A US district judge in Texas strikes down the FTC's ban on worker noncompete agreements, due to start September 4, after her temporary block of the rule in July (Daniel Wiessner/Reuters)

Mediagazer: A US district judge in Texas strikes down the FTC's ban on worker noncompete agreements, due to start September 4, after her temporary block of the rule in July (Daniel Wiessner/Reuters)

Top News:

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: former Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. has submitted a $4.3B offer for National Amusements and a minority stake in Paramount Global— Bronfman is looking to scuttle a previous agreement to merge Paramount with David Ellison's Skydance Media — Media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr …
Discussion: The Wrap, New York Post, Front Office Sports, New York Times, Reuters, The Guardian, Ad Age, The Streamable, Lauren Thomas on LinkedIn, Los Angeles Times, Media Play News, Quartz, The Media Leader, Jessica Toonkel on LinkedIn, Music Business Worldwide, Deadline, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, Associated Press and Next TV

Discussion:

Alexei Barrionuevo /
The Wrap: Inside the Bronfman Bid for Paramount: No ‘Operational Distractions’ of Skydance Merger, Better for ‘B’ Shareholders | Exclusive

Alexandra Steigrad /
New York Post: Bidding war erupts over Paramount as Edgar Bronfman submits $4.3B competing offer

Eric Fisher /
Front Office Sports: New $4.3 Billion Paramount Bid Puts CBS Sports' Future in the Balance

Dawn Chmielewski /
Reuters: Edgar Bronfman submits rival bid to acquire Paramount Global

Lauren Thomas /
Lauren Thomas on LinkedIn: Breaking overnight on The Wall Street Journal: Media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. has formally made his play for Shari Redstone's media empire …

Erik Gruenwedel /
Media Play News: Investor Edgar Bronfman Jr. Offers $4.3 Billion Bid For Paramount Global

Rocio Fabbro /
Quartz: Edgar Bronfman wants to buy Paramount for $4.3 billion — and take it away from Skydance

Sabrina Quagliozzi /
The Media Leader: Bronfman challenges Skydance for Paramount control

Jessica Toonkel /
Jessica Toonkel on LinkedIn: NEW: Bronfman's bid for Paramount is in. He matches Skydance in offer for NAI at $1.75 billion in equity and offers around $1.5 billion on Paramount's balance sheet. …

Mandy Dalugdug /
Music Business Worldwide: Edgar Bronfman Jr. makes $4.3bn bid for Paramount, challenging Skydance deal (Report)

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Edgar Bronfman Jr. Makes $4.3 Billion Bid to Take Control of Paramount Global in Challenge to Skydance Deal

Jeff Jarvis /
@jeffjarvis@mastodon.social: Battle of three billionnaire nepo babies now: — Edgar Bronfman Submits $4.3 Billion Bid for Redstone's National Amusements, Paramount Stake https://www.wsj.com/...

Jon Lafayette /
Next TV: Edgar Bronfman Makes $4.3 Billion Bid For Paramount

RELATED:
The Wrap:

Document: Edgar Bronfman Jr.'s Paramount bid is backed by a group of 19 investors including Fortress, Brock Pierce, and producer Steven Paul— Kazakh investor Nurali Aliyev joins Fortress and producer Steven Paul in the last minute $4.3 billion bid — Cryptocurrency mogul Brock Pierce …

Discussion:
TVNewsCheck

Axios:
Source: Edgar Bronfman Jr. has raised $5.5B for a bid for National Amusements, and plans to submit a bid higher than his initial $4.3B offer in the coming days

Discussion:
Reuters, Gordon Geist on LinkedIn, Financial Times, Deadline, @sarafischer, The Hill, The Desk and The Wrap

Discussion:

Gordon Geist /
Gordon Geist on LinkedIn: Read this to remind yourself that in the world of M&A there is good money and there is not so good money. …

Jill Goldsmith /
Deadline: Edgar Bronfman Backers, More Details Emerge In Bid For Paramount That Seeks To Unseat Skydance

Sara Fischer /
@sarafischer: Scoop: Edgar Bronfman Jr. has raised more $ for his @Paramount bid. Now has up to $5.5B raised —He's hoping to submit new bid if “go-shop” window extended —Money coming from indivs & fam offices like Fortress, BC Partners Advisors, others More on @axios https://www.axios.com/...

Dominick Mastrangelo /
The Hill: Edgar Bronfman Jr. makes multi-billion dollar bid for Paramount

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: Edgar Bronfman, Jr. submits bid for Paramount Global

Alexei Barrionuevo /
The Wrap: Edgar Bronfman Jr. Makes Last-Minute $4.3 Billion Bid for Paramount

Music Business Worldwide:

The AGs of 10 states join the US DOJ's antitrust lawsuit seeking to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster; 39 states, plus DC, are now part of the lawsuit— The attorneys general of 10 states have joined the US Department of Justice (DoJ)'s antitrust lawsuit seeking to break off Live Nation …

Discussion:
US Department of Justice, Fast Company, The Hill, TechCrunch, KOB.com, @justiceatr, @baddcompani, NOLA.com, @pgunigantiat, @tessaduvall, @paulhammelne, @yahoofinance, @future_of_music, @edbott.com, KTIV-TV, @agtennessee, Tennessee State Government, Music Ally, 9to5Mac, WOWT-TV, @newyorkstateag, @moetkacik, The Verge, Quartz, Billboard, Rolling Stone and Reuters, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:
US Department of Justice: Ten Additional States Join Justice Department's Suit Against Live Nation-Ticketmaster for Monopolizing Markets Across the Live Concert Industry

Jessica Bursztynsky /
Fast Company: 10 new states join the monopoly suit against Ticketmaster

Amanda Silberling /
TechCrunch: Thirty-nine state AGs now support Live Nation-Ticketmaster lawsuit

Jonathan Fjeld /
KOB.com: New Mexico joins Justice Department lawsuit against Ticketmaster @justiceatr: Ten Additional States Join Justice Department's Suit Against Live Nation-Ticketmaster for Monopolizing Markets Across the Live Concert Industry 🔗: https://www.justice.gov/... [image]

Julia Guilbeau /
NOLA.com: Louisiana joins massive US Ticketmaster lawsuit before Taylor Swift's New Orleans concerts

Pallavi Guniganti /
@pgunigantiat: Reminder that it's totally possible to bring Section 1 and Section 2 claims in the same complaint.

Tessa Duvall /
@tessaduvall: Per the Tennessee Attorney General's Office, 10 more states have signed on to the lawsuit against Ticketmaster. With 41 plaintiffs, Kentucky is still not one of them. [image] @paulhammelne: Glad to see @mikehilgers NE's attorney general join the U.S. Dept of Justice's lawsuit against @Ticketmaster Anyone out there had a good experience with their fees or services? @yahoofinance: Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah, and Vermont joined the DOJ's lawsuit against Live Nation-Ticketmaster for monopolizing the live concert industry. A total of 39 states, plus Washington D.C., are now suing the company. [image] @future_of_music: Among other things, this demonstrates that taking on monopoly power is a bipartisan issue! The same is true of ticket market regulation: both Democratic and Republican controlled state legislatures have taken action this year to ban speculative tickets!

Ed Bott /
@edbott.com: If you live in one of the 11 states who haven't joined this lawsuit yet, write your AG. — We're looking at you, Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Montana, and North Dakota. [embedded post] @agtennessee: Case Update ‼️ Today, TN & the USDOJ welcomed ten additional states to our historic, bipartisan antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation/Ticketmaster — bringing the total number of co-plaintiffs to 41. Read the amended complaint below: ➡️ https://www.tn.gov/... [image] Tennessee State Government: TN AG Welcomes Additional Ten States to Historic Bipartisan Lawsuit Against Ticketmaster

Stuart Dredge /
Music Ally: 10 more states join Justice Department's Live Nation lawsuit

Ny Ag /
@newyorkstateag: 🚨Ring the alarm: As part of our lawsuit against @LiveNation and @Ticketmaster, my office, @TheJusticeDept, and our group of AGs are now seeking money for fans who were overcharged by these companies' illegal monopoly over the concert and live event industry.

Moe Tkacik /
@moetkacik: New tidbit from DOJ's amended complaint against Live Nation/Ticketmaster on ubiquitous mogul Irving “Poison Dwarf” Azoff's ongoing collusion w/ the monopoly: LN paid Azoff's Oak View “significant annual payments” & also “incentive payments” for agreeing to act as its “pimp” [image]

Gaby Del Valle /
The Verge: Ticketmaster's nontransferable ‘SafeTix’ are anticompetitive, DOJ suit claims

William Gavin /
Quartz: 10 more states just joined the DOJ's push to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster

Ethan Millman /
Rolling Stone: 10 More States Join DOJ's Live Nation Monopoly Lawsuit Reuters: More states join antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster parent Live Nation, seek triple the damages

Wired:

Condé Nast makes a multiyear deal with OpenAI, letting ChatGPT and SearchGPT surface stories from The New Yorker, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Bon Appetit, and Wired— The media company joins The Atlantic, Axel Springer, Vox Media, and a host of other publishers who have partnered with OpenAI.

Discussion:

Benjamin Lindsay /
The Wrap: Condé Nast Partners With OpenAI to Let ChatGPT Surface Work From Vanity Fair, Vogue

Sara Fischer /
Axios: OpenAI strikes search deal with Condé Nast

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Condé Nast Inks Pact With OpenAI, Latest Media Company to License Content to Generative AI Platform

Kyle Wiggers /
TechCrunch: OpenAI signs deal to train on Condé Nast content, surface stories in ChatGPT

Dominick Mastrangelo /
The Hill: Condé Nast partners with OpenAI

Pradeep Viswanathan /
Neowin: Condé Nast joins the growing list of OpenAI's content partners @nyguild: STATEMENT from President @susandecarava on today's announcement that @CondeNast has entered into a deal with @OpenAI: ‘We expect Condé management to be transparent with us about how this technology will be used and the impact it may have on our work.’ More here... [image]

Pranav Dixit /
Engadget: OpenAI will now use content from Wired, Vogue and The New Yorker in ChatGPT's responses

Kenny Smith /
@kennysmith@mstdn.social: Condé Nast: Let's let the silicon bros eat our lunch! — From: @Mediagazer — https://mstdn.social/...

Ed Newton-Rex /
@ednewtonrex: @Knibbs The announcement doesn't seem to say what the deal covers - presumably training on Condé Nast's articles? Is that info public?

Edward Ongweso Jr /
@bigblackjacobin: this time will be different! last time, media companies inked deals for new revenue with tech firms that already ate their lunch. this time media companies are inking deals for new revenue with tech firms that hope to eat their lunch!!! https://www.wired.com/...

Shirin Ghaffary /
Bloomberg: Condé Nast, OpenAI Strike Multiyear Partnership in New AI Deal

Katie Drummond /
Katie Drummond on LinkedIn: Condé Nast, the publisher of my beloved WIRED and more than a dozen other brands, has finalized a deal with OpenAI. …

Caitlin Huston /
The Hollywood Reporter: Condé Nast Inks Multiyear OpenAI Deal for Its Magazine Brands

The Media Leader:

Paramount says it will rebrand the UK's Channel 5 as just “5” and no longer merge My5 with Pluto TV, as part of plans to relaunch under one name by April 2025— Paramount is rebranding Channel 5 to just 5 as part of plans to relaunch the public-service broadcaster across linear …

Discussion:
The Desk, @sphilsmith, Broadband TV News, @scottygb, Cord Busters, Advanced Television, @thesimonc90, Metro.co.uk, Broadcast, Deadline, WORLD SCREEN and TVNewsCheck

Discussion:

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: Paramount to rebrand Britain's Channel 5 to simply “5”

Phil /
@sphilsmith: I have quite simply lost track of the amount of times this channel has switched between the names ‘5’, ‘Channel 5’ and of course ‘Five’. And it also doesn't matter in the slightest.

Scott Bryan /
@scottygb: BBC iPlayer ITV Player > ITV Hub > ITVX 4OD > All4 > Channel 4 Channel 5 > five > Channel 5 > 5 Dave > U&Dave

Colin Mann /
Advanced Television: Channel 5, My5 relaunching as 5

Max Goldbart /
Deadline: Channel 5 & Streamer My5 To Become ... 5

Kristin Brzoznowski /
WORLD SCREEN: Channel 5 & My5 Streamer To Rebrand As 5

Max Goldbart /
TVNewsCheck: Channel 5 & Streamer My5 To Become ... 5

Reuters:

A US district judge in Texas strikes down the FTC's ban on worker noncompete agreements, due to start September 4, after her temporary block of the rule in July— A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday barred a U.S. Federal Trade Commission rule from taking effect that would ban agreements commonly signed …

Discussion:

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: Judge says FTC's ban on non-competes can't move forward

Chris Geidner /
@chrisgeidner@threads.net: BREAKING: Judge Ada Brown, a Trump appointee in the Northern District of Texas, blocks the FTC's noncompete rule nationwide, finding that it violates the APA. As such, she found it should be set aside, making it unenforceable. https://storage.courtlistener.com/ ...

Nate Raymond /
@nateraymond: New: Trump-appointed Judge Ada Brown in Dallas has struck down the FTC's ban on non-compete agreements. https://www.reuters.com/... @aggualaqisaaq@mastodon.sdf.org: @Mediagazer — The judiciary in this country needs to be thoroughly fumigated to eliminate all of the MAGAts, right-wing ratfuckers, and other forms of fascist vermin that are infesting our institutions.

Wade Minter /
@wademinter.com: Until we unfuck the judicial system, or get back to a functional Congress, no regulatory rule that helps normal people will be allowed to go into effect again. [embedded post]

Grassroots Joe /
@joeinwynnewood@mstdn.social: @Mediagazer — Was there a trial? WTF?

Ryan Golden /
Legal Dive: FTC noncompete ban suffers another blow

Russell Beck /
The Hill: Noncompete Ban: FTC needs a pause, companies need a plan

Reuters:

Writers and journalists Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson sue Anthropic, saying it misused their books and others' to train Claude— Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has been hit with a class-action lawsuit in California federal court by three authors …

Discussion:

Matt O'Brien /
Associated Press: Authors sue Claude AI chatbot creator Anthropic for copyright infringement

Sahil Patel /
The Information: Conde Nast Signs Multi-Year Deal with OpenAI

Winston Cho /
The Hollywood Reporter: New AI Lawsuit From Authors Against Anthropic Targets Growing Licensing Market for Copyrighted Content

Taylor Herzlich /
New York Post: Authors file lawsuit against AI startup Anthropic over copyright infringement

Andrew Albanese /
Publishers Weekly: Authors Sue AI Firm Anthropic for Copyright Infringement

Jonathan Bailey /
Plagiarism Today: 3 Count: And Another One... Have any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday.

Reuters:

The UK CMA accepts Meta's changes to its ad rules to ensure Marketplace advertisers' data is not used to improve Marketplace, without having to opt in or out— Britain's competition watchdog said on Tuesday it has accepted Meta's (META.O) proposed changes to the way it uses the data …

Discussion:
Axios, GOV.UK and @cmagovuk, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Sara Fischer /
Axios: Meta's ad biz booms with AI @cmagovuk: Following a public consultation, we've accepted a variation of Meta's commitments on how it uses advertising customers' ad #data. Read more: https://www.gov.uk/... #Meta #AdData [image]

The Guardian:

Up to 85 employees from outlets including the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age, and the AFR have taken voluntary redundancy after Nine announced a cut of 200 jobs— Up to 85 staff take a voluntary redundancy after Nine newspapers announced it was cutting 200 jobs

Discussion:
@gingergorman, @earleyedition and Crikey

Discussion:
@gingergorman: This is so sad. And especially if you look at the thousands of journos who've lost their roles in the last 15 years. An industry in decay. Senior journalists leave Sydney Morning Herald, Age and AFR in decade's biggest talent exodus https://www.theguardian.com/ ...

Dave Earley /
@earleyedition: In the biggest exodus of editorial talent since Fairfax shed more than 150 journalists in 2012, up to 85 journalists, most of them senior, have taken a voluntary redundancy from mastheads including the SMH, Age and AFR. New from @meadea https://www.theguardian.com/ ...

Variety:

Alex Cooper reaches a multiyear agreement with SiriusXM, replacing Spotify; source: the deal is for a little more than 3 years and is worth as much as $125M— Alex Cooper, host of the popular “Call Her Daddy” podcast, reached a multiyear agreement with SiriusXM that encompasses exclusive programming …

Discussion:

Glenn Peoples /
Billboard: SiriusXM Signs ‘Call Her Daddy’ Host Alex Cooper in Deal Worth Reported $125M

Kerry Flynn /
Axios: Alex Cooper signs with SiriusXM

James Hibberd /
The Hollywood Reporter: Alex Cooper Jumps From Spotify to SiriusXM in Multi-Year Deal

Ramishah Maruf /
CNN: Alex Cooper's ‘Call Her Daddy’ podcast is moving to SiriusXM for reportedly nine-figure sum Sirius XM Holdings Inc.: SiriusXM Inks New Multi-Year Agreement with Alex Cooper, the World's Leading Female Podcaster; “Call Her Daddy” Finds a New Home

Ashley Carman /
Bloomberg: ‘Call Her Daddy’ Podcast Host Alex Cooper Signs $100 Million Deal With SiriusXM

Dominick Mastrangelo /
The Hill: SiriusXM inks multiyear deal with ‘Call Her Daddy’ podcaster

Ashley King /
Digital Music News: SiriusXM Just Poached Spotify's Second Biggest Podcaster In a $100 Million-Plus Deal

Leigh Fulton /
Leigh Fulton on LinkedIn: Girls just wanna have fun...with SiriusXM 👯 ♀️ — Welcome Alex Cooper & Alix Earle! — https://lnkd.in/...

Max Tani /
@maxwelltani: Good reminder to read the @semafor media newsletter where we had most of this back in June https://www.semafor.com/... [image]

Adam Chitwood /
The Wrap: Alex Cooper Sets Multiyear Deal With SiriusXM After Spotify Exit

Jessica Acosta /
Hollywood Life: ‘Call Her Daddy’ Host Alex Cooper Leaves Spotify and Joins Sirius XM in Multi-Million Dollar Deal

Reuters:

Sources: India's antitrust body reaches an initial assessment that the $8.5B merger of Reliance and Disney harms competition due to their cricket rights— India's antitrust body has reached an initial assessment that the $8.5 billion India merger of Reliance and Walt Disney media assets …

Discussion:
Variety and Aditya Kalra on LinkedIn

Discussion:

Naman Ramachandran /
Variety: Disney-Reliance $8.5 Billion Media Merger Faces Antitrust Scrutiny in India Over Cricket Rights: Report

New Yorker:

An interview with Univision's Jorge Ramos on his start at Univision, his evolving philosophy of interviewing, how his audience has changed, and more— The legendary newscaster on how the U.S. has changed—and how it has changed him. — For decades, his voice was omnipresent in Latino households.

Discussion:
Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, The Hill, New York Daily News and @jorgeramosnews

Discussion:

Simon Owens /
Simon Owens's Media Newsletter: The next generation of cinematographers are honing their craft on YouTube

Alexander Bolton /