A profile of TollBit, which has raised $7M and aims to create a marketplace where AI companies can pay publishers for their content on an ongoing basis (Pranav Dixit/Engadget)

Mediagazer: A profile of TollBit, which has raised $7M and aims to create a marketplace where AI companies can pay publishers for their content on an ongoing basis (Pranav Dixit/Engadget)

Top News:

Sacramento Bee:

Buffy Wicks, who dropped her effort to make Big Tech pay California news orgs after Google agreed to give to a nonprofit supporting local news, defends the deal— The California legislator at the center of a first-in-the-nation deal between Google and the state to help fund local news organizations …
Discussion:

Brian Merchant /
@bcmerchant: @mattdpearce @MediaGuildWest Neither journalism bill had *at any point* contained language on AI. Now, in the 11th hour, here comes this deal, cut between Google, legislators and publishers—and 0 journalists—that suddenly includes public funding, and *an AI accelerator*. Journalists were stunned and livid.

Cher Scarlett /
@cherthedev: The thing I learned during the data privacy bill creation in Washington state is that I had to put everything in my fight for the people in public, while tech companies hid in the shadows against me. They got to keep location data. Something is very wrong with this system.

Matt Pearce /
@mattdpearce:

Matt Pearce /
@mattdpearce: Jeff Jarvis was a paid lobbyist for the Chamber of Commerce. The only people willing to publicly defend California's ugly Google deal right now are the same people Google and its allies paid to kill AB 886. This is a job.

Brian Merchant /
@bcmerchant: Meanwhile, actual working journalists, who had formed a cautious alliance with the bill's sponsor, Buffy Wicks, and, in a very rare move, publishers themselves, put themselves on the line to support CJPA. Here was a real chance for structural reform to save local news.

Dan Froomkin /
@froomkin: Google's secretive backroom deal with the California legislature to pay a relative pittance to local news orgs sets off all sorts of alarms for me, but @jeffjarvis persuasively argues that it has some good points, too. https://buzzmachine.com/...

Adam Kovacevich /
@adamkovac: The CA news journalists union @MediaGuildWest helped write CJPA, so it's natural that they don't like @BuffyWicks' compromise. But just to set a few things straight in response to their criticism of the deal... https://x.com/...

Karla Ortiz /
@kortizart: What a disgusting use of California's tax payer's dollars. California has some amazing bills in the works, but this one sets everything back by not only normalizing GenAi worst exploitative practices but having all of US pay into it. I HOPE @BuffyWicks reconsiders this awful bill

Tim Griggs /
Tim Griggs on LinkedIn: I'm a pragmatist, generally, and that means I'm all for any move that's designed to help local news publishers. …

Jess Weatherbed /
The Verge: Google reaches a $250 million deal to skirt proposed journalism bill

Thomas Barrabi /
New York Post: California Democrat defends ‘disastrous’ $250M Google deal with newspapers

Brian Merchant /
Blood in the Machine: How a bill meant to save journalism from big tech ended up boosting AI and bailing out Google instead

Jon Brodkin /
Ars Technica: Google avoids “link tax” bill with deal to fund California journalism and AI

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: Google's plan to fund California newsrooms draws scorn from journalism groups

Jeff Jarvis /
Whither news?: California's Deal for News

Dan Kennedy /
Media Nation: California's proposed deal with Google to support local news comes under criticism

RELATED:

CNN:
Unions and some state senators criticize Google's plan for a California local news fund, which stalled bills that would have forced Big Tech to fund journalists

Discussion:
@ryfons, The Hill, MEDIANAMA, @bcmerchant, @mattdpearce, @jeffjarvis, @spj_tweets, @tvgrimreaper, @mattdpearce, @ddayen, Media Guild of the West, @jeffjarvis, The Wrap, The Drum, SPJ News, Observer, Fast Company, Inside Radio, LION Publishers, New York Post, @passantino@threads.net, Editor and Publisher, UPI, CalMatters, The Information, New York Times, KQED and MediaPost

Discussion:

Ryan Fonseca /
@ryfons: A+ explainer thread from @bcmerchant on the fiasco that's bumming out CA journalists week

Mimansa /
MEDIANAMA: Google Agrees to $250M ‘Local Journalism Supporting’ Partnership in California Amidst Protest from Journalist Unions

Brian Merchant /
@bcmerchant: @jeffjarvis It's profoundly undemocratic—the two bills passed with supermajority, bipartisan votes. I just spent an hour on a call with devastated journalists from diverse newsrooms. The man set to chair the UCB board isn't answering Qs. Newsguild and working CA journalists oppose this bill!

Brian Merchant /
@bcmerchant: @jeffjarvis That hedge fund line is right out of Google's opposition PR materials—it distorts the issue at hand, as I think you know it does. Most CA papers are not owned by hedge funds, and no one was happy about sending the money to those that were, which was why safeguards were built in

Matt Pearce /
@mattdpearce: THIS DEAL INVOLVES AUTOMATIC PAYMENTS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS TO HEDGE FUNDS AND NO ONE KNOWS THAT BECAUSE THE TERMS ARE SECRET our guild is on that board and will be very, very lonely @jeffjarvis: @bcmerchant We have a similar structure in NJ and it is working well because it does not automatically hand money out to hedge-funds but instead operates on goals and merit. Maybe give it a chance.

@jeffjarvis:
I just put up a post about California's deal for news with more information I have learned about the structure of it. Nobody's 100% pleased but this is a step in a better direction. (Gift link but remember I always crosspost at Buzzmachine.) https://medium.com/... @spj_tweets: SPJ calls on California decision-makers to ensure that yesterday's agreement between California lawmakers and Google serves as a genuine step forward in reversing our nation's alarming decline in newsroom employment. Read our full statement: https://www.spj.org/... [image]

@jeffjarvis:
I am proud to have been involved in this process, testifying in Sacramento, talking with legislators and aides, and researching a paper on the bills that proposed a solution such as this. A fund is preferable for it involves goals and accountability.

Benjamin Lindsay /
The Wrap: Google's $250 Million Deal for California Newsrooms Should Pilot How to ‘Bolster Local Journalism,’ SPJ Says

Webb Wright /
The Drum: Google agrees to pay up to $130m to support California news publishers & AI innovation

Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly /
Observer: Google Agrees to Shell Out $250M to Support Journalism—But Not Everyone Is Thrilled

Chris Morris /
Fast Company: Will Google's $250 million deal with California really help journalism?

Hayley Milloy /
LION Publishers: Scaling sustainability: How Knight Foundation's investment strategy uplifts the entire local news ecosystem

Thomas Barrabi /
New York Post: California, Google's paltry $250M million deal to fund newsroom blasted as ‘disastrous’ by critics

Jon Passantino /
@passantino@threads.net: Google agrees to first-in-the-nation deal to fund California newsrooms, but journalists are calling it a disaster. ""The Legislature embarked on an effort to regulate monopolies and failed terribly. Now we question whether the state has done more harm than good." https://www.cnn.com/...

Diane Sylvester /
Editor and Publisher: Google avoids content payment mandates in California with surprise media partnership deal

Jeanne Kuang /
CalMatters: California tried to make Google pay news outlets. The company cut a deal that includes funding AI

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: WBD has started working on creating more original programming for TNT and rebooting series and made-for-TV movies, albeit with smaller budgets— Entertainment company is plotting ‘high-adrenaline’ dramas for a cable channel that has become closely associated with reruns

Discussion:
Deadline, Too Much TV Newsletter, @tvgrimreaper, TVLine, CBR, Deadline, Screen Rant, Dean Devlin on LinkedIn, The Wrap and Variety

Discussion:

Nellie Andreeva /
Deadline: TNT Greenlights CIA Miniseries As Network Eyes Potential Scripted Ramp-Up Post Write-Down & Restructuring

Rick Ellis /
Too Much TV Newsletter: Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Friday, August 23rd, 2024 @tvgrimreaper: They're just thrashing about with no logical strategy. Adding some cheap dramas isn't going to help with carriage fee negotiations. Why bother?

Matt Webb Mitovich /
TVLine: TNT Grabs Librarians Sequel From The CW, Orders Season 2, as Part of Plan to Replenish Drama Slate

Lee Freitag /
CBR: The Librarians Sequel Series No Longer Set to Air on The CW

Peter White /
Deadline: ‘The Librarians: The Next Chapter’ Lands At TNT After Being Pulled By The CW

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: WBD Ramps Up TNT Investment With ‘The Librarians: The Next Chapter,’ CIA Miniseries

Joe Otterson /
Variety: ‘Librarians: The Next Chapter’ Moves to TNT From CW

Deadline:

Nielsen: the Democratic National Convention's final night averaged 26.2M US viewers over 15 networks; the RNC's final night drew 25.4M viewers over 14 networks— The final night of the Democratic National Convention, buoyed by a speech from Vice President Kamala Harris accepting …

Discussion:
Status, Variety, @xdata, @mulvihill79, New York Times, @oliverdarcy@threads.net, Politico, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone, Daily Kos, Raw Story and MediaPost

Discussion:

Oliver Darcy /
Status: Trumped in the Ratings — MSNBC is posting the strongest total viewership during the DNC. @xdata: This year's Democratic National Convention ignited conversations far and wide, fueling a high volume of engagement across the platform. [image]

Michael Mulvihill /
@mulvihill79: As expected the DNC lead over the RNC narrowed significantly from 17% in overnights to 4% in the nationals, still good enough to give the DNC a bigger audience for all four nights of the conventions.

Michael M. Grynbaum /
New York Times: Harris's Convention Speech Seen by 29 Million, a Narrow Win Over Trump's

Oliver Darcy /
@oliverdarcy@threads.net: The final night of the DNC averaged 26.2 million viewers, which surpassed the 25.38 million viewers who tuned into the final night of the RNC, according to Nielsen. That means every night of the DNC out-rated the RNC.

Jared Mitovich /
Politico: Harris DNC speech drew 28.9 million viewers, a half million more than Trump

Stephen Battaglio /
Los Angeles Times: DNC ratings thump Trump as 29 million TV viewers watch Harris' acceptance speech

Loree Seitz /
The Wrap: DNC Night 4 Ratings Surge to 26.2 Million Viewers as Kamala Harris Accepts Historic Presidential Nomination

Rick Porter /
The Hollywood Reporter: TV Ratings: Democratic Convention Closes With 26M Viewers, Edging RNC Final Night

Charisma Madarang /
Rolling Stone: DNC Brings in Higher Ratings Than RNC All Four Nights

Andrew Mangan /
Daily Kos: Trump's worst nightmare: DNC trounces RNC in TV ratings

Brad Reed /
Raw Story: DNC ratings smoke RNC for third night in a row

Wayne Friedman /
MediaPost: First 2 Nights Of DNC Viewing Up 23% Over RNC

Status:

Source: Penske Media has laid off dozens of staff over the last several weeks; Penske says it's grown its total headcount in 2022, 2023, and 2024— The layoffs at Penske's media empire comes as his company faces tough headwinds, many of them industry wide.

Discussion:
@oliverdarcy@threads.net and Talking Biz News

Discussion:

Oliver Darcy /
@oliverdarcy@threads.net: Jay Penske owns Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Sportico, WWD, IndieWire, and plenty more. But, quietly, his media empire is bleeding, laying off dozens of people in piecemeal fashion over the last few weeks. What's going on? …

Chris Roush /
Talking Biz News: Hollywood Reporter, Variety have had layoffs

Sportico:

Diamond Sports reaches deals to continue broadcasting games for 13 NBA teams and nine NHL teams through the leagues' 2024-2025 seasons in their local markets— Nearly a month to the day after a Houston court agreed to postpone a crucial confirmation hearing in the Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy case …

Discussion:
WOI, @powergate92, @evandrellich, Mavs Moneyball, Dallas Morning News, @nationmffl, @jeremydstanley.com, @theathletic, Tampa Bay Times, The Commercial Appeal, Awful Announcing, The Detroit News, @mikevorkunov, The Desk, @crupicrupicrupi, @mikevorkunov, @british_buzz, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, New York Times, Barrett Media, @evandrellich and Cord Cutters News

Discussion:

Donavon /
@powergate92: Diamond Sports has filed an agreement with the Bankruptcy Court that will keep 7 NHL Teams on Bally Sports through the 2024-25 Season, and if they confirmed a Chapter 11 Plan, it will continue beyond the 2024-25 Season. [image]

Evan Drellich /
@evandrellich: Diamond Sports has reached deals with the NBA and NHL, deals it has said for a while it was closing in on. There's a hearing scheduled for Sept. 3 where, presumably, we'll get some sort of overall update on the bankruptcy process.

Matt Martinez /
Mavs Moneyball: Diamond, Bally Sports reportedly drop regional broadcast deals with Mavericks, Pelicans @nationmffl: NEWS: The Dallas Mavericks and Bally Sports Southwest will be parting ways. Diamond Sports has filed a motion asking the bankruptcy judge to reject the deal as well to terminate the rights for the upcoming NBA season. (via @MikeVorkunov) [image] @theathletic: Regardless of whether it successfully emerges from bankruptcy, Diamond Sports Group is now promising it will operate through the 2024-25 NBA and NHL seasons. The company said it has reached agreements with both leagues. ✍️ @EvanDrellich and @MikeVorkunov https://www.nytimes.com/...

Eduardo A. Encina /
Tampa Bay Times: Bally Sports set to continue broadcasting Lightning games in 2024-25

Damichael Cole /
The Commercial Appeal: Diamond Sports Group, NBA reach agreement: Grizzlies games expected to air on Bally Sports

Daniel Kaplan /
Awful Announcing: Bally Sports RSNs reach new agreements with NHL, NBA for 2024-2025 seasons

Tony Paul /
The Detroit News: Red Wings, Pistons staying on Bally Sports Detroit for at least 2024-25

Mike Vorkunov /
@mikevorkunov: The Pelicans will also not be on Bally Sports in their market next season, as @cclark_13 had previously reported. The Diamond Sports filing said the two sides agreed to split as well. They're going to WVUE-TV and Gray Television, he reported.

Anthony Crupi /
@crupicrupicrupi: Big news from the world of the RSNs as Diamond Sports appears to have cinched a lifeline* by re-upping with 20 of its NBA & NHL partners. *naturally, the endemic stressors on the distribution model aren't going anywhere, so maybe this buys them 2 years? https://www.sportico.com/...

Mike Vorkunov /
@mikevorkunov: Seems Dallas Mavericks will not be on Bally Sports Southwest next season. Diamond Sports filed a motion asking bankruptcy judge to reject its deal with the Mavs and said franchise “mutually” wants to terminate rights agreement ahead of 2024-25 season. The judge needs to sign off.

James Plowright /
@british_buzz: Following today's announcement by Diamond Sports Group (Bally Sports), it appears the Charlotte Hornets will REMAIN on @HornetsOnBally this season. The Hornets are not mentioned as one of the teams released from the contract on the published court documents earlier today. [image]

Nolan O'Hara /
Sports Illustrated: Timberwolves will remain on Bally Sports North for 2024-25 season

Alden Gonzalez /
ESPN: Diamond drops Mavs, Pels, but agrees to air NBA, NHL for '24-25 seasons

Evan Drellich /
@evandrellich: Statement from David Preschlack, CEO of Diamond Sports Group: [image]

Engadget:

A profile of TollBit, which has raised $7M and aims to create a marketplace where AI companies can pay publishers for their content on an ongoing basis— So far though, its business model of becoming a marketplace where AI companies can pay publishers directly for their data is a complete hypothetical

Discussion:
@pranavdixit, Observer

Discussion:
@pranavdixit: Despite raising $7M, bringing on Meta's former high-profile media partnerships head @campbell_brown, and onboarding 100 publishers, TollBit's model is still hypothetical. No money has changed hands yet, but investors are knocking on their door. 💸🚪 https://www.engadget.com/...

@pranavdixit:
Founded by two ex-Toast colleagues, TollBit is a martplace where AI companies can buy fresh, high-quality data from publishers on an ongoing basis.💡📈 https://www.engadget.com/...

@pranavdixit:
New: I wrote about @Tollbitofficial, a startup aiming to be the “iTunes” of AI content licensing. Its founders told me they want to end the “Napster days” of AI by making it easy for AI companies to pay for the data they need. 🎶🤖 https://www.engadget.com/...

Wall Street Journal:

In a letter, Skydance lawyers accuse Paramount's special committee of breaching its terms with Skydance by extending the time it can talk with other bidders— In a letter from its lawyers, Skydance accuses Paramount's committee of directors of violating the terms of its deal

Discussion:

Dylan Jones /
Dylan Jones on LinkedIn: Having been part of management teams either buying billion dollar businesses or being bought by them, I've seen plenty of the game of chess …

Ian Whittaker /
Ian Whittaker on LinkedIn: I wouldn't go so far as to equate the struggle for control over Paramount as two bald men fighting over a comb - the asset has perhaps more strengths …

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Skydance Accuses Paramount of Violating Deal Agreement by Negotiating With Edgar Bronfman Jr.: Report

Eva Davis /
Eva Davis on LinkedIn: More M&A entertainment from two entertainment giants — this time involving the “Go Shop.” In July 2024, Skydance Media and Paramount Global announced …

Sabrina Quagliozzi /
The Media Leader: Skydance accuses Paramount of breach of contract

Erik Gruenwedel /
Media Play News: Skydance Media Cries Foul as Paramount Global Extends Bidding Window to Edgar Bronfman Jr.

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Skydance Calls on Paramount to Stop Negotiating With Edgar Bronfman Jr., Accuses Special Committee of Violating Merger Agreement

Anthony Pascale /
TrekMovie.com: Paramount Extends Skydance Merger Deal Date To Consider Competing Bid [UPDATED: Skydance Responds]

The Verge:

Q&A with Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion, and Danielle Strle, chief product officer, on how they bought the outlet, why they're making a print version, and more— The new owners of the satire site rescued it from content farm hell. Now, they're relaunching its newspaper.

Discussion:
@mvario@mastodon.social: The Onion's new owners on escaping content farm hell and relaunching a newspaper - The Verge — https://www.theverge.com/... #TheOnion — [image]

Jordan LaFlure /
Jordan LaFlure on LinkedIn: We were so close. After decades of R&D, testing, and optimizing, The Onion was just another 3 to 5 years away from debuting an infinitely long slideshow …

Christina Child /
Christina Child on LinkedIn: “We moved on to WordPress. We looked at other platforms, of course. But yeah, moving fast, here we are. It's a WordPress world.” — No fake news here. … @verge@mastodon.social: How The Onion is saving itself from the digital media death spiral https://www.theverge.com/... @hack13@cyberfurz.social: This is a great episode hearing about people coming together to keep a publication online even if it is a fake news publication. Just to keep The Onion around. — Decoder with Nilay Patel: How The Onion is saving itself from the digital media death spiral — Episode webpage: https://www.theverge.com/... …

Variety:

Filing: the NBA seeks to dismiss WBD's lawsuit over the league's media rights, detailing how WBD had failed to match the terms of Amazon's offer— This game may never start. … Spokespersons for the NBA and Warner's TNT Sports were not able to respond immediately to queries seeking comment.

Discussion:
The Wrap, The Desk, Sports Media Watch, @bristei, Front Office Sports, Awful Announcing, Front Office Sports, Awful Announcing and TVNewsCheck

Discussion:

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: NBA Files Motion to Dismiss WBD Matching Rights Lawsuit

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: NBA seeks dismissal of WBD's lawsuit over telecast rights

Drew Lerner /
Sports Media Watch: NBA-WBD, Diamond, Venu and more

Brian Steinberg /
@bristei: MORE: Letter from NBA's Bill Koenig to WBD sports chief Luis Silberwasser details multiple ways in which Warner failed to match Amazon's bid for new rights package from league https://variety.com/...

Eric Fisher /
Front Office Sports: NBA Moves to Dismiss WBD Lawsuit, Says Network Sought to Rewrite Deal

Daniel Kaplan /
Awful Announcing: Amazon, NBC want media deals under seal in WBD lawsuit against NBA

Lucas Manfredi /
TVNewsCheck: NBA Files Motion To Dismiss WBD Matching Rights Lawsuit

Advanced Television:

Disney says it is expanding availability of its ad-supported Disney+ plan to Finland, the Netherlands, and Portugal on October 17— Following the launch of its ad-supported plan in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK in 2023 …

Advanced Television:

Liberty Media announces plans to sell F1 shares worth $825M to partially fund its 86% stake in Dorna Sports, the MotoGP commercial rights holder valued at $4.2B— Liberty Media has revealed plans to sell F1 shares worth $825 million (€742m) in order to ‘partially fund’ its planned acquisition of MotoGP.

Discussion:
Inside Radio, PlanetF1, Motorsport Week, Sports Illustrated and Motorsport.com

Discussion:

Elizabeth Blackstock /
PlanetF1: Liberty Media announce huge $825m F1 stake sale to fund $4.2bn MotoGP takeover

Saajan Jogia /
Sports Illustrated: Liberty Media Ready To Sell $825 Million In F1 Stakes To Raise A Whopping $4.2 Billion For MotoGP Purchase

Mark Mann-Bryans /
Motorsport.com: Liberty announces $825mn F1 stake sale to fund MotoGP takeover

Bloomberg:

A look at Apple Podcasts' fading dominance, as an April 2024 study of 603 podcast consumers found 31% use YouTube, 21% use Spotify, and 12% use Apple's app— Hello! Welcome back to Soundbite. Today we're looking at the fading dominance of Apple Podcasts.

Discussion:
The Information, Cult of Mac, MacRumors, 9to5Mac and Slate, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Martin Peers /
The Information: All Eyes on Nvidia's Numbers

Tim Hardwick /
MacRumors: Apple Podcasts Losing Market Share to YouTube and Spotify

Ben Lovejoy /
9to5Mac: Apple Podcasts app no longer #1, has dropped to #3

Lizzie O'Leary /