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 (Bloomberg)

Mediagazer: 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 (Bloomberg)

Top News:

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: Variety, The Streamable, @mattbelloni and The Wrap

Discussion:

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Paramount Reportedly in Talks to Sell BET in $1.6 Billion Buyout Led by CEO Scott Mills

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/...

RELATED:
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— Mr. Diller, a digital media pioneer, lost a bidding war for Paramount Pictures decades ago. Now, he's making a run at its parent company.

Discussion:

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

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

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

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

Discussion:

Jill Pantozzi /
@jillpantozzi: More of this please!!! @center4popmusic: Huge kudos to @internetarchive for saving this valuable source of online popular music research. @variety: Internet Archive has assembled a searchable index of 460,575 web pages previously published on MTV's website. You can search the MTV News archive on the organization's Wayback Machine. https://variety.com/... [image]

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

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/ ...

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:
@wired, Beyond Search

Discussion:
@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:
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]

@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/...

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

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

Discussion:

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

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:

Sarah Perez /
TechCrunch: Twitter/X alternative Mastodon appeals to journalists with new ‘byline’ feature @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. @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.

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. … @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. …

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

Discussion:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wired:

Some YouTube employees detail internal deliberations about content relating to the Israel-Hamas war and accuse the company of inconsistent moderation— Insiders have shared YouTube's playbook for handling the Gaza crisis. They argue that it shows inconsistent enforcement.

Discussion:
The Guardian, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

The Moscow Times:

Spotify has removed the songs and profiles of pro-war Russian artists sanctioned by the EU; their profiles remain accessible on Apple Music and YouTube— Music streaming service Spotify has removed the songs and profiles of pro-war Russian artists sanctioned by the West, the Sweden-based company told The Moscow Times on Thursday.

Discussion:
@irgarner, @moscowtimes, Music Ally, Stereogum, The Kyiv Independent, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Hotpress, Breitbart, Consequence, Billboard and Digital Music News

Discussion:

Dr. Ian Garner /
@irgarner: The fash pop is all gone from Spotify, what a shame https://www.themoscowtimes.com/ ... @moscowtimes: In a statement sent to The Moscow Times, Spotify said its “Platform Rules clearly state that we take action when we identify content which explicitly violates our content policies or local laws.” “Upon review, these artists met the threshold for removal,” the statement added.

Stuart Dredge /
Music Ally: Spotify has removed music from some pro-war Russian artists

Nate Ostiller /
The Kyiv Independent: Spotify removes music by pro-war Russian singers

Caroline Kelly /
Hotpress: Spotify removes music by pro-war Russian artists

John Hayward /
Breitbart: Report: Spotify Removes Russian Artists Supportive of Vladimir Putin's War in Ukraine

Chris Eggertsen /
Billboard: Spotify Removes Music by Russian Artists Supportive of Ukraine Invasion

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:

Billboard:

Merck Mercuriadis plans to step down as the chairman of Hipgnosis Song Management after closing the proposed acquisition of Hipgnosis Songs Fund to Blackstone— The company's founder calls it the “right time” to “undertake a strategic shift of focus.” — Hipgnosis Song Management announced …

Discussion:
Variety, Music Ally, Music Business Worldwide, Digital Music News, CMU and Music Week

Discussion:

Thania Garcia /
Variety: Merck Mercuriadis to Exit as Hipgnosis Song Management Chairman Ahead of Blackstone Acquisition

Murray Stassen /
Music Business Worldwide: Merck Mercuriadis to step away as Chairman of Hipgnosis Song Management

Dylan Smith /
Digital Music News: Breaking: Merck Mercuriadis Announces Hipgnosis Exit, Plans to Step Away ‘Upon Closing’ of Blackstone's Acquisition

Sam Taylor /
CMU: Merck Mercuriadis to exit Hipgnosis - hints at global songwriter advocacy initiative

Semafor:

Candle Media plans to split into two divisions: animation will be folded into Moonbug and the rest will move into a live-action division called Candle Studios— The Scoop — Candle Media, the Blackstone-backed firm rolling up Hollywood production companies, is moving to slash costs …

Discussion:
The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter and @semaforben

Discussion:

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Candle Media to Split Animation, Live Action Businesses, Cut Costs

Etan Vlessing /