A combined DirecTV and Dish would have ~18M customers total, down 63% from the peak levels in 2016; DirecTV has ~10M pay-TV subscribers, down from 25.5M in 2016 (Todd Spangler/Variety)

Mediagazer: A combined DirecTV and Dish would have ~18M customers total, down 63% from the peak levels in 2016; DirecTV has ~10M pay-TV subscribers, down from 25.5M in 2016 (Todd Spangler/Variety)

Top News:

Variety:

A combined DirecTV and Dish would have ~18M customers total, down 63% from the peak levels in 2016; DirecTV has ~10M pay-TV subscribers, down from 25.5M in 2016— TPG will acquire AT&T's 70% stake in DirecTV, giving it 100% ownership in the pay-TV provider
Discussion:

Jon Lafayette /
Next TV: DirecTV Acquires Dish, Unifying Struggling Satellite Business

Drew FitzGerald /
TVNewsCheck: DirecTV Agrees To Merge With Satellite Rival Dish KSTP-TV: DirecTV buys rival Dish as satellite mainstays hunker down against onslaught of streaming services

Todd Spangler /
@xpangler: Together, DirecTV and Dish would have around 18 million pay-TV customers — a total that is down 63% from their peak levels in 2016 https://variety.com/... via @Variety

Michelle F Davis /
Bloomberg: DirecTV, Dish Are Close to Clinching Merger Agreement Associated Press: DirecTV will buy rival Dish to create massive pay-TV company after yearslong pursuit

Andrew Bucholtz /
Awful Announcing: DirecTV, Dish reportedly close to merger deal

David Cohen /
Adweek: Satellite TV Giants DirecTV and Dish Near Merger

Wayne Friedman /
MediaPost: DirecTV, Dish Reportedly In ‘Advanced’ Merger Talks

RELATED:
Bloomberg:

AT&T agrees to sell its majority stake in DirecTV to private equity firm TPG for $7.6B in cash, including $1.7B in pre-tax quarterly distributions in H2 2024— The payments include $1.7 billion in pre-tax quarterly distributions in the second half of this year and $5.4 billion …

Discussion:

Deborah Sophia /
Reuters: AT&T sells 70% stake in DirecTV to TPG for $7.6 bln

Aimee Picchi /
CBS News: AT&T sells remaining stake in DirecTV for $7.6 billion as it bows out of entertainment

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: AT&T Sells Its Remaining Ownership of DIRECTV In What is Reportedly a First Step to DISH & DIRECTV Merging

Michael Martinez /
@michaelmartinez: AT&T is yet unwinding another horrible acquisition it previously made.

KSTP-TV:
AT&T exits showbiz, sells remaining stake in DirecTV to private equity firm TPG for $7.6 billion

Ben Mullin /
@benmullin: New, w/@LaurenSHirsch: DirecTV has agreed to acquire Dish for......$1!! (Plus assumption of debt). This is a multi-step transaction that involves TPG buying out AT&T's stake in DirecTV. https://www.nytimes.com/... @bsdtectr.bsky.social: What a terrible purchase that was. Fucked up both AT&T and DirecTV. [embedded post]

Associated Press:
AT&T exits entertainment industry with a $7.6 billion sale of its majority stake in DirecTV to private equity firm TPG

The Hollywood Reporter:

DirecTV and EchoStar reach a definitive agreement for DirecTV to acquire EchoStar's video business Dish DBS, including Dish TV and Sling TV— The combination “will benefit U.S. video consumers by creating a more robust competitive force in a video industry dominated by streaming services owned …

Discussion:
Reuters, Ad Age, Radio & Television …, Business Insider, CNN, The Streamable, Advanced Television, The Verge, @sherman4949, Axios, @sherman4949, WORLD SCREEN, KSTP-TV, Quartz, Deadline, Streaming Better, Broadband TV News, Los Angeles Times, Cord Cutters News, @tvgrimreaper, @bryanruby@me.dm, @mtfiii, Adweek, @bristei, CNBC, New York Times, Variety and The Wrap

Discussion:

Adam Jacobson /
Radio & Television Business Report: It's Official: DirecTV Agrees To Buy Dish, Sling From EchoStar

Jess Weatherbed /
The Verge: DirecTV and Dish are merging

Alex Sherman /
@sherman4949: If regulators are still questioning this Dish-DirecTV as anticompetitive, the poor reception on this conference call is providing a strong data point for why the deal should be fine to go through.

Tim Baysinger /
Axios: DirecTV agrees to acquire rival Dish Network

Alex Sherman /
@sherman4949: This is official, and DirecTV is starting its conference call right now. As I'd reported Friday, the total deal value is more than $9 billion .... $9.75 billion specifically in debt, and $1 in equity. So it's a trade of the Dish pay TV biz for the debt on the business.

Kristin Brzoznowski /
WORLD SCREEN: DirecTV To Acquire EchoStar's Video Distribution Business

Rocio Fabbro /
Quartz: AT&T is getting out of the TV business

Dade Hayes /
Deadline: DirecTV And Dish To Merge, Creating U.S. Pay-TV Giant, As AT&T Completes Exit From Entertainment

John Finn /
Streaming Better: DirecTV Buys Dish TV And Sling TV

Julian Clover /
Broadband TV News: DirecTV to purchase DishTV

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: DIRECTV Officially Buys DISH For $1 Plus Debt Creating The Largest Pay-TV Service In The United States

Bryan Ruby /
@bryanruby@me.dm: @Mediagazer I hope DirecTV doesn't mess with Sling TV. But they will by dismissing the importance of “smaller packages” that Sling brings to customers.

Michael T Ford III /
@mtfiii: Dish Network Parent EchoStar's Stock Climbs On Latest DirecTV Merger Reports The combined entity would be the largest pay-TV provider in the U.S. with nearly 20 million subscribers. https://deadline.com/... via @Deadline

Brian Steinberg /
@bristei: !!!!! 'Under the terms of the purchase agreement, DIRECTV will acquire EchoStar's video distribution business, including DISH TV and Sling TV, in exchange for a nominal consideration of $1 plus the assumption of DISH DBS net debt'

Alex Sherman /
CNBC: EchoStar nears deal to sell Dish to DirecTV with $2 billion debt payment looming, sources say

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Will DirecTV and Dish Merge? Satellite TV Operators Are Reportedly Close to a Deal

Variety:

Sources: Amazon Prime Video is in talks with veteran anchor Brian Williams to host a live Election Night special, its first entry into news-related programming— Brian Williams may have found his next TV-news job....except it won't be on traditional TV. — The veteran NBC News …

Discussion:
New York Post, Adweek, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, CNN, Cord Cutters News, The Ankler, Dan Rayburn on LinkedIn, The Daily Beast, @daveleebbg@threads.net, @dylanbyers, @bristei, @hbraun.jackson@threads.net, @stevemberkowitz@threads.net, @crumbler@threads.net, @mcbride.david.j@threads.net, @dylanbyers, @brianstelter, The Verge, The Hill, Mediaite, TVLine, TechCrunch, @fivesilhouettes.bsky.social, DNyuz, The Hollywood Reporter and @wagatwe.com, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Ariel Zilber /
New York Post: Ex-NBC News host Brian Williams in talks to anchor election night coverage on Amazon: reports

Ethan Alter /
Adweek: Brian Williams May Return to TV News... On Amazon Fox News: Ex-NBC anchor Brian Williams in talks to host Amazon Prime's ‘non-partisan’ election night event

Stephen Battaglio /
Los Angeles Times: Brian Williams will cover election night in Amazon Prime's first foray into news

Brian Stelter /
CNN: Brian Williams is set to anchor election night coverage on Prime Video. Is Amazon getting into live news?

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: Amazon Prime Video Launching Live News Programs? Its Reportedly Working On An Election-Night Special

Dan Rayburn /
Dan Rayburn on LinkedIn: I don't think Amazon Prime Video is a platform consumers would go to for election night editorial coverage. …

Lily Mae Lazarus /
The Daily Beast: Brian Williams Set to Make Shock Return to Anchor Chair

Dylan Byers /
@dylanbyers: Big signal here re: future of news on streaming... and remember that the streamers who say “we don't do news” are the same streamers who said “we don't do sports,” then went and got NFL.

Brian Steinberg /
@bristei: Brian Williams set to vie for attention on Election Night with CNN, MSNBC, NBC News, CBS News, ABC News and Fox News with a live Election Night special that would stream on Amazon https://variety.com/... via @variety

Henry Jackson /
@hbraun.jackson@threads.net: If this were the launch of a news program with a full staff that was going to stick around, I could see it. Streamers owe us news, we need to put that expectation on them. But Trump is already stating his plans to try to overturn a result that goes against him. …

Steve Berkowitz /
@stevemberkowitz@threads.net: I look forward to ads for Fallout, Thursday Night Football, groceries, 🧻 and healthcare mixed with state by state coverage.

Casey Newton /
@crumbler@threads.net: Brian Williams commentating next to a box showing you other elections you might like

David McBride /
@mcbride.david.j@threads.net: I guess that we don't know the full plan, but without a news bureau backing them, even great anchors are just blowing smoke. A great anchor takes input from reporters, photographers, researchers, producers, historians and analysts and delivers a coherent, informative and approachable picture of what's happening. …

Dylan Byers /
@dylanbyers: SCOOP @PuckNews: Amazon has signed BRIAN WILLIAMS to anchor election night coverage on Prime Video, per sources familiar. This is Amazon's first foray into news and Williams' first return to anchor desk since NBC. Full details in the next IN THE ROOM: https://puck.news/...

Brian Stelter /
@brianstelter: “If the project comes to fruition, it could mark the first entry into news-related programming” by Amazon Prime Video https://variety.com/...

Juliann Ventura /
The Hill: Brian Williams may host Amazon election night special

Phillip Nieto /
Mediaite: Brian Williams In Talks With Amazon to Host A Prime Video Election Night Program

Claire Franken /
TVLine: Brian Williams to Host Election Night Special on Prime Video (Report)

Jaye /
@fivesilhouettes.bsky.social: Isn't this the dude that lied about being in a helicopter that was shot down in Iraq....? [embedded post]

Alex Weprin /
The Hollywood Reporter: Former NBC News Anchor Brian Williams in Talks With Amazon to Lead Election Night Special @wagatwe.com: just what's missing from election and news coverage! we don't hear enough from white male millionaires. [embedded post]

Variety:

YouTube blocks songs by Adele, Bob Dylan, Green Day, and others in the US, after its music licensing agreement with performing rights organization SESAC expired— Songs by Adele, Bob Dylan, Green Day, R.E.M., Burna Boy, Rush and many others are currently unplayable on YouTube in the U.S. due …

Discussion:
@teamyoutube: @claybitkid @claybitkid we hear you. our music license agreement with SESAC has expired without an agreement on renewal conditions despite our best efforts. for this reason, we have blocked content on YouTube in the US known to be associated with SESAC - as in line with copyright law

Carly Thomas /
The Hollywood Reporter: Songs by Adele, Kendrick Lamar, Bob Dylan, Nirvana, More Blocked by YouTube Due to Legal Dispute

Stuart Dredge /
Music Ally: Some music videos removed from YouTube due to Sesac stalemate

Mandy Dalugdug /
Music Business Worldwide: MUSIC VIDEOS BY ADELE, KENDRICK LAMAR AND MORE BLOCKED FROM YOUTUBE IN THE US AMID LICENSING DISPUTE WITH SESAC

Richard Lawler /
The Verge: YouTube pulls songs from Adele, Nirvana, and others due to SESAC dispute

Ashley King /
Digital Music News: YouTube's SESAC Contract Expires Without a Deal — Adele, Nirvana, Kendrick Lamar, Britney Spears & More Unavailable

Anthony Ha /
TechCrunch: YouTube blocks videos from Adele, Green Day, Bob Dylan, others in dispute with SESAC

Ashley Iasimone /
Billboard: Songs by Adele, Bob Dylan, Kendrick Lamar & More Blocked on YouTube in Dispute With SESAC

Anthony Suszczynski /
@asuszczynski: A significant number of videos, including music videos, on @YouTube are currently inaccessible due to a licensing dispute between the platform and SESAC, one of the major music rights organizations in the U.S. The disagreement has led to widespread content blocks, frustrating [image] @pearltearizzy: Approximately 1.1 million songs have been taken off YouTube by SESAC right now For those who don't know, SESAC is the organization that deals with rights to play music on public spaces and businesses. So far, this only affects Americans. [image]

Daniel Kreps /
Rolling Stone: Thousands of Music Videos, Including Nirvana's ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit,’ Removed From YouTube Amid Copyright Dispute @Raccoon@techhub.social: @Techmeme — It's super weird, because I went on the official Green Day account earlier to listen to a song, and even the music video had been taken down. (This song was “Last Ride In”, which they used for the name of one of their 7-Eleven coffees for the American idiot anniversary)

Stephanie Kaloi /
The Wrap: YouTube Blocks Songs by Adele, Nirvana, Bob Dylan and More Due to Legal Dispute

New York Times:

CNN revives CNN Films, which was shut down in 2022, with plans to finance and release documentary series and films as part of an overhaul by Mark Thompson— The network is again financing and releasing documentary series and films after backing away from the genre two years ago.

Discussion:
TVNewsCheck

Discussion:

Nicole Sperling /
TVNewsCheck: CNN Wades Back Into the Documentary Business

Variety:

A US judge rules that Fiona Harvey can pursue her defamation lawsuit against Netflix over Baby Reindeer, saying the show was wrongly billed as a “true story”— A judge ruled Friday that the Netflix show “Baby Reindeer” did not live up to its billing as a “true story,” …

Discussion:
DNyuz, The Independent, The Daily Beast, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, AV Club, Metro.co.uk and Deadline

Discussion:
DNyuz: Netflix shouldn't have called ‘Baby Reindeer’ a true story, judge says, opening the way for defamation lawsuit

Ellie Muir /
The Independent: ‘Real Martha’ Baby Reindeer lawsuit to go forward as judge rules series not a ‘true story’

Hugh Dougherty /
The Daily Beast: 'Baby Reindeer's Real-Life Stalker Scores Major Victory over Netflix

Sian Cain /
The Guardian: Baby Reindeer was wrongly billed by Netflix as a ‘true story’, judge finds

Winston Cho /
The Hollywood Reporter: Netflix Loses Bid to Dismiss Defamation Claim in ‘Baby Reindeer’ Lawsuit

Pierra Willix /
Metro.co.uk: Netflix suffers blow after $170,000,000 Baby Reindeer trial takes unexpected turn

New York Times:

Google's lawyers wrapped up their defense of the company in the US DOJ ad tech antitrust trial last week; a judge's ruling is expected in the coming months— The tech giant, which wrapped up its arguments in the federal monopoly trial, simply says it has the best product.

Discussion:
MEDIANAMA, Digiday, Fast Company, MediaPost, Ars Technica, Bloomberg, The Keyword, Ad Age and AdExchanger, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Seb Joseph /
Digiday: Breaking point or breakup? Why publishers fear a Google ad breakup could backfire

Robert Safian /
Fast Company: An advertising watchdog explains what's at stake with Google's latest DOJ case

Laurie Sullivan /
MediaPost: Google Ad-Tech Trial Ends, Industry Execs Emboldened To Speak Outside Courtroom

Ashley Belanger /
Ars Technica: “Not a good look”: Google's ad tech monopoly defense widely criticized

Lee-Anne Mulholland /
The Keyword: Key takeaways from the ad tech trial

Garett Sloane /
Ad Age: Google antitrust case—key takeaways from the complex ad tech trial

Kevvo /
AdExchanger: Comic: Header Bidding Rapper

Wired:

An interview with Eric Eddings, who leads podcast development for Kevin Hart's Hartbeat, on the rise of “chatcasts” and their impact in the podcasting industry— “The industry part of podcasting has to not be afraid to invest in innovation,” says audio executive Eric Eddings.

Discussion:
@jvquantum and @bonybean

Discussion:

JV Quantum /
@jvquantum: Chat podcasts are here to stay, according to audio exec Eric Eddings. It's all about that personal connection! But don't think the industry is stuck in the past - innovation is key! 🎙️ #podcasts #audioindustry Chat Podcasts Rule the Market—and Always W... https://www.wired.com/...

Bloomberg:

Antenna: Netflix cancellations spiked for a few days in late July 2024 after Reed Hastings endorsed Kamala Harris and announced a $7M super PAC donation— Rate of cancellations almost tripled after Trump backers called for action against the streaming service. — Say goodbye to another tough week in Hollywood.

Discussion:
The Daily Beast and @lucas_shaw@threads.net, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Luca Shaw /
@lucas_shaw@threads.net: New: Netflix experienced a surge in cancellations after co-founder and chairman Reed Hastings endorsed/donated to Kamala Harris. A look at what happened and what it says about media companies + politics in this week's newsletter. https://www.bloomberg.com/...

Poynter:

How reporting by Oregon's Malheur Enterprise on a rail project forced Malheur County to admit wrongdoing, pay a $40K settlement, and commit to more transparency— The Malheur Enterprise's dogged reporting and lawsuit forced the county to admit wrongdoing — and earned the paper a Poynter Prize

Discussion:
@emmettoconnell@mas.to

Discussion:

Emmett O'Connell /
@emmettoconnell@mas.to: The Malheur Enterprise is a rare newspaper, almost no community has something like it. And this is a great example of how a cadre of trained, professional and dogged reporters keep focus on an issue that leads to better government. — https://www.poynter.org/...

New York Times:

Experts including Martin Baron and Dean Baquet discuss ongoing challenges facing traditional media, from a decline in trust to competition from social networks— A panel at the Athens Democracy Forum explores how and whether traditional news organizations can regain the influence and trust that once defined them.

Discussion:
TVNewsCheck and @mariabustillos.bsky.social

Discussion: