The biggest driver of the BBC crisis is the cut in real-terms funding for its national, regional and local UK services. These are the services that largely account for licence payers’ willingness to pay the fee. The reduction in the real-terms funding of these services has been building up since 2010. - The Conversation
In an expected development, shareholders for both Fox Corp. and Roku voted to approve Fox’s $22 billion acquisition of the streaming-video platform company. - Variety
If a station’s broadcast license is owned by a public entity, including a state university, then government officials ultimately have power over the station. With the right having made public radio a political target, and with culture wars getting ever hotter, more officials have started using that power to interfere. - Columbia Journalism Review
After the success of Sesame Street, Jim Henson badly wanted to make a his own show. But there were two failed pilots for ABC and development plans at CBS stalled. Things looked hopeless — until producer Lew Grade came along. (One perhaps-surprising fact: all five seasons of the show were shot in England.) - Variety
Two months after the remnants of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association sued Penske Media Corporation for its part in Dick Clark Productions‘ purchase of the Golden Globes in 2023 with allegations of monopolization and fraudulent misrepresentation, the Penske-controlled Golden Globes is going after the Golden Globe Foundation for trademark infringement and unfair competition. - Deadline
Netflix is cutting 6% of its staff, or roughly 1,000 positions globally, its biggest round of layoffs since 2022, as it struggles with slowing growth and customer engagement. - The Wall Street Journal
The press release said only, “The Board of Trustees thanks Christy (Tanner) for her contributions to NYPR and wishes her well.” Her predecessor, LaFontaine Oliver, is stepping in as interim Acting President and CEO. - Gothamist
The episode felt somehow symbolic for this moment in the history of AI in Africa, where excitement over the technology’s transformative potential for the continent’s filmmakers often runs counter to the practical realities on the ground. - Variety
PBS Network programming disappeared from the Pensacola-Fort Walton Beach area airwaves on July 1, when the licensee for local outlet WSRE, Pensacola State College, closed the station following loss of federal and state funding. As of November 1, new nonprofit Emerald Coast PBS will go live on WPAN channel 53. - NorthEscambia.com (Escambia County, Florida)
With $80 billion in debt and a sprawling media empire to combine, David Ellison will have his hands full with the now court-approved combination of Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery, known as Skydance. But so-called “expert” opinion has him failing before he even starts. - New York Post
Sung Q Lee, Netflix’s senior director of production for Asia-Pacific, said the technology was being deployed across the filmmaking process, but stressed the importance of preserving human creativity. - The Hollywood Reporter
Skydance "must braid together two huge film studios (housing nine film labels), four streaming services, three TV production studios, three animation units and more than 50 television networks, including two prominent news organizations." - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
And yet: "Hundreds of working-class comedians have lost a key source of income and exposure, while wealthy celebrity comics take up their airspace" on SiriusXM. - CBC
"The panicked race to introduce AI technology across the advertising industry, to cut client costs and avoid being pushed aside by big tech, has raised fears of a lost generation." - The Guardian (UK)
"As tempting as it may be to imagine the Best Picture result as set in stone, history tells us that there will always be a few surprises along the way." - Vulture
