Top News:

Warner Bros. Discovery says it will change the name of its Max streaming service back to HBO Max this summer, and tweaks its logo; WBD dropped “HBO” in May 2023 — Turns out, Warner Bros. Discovery thinks HBO has some pretty good brand equity, after all.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Pressroom, New York Times, Deadline, LateNighter, TV Tech, Wall Street Journal, StreamTV Insider, MediaPost, Screen Rant, Hollywood Life, The Daily Wire, @sherman4949, @scottnover, SlashFilm, Aftermath, @screenbrief, @streamonmax, @mattbinder, @peacock, Dallas Taylor on LinkedIn, @streamonmax, Advanced Television, The Verge, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, Chicago Tribune, Yahoo Finance, The Drum, @dkthomp, Engadget, GamesRadar, Consequence, The Hollywood Reporter, @chopaganda@shakedown.social, @gedeonm@mastodon.social, Newser, @willfulchaos, @scalzi.com, @mikeisaac, @thelincoln.bsky.social, @seanyoo, TechCrunch, Comic Book, @pkafka, @kaleidotrope.bsky.social, @brettredacted, @lingounbound, @hbo, @alexkoppelman.bsky.social, @dbreunig@note.computer, @nathanallebach, @harrymccracken.com, BGR, TVLine, Entertainment Weekly, @juansaaa.com, @rbripley.bsky.social, Broadband TV News, Bloomberg, The Streamable, Dara Gruen on LinkedIn, @kerrymflynn, @izzos.us, @parismarx.com, Chris Heatherly on LinkedIn, @maxwelltani, The Wrap, @tuphlos.bsky.social, TODAY.com, Axios, @jeremiahdjohns, @stefan@stefanbohacek.online, @loudmouthjulia, @riversoverflow.bsky.social, @caitiedelaney, The Information, @defunctgames.com, Erin Sarofsky on LinkedIn, Business Insider, @danprimack, @timeimmemorial_, IndieWire, @carnage4life.bsky.social, @ernie.tedium.co, The Verge, Polygon, Cara Lustik on LinkedIn, Streaming Better, 9to5Mac, Adweek, @loudmouthjulia, @mcdaragh.bsky.social, @tvgrimreaper, @morningbrew, @moryan.bsky.social, CNN, WPXI-TV, Associated Press, GoldDerby, WORLD SCREEN and Just Jared, more at Techmeme »

Netflix says its in-house ad platform Netflix Ads Suite, currently live in the US and Canada, will be available in all 12 of its ad-supported countries by June — The streamer announced new adtech, Wednesday partnerships, and more — Once upon at time there were no Stranger Things than watching ads on Netflix.
Discussion:
Ad Age, MediaPost, TVNewsCheck, The Wrap, Cord Cutters News, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, The Verge and Media Play News
RELATED:

Netflix says its ad-supported tier now has 94M MAUs, up from 70M in November 2024, and reaches more 18- to 34-year-olds than any US broadcast or cable network — Netflix said Wednesday its cheaper, ad-supported tier now has 94 million monthly active users — an increase of more than 20 million since its last public tally in November.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, About Netflix, Reuters, Adweek, 9to5Mac and @minddestroyedx, more at Techmeme »

The EU General Court rules the EU should not have denied an NYT journalist's request for text messages between Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla — The case revolved around whether texts between a top official and a drug company executive counted as a public record that might need to be disclosed.
Discussion:
Le Monde, @matisaksk.bsky.social, The Guardian, UPI, Associated Press, Bloomberg, City A.M., Talking Biz News and Politico
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
National Trust for Local News plans to sell 21 local Denver publications to Times Media Group, a for-profit media company with a history of reducing newsrooms — The Times Media Group is an out-of-state, for-profit media company with a history of reducing roles in local newsrooms.

The BBC plans to expand its Local Democracy Reporting Service beyond local authorities and “dramatically” increase BBC's presence on YouTube and TikTok — BBC director-general Tim Davie has revealed plans to expand the Local Democracy Reporting Service outside of its current focus on local authorities.
Discussion:
BBC, Broadband TV News, WORLD SCREEN, National Union of Journalists … and HoldtheFrontPage

A.G. Sulzberger says the role of a free press is under attack, and that the anti-press playbook used in eroding democracies is now being deployed in the US — This essay was originally delivered as a talk at the Notre Dame Kellogg Institute for International Studies on Tuesday.

RFE/RL receives $12M from USAGM, its congressionally appropriated funds for the month of April, after a six-week delay and says it will continue its lawsuit — In Legal Win, RFE/RL Receives April Funding; Lawsuit Continues for Remainder of FY 2025 Funds — Share: — Share this page on Facebook
Discussion:
@scottnover and @newsguy.bsky.social

Patrick Soon-Shiong has appeared with Trump on the first day of the president's Middle East trip, as he maneuvers into Trump's orbit and shifts LAT to the right — The billionaire newspaper owner is getting closer to the president. — The billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times has gotten closer …

Xumo founder Colin Petrie-Norris launches Fairground, a production studio focused exclusively on AI-generated TV series that has raised a $4M seed round — Now he's hoping to stake a claim on the future of AI entertainment. — Petrie-Norris' new company is Fairground Entertainment …

FTC v. Meta: Meta's lead attorney disparaged tech journalists Kara Swisher and Om Malik, calling Malik a “failed blogger”, resurfacing years-old media tensions — Meta's lead attorney called a once-prominent tech journalist a “failed blogger.”
Discussion:
@karaswisher.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »

Source: the UK plans to let foreign state investors hold stakes of up to 15% in British national papers, following RedBird IMI's attempt to buy The Telegraph — Ministers are to impose the new threshold on foreign state ownership amid a two-year row about the future ownership of The Daily Telegraph, Sky News learns.
Discussion:
The Daily Sceptic, The Guardian, Reuters, Financial Times, Telegraph, Bloomberg and The Times