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Financial Times:
WBD tells Paramount to make its “best and final offer” within seven days, or get out of the way of Netflix's agreed $83B deal; Netflix granted a weeklong waiver — Netflix grants weeklong waiver to rival bidder in high-stakes battle for control
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Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:20 minutes ago
Netflix says Paramount has caused “ongoing distraction” and “mischaracterized the regulatory review process”, and its WBD bid raises national security concerns — The streamer said that its $83 billion deal is “the only certain path to delivering value to WBD's stockholders”
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
WBD says Paramount informed WBD on February 11 that it would pay $31 per share, up from $30, if the sides engaged, and that $31 was not its best and final offer — Warner says that the Ellison camp had verbally agreed to boost its bid to $31 or higher if two the sides engaged, which WBD today has agreed to do.
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
WBD sets March 20 as the date for a special shareholder meeting to vote on the proposed $83B Netflix deal, which its board “continues to unanimously recommend” — WBD board ‘seeks clarity’ on David Ellison-led company's ‘best and final offer’ in hostile takeover effort
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Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Stephen Colbert says CBS lawyers blocked an interview with Democratic US Senate candidate James Talarico, citing the FCC's equal time guidance for TV talk shows — Colbert and ‘The Late Show’ posted the interview with James Talarico on the show's YouTube page to bypass the FCC's oversight.
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Lachlan Cartwright / Breaker:
Anderson Cooper is leaving 60 Minutes after almost 20 years; sources say he has decided to pass on a renewal offer with CBS — Legendary Newsman Will Focus on CNN And Family … Welcome to a special edition of Breaker, as we mark our first birthday, we thought what better way to celebrate than to give all of our subscribers a scoop.
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Oliver Darcy / Status:
Sources: Anderson Cooper grew increasingly uneasy with the rightward direction of CBS News under Bari Weiss, a factor in his decision to leave 60 Minutes — On Monday evening, as the media class wrapped up its three-day Presidents' Day weekend, a bombshell development sent shockwaves across the industry.
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Chris Quinn / Plain Dealer:
The Cleveland Plain Dealer says it has removed “writing” from some reporters' workloads; an “AI rewrite specialist” turns info gathered by reporters into drafts — A college student withdrew from consideration for a reporting role in our newsroom this week because of how we use artificial intelligence.
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
Apple says it will bring “advanced video capabilities” to Apple Podcasts this spring, including allowing users to switch between watching and listening to shows — Apple Podcasts is finally giving video a full embrace. — The tech giant, which pioneered the podcast audio format …
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Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
MPA: Japan's premium VOD sector hit a revenue of $7.2B in 2025, up 15% YoY; Netflix leads with 22% of revenue; Prime Video has the most subscribers at 19.3M — The growth reflects platforms' increasing reliance on diversified revenue models, including ad-supported subscription options …
Scott Roxborough / The Hollywood Reporter:
Mexico announces a 30% tax incentive for film and TV productions in Mexico, even as the Trump administration pressures studios to shoot more films in the US — Mexico unveils a series of incentives to support local cinema and attract international productions, just as the Trump government is threatening tariffs.
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Derrick Bryson Taylor / New York Times:
How a cinematic clip of Tom Cruise fighting Brad Pitt made using Seedance spooked Hollywood, drawing condemnation from some and indifference from others — A 15-second clip created by an artificial intelligence tool owned by the Chinese technology company ByteDance appears more cinematic than anything so far.
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Osmond Chia / BBC:
ByteDance says it “respects IP rights and we have heard the concerns regarding Seedance” and it plans to “strengthen” safeguards, after Disney's legal threats
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Alice Brooker / Press Gazette:
Manchester-based local newsletter publisher Mill Media plans to expand to Leeds as its seventh brand if it gets 500 paying subscribers for the unnamed title — Mill Media is set to expand to Leeds on the condition that it hits 500 paying subscribers for the new, unnamed title.
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Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
Future launches Future Optic, a commercial Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO, service that aims to boost brand visibility on AI platforms like ChatGPT — Future has began offering LLM optimisation as a commercial product across its media brands. — The move means Future offers …
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