Snapchat adds new features, including letting Snapchat+ subscribers design a personalized house on Snap Map and send Snaps that last less than .5 seconds (Aisha Malik/TechCrunch)

Mediagazer: Snapchat adds new features, including letting Snapchat+ subscribers design a personalized house on Snap Map and send Snaps that last less than .5 seconds (Aisha Malik/TechCrunch)

Top News:

New York Times:

Sources: talks between Skydance and Shari Redstone's National Amusements resume, just weeks after the parties called off initial negotiations— Just weeks after the two media companies scuttled their talks about a potential deal, they have resumed their conversations.
Discussion: Variety, Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap

Discussion:

Cynthia Littleton /
Variety: Skydance Media and National Amusements Inc. Reach New Merger Agreement for Paramount Global

RELATED:

Bloomberg:

Sources: Paramount Global is in exclusive talks to sell BET for $1.6B-$1.7B to buyers that include BET CEO Scott Mills and Chinh Chu, who runs CC Capital— - Discussing offer from BET CEO and CC Capital's Chinh Chu — New interest after Paramount talks with Skydance fell apart

Discussion:
The Wrap, The Desk, Variety, The Streamable, New York Post, @mattbelloni and The Hollywood Reporter

Discussion:

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Paramount Stock Rises Over 5% Amid Renewed BET Network Sale Talks

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: Paramount looks to sell BET for around $1.7 billion

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Paramount Reportedly in Talks to Sell BET for $1.6 Billion in Buyout Led by CEO Scott Mills New York Post: Paramount mulls $1.7B offer to sell BET to its CEO and NYC private equity firm: report

Matthew Belloni /
@mattbelloni: So Shari's failure to sell a year ago lowered the price of the asset a few hundred million dollars 🤦 ♂️ .... https://www.bloomberg.com/...

Erik Hayden /
The Hollywood Reporter: Paramount Renews Talks to Sell BET Assets

New York Times:
Sources: Barry Diller is exploring a bid to take control of Paramount; his digital media conglomerate, IAC, has signed NDAs with National Amusements

Discussion:
The Ankler, Fast Company, Axios, The Streamable, Cord Cutters News, The Wrap, NewscastStudio, CNBC, @webbarr, @davidkeithlaw, @jbmp51, @jgdean14, @davidpoland, @susanlitv, @davidgura, @benmullin, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, Variety, IndieWire, The Hollywood Reporter, TVNewsCheck, Deadline and Bloomberg

Discussion:

Matthew Frank /
The Ankler: Barry Diller: 'I Never Said Legacy Studios Couldn't Thrive in the Future'

Chris Morris /
Fast Company: What would Barry Diller's Paramount look like?

Dan Primack /
Axios: Report: Barry Diller is circling Paramount

David Satin /
The Streamable: Billionaire Former Paramount Pictures Head Barry Diller Is in Talks to Buy Paramount Global

Alexei Barrionuevo /
The Wrap: Over 3 Decades Later, Barry Diller Takes Another Swing at Paramount

Michael P. Hill /
NewscastStudio: Barry Diller, Paramount Global in acquisition talks: Report

Lillian Rizzo /
CNBC: Media mogul Barry Diller weighs a bid to gain control of Paramount

Jason Miller /
@jbmp51: Memories....of deals of the past Barry Diller Explores Bid to Take Control of Paramount https://www.nytimes.com/...

David Poland /
@davidpoland: Ha. Diller has been saying studios are dead for years. But this is pretty much why Redstone dumped Ellison. If the company is being sold for parts, Diller is more skilled than most at that. Barry Diller Explores Bid to Take Control of Paramount - NYT https://www.nytimes.com/...

Susan Li /
@susanlitv: Barry Diller Explores Bid to Take Control of #Paramount Diller tried to acquire Paramount Pictures in early '90s Also head of Paramount Pictures in 1974 at the age of 32 Day of interest in $para after Zaz & #WarnerBrosDiscovery explore a streaming tieup https://www.nytimes.com/...

David Gura /
@davidgura: Barry Diller scrambles the Sun Valley agenda.

Ben Mullin /
@benmullin: scoop w/@LaurenSHirsch: Barry Diller makes a run at Paramount https://www.nytimes.com/... $PARA

Antonio Pequeño IV /
Forbes: Billionaire Barry Diller In Potential Takeover Talks With Paramount Following Skydance's Failed Bid, Report Says Los Angeles Times: Barry Diller expresses interest in Redstone family firm (and Paramount controlling shareholder)

Brian Welk /
IndieWire: The Latest Contender for Paramount Is Its Former CEO Who Once Let the Studio Slip Away

Erik Pedersen /
Deadline: Barry Diller Kicking Tires On Paramount Bid - Report

Hannah Miller /
Bloomberg: Barry Diller Explores Possible Paramount Bid, NY Times Says

CNBC:
Sources: Paramount Global is in discussions with other companies about merging Paramount+ with their streamers; WBD is interested in merging Max and Paramount+

Discussion:

David Satin /
The Streamable: Skydance Reportedly Wanted to Break Up Paramount+'s Library to Create Multiple Streamers

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Could Max and Paramount+ Merge? Warner Bros. Discovery Open to Exploring Paramount Streaming Joint Venture

Wayne Friedman /
MediaPost: Paramount Seeks More Aggressive Streaming Merger Deal: CNBC

Alex Sherman /
@sherman4949: Could Warner Bros Discovery's Max be the partner Paramount+ is looking for? There's interest from David Zaslav's company in a deal. And it could jumpstart a “streaming 2.0” re-rationalization of the industry that could help all players. https://www.cnbc.com/... @culturecrave: @CNBC Combined the companies carry nearly $60B in debt, with a substantial part due to the aggressive pivot to streaming Paramount also confirms they're looking at partnering with a technology platform https://www.cnbc.com/... @cnschedules: https://www.cnbc.com/... Should note Paramount has been kinda wishy-washy so who knows what the hell is gonna happen. They passed merger talks with WBD, Sony, and Skydance for Paramount as a whole. Paramount is also considering partnering with a technology platform. @cynicalfate: @DiscussingFilm I want to be happy for more content in one place but they just always get way more expensive as a result.

Martin Peers /
The Information: Meta Falls Afoul of Europe's Regulators

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: WBD expresses interest in unifying Max, Paramount Plus

Alex Sherman /
Alex Sherman on LinkedIn: Paramount Global is looking for a partner for Paramount+. Warner Bros Discovery has interest in a deal. …

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: Paramount+ & Max Are Reportedly In Talks to Merge Streaming Services

CNBC:

EverPass Media, which has commercial rights to NFL's Sunday Ticket, acquires UPshow, a service that enables live sports streaming at commercial establishments— A satellite dish is no longer the only way bars and restaurants can air the National Football League's package of “Sunday Ticket” games.

Discussion:
Awful Announcing, EverPass Media, The Media Leader, The Hill, Sportico, Deadline, Barrett Media and The Hollywood Reporter

Discussion:

Joe Lucia /
Awful Announcing: EverPass Media acquires UPshow, allowing further Sunday Ticket commercial distribution EverPass Media: EverPass Media Acquires UPshow, Allowing NFL Sunday Ticket to be Streamed at Commercial Businesses for the First Time Ever

Sabrina Quagliozzi /
The Media Leader: EverPass Media brings streamed NFL Sunday Ticket to bars and restaurants

Caitlin Huston /
Sportico: TKO Invests In NFL, RedBird Venture as It Inks Sunday Ticket Deal

Dade Hayes /
Deadline: UFC & WWE Parent TKO Group Invests In EverPass Media, A Distributor Of NFL Sunday Ticket And Other Sports Properties To Commercial Businesses

Wired:

AI spam still sometimes ranks higher than original reporting in Google Search despite Google's adjustments to target AI spam in March 2024— Google adjusted its policies to target AI spam earlier this year, but plagiarizing content still comes up higher in search results months later—and SEO experts aren't sure why.

Discussion:
Quartz, @wired, Beyond Search, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Morgan Haefner /
Quartz: AI energy demand is ruining Google's environmental goals @wired: @reece___rogers “This is a really rampant problem on Google right now, and it's hard to answer specifically why it's happening,” says Lily Ray, senior director of search engine optimization at the marketing agency Amsive. Full story: https://www.wired.com/...

@wired:
great! now, google search's AI is prioritizing sites that plagiarize news instead of original news sources. let's dive into the mess 🙃 https://www.wired.com/...

@wired:
what does that look like? let us show you. hoping to find a recent story on adobe's AI, @reece___rogers typed in “adobe train ai content” into google search. the result? our WIRED story *under* a site that basically plagiarized our entire article https://www.wired.com/... [image]

Stephen E. Arnold /
Beyond Search: Will Google Charge for AI Features? Of Course

Variety:

Following Paramount's takedown of MTV News, the Internet Archive has assembled a searchable index of 460,575 web pages earlier published at MTV.com/news— MTV News lives! Well, sort of. … You can search the MTV News archive on the organization's Wayback Machine at this link.

Discussion:
Deadline, Rolling Stone, Internet Archive Blogs, @internetarchive, POP!, @jillpantozzi, @center4popmusic and @variety

Discussion:

Denise Petski /
Deadline: MTV News Lives On In Internet Archive

Allysa Fernandez /
POP!: ‘Digital preservation under threat’: Internet Archive battles legal challenges

Jill Pantozzi /
@jillpantozzi: More of this please!!! @center4popmusic: Huge kudos to @internetarchive for saving this valuable source of online popular music research.

TechCrunch:

Snapchat adds new features, including letting Snapchat+ subscribers design a personalized house on Snap Map and send Snaps that last less than .5 seconds— Snapchat is introducing new ways for users to personalize their accounts, the company announced on Tuesday.

Discussion:
Snap Newsroom and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Reuters:

The London Stock Exchange Group partners with Dow Jones to share news and data; the companies plan a curated news space in LSEG's Workspace platform in 2025— The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.L) announced a multi-year news and data partnership with Dow Jones that will include content …

Discussion:
MediaPost, Talking Biz News and Dow Jones Newswires

Discussion:

Axios:

CNBC launches a sports vertical as part of its broader plan to shift its editorial and business focus to cross-platform verticals led by subject-matter experts— - The company is expected to make more announcements about other topic areas soon. … - CNBC has hired sports valuation expert …

Discussion:
@bmccandless, NewscastStudio, @sherman4949, CNBC Press Releases, Variety, TVNewsCheck and Talking Biz News

Discussion:

Bill McCandless /
@bmccandless: If you know you know but this idea is hilarious There are no new ideas there's only good press releases about old ideas @darrenrovell @jonathanwald @SandyCannold

Michael P. Hill /
NewscastStudio: CNBC kicks off sports vertical

Alex Sherman /
@sherman4949: Excited for the opportunities that will come with this. I'm one step closer to my lifelong goal of becoming @darrenrovell

Brian Steinberg /
Variety: CNBC Ramps Up Sports-Business Coverage

Sara Fischer /
TVNewsCheck: CNBC Launches Sports Vertical Amid Broader Biz Shift

Chris Roush /
Talking Biz News: CNBC to expand sports business coverage

Mastodon Blog:

Mastodon adds clickable bylines under article links, pointing to the author's fediverse account; The Verge and MacRumors are among the pubs using the feature— A new feature for media organizations, journalists and bloggers — To reinforce and encourage Mastodon as the go-to place for journalism …

Discussion:
The Verge, TechCrunch, @Mastodon@mastodon.social, Melanie Sill on LinkedIn, @mho@social.heise.de, @frozencanuck@mas.to, @dimillian@mastodon.social, @nileane@nileane.fr, J. Nathan Matias on LinkedIn, @btp@fosstodon.org, @Edent@mastodon.social, @ernie@writing.exchange, @seanfobbe@fediscience.org, @amberage@eldritch.cafe, @IceCubesApp@mastodon.online and @buddiesofbudgie@floss.social

Discussion:

Sarah Perez /
TechCrunch: Twitter/X alternative Mastodon appeals to journalists with new ‘byline’ feature @Mastodon@mastodon.social: Today we're launching a new #Mastodon feature that will highlight writers and journalists that are active on the fediverse when their their articles are being shared. — https://blog.joinmastodon.org/ ...

Melanie Sill /
Melanie Sill on LinkedIn: I left Twitter two years ago and have only one regret: That so many journalists and news organizations stayed, despite the platform's deterioration …

Martin Holland /
@mho@social.heise.de: I like the new #CreatorTag introduced by #Mastodon today and hope this gets adopted widely: — https://blog.joinmastodon.org/ ... But don't you think, it's a little bit sad, that @Gargron and his screenshots most prominently mention the adoption by @verge even though all of their authors haven't been active here for weeks, months or even years? … @frozencanuck@mas.to: “Mastodon is the perfect platform to amass a loyal audience that you, as the author, truly own, and can take with you across the fediverse” — This is an excellent feature! — I really hope journalists take note and make use of it. And for those journalists who are not yet on @Mastodon it will help motivate them to give Mastodon a try. …

Thomas Ricouard /
@dimillian@mastodon.social: I love journalism, and this is excellent news! — https://blog.joinmastodon.org/ ... @nileane@nileane.fr: Some great podcast recommendations in @Mastodon's latest announcement post 👀 — https://blog.joinmastodon.org/ ... [image]

J. Nathan Matias /
J. Nathan Matias on LinkedIn: Excited to see new Mastodon features designed to highlight journalism on the platform: “To reinforce and encourage Mastodon as the go-to place for journalism, we're launching a new feature today. …

Terence Eden /
@Edent@mastodon.social: If you share a link to my blog - shkspr.mobi - Mastodon will now let people see that I wrote it. — https://blog.joinmastodon.org/ ... This is a great move for the #OpenWeb - and it is brilliant to finally move away from the moribund #OpenGraphProtocol.

Ernie Smith /
@ernie@writing.exchange: Good news—@tedium is one of the sites doing this. https://blog.joinmastodon.org/ ... @seanfobbe@fediscience.org: This seems like a really cool new feature to make Mastodon more attractive to journalists by highlighting their Mastodon accounts under their articles: https://blog.joinmastodon.org/ ... I'm curious to see it in action.

Mx Amber Alex /
@amberage@eldritch.cafe: Highlighting journalism on Mastodon | Eugen Rochko, Mastodon gGmbH Blog — 1) That will get abused SO much. Write something malicious, misattribute to someone whose reputation you'd like to ruin, et voila. The allowlisting is a good stopgap, but he ruins that by announcing it will be disabled (or disableable) in the future. … @IceCubesApp@mastodon.online: Some new shiny stuff is coming to the app very soon! — Redesigned the News screen (previously Trending Links), and it's now a default tab (replacing the Messages tab) — You can now tap the “X posts” button to see a timeline of all posts mentioning this link. … @buddiesofbudgie@floss.social: The blog posts on our website now support the recently announced #Fediverse creator meta tag by @Mastodon 🎉 — https://blog.joinmastodon.org/ ... If you have a news site or blog, be sure to add this support as well. That way we can highlight more awesome folks in the Fediverse.

Deadline:

VFX company DNEG raised $200M from Abu Dhabi's UASG at a $2B+ valuation to expand its Brahma division, which is developing an AI-powered, photo-real CGI creator— London-based The DNEG Group has secured a $200M capital injection from Abu Dhabi investment firm United Al Saqer Group (UASG).

Discussion:
@dneg, Business Standard, Proactive, DNEG, @malhotra_namit, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter and Financial Times

Discussion:
@dneg: The DNEG Group is pleased to announce a $200 million investment from @UnitedSaqer , valuing the DNEG Group at over $2 billion. With this investment, the DNEG Group will accelerate its strategy of innovation & diversification. More: https://www.dneg.com/...

Namit Malhotra /
@malhotra_namit: Excited about the partnership with @UnitedSaqer. This strategic investment will accelerate our plans to redefine our business model & position our Group as a global provider of the highest-quality solutions across media, entertainment, and gaming. #AI #PrimeFocus #DNEG

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: DNEG Group Secures $200 Million Investment From Abu Dhabi's United Al Saqer Group

Etan Vlessing /
The Hollywood Reporter: ‘Dune’ VFX House DNEG Raises $200M for AI Innovation From Abu Dhabi-Based Fund

The Information:

Source: Runway, a startup focusing on generative AI video for Hollywood and other filmmakers, is in talks to raise $450M at about a $4B valuation— Runway, already the best funded among a cluster of startups developing artificial intelligence software to generate videos for Hollywood …

Discussion:
@steph_palazzolo, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Stephanie Palazzolo /
@steph_palazzolo: Runway, already the best-funded AI video startup, wants to extend its lead with a fresh $450 million in funding. NYC-based General Atlantic is in talks to lead the round at a ~$4Bn price. More details here (incl rev!): https://www.theinformation.com/ ...

Tom's Guide:

Generative AI music service Suno launches its iOS app in the US, with plans for a global rollout and an Android app— An AI studio in your pocket. — You're in luck if you've ever wanted to make music using Suno while away from your computer. It is now available on iOS — at least, it is if you're in the U.S.

Discussion:
VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »

Discussion: