Hey, happy Wednesday. Here's the latest from Roku, Joe Rogan, Spotify, JD Vance, VIBE, Versant, Criterion, and more. But first... |
The quiet race to close Paramount-WBD |
In public, there is little to see as Paramount tries to complete its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, including CNN. But in private, there is a whole lot going on.
Justice Department antitrust officials met with Paramount CEO David Ellison and questioned him at length yesterday. Other Paramount executives were deposed by DOJ officials earlier this month, a person involved in the matter told CNN.
This evidence-gathering process is a normal part of an antitrust review. But it comes as the entertainment world waits to see whether Democratic state AGs sue to stop — or at least slow down — the Paramount-WBD deal.
California AG Rob Bonta is leaning toward challenging the deal, and many insiders believe a state-level lawsuit is all but inevitable. Notably, there is no indication that the state attorneys joined the feds for the Paramount interviews.
Paramount's stated goal is to secure all the necessary approvals and take control of WBD in the third quarter of this year, meaning by the end of September. Internally, Paramount leaders would like to get it done in July, as Status first reported last week.
Thus, Bonta is well aware that "the clock is ticking," as the NYT's Ben Mullin wrote yesterday. Bonta told a group of merger opponents last week "that his office has been preparing for the possibility that Paramount could close its deal as soon as July, adding that he won't 'lose the opportunity to move aggressively, if that's what we decide to do.'"
Puck's Eriq Gardner pointed out last night that "both New York and California are advertising" for senior antitrust litigators right now, and the California job listing literally lists Paramount-WBD as one of the key cases. Technically, though, the job listing says the attorney would "help us investigate and/or litigate." And the investigation phase is already well underway.
A rep for Bonta's office declined to comment. But there's also this detail in a recent WSJ story: "California may hire outside lawyers if it sues Paramount, Bonta said. That tactic worked in the Live Nation case, when the states hired Jeffrey Kessler, known for litigating major sports-antitrust cases, to take the place of the Justice Department's lead lawyers." Last week, it was reported that Kessler has been retained by... Paramount.
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About yesterday's DOJ meeting... |
Semafor's Liz Hoffman and Rohan Goswami reported overnight that Justice Department antitrust staff members "grilled Ellison on whether the combined company would be less inclined to send movies to big screens."
Noting that the staffers are "nonpolitical employees" who are not supposed to be swayed by President Trump's past praise for Paramount, they wrote that the DOJ "seemed swayed by arguments from top Paramount executives that the deal would not hurt other studios and creative talent, people briefed on the meeting said."
For those who have anticipated all along that the feds would green-light the merger, this doesn't change anything, but it's another example of Paramount's progress...
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Last month, Paramount garnered significant attention (much of it negative) when Ellison hosted a dinner in DC for President Trump. More than half a dozen cabinet members were on hand, as well as a few CBS News correspondents. An attendee later told me that Trump seemed flattered by the attention.
But with less fanfare, Ellison also huddled with California Gov. Gavin Newsom last month, as Matt Belloni first reported. I'm told it lasted about two hours, and Newsom told people afterward that Ellison "said all the right things."
More recently, Ellison was in Brussels to meet with the EU competition chief, Teresa Ribera. Last week, a bunch of film and TV organizations in Europe circulated a letter urging a thorough review of the deal, saying it could "damage cultural diversity, weaken independent production and entrench the dominance of US entertainment giants," the FT's Barbara Moens reported.
Per Moens, Paramount has yet to formally notify the European Commission of the deal; once it does, Ribera's team will decide whether to OK it.
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Paramount says it's committed to investing in journalism |
Later today, the Freedom of the Press Foundation, Democracy Defenders Fund and other groups are holding a virtual press call opposing Paramount-WBD, arguing that the merger poses threats to "press freedom, independent journalism, and documentary film production."
Announced speakers include CNN contributor Kara Swisher, former anchor Jim Acosta and filmmaker Laura Poitras.
A Paramount spokesperson has rebutted the coalition's claims, saying, "We respectfully disagree with efforts to characterize this transaction as harmful to journalism or competition."
"The proposed transaction is fundamentally pro-competitive and reflects a commitment to invest in the future of journalism, not diminish it," the Paramount rep said. "Far from limiting competition or press freedom, the combined company will have greater scale and resources to compete in an increasingly consolidated media landscape dominated by global streaming and technology platforms — strengthening consumer choice, supporting creative talent and reinforcing the long-term sustainability of trusted news organizations."
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It's confounding whenever a news outlet cites multiple "sources" and then prints a single quote from them. Did those sources get together and submit the quote together? Or is there just one person purporting to speak for a group?
I digress. Last night, Page Six ran an item recapping the "ratings collapse and internal strife" at CBS News while saying Bari Weiss is "safe." The item quotes "sources," plural, saying "She's not going anywhere. The Ellisons like her very much and she's safe."
>> Speaking of CBS ratings, Tony Dokoupil led the "CBS Evening News" to "an audience of a little more than 4 million during the five-day period ended May 22, according to Nielsen — the first time in weeks the show has captured that level of audience," Variety's Brian Steinberg writes.
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The wildcard lawsuit to watch |
One last note here about Paramount-WBD: The aforementioned Eriq Gardner says people are underestimating the antitrust suit that's already been filed against the deal. The suit from five streaming consumer plaintiffs "is being led by Joseph M. Alioto," who is "very much an old-school antitrust brawler, fond of noting that he has tried more antitrust cases than perhaps any lawyer alive," Gardner writes.
And Alioto "is specifically targeting the proposed consolidation of CBS News and CNN," suggesting that "favorable regulatory treatment may be intertwined with favorable media coverage, an allegation that pushes the merger fight beyond ordinary competition analysis and directly into the bloodstream of Trump-era media paranoia." Here is Gardner's Puck column all about it...
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Roku revamps its home screen |
Roku is in more than 100 million households, so this announcement is a big deal: This morning, the company "unveiled the first major update to its home-screen user experience in a decade, a move that sets the platform up for additional advertising opportunities," Samantha Kelly reports for Bloomberg.
"The new design features a new personalized AI-powered main screen designed to learn user habits and preferences," with a layout that will "shift throughout the day based on who is watching." It sounds like the famous screensaver is staying the same, however!
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The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences held the Sports Emmy Awards in NYC last night. Tonight is "News Night," with the ceremony streaming on YouTube and airing on C-SPAN. Tomorrow is "Doc Night" for the documentary film awards... |
JD Vance touches grass — and likes it 😉 |
JD Vance says he has "enjoyed my little break" from X after deleting the app from his phone for Lent. He hasn't added it back yet! "Not having that as a distraction, I think, has made me much more productive," the VP told NBC's Henry J. Gomez. "You're not scrolling all the time when you get five minutes. I can actually read something, as opposed to, you know, scroll or get distracted by X."
>> Vance noted that he still posts (via staffers) and said he misses the interaction: "I live in such a bubble. And I think one of the good things about social media is that it actually exposes you to unfiltered raw opinions, and that's one of the things that I need to hear as a political leader. So I will definitely reinstall it, but I've enjoyed my little break from it..."
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White House wants to fight leaks with NDAs |
Tom Jones' headline in The Poynter Report this morning: "The Trump administration is trying a far broader crackdown on leaks."
Indeed it is. "The White House is preparing a government-wide nondisclosure agreement aimed at curtailing federal workers' sharing of 'confidential government information,' as it seeks to stop internal leaks to media organizations," CNN's Tami Luhby reports.
The WaPo's Scott Nover and Meryl Kornfield note that the Office of Personnel Management's draft "cited a number of high-profile leaks, including 'unauthorized disclosures' that it said were made to the New York Times and The Washington Post about the U.S. raid in Venezuela in January that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro." Agencies will be able to decide whether they want to use the NDA or not...
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Rogan says Trump's IRS immunity is 'crazy' |
Joe Rogan thinks Trump's IRS settlement is "crazy." During Monday's episode of his podcast, Rogan and comedian Tom Segura discussed the part of the deal that gives Trump and his family immunity from IRS audits.
"That is so crazy," Rogan said, before drawing a colorful comparison: "Imagine, like, somebody accused you of murder, and turns out you weren't guilty of that murder, and then you sue them, and you go, 'You can never prosecute me for murder again.' And then you just go straight Uday Hussein. Oh, that's nuts." Here's the clip...
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Spotify challenges Apple with longform article audio |
Spotify is "launching a new format for narrated long-form articles, alongside its usual array of music, podcasts, and audiobooks," The Verge's Jess Weatherbed reports.
The company says 650+ articles will be available. Participating publications include Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, Vogue, Variety, Billboard, GQ, Wired and Vanity Fair.
>> This Spotify format sounds a lot like Apple News+ Narrated, the Apple podcast feed for long-form articles narrated by voice actors. I had forgotten about the Apple version until Spotify's was announced... which is really the bigger problem, right?
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VIBE going back into print (in a very limited way) |
"More than a decade after VIBE ceased producing physical copies and became online-only, the iconic brand is relaunching print," Rolling Stone's Jodi Guglielmi reports.
"On June 2, the first print cover story launches online," Guglielmi writes, and "the issue will feature a cover star, as well as commentary and reporting on the current state of Hip-Hop, fashion, and culture, with interviews with some of today's tastemakers." According to Guglielmi, "VIBE will be published as a quarterly issue — premium in paper and limited in quantity (1,000 for this first issue)."
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>> The Guardian is touting US growth: Its US operation "generated more than $81 million in revenue in its most recent fiscal year, its highest level since launching in the U.S. 15 years ago," Sara Fischer writes. (Axios)
>> Versant is "expanding its former 'summer camp' office swing space at 229 West 43rd Street and making it permanent." (Commercial Observer)
>> Transition at The Economist: President Luke Bradley-Jones "will become group chief executive as Lara Boro steps down after seven years." (Press Gazette)
>> Corbin Bolies is jumping from TheWrap to Variety, where he'll cover "the intersection of AI and entertainment." (X)
>> RIP: Donald E. Newhouse, "who as president of The Star-Ledger and head of Advance Publications' newspaper group presided over a prolonged period of dramatic growth and award-winning journalism," has died. He was 96. (NJ.com/WSJ)
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The Supreme Court has declined to hear Meta's bid "to avoid a lawsuit brought by Vermont's attorney general accusing the company of designing its Instagram social media app to be addictive to young users," Andrew Chung reports for Reuters. |
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A few Hollywood headlines |
>> Sony's "Spider-Noir" is earning generally favorable reviews, averaging 71 on Metacritic and 91% on Rotten Tomatoes.
>> "'KPop Demon Hunters' is getting the Criterion treatment," Anna Tingley writes, noting the film "will get a special Blu-ray release from the prestige home entertainment label on Dec. 31, with pre-orders available now." (Variety)
>> Drake broke another Billboard record, this time "for most No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 by a solo male artist as 'Janice STFU' bows atop the chart following the release of his trio of albums," Steven J. Horowitz writes. (Variety)
>> Julia Louis-Dreyfus "will make her Broadway debut" in a revival of "Other Desert Cities." (Deadline)
>> Last but not least, a bit of news my kids will be psyched about: "'Ninja Warrior' is making its way to the Olympics," starting with the 2028 games, Michael Schneider writes. (Variety)
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