans issues over safety fears, as newsrooms “normalize” the risks — Government-backed investigation finds risks are normalised amid ‘a narrowing of the public conversation’
Discussion:
@steven.eurosky.social, @Fife4Europe@mastodon.scot, @deadfish1965.bsky.social and Joe.My.God.
A.J. Katz / The Wrap:
The Atlantic files to dismiss FBI Director Kash Patel's $250M defamation suit, calling it “politically motivated”, and seeks DOJ records to uphold its reporting — “This lawsuit is meritless and should be dismissed as a matter of law,” Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg says
Discussion:
Mediaite, Law360, NewsMax.com, Bloomberg Law, @katie_robertson and Raw Story
Mike Florio / NBCSports.com:
ESPN and others appear to have withheld reporting on an NFL coach's car accident until the 49ers disclosed it, a dereliction of their duties as journalists — Saturday's news that 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan had been in a serious car accident was surprising, to say the least.
Reuters:
Canal+ signs a deal with French film industry bodies to invest €980M in French and European cinema over a period of five years, starting in 2028 — French broadcaster Canal+ (CAN.L) said on Monday it has signed a five-year agreement to invest €980 million ($1.11 billion) …
Discussion:
Variety, Broadband TV News and Deadline
Politico:
Sources: Meta has submitted a proposal to Canada that includes a path to restoring news on its platforms but does not include payments to publishers — Thanks for reading our Canada Playbook on the last Monday in July. — In today's edition: — Meta pitches Ottawa on a way to bring news back.
Discussion:
@mickeydjuric.bsky.social and @mgeist.bsky.social
