Effectively, in only three years, the Warner Bros. Discovery merger has validated nearly all the concerns that critics of “market first” policymaking have warned about for years. Once it had a dominant market share, the company started providing less and charging more. - The Conversation
Universal Music India, a division of Universal Music Group, will acquire a 30% equity interest in the Mumbai-based movie studio. In the deal, announced Monday, the companies will work together on forthcoming films, series, music and emerging formats. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)
Since Congress defunded public TV and radio months ago, an estimated $100 million has been raised from foundations and, notably, from record numbers of listeners angry about the cuts — so-called “rage giving.” That leaves only $435 million to go to replace the funding promised to stations just last year. - Inside Radio
“Warner Bros. Discovery’s leadership has repeatedly rebuffed Skydance-owned Paramount’s overtures — and urged shareholders just weeks ago to support selling its streaming and studio business to Netflix for $72 billion. Paramount, meanwhile, has made efforts to sweeten its $77.9 billion hostile bid for the entire company.” - TechCrunch
“While NPR may be staring down a tough couple of years ahead, I think public radio is better positioned in the long run than most American news organizations right now.” - Substack
“The nonprofit charged by Congress with allocating funds to NPR, PBS and other US public radio and television stations … announced on Monday that its board of directors had voted to dissolve the organization after nearly 60 years in operation.” - The Guardian
Movie theaters in the United States and Canada sold an estimated $8.9 billion in tickets in 2025, a 2 percent increase compared with a year earlier. - The New York Times
It's not like the frog boiling in the water. It's a dramatic drop-off. It happened very suddenly. Broadly speaking, in LA, if you're involved in the entertainment industry, this has been a very rough two years. Very, very rough. - The Wall Street Journal
Leonardo DiCaprio (not present for the most global military of reasons) said via a prerecorded speech, “Movies still matter, not content, but cinema. Stories made by people meant to be shared in a dark room in a communal experience.” - Seattle Times (AP)
“I saw entire families, many in pajamas. Friends young and old. Lots of couples. There were Hellfire Club T-shirts, Demogorgon crowns and popcorn buckets (purchased in advance, from Target). Everyone was taking group selfies, posting photos or Instagram Reels of how crowded the concession area was.” - The Guardian (UK)
“Future Fixers was billed as a glossy, family-friendly reality series. ... The show was part Shark Tank, part Lego Masters, and explicitly designed to put girls in tech on prime‑time television.” Then the host’s past caught up with him. - Sydney Morning Herald (Archive Today)
“I felt untethered. I didn't know where to go, you know, and then I realised that's incredibly human to be lost, and that is absolutely Agnes' story to be lost.” - BBC
