Currently S&P Global has a “BB+” issuer credit rating on Paramount. On Wednesday, the firm said it will “lower the issuer credit rating on PSKY to ‘BB’ when its acquisition of WBD closes, assuming no material changes to the structure or terms of the transaction. - Variety
“Data from the first quarter of 2026 shows signs that the United States is halting the exodus of film and television productions to other countries. But it is doing so as greenlights on high-budget productions continue to decrease worldwide, leaving dozens of production hubs fighting for slices of a smaller pie.” - TheWrap (Yahoo!)
Rupert Murdoch’s younger, more liberal-leaning son has purchased, for a reported-but-unconfirmed $300 million, roughly half of the current Vox Media: New York magazine and its verticals (among them Vulture, The Cut, and Curbed), the Vox.com website, and the Vox Media Podcast Network. - AP
A digital mirage masquerading as local news, the South Florida Standard underscores just how easy it has become to corrupt one of the country’s core institutions: independent journalism. - Florida Tribune
Byron Allen, a former stand-up comedian whose Allen Media Group owns 13 local TV stations, The Weather Channel and other outlets, announced a $120 million deal to acquire a 52% controlling stake in BuzzFeed. And he’s leasing from CBS Colbert’s former Late Show time slot for his comedy show Comics Unleashed. - Variety
“The move, unanimously approved by both organizations’ boards of directors, is expected to launch July 1. Leaders say the initiative will allow the two nonprofit newsrooms to share resources, streamline operations and direct more funding toward journalism and community reporting rather than overhead.” - Inside Radio
The 79th Cannes may go down as the time the world’s grandest film festival for the first time wrestled with the onset of AI — its arrival has been felt like a tsunami on the French Riviera. - AP News
Showcase Cinemas has just announced that if anyone called Emily buys a ticket to see the film Finding Emily this weekend, they will receive a free medium-sized Coca-Cola in return. - The Guardian
NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher says the network has to fill a gap of $8 million in its $300-million annual budget because of the elimination of federal subsidies for its member stations, which pay NPR to air programs such as Morning Edition and All Things Considered. - NPR
So why are celebrities suddenly registering trademarks in a bid to protect their identity? The answer, unsurprisingly, lies with generative artificial intelligence (AI). - The Conversation
Following the months-long awards campaign for It Was Just an Accident, which won the Golden Palm at Cannes last year and was nominated for two Oscars, Panahi returned to his homeland, as he said he would. Now the Islamic Revolutionary Court has ordered him retried for “propaganda against the regime.” - The Hollywood Reporter
“The open letter, published earlier this week to coincide with the opening of the Cannes film festival, was signed by more than 600 figures, including ... Juliette Binoche.” Now the head of Canal+ says the organization will no longer work with any of the signers. - The Guardian (UK)
“For decades, elected officials have not had to focus on the film and TV business, let alone turn it into a campaign issue. It was simply a given that local production would continue to play a dominant role in the city’s economy.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
“The documentary centres on a cocktail party Greaves hosted at Duke Ellington’s townhouse in Harlem in August 1972 – an attempt to capture the voices of artists, writers, musicians and organisers whose work had transformed Black American culture in the 1920s.” - The Guardian (UK)
Basically? It can’t take the heat: “In theory, attending Cannes should be a no-brainer for major U.S. studios. Talent loves it because of the glamour and global exposure. … This year, however, multiple high level sources said the conglomerates are particularly thin-skinned about the scathing Cannes critics.” - Variety
