WBD and ESPN strike a five-year deal letting WBD's TNT carry two first-round college football playoff games in 2024 and 2025, adding two quarterfinals in 2026 (Alex Sherman/CNBC)

Mediagazer: WBD and ESPN strike a five-year deal letting WBD's TNT carry two first-round college football playoff games in 2024 and 2025, adding two quarterfinals in 2026 (Alex Sherman/CNBC)

Top News:

Wall Street Journal:

News Corp and OpenAI announce a multiyear agreement to bring News Corp's news content to OpenAI; sources: the deal could be worth $250M over five years— Agreement could generate over $250 million over five years for News Corp in cash and credits — Wall Street Journal owner News Corp struck …
Discussion: Axios, News Corp, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social and Platformer, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Sara Fischer /
Axios: News Corp. strikes content licensing deal with OpenAI

Shirin Ghaffary /
Bloomberg: OpenAI Inks Deal With Wall Street Journal Publisher News Corp.

Alex Weprin /
The Hollywood Reporter: News Corp. Decides to Take the Money From OpenAI In Major Licensing Deal

Jeff Jarvis /
@jeffjarvis@mastodon.social: The big, old publishers grab their bag o' gold from OpenAI et al, leaving out all of local, Black, Latino, digital, and new media and the needs of the public. The industry should instead band together for a news API. But it's every mogul for himself. — https://www.wsj.com/...

Casey Newton /
Platformer: A better way for platforms to fund journalism

Sports Business Journal:

Sources: the NBA is formalizing deals with Disney, NBC, and Amazon, which may prompt WBD to sue; ESPN may pay $2.8B annually, NBC $2.6B, and Amazon $1.8B to $2B— NEW YORK — The NBA is formalizing written contracts with Disney, NBC and Amazon this week, with sources calling it the final stage …

Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Deadline, Mediaite, Next TV, New York Daily News, New York Post, The Streamable, @dylanbyers, The US Sun, Sports Media Watch, UPROXX and Cord Cutters News

Discussion:

Dade Hayes /
Deadline: NBA Rights Situation “Sucks Right Now” For Warner Bros. Discovery Staffers, Charles Barkley Says

Ahmad Austin Jr /
Mediaite: JUST IN: NBA Reportedly Finalizes Blockbuster $2.6B Media Rights Deal With NBC, Cuts Ties With 40-Year Rightsholder TNT

Daniel Frankel /
Next TV: NBA Reportedly Set to Finalize Deals With ESPN, Amazon and NBCU, Leave TNT and ‘Inside the NBA’ Behind

C.J. Holmes /
New York Daily News: TNT's ‘Inside The NBA’ in jeopardy as league nears media rights deals with Disney, NBC and Amazon: report

Justin Tasch /
New York Post: TNT's beloved ‘Inside the NBA’ hangs in the balance as NBC a step closer to landing NBA rights

David Satin /
The Streamable: NBA's New Broadcast Deals with ESPN, Prime Video, NBC Likely to Be Finalized This Week

Dylan Byers /
@dylanbyers: NBA formalizing deals with Disney, Amazon, NBC, per @SBJ: * “NBC's proposed package is believed to be now worth $2.6B annually — up from a reported $2.5B... https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/ ...

David Scott /
The US Sun: Inside the NBA on TNT with Shaq and Charles Barkley to end next season as NBC, Amazon and ESPN ‘seal’ live TV rights

Robby Kalland /
UPROXX: Report: WBD Refused To Double Their Old Rights Deal In Exclusive Negotiations And Now Could Lose The NBA

@maxwelltani:

— Washington Post CEO Will Lewis is introing the paper's new “Build It” plan today. In a meeting with staff, he noted that the paper lost $77 million over the past year, and saw a 50% drop off in audience since 2020: “To be direct, we are in a hole, and we have been for some time.”

Discussion:
Washington Post, @maxwelltani, @alttag.bsky.social, @worknowitzki.bsky.social, @cocktailhag.bsky.social, @natalieweiner.bsky.social, @missingthept.bsky.social, @markshatraw.bsky.social, @vortexegg.regretfully.online, @charles.littlegreenfootballs …, @hammancheez.bsky.social, @wilson__valdez, @macktubs, @maxwelltani, @tomscocca.bsky.social, @thatweissguy.bsky.social, @jonastraxler.bsky.social, @sarafischer, @852dude.bsky.social, @cfaller96.bsky.social, @andrewsshi.bsky.social, @erinannmcc.bsky.social, @maxwelltani, @froomkin, @karlbode.bsky.social, @nslayton.bsky.social, @benharris1.bsky.social, @mcoatney, @maxwelltani, @darrylmason, @estarianne.bsky.social, @socio-steve.bsky.social, @scarylawyerguy, @tcarmody.bsky.social, @dextrosity.bsky.social, @jaycockburn, @reubenr80027912 and @eleanorofs.bsky.social

Discussion:

Jeremy Barr /
Washington Post: Washington Post announces new subscription plans in bid to boost revenue

Max Tani /
@maxwelltani: Lewis says the says the three pillars of the new strategy are: great journalism, happy customers, and making money: “If we're doing things that don't meet all three...we should stop doing that.” He adds that the company will also be looking for ways to use AI in its journalism.

Tom /
@alttag.bsky.social: It's so weird what paywalls will do to readership. — If only we could understand why people don't read our stuff, which we mostly keep locked away.

WorkNowitzki /
@worknowitzki.bsky.social: I'm not normally a conspiracy guy on stuff like this, but...this would give a newspaper a pretty strong interest in Trump getting elected. @cocktailhag.bsky.social: Bezos could come up with that from the couch cushions on his yacht. — Clearly, he bought the paper to kill it, and is succeeding. [embedded post]

Natalie Weiner /
@natalieweiner.bsky.social: oh, a 50% drop off in audience since the year when a global pandemic started and we needed to check the news constantly to avoid sickness and death? [embedded post]

Mark Shatraw /
@markshatraw.bsky.social: Couldn't Bezos have plopped like, a billion and a half in an index fund somewhere and literally funded the Post with the interest

Charles Johnson /
@charles.littlegreenfootballs.com: So firing their liberal columnists and increasingly pandering to the right wing for clicks isn't working? Huh. [embedded post] @hammancheez.bsky.social: CEO : in order to improve morale we are replacing you with LLMs trained on CSAM [embedded post]

Mack Tubridy /
@macktubs: If democracy dies in darkness, then the Washington Post will die in whatever the hell this is

Max Tani /
@maxwelltani: AI is a major component of the Post's internal strategy announcement today. WaPo's chief tech officer told staff that going forward, the paper has to have “AI everywhere in our newsroom.”

Tom Scocca /
@tomscocca.bsky.social: It's a quarter of one percent of Bezos' gains this year. It's 1/5 of the amount of money his fortune fluctuated overnight. [embedded post]

Tom Scocca /
@tomscocca.bsky.social: Seventy-seven million dollars is less than 1/2,500 of Jeff Bezos' net worth

Andrew Otis Weiss /
@thatweissguy.bsky.social: National News $200 — Local News $150 — International News $50 — Smooth Brained Feature/Editorial Columnists $150,000,000 — Arts & Lifestyle $150 — someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this. my newspaper is dying [embedded post]

Jonas Traxler /
@jonastraxler.bsky.social: So the daily Ashley Parker “Biden is old” stories aren't drawing enough eyeballs?

Sara Fischer /
@sarafischer: Today @washingtonpost CEO Will Lewis will unveil next phase of WaPo's turnaround strategy: “Build It” phase —"Say It" phase identified 10 focus areas: SEO; Print; Social, Data; Events; Habit; Consumer Journalism; DEI, Culture; Remote work —"Fix It" phase saw groups dvp solutions @852dude.bsky.social: I dunno, but if I were the Washington post and it's owner I may consider editorial practices that could not be considered “money gobbling shit stirrers” — That could be the solution. — But I'm not in journalism and I'm not a smart man. So who knows. [embedded post] @cfaller96.bsky.social: It's almost as if traditional outlets are producing garbage (at the direction of management/editors) and customers have moved on. It's almost as if “lol fuck you libs” as an outlet's market approach is fundamentally wrong. [embedded post]

Andrew Reeves /
@andrewsshi.bsky.social: Wait wasn't the whole thing supposed to be Bezos's money-losing vanity project? [embedded post]

Erin A. McCarthy /
@erinannmcc.bsky.social: I just re-subscribed for a measly $20/year, and this makes me think that that was a good choice. [embedded post]

Max Tani /
@maxwelltani: Lewis says the company is focused on growing subscriptions organically but is open to growing them through an acquisition if it makes sense...

Dan Froomkin /
@froomkin: 50% drop in audience! Holy shit! That's even worse than they'd previously indicated. And it's probably too late to turn things around. Allow me to explain: https://presswatchers.org/... [image]

Karl Bode /
@karlbode.bsky.social: surely the overpaid ivy league ivy league brunchlords actually in charge of strategy for WAPO will be the first to feel the firm repercussions for their missteps — (sad trombone, farting noises) [embedded post]

Nicholas Slayton /
@nslayton.bsky.social: I thought the entire point of Bezos owning them was that they wouldn't have financial issues? [embedded post]

Ben Harris /
@benharris1.bsky.social: I'm going to keep this in mind the next time I see a story about the Iowa caucuses with 7 reporters on the byline, or an AI-generated story about how a deceased basketball player is now useless. [embedded post]

Mark Coatney /
@mcoatney: I really would love to see that number unpacked. How in the world did WaPo lose $77 million, exactly? What was driving that?

Max Tani /
@maxwelltani: Lewis says the says the three pillars of the new strategy are: great journalism, happy customers, and making money: “If we're doing things that don't meet all three...we should stop doing that.” He adds that the company will also be looking for ways to use AI in its journalism.

Darryl Mason /
@darrylmason: The Washington Post lost 50% of its readership in just 4 years. Another successful ‘news brand’ sent down the shitter after hiring ridiculous conservative columnists and promoting them as “Premium Content Worth Paying For.” Truly extraordinary how they fukt it so fast. @estarianne.bsky.social: I will resubscribe if they stop doing right wing stenography. [embedded post]

Stephen Nuñez /
@socio-steve.bsky.social: As @johnbrownstan.bsky.social has noted journalism has increasingly transformed from a club good (excludable, non-rivalrous) to a public good (non-excludable, non-rivalrous). Generally we do public funding/provision for public goods. because the markets don't work. [embedded post] @scarylawyerguy: Boring old Joe Biden competently steering the ship of state might be good for little d democracy (not to mention American leadership in the world) but it's killing media outlets that got hooked on the chaos of Trump's presidency (which is why they want him back so badly!)

Tim Carmody /
@tcarmody.bsky.social: I am a fan of newsrooms and revenue teams working with AI. But you can't just sprinkle a little bit of it all over your company and expect your pockets to fill with money. You need a strategy. Ideally, one that doesn't erode your brand. Otherwise you're just doing the same things but it costs more $ [embedded post] @dextrosity.bsky.social: I really worry news rooms are looking at that post-2020 audience drop, thinking (perhaps correctly!) that Trump in charge is better for their bottom lines, and the resulting impact on democracy. [embedded post]

Jay Cockburn /
@jaycockburn: What's the point of being bought by one of the world's largest and most profitable companies if they aren't going to fund your operation? Why sell to Bezos in the first place?

Reuben Rodriguez /
@reubenr80027912: Again, the problem is not that the media is incorrectly reporting on the economy Ppl are just not reading the news like they used to McDonalds has doubled in price, they see Biden shuffling on TV and are amorphously annoyed w/o being very engaged. Don't overthink things!

CNBC:

WBD and ESPN strike a five-year deal letting WBD's TNT carry two first-round college football playoff games in 2024 and 2025, adding two quarterfinals in 2026— In a move to strengthen its sports offerings, Warner Bros. Discovery has signed a five-year sublicensing deal with Disney's ESPN …

Discussion:
The Desk, Variety, Next TV, New York Times, Cord Cutters News, Barrett Media and Sports Media Watch

Discussion:

Brian Steinberg /
Variety: Warner Bros. Discovery Licenses College Football Playoff Games From ESPN as NBA Talks Continue

Daniel Frankel /
Next TV: TNT to Sublicense College Football Playoff Game Rights From ESPN

Andrew Marchand /
New York Times: TNT Sports adds College Football Playoff games in 5-year sub-licensing deal with ESPN

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: Warner Bros. Discovery & ESPN Team Up to Bring College Football Playoff Games To Max & TNT

STLPR:

Big Lou Media has sold The Riverfront Times, an alt weekly in St. Louis, Mo, to an undisclosed buyer, and the entire writing and editing staff has been laid off— The Riverfront Times, St. Louis' alt-weekly newspaper, is no more, at least in its current state.

Discussion:
KSDK-TV and @kallieecox

Discussion:

The Hollywood Reporter:

SEC filing: Vivek Ramaswamy owns shares and call options worth ~$4M in BuzzFeed, or a 7.7% stake, and seeks a shift in its strategy; BZFD jumps 10%+— Ramaswamy has acquired just under 8% of BuzzFeed, with plans to push for “a shift in the company's strategy.”

Discussion:

Michelle Chapman /
Associated Press: Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy takes a 7.7% stake in Buzzfeed

Jeff Jarvis /
@jeffjarvis@mastodon.social: As if Jonah didn't already have enough to worry about. Yeesh.... Vivek Ramaswamy Acquires Activist Stake in BuzzFeed https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...

Chris Michael /
The Guardian: Vivek Ramaswamy acquires 7.7% activist stake in BuzzFeed

Silvia Killingsworth /
@silviakillings: Vivek Ramaswamy has taken an activist stake in....Buzzfeed https://www.sec.gov/... @qkslvrwolf@mastodon.social: @Mediagazer oh good he's trying to create another super conservative propaganda outlet

Parker Ortolani /
@parkerortolani@threads.net: a right wing takeover of BuzzFeed would simultaneously be the funniest and saddest outcome for a company that I deeply loved working for https://www.bloomberg.com/...

Alex Sherman /
@sherman4949: To answer the question you're all asking, yes, I did have Vivek Ramaswamy becomes an activist shareholder in Buzzfeed on my 2024 Bingo card. Lower right.

Rohan Goswami /
CNBC: Vivek Ramaswamy's stake in BuzzFeed sends shares up 20%, as he seeks strategic ‘shift’

Diana Falzone /
Mediaite: ‘Anti-Woke Warrior’ Vivek Ramaswamy Acquires Activist Stake in BuzzFeed: ‘Stay Tuned’

Sara Fischer /
Axios: Vivek Ramaswamy acquires activist stake in BuzzFeed

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Vivek Ramaswamy Acquires 7.7% Activist Stake in BuzzFeed

Sean Griffey /
@seangriffey: Combined, Vivek and I own 7.7% percent of outstanding shares. While I don't want to speak for him, I think we both want a more aggressive 1st party data strategy.

Natalie Korach /
The Wrap: Vivek Ramaswamy Acquires 7.7% Activist Stake in BuzzFeed, Former GOP Hopeful Says Shares Are ‘Undervalued’

Wall Street Journal:

As TV audiences get older, media executives are focusing more on the mass-market reach of TV, and playing down the importance of age for advertisers— With viewers in their 60s, networks aren't pretending to have youth appeal; they're touting the virtues of older audiences

Discussion:
@jeffjarvis, @jbflint, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social and AdExchanger

Discussion:
@jeffjarvis: In other words, mass media and the mass are dying.... With the median age of TV viewers well into the 60s at many networks, media companies' new advertising pitch is that age doesn't matter https://www.wsj.com/...

Joe Flint /
@jbflint: Call it the “Balance of Nature” effect. With the median age of TV viewers well into the 60s at many networks, media companies' new advertising pitch is that age doesn't matter. W @thesimonetti https://www.wsj.com/...

Jeff Jarvis /
@jeffjarvis@mastodon.social: In other words, mass media and the mass are dying.... With the median age of TV viewers well into the 60s at many networks, media companies' new advertising pitch is that age doesn't matter https://www.wsj.com/...

Digiday:

How sending fewer emails and giving paid subscribers early access to content improved The New Yorker's onsite page views and time spent from newsletter users— The New Yorker has refocused its newsletter strategy in an effort to retain its cohort of 1.2 million paid subscribers and grow …

Bloomberg:

Sources: Tata Group took full control of subscription TV broadcaster Tata Play after buying Disney's 29.8% stake, valuing Tata Play at about $1B— - Tata Group gains full control of Tata Play after Disney deal — Tata bought out Temasek's stake in platform earlier this year

Game Developer:

Rolling Stone launches RS Gaming, a game vertical in partnership with ESL FACEIT Group, which is owned by Saudi state-backed investment fund PIF— Rolling Stone is expanding its coverage of the video game industry with the launch of a dedicated gaming vertical.

Discussion:
Aftermath and Rolling Stone

Discussion:

Riley MacLeod /
Aftermath: Rolling Stone, Which Used To Have A Gaming Vertical, Launches Another Gaming Vertical

Christopher Cruz /
Rolling Stone: Welcome to Rolling Stone Gaming

Deadline:

Nexstar's NewsNation adds an early evening news block to its weekend schedule, completing its transformation into a 24/7 network— NewsNation is adding an early evening news block to its weekend schedule, completing its transformation into a 24/7 network.

Discussion:
Mediaite, The Desk, The Hollywood Reporter, Radio & Television …, Next TV, Cord Cutters News and TVNewsCheck

Discussion:

Phillip Nieto /
Mediaite: NewsNation Expands to 24/7 Cable News Network

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: NewsNation to debut 24-7 news programming schedule in June

Michael Malone /
Next TV: NewsNation Will Be 24/7 in June — Cable news net bolsters weekend content to fill out all day, every day schedule

James Guttman /
Cord Cutters News: NewsNation Expands to 24/7 Cable News Network on June 1

Mark Miller /
TVNewsCheck: NewsNation Expands To 24/7 News On June 1

Reuters:

US FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel proposes requiring the disclosure of content generated by AI in political ads on radio and TV, citing the use of deepfakes— U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on Wednesday proposed requiring disclosure of content generated …

Discussion:
TechCrunch, CNN, Inside Radio, The Verge, The Hollywood Reporter, @aram@aoir.social, Dave Gregorio on LinkedIn, FCC, UPI and Deadline, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Devin Coldewey /
TechCrunch: FCC proposes all AI-generated content in political ads must be disclosed

Brian Fung /
CNN: FCC is considering AI rules for political ads

Gaby Del Valle /
The Verge: Political ads could require AI-generated content disclosures soon

Alex Weprin /
The Hollywood Reporter: FCC Chair Proposes Rule to Disclose AI-Generated Content in Political Ads

Aram Sinnreich /
@aram@aoir.social: @Mediagazer yes please

Dave Gregorio /
Dave Gregorio on LinkedIn: The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has already taken steps to fight robocalls using phony “deepfake” content generated by artificial intelligence. … FCC: CHAIRWOMAN ROSENWORCEL UNVEILS FIRST STEP IN NEW AI TRANSPARENCY EFFORT TO DISCLOSE AI-GENERATED CONTENT IN POLITICAL ADS ON TV AND RADIO

Ted Johnson /