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February 23, 2026
Sarah Turney, Kourtney Nichole Launch ‘The Final Hours’ True-Crime Podcast From PAVE Studios to ‘Shine a Light on the Cases That Deserve a Second Look’
Sarah Turney and Kourtney Nichole have teamed for “The Final Hours,” a new true-crime podcast that closely examines clues from the last few hours before someone goes missing — an effort, they say, ...
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February 23, 2026
Paramount Is Expected to Raise Price of Warner Bros. Discovery Bid. Will Netflix Walk Away?
David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance has a Monday deadline to submit its best and final offer for Warner Bros. Discovery — and Paramount is expected to come back with an offer above its previous $30/...
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February 20, 2026
Trump-Appointed FCC Chairman Calls on TV Networks to Pledge to Air ‘Patriotic, Pro-America Content’ for U.S.’s 250th Birthday
Brendan Carr, the Trump-appointed chair of the FCC, wants TV broadcasters to rally around the American flag in celebration of the U.S.’s 250th anniversary this year — suggesting that, for example, ...
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February 20, 2026
Paramount Skydance, Which Doesn’t Have a Deal to Buy Warner Bros. Discovery, Says Its Proposed WBD Takeover Has Cleared DOJ Antitrust Review
Paramount Skydance’s potential deal to snap up Warner Bros. Discovery in its entirety has cleared antitrust review at the U.S. Justice Department — despite the fact that David Ellison’s Paramount h...
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February 19, 2026
Inside Warner Bros. Discovery, Mood Among Many Staffers Shifts in Favor of Netflix Sale vs. Paramount Takeover
Who will Warner Bros. Discovery employees welcome as their new overlords? The feeling among the rank-and-file has changed over the last several months: Most WBD staffers are now supportive of Netfl...
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February 19, 2026
Senate Democrats Demand Answers From David Ellison About Paramount Skydance’s Dealings With Trump in Warner Bros. Takeover Bid, Accuse CEO of ‘Pattern of Evasion’
A group of eight Democratic U.S. senators sent a letter to David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount Skydance, asking that he “preserve all records related to the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros....
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February 18, 2026
Jason Concepcion Hosts ‘Wait a Second…’ Video Podcast From Spotify’s The Ringer About Conspiracy Theories, True Crime and More: ‘Stories That Make You Say What the F—‘
Spotify’s The Ringer is taking a deep dive into tinfoil-hat territory with “Wait a Second…,” a new video podcast hosted by writer and podcaster Jason Concepcion and featuring The Ringer’s Tyler Par...
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February 17, 2026
Paramount Skydance ‘Prepared to Engage’ With Warner Bros. Discovery on Takeover Talks, but Doesn’t Indicate Whether It Will Raise Price of Its Hostile Bid
Will David Ellison move higher than Paramount Skydance’s most recent $30-per-share offer for Warner Bros. Discovery? The company didn’t indicate that it is willing to increase the price tag for its...
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February 17, 2026
CBS Denies Forcing Stephen Colbert to Not Air Interview With Democratic Candidate, Says It Provided ‘Legal Guidance’ About FCC Equal-Time Rule
CBS said it did not force “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” to pull an interview with Texas state Rep. James Talarico from its TV broadcast Monday, contrary to the way the late-night host had fr...
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February 17, 2026
CBS ‘Censorship’ of Stephen Colbert Slammed by Democratic FCC Commissioner as Latest ‘Corporate Capitulation’ to Trump Administration
Stephen Colbert said CBS’s legal department spiked his interview with a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate because of the FCC chairman’s recent warning that the agency would pursue enforcemen...
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February 17, 2026
Fox News’ Sean Hannity Is Launching a ‘Hang Out’ Podcast From His Man Cave in Florida: ‘Just Real Discussions With People Who Have Something Meaningful to Say’
Sean Hannity is promising to show a more casual side of himself on “Hang Out With Sean Hannity,” a new podcast coming next month from Fox News Media. The twice-weekly podcast will premiere March 3....
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February 17, 2026
Warner Bros. Discovery Agrees to Engage With Paramount in Sales Talks, but for Now Still Backs Netflix Deal as It Sets March 20 Shareholder Vote
Warner Bros. Discovery has a number of questions for David Ellison, but the crucial one is this: Will his Paramount Skydance hoist its bid for WBD to over $31 per share? The M&A jousting over W...
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February 16, 2026
Apple Podcasts Is Launching New Video Features, Looking to Keep Pace With YouTube and Spotify
Apple Podcasts is finally giving video a full embrace. The tech giant, which pioneered the podcast audio format and helped popularize it, has faced stepped-up competition from video podcast viewing...
variety.com
February 16, 2026
X Goes Down: Social Media Site Not Working for Thousands of Users Worldwide
X, the social networking site formerly known as Twitter, is yet again suffering from technical problems preventing users from accessing the service. On Monday, there were nearly 43,000 user error r...
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February 15, 2026
Paramount Sends ByteDance Cease-and-Desist Letter Over Seedance AI Videos, Alleging Intellectual Property Infringement
Paramount Skydance accused ByteDance of engaging in “blatant infringement” of its intellectual property with its Seedance video and Seedream image generative AI platforms, alleging the Chinese inte...
variety.com
February 13, 2026
Paramount Skydance Hires Former Trump White House Lawyer as Head of Global Public Policy
As David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance continues to pursue its hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, the company has hired a new leader for its public policy and regulatory teams: Rene Au...
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February 13, 2026
Amazon’s Ring Scraps Police-Notification Partnership After Backlash Over Super Bowl Ad About AI-Enabled Dog Finder
Ring, the Amazon home-security division, ran one of the most-liked ads during Super Bowl LX: a spot promoting Search Party, a feature that helps people find lost dogs using AI to scan opt-in footag...
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February 13, 2026
‘The Pete Davidson Show’: SAG-AFTRA Signs Podcast Agreement With Netflix
Netflix has described its recently released “The Pete Davidson Show” as a “video podcast” — and now SAG-AFTRA has signed an agreement with the streamer that covers the production as such. The talk ...
variety.com
February 12, 2026
Roku Swings to Profit in Q4 on Record Streaming Subscription Sign-Ups, Forecasts 16% Revenue Growth in 2026
Roku turned in its first full-year profit for 2025 and beat Wall Street expectations for the fourth quarter — powered by record premium streaming subscription additions and continued growth in stre...
variety.com
February 12, 2026
Hearst Magazines Union Authorizes Strike for 410 Members if It Fails to Reach New Deal With Company
More than 400 union employees at 29 Hearst Magazine publications including Cosmopolitan, Elle, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar and Good Housekeeping are ready to hit the picket lines if the Writers Guild ...
variety.com
February 12, 2026
Jay Shetty Launches Perfect Strangers Production Shingle, Which Has Inked Netflix Deals for Two TV Series (EXCLUSIVE)
Jay Shetty, bestselling author, entrepreneur and host of popular podcast “On Purpose,” is expanding into TV and film with his new production company, Perfect Strangers Media. L.A.-based Perfect Str...
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February 11, 2026
Wyatt Cenac to Host 2026 Ambies Podcast Awards
Wyatt Cenac will be grabbing the mic to host the 6th annual Awards for Excellence in Audio — aka the Ambies — in Brooklyn later this month. The Ambies will be presented on Monday, Feb. 23, as part ...
variety.com
February 11, 2026
Scripps Layoffs Loom as Company Sets Major Cost-Cutting and Revenue Growth Plan That Will Include Use of AI and Automation
E.W. Scripps is expecting to make layoffs in the near future as the company, which operates more than 60 local TV stations in the U.S., has embarked on a plan aimed at boosting adjusted earnings by...
variety.com
February 10, 2026
Warner Bros. Discovery Says Its Board Will Review Paramount’s Upgraded Hostile Takeover Offer
Warner Bros. Discovery said its board will review Paramount Skydance’s latest hostile takeover offer — which includes some new financial commitments — before it officially accepts or rejects the ri...
variety.com
February 10, 2026
Gary Shapiro Stepping Down as Consumer Technology Association CEO After More Than 35 Years
Gary Shapiro is exiting as CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, the owner and producer of the annual CES confab in Las Vegas, after more than 35 years at the helm. Shapiro, 69, will step dow...
variety.com
February 10, 2026
Paramount Skydance Says It Will Pay Warner Bros. Discovery Shareholders an Extra $650 Million per Quarter if Its WBD Takeover Isn’t Completed by End of 2026
David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance is adding some additional financial promises to its hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery as it continues to try to kill Netflix’s deal for WB. Paramoun...
variety.com
February 10, 2026
Spotify Adds Record Monthly Users and Hits 290 Million Paid Subscribers in Q4, New Co-CEO Says 2026 Will Be ‘Year of Raising Ambition’
Spotify racked up its highest quarterly net adds of monthly users to date in Q4 2025 — reaching a total of 751 million monthly active users, a gain of 38 million in the period. Its paid-subscriber ...
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February 10, 2026
Formula 1 Podcast ‘Up to Speed’ Gets in Gear With Hosts Will Buxton, Naomi Schiff, David Coulthard and Jolie Sharpe
U.K. media and entertainment company Global has lined up an all-star quartet of hosts for “Up to Speed,” its new Formula 1 racing podcast: Will Buxton, “Drive to Survive” star and F1 journalist; dr...
variety.com
February 9, 2026
Scripps Sells Court TV to Jellysmack’s Law&Crime Network
Court TV is getting a new owner: The E.W. Scripps Co. inked a deal to sell the Court TV network to Law&Crime, the multiplatform true-crime and legal content network founded and led by Dan Abram...
variety.com
February 9, 2026
YouTube TV Reveals Pricing, Channels for Lower-Cost Packages Launching This Week
Starting this week, YouTube TV will start selling stripped-down bundles — packaged into genres including sports, news and entertainment — that cost less than its core $82.99/month plan. It’s not qu...
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