Viacom Willing to Make All-Cash Deal to Acquire Scripps
Reuters: Viacom is said to have informed Scripps Networks Interactive it is willing to pay all cash to acquire the U.S. TV network operator. The move by Viacom could potentially mean that the $14.3 billion media company would lose its investment-grade status to buy...
AT&T Offers Possible Strategy Preview for Time Warner
Barron's: AT&T reported its second quarter earnings on Tuesday, beating analyst estimates and focusing on the benefits from bundling its mobile, TV, and internet services together -- a possible indication of the direction it intends to take Time Warner's...
Fox Former Exec Files $48 Million Lawsuit Over Scandal
Los Angeles Times: A former Fox News exec fired after he was accused of sexually assaulting a female on-air commentator is suing parent company 21st Century Fox for going public with the matter. Francisco Cortes had run Fox News...
Sinclair: We Have No Plans to Launch Rival to Fox News
Variety: Of the many challenges Fox News Channel is facing amid a turbulent year, there’s one threat Rupert Murdoch can cross off the list: Sinclair Broadcast Group has no plans to launch a rival conservative-friendly TV network. Chris Ripley, CEO of the TV-station...
Disney’s ABC News in Social-Video Deal for Millennials
Reuters: Disney's ABC News launched a partnership on Tuesday with ATTN:, a video news site focused on younger audiences, to co-produce videos for social media including Facebook's Instagram and for...
Charter Invests in Dolan’s TV Data, Analytics Company
Wall Street Journal: Charter is investing in the Dolan family’s data and television analytics company, forming a partnership to help the cable company harness the information from its millions of set-top boxes to better target local TV...
Report: Online TV Growth Too Slow to Stop Cable Bleed
Bloomberg: For all their success, skinny bundles of live channels delivered over the internet are looking more like a patch than a panacea for what ails pay TV. About 6 million subscribers have shut off their cable or satellite service since 2010. New subscribers...
Nielsen to Count Viewers for YouTube, Hulu TV Services
Associated Press: Nielsen will begin to tabulate how many people get their live TV from Hulu and YouTube, giving media companies and advertisers a better idea of how many people now stream broadcast networks rather than watching them on traditional...
Netflix Preps Animated Series from ‘Simpsons’ Creator
Associated Press: Netflix says it has ordered an adult animated comedy from "The Simpsons" mastermind Matt Groening. "Disenchantment" will take place in the crumbling medieval kingdom of...
Facebook’s First TV Episodes Due Online in Mid-August
Bloomberg: Facebook's version of television is coming online in mid-August after several false starts, according to people familiar with the matter. The company has been asking its partners to turn in the first episodes of their spotlight shows, the people...
Snap’s General Counsel Steps Down Months After IPO
The Information: Snap’s general counsel Chris Handman has stepped down, citing a desire to spend more time with his family. Handman announced the news in an email to the company employees last week, saying that he was staying on as an...
Amazon-Washington Post Blasted by Trump on Twitter
New York Post: President Trump blasted and appeared to threaten the Washington Post in a series of tweets, after the newspaper ran a story on his Syria policy. “The Amazon Washington Post fabricated the facts on my ending massive, dangerous, and wasteful payments to...
Barnes & Noble Investor Urges Bookstore to Sell Itself
Reuters: Activist hedge fund Sandell Asset Management on Tuesday urged Barnes & Noble to sell itself, saying the struggling U.S. bookstore chain operator could attract media or internet companies seeking a retail...
New York Times Sulzberger Transition Seen ‘Imminent’
Vanity Fair: A generational change is looming at the New York Times. Insiders say the baton pass from longtime publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. to his 36-year-old son, A.G. Sulzberger, is beginning to feel...
News Corp, Guardian to Continue Talks for Ad Alliance
Financial Times: The Guardian is to press ahead with talks to form an unlikely alliance with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. to sell advertising, after other UK newspaper groups walked away from plans to create a joint commercial sales...
Hearst Joins Trend of ‘Mega Clustering’ in Newspapers
TheStreet: Just last month, Hearst completed its own mega cluster in Connecticut. The media giant now owns a majority of the dailies in the Nutmeg State -- seven of 13 -- and may have its sights set on the state's largest paper, the Hartford...
Gannett in Partnership with Job-Site Network RealMatch
USA Today Press Room: Gannett announced a new partnership with RealMatch, a leader in online recruitment advertising. RealMatch hosts TheJobNetwork, a vast national network comprising thousands of local and industry specific job...
Time Inc Plans Sale of Coastal Living, Sunset, Golf Mags
Bloomberg: Time Inc. is exploring a sale of Coastal Living, Sunset and Golf magazines as the struggling publisher concentrates on larger titles in its turnaround strategy, CEO Rich Battista said in an interview. Time may also consider unloading other assets, Battista...
Conde’s Vanity Fair Nabs Journalist from New York Mag
Adweek: Gabriel Sherman, who has spent the past nine years writing about media and politics at New York magazine, is headed to Vanity Fair. He’ll be a special correspondent there, writing feature stories as well as articles for the Hive, Vanity Fair’s hub for...
Rodale Bid Under Consideration by Swedish Conglom
New York Post: In the bidding for Rodale, one of the most intriguing names to emerge as a potential suitor is 140-year-old Swedish conglomerate Axel Johnson. The privately held Stockholm company has holdings in energy and trade but with no media...
BuzzFeed Hit with Lawsuit from Immigration Bond Firm
Courthouse News: An immigration bond company has sued BuzzFeed for $5 million over a cover story it says was “full of false and defamatory statements,” including that it was under federal investigation. The plaintiff is Libre by Nexus, a Virginia...
Snopes Exceeds Crowdfunding Goal in Less Than a Day
Fast Company: The oft-cited fact-checking website Snopes took to crowdfunding due to a dispute that left it without a steady flow of ad revenue. It's been only a day, and the GoFundMe for Swopes has already exceeded the $500,000...
Gawker Bankruptcy Advisors Seek Sale of Flagship Site
Wall Street Journal: Advisers overseeing the Gawker Media bankruptcy estate have begun exploring a potential sale of its flagship site, Gawker.com. The estate is looking into retaining an investment bank or other advisors to assist in a sale...
Alphabet Appoints Google CEO to Insider-Heavy Board
CNBC: Alphabet, the parent company of Google, said that Google CEO Sundar Pichai has joined its board of directors. The addition of Pichai adds another company officer to the board, which already includes Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Eric...
Google CEO Predicts More Growth Ahead for YouTube
Business Insider: Nobody at Google appears very worried about a recent advertising boycott of YouTube. While the Alphabet-owned company once again declined to break out YouTube's revenue during its earnings call, executives spoke in effusive terms regarding the web...
Netflix Reigns as Top Global App for Raking In Revenue
TechCrunch: Netflix’s booming subscriber growth is also being felt on the App Store, where its app has again become the top earner in terms of revenue. According to a report from app store analytics firm Sensor Tower, the app in Q2 saw 233 percent revenue growth...
Apple Taps Dwayne Johnson for TV Ad Promoting Siri
CNBC: Actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood. His latest co-star, Apple's Siri voice assistant, is a relative newcomer to the big screen. Johnson, a former wrestling superstar, teamed up with Apple for a new...
AT&T in Early US Talks to OK Takeover of Time Warner
Bloomberg: U.S. antitrust officials are said to have started talking to reps from AT&T and Time Warner about possible conditions that could secure approval of their $85.4 billion tie-up. The early talks suggest that government lawyers have nearly finished their...
Disney is Too Big for a Takeover Target, Analyst Says
Barron's: Credit Suisse analyst Omar Sheikh and team don't expect Disney to sell itself, but don't expect the rumors to go away either: "Rather than invest, it may be tempting to believe DIS should sell the company to a distributor, particularly given digital...
Comcast’s MSNBC is No 1 Cable Network for First Time
TVNewser: For the first time in the network’s 21-year history, MSNBC was the most-watched cable network during weekday prime (Monday-Friday 8-11 p.m.) in total viewers. MSNBC averaged 2.34 million viewers, which put it ahead of Fox News, Disney, USA and...