Warner Bros. Discovery said Tuesday that while it continues to pursue its split of Warner Bros. and Discovery Global, it also has started looking at alternatives in light of unsolicited offers from multiple parties either for WB or the entire company. Options under consideration include a transaction for the whole company, separate transactions for its WB or Discovery businesses, or a merger of WB plus a spinoff of Discovery to shareholders, WBD said. There's no deadline or timetable for completing the alternatives review process, it added. The company's split, announced in June (see 2506090024), is expected to be completed by mid-2026.
Cable programmers are coming around to the possibility that their cable brands might not survive streaming, nScreenMedia's Colin Dixon wrote Monday. He cited moves by NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery to spin off their cable assets, WBD's launch of a stand-alone CNN app, Fox's launch of the Fox One streaming service, and rumors that Paramount Skydance will shutter MTV. "This reckoning for cable TV has been a long time coming, and it is far from clear which, if any, brands will survive," Dixon said. Even ESPN "seems at risk" as it faces growing competition for sports rights.
Ad services firm Viamedia said Tuesday that it has rebranded as Viamedia.AI. The name change reflects its new AI-based platform for handling ad campaigns across TV, streaming and digital channels, the company said, part of its acquisition earlier this year of digital advertising firm LocalFactor.
The news divisions of the four major networks and CNN released a statement Tuesday rejecting a new restrictive press access policy from the Pentagon. NPR and Newsmax released similar statements Monday, and numerous print publications -- including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal -- have also opposed the policy. “Today, we join virtually every other news organization in declining to agree to the Pentagon’s new requirements, which would restrict journalists’ ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues,” said the joint statement from ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News Media and NBC News.
YouTube said Thursday that some previously terminated creators can request a new channel on the platform. "We know many terminated creators deserve a second chance," though not every type of channel termination will be eligible, it said. Instead of getting previous content and subscribers back, the new channel "is a fresh start" where creators "can build back your community." YouTube said the new channel pilot won’t be available to those who were terminated for copyright infringement or who violated certain creator policies.
Paramount Skydance is buying online media outlet The Free Press and installing its co-founder and CEO, Bari Weiss, as CBS News editor-in-chief, the company said Monday. "The combination brings together CBS News’s scale and reach with The Free Press’s culture-shaping voice and innovative spirit, united in the pursuit of setting a new standard for trusted journalism in America." Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison said Weiss will report directly to him. "We believe the majority of the country longs for news that is balanced and fact-based, and we want CBS to be their home," Ellison said. The Free Press will maintain its brand and operations, Paramount Skydance said. Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Weiss' appointment follows that of Kenneth Weinstein, former head of conservative policy think tank the Hudson Institute, who joined CBS News as ombudsman last month (see 2509090065).
President Donald Trump is pushing for Univision's return to the YouTube TV channel lineup. "I hope Univision, a great and very popular Hispanic Network, can get BACK onto the very amazing Google/YouTube," he wrote Saturday on Truth Social. Trump said Univision's removal from the YouTube TV package "is VERY BAD for Republicans in the upcoming Midterms." Univison was "so good to me with their highest rated ever political Special, and I set a Republican Record in Hispanic voting. Google, for the purpose of FAIRNESS, please let Univision back!" Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) said last week that the blackout was "obvious retaliation" for Univision hosting a town hall event during Trump's 2024 campaign (see 2509300037).
Streaming giants like Disney, Google and Amazon reach more than half of U.S. internet households through a mix of premium subscription video-on-demand, ad-supported channels and virtual MVPD offerings that replicate the traditional TV bundle, Parks Associates wrote Friday. As a result, midtier brands without the same portfolio depth will be challenged, Parks said. Growth of services like HBO Max and AMC Networks is stalling, and providers that are unable to bundle or scale across multiple formats face a ceiling in household penetration, it added. The rise of mixed-model streaming strategies "is reshaping how value is defined" by consumers and advertisers.
CNN's live feed will no longer be available on HBO Max starting Nov. 17, the streaming service told subscribers Friday. The move comes as a CNN streaming service is set to launch later this year and as parent Warner Bros. Discovery is planning a mid-2026 split that will see HBO Max and CNN moving to different parents (see 2507280029).
News might be a tempting option for Netflix, with its high margins and daily engagement, but it also comes with significant risks, nScreenMedia's Colin Dixon wrote Wednesday. News "could attract the unwanted attention" of governments around the world, but it also could help Netflix build loyalty and boost profitability, he said, adding that cable news networks' profit margins make it an attractive business. Dixon said Netflix might want to replicate elsewhere the approach it's taking in France, where Netflix subscribers will be able to watch TF1 channels and on-demand content on Netflix starting next summer. Under that approach, TF1 carries the government scrutiny for its LCI news channel, while Netflix gets content that helps keep people on its app, Dixon added.