They did not say it was.
Interesting stories that won’t waste your time. TheDesk.net covers the business of media (broadcasting, streaming) and tech. Posts by @matthewkeys.net, and probably others, too. Read our stuff: https://thedesk.net Send us tips/pitches: news@thedesk.net
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They did not say it was.
Walmart will soon allow members of its Walmart Plus service to add a complementary subscription to Peacock Premium with ads. Or, they can choose to continue receiving Paramount Plus Essentials — but they can't have both.
Last year, the controlling shareholder of Warner Bros Discovery and the founder of Fox Corporation discussed a plan to merge the parent companies of CNN and Fox News. Ultimately, there was one major thing holding back the deal.
Comcast's Sky Group has inked a landmark deal with the NFL to offer almost every game from the 2025 season, including the NFL Playoffs, the Super Bowl, Thursday Night Football, Monday Night Football and most Sunday Night Football games.
#BREAKING: FCC rejects call from National Association of Broadcasters to impose cable-like regulatory fees on broadband providers, streaming services.
One America News was originally scheduled to launch on YouTube TV in November — but its debut was bumped up to Friday morning.
Nuvyyo has introduced "offline mode" for its popular fourth-generation Tablo digital video recorders. The feature allows Tablo users to watch live broadcast channels and recorded content in the event of a server or Internet outage.
#BREAKING: Fox News and other Fox-owned channels are staying on YouTube TV for a few more years.
Gray Media has inked a deal to simulcast Dallas Stars games from Victory Plus on its over-the-air TV stations in three states.
You can now purchase Peacock through Amazon's Prime Video app. It won't be cheap.
Fubo has launched a new sports-only plan called Fubo Sports, priced at $56 per month. The package includes channels from Disney (ESPN) and Fox, but not NBC Universal or Warner Bros Discovery (TNT).
Fox News and other Fox-owned channels are staying on YouTube TV until at least Friday evening; the channels were scheduled to be removed on Wednesday.
TuneIn is now offering access to six commercial-free radio streams from Apple Music.
Fox News, other Fox channels to stay on YouTube TV through Friday evening after companies reach short-term deal.
YouTube TV has reached a short-term deal with Fox Corporation that will keep Fox News, Fox Business and Fox Sports on the platform through Friday evening, The Desk has learned.
In an email to me, a YouTube executive said the company wants to provide "a wide range of content, which is why we’re excited to bring One America News to YouTube TV."
Earlier this year, we wrote about how Nexstar was pushing its viewers to convince the FCC to lift ownership caps, so it could grow its business. We sent the coverage to Poynter's newsletter editor. thedesk.net/2025/04/nexs... thedesk.net/2025/04/nexs... Zero coverage.
The daily Poynter newsletter spent more than 470 words discussing media reactions to Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift's engagement, which I think tells you everything you need to know about the state of journalism today. Meanwhile, local PBS and NPR member stations are facing closure...
UPDATE: YouTube TV will start carrying One America News by the end of the year.
As YouTube TV nears a contract dispute with the owners of the Fox News Channel, the streaming cable TV alternative has now signed an agreement with Herring Networks to add One America News by the end of the year.
Disney and ESPN are suing Sling TV over the company's new "Day Pass" subscription offerings, claiming Sling and parent Echostar never notified distributors about their intention to offer what essentially amounts to pay-per-view access for sporting events.
Fox Corporation owns Fox News Media, which is the parent subsidiary of the Fox News Channel. Fox Entertainment and Fox News Media are separate business units under a single parent company. (So, the "technicality" is actually wrong.)
SNL Kagan study: Broadcasters, streaming services to shell out $110 billion for NFL rights through 2032. The amount is more than double the value of the NFL's prior broadcast and streaming TV agreements.
Free Press columnist Batya Ungar-Sargon, the author of a book called "Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy," is launching a new TV show on NewsNation in September.
A federal judge this week ordered U.S. Agency for Global Media Special Advisor Kari Lake to testify under oath about her efforts to dismantle the Voice of America.
YouTube TV warns it may be forced to drop the Fox News Channel and other Fox-owned networks on Wednesday.
A judge in Missouri says a local television station owes a former TV weather forecaster more than $800,000 for discriminating against her during her five-year career. She was fired during the COVID-19 pandemic, but not before being subject to abuse and harassment.
President Trump is nudging FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to scrutinize the broadcast licenses of ABC and NBC because the networks generally publish "bad stories" about him.
Bluesky's decision to block its services from users in Mississippi following a controversial age verification law is already impacting some regional news outlets, including @mississippifreepress.org, which shifted its core social outreach from X (Twitter) to Bluesky this year.
The criminal trial of suspected Fox News leaker Timothy Burke has been pushed to October; a federal judge dismissed requests by the U.S. Department of Justice to prevent Burke from raising certain defenses at trial.
Nokia — the company that made the cell phone you had in middle school — is suing Paramount for allegedly violating more than a dozen of its streaming-related patents.
C-SPAN to air nine hours of video that shows an interview between Ghislaine Maxwell and the U.S. Department of Justice; the footage will be broadcast on the main C-SPAN channel Friday evening.
You can stream this on DirecTV with the "MyNews" package tonight and tomorrow. A seven-day free trial is available at this link, just scroll down to "Genre Packs," select "Start free trial" and then choose "MyNews" to watch C-SPAN. thedesk.net/go/directv/
NEW: C-SPAN says it will air the ENTIRE interview between Ghislaine Maxwell and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern Time, 5 p.m. Pacific Time. The interview spans over nine hours. A rebroadcast will occur Saturday at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT.
Bluesky bans those using computers based in Mississippi from accessing its social media platform.
Paramount is moving forward with plans to fire as many as 3,000 employees by November; the job cuts were promised before Paramount and Skydance merged their operations.
Bluesky Social says it will no longer allow people in Mississippi to use its services because of an onerous age verification law, which was upheld by the Supreme Court on Thursday. The organization says it will ban Mississippi IP addresses from logging into the platform, starting today.
Fubo CEO David Gandler will get stock options valued at $175,000 after being appointed to Newsmax's board of directors this week, the cable news outlet revealed to financial regulators on Friday.
The NFL isn't just a driver of high TV ratings — it is also generating significant revenue for TV networks and streaming platforms, and earning higher returns on advertising spend for brand marketers, according to the third installment of EDO's NFL TV Outcomes Report released this week.
All smartphones, tablets and smart TVs sold in Russia will have to offer Lime HD, a streaming app that offers free online access to state-run TV channels. The order takes effect on January 1.
ESPN has removed the paywall on some of its written content that was previously only available to subscribers of ESPN Plus. [Awful Announcing]
Gray Media will air a pre-season football game on its local TV station in New Orleans that uses native High Dynamic Range across all touchpoints, marking a broadcast TV first.
Russia has ordered newer-model iPhones and iPads to ship with a state-backed messaging app called Max, starting September 1. Apple devices will also have to support Lime HD, an app that streams government-run channels.
If you read our story, you'd have seen that also factored into the decision-making process. He admitted as much.
Just FYI, for those of you thinking about signing up for ESPN Unlimited at $30 per month... If you sign up for the Disney+, Hulu and ESPN Unlimited bundle, the price is...also $30 per month. thedesk.net/go/espn-plus/
An earlier version of this story erroneously said Burke was seeking to bring Alan Butler, @alanindc.bsky.social, into his criminal defense team. Butler has applied to appear pro hac vice in the case, but that is connected to an amicus brief filed in support of Burke.
The criminal hacking trial of Fox News leaker Timothy Burke @bubbaprog.xyz has been rescheduled for October, and could be delayed even further. This week, a judge denied a request by prosecutors to prevent certain testimony from being introduced during the trial phase.
The CEO of Newsmax said the cable news channel didn't feel it would get a fair trial in its defamation case involving Dominion Voting Systems because the judge overseeing the lawsuit is a Democrat.
The ESPN app has its own mascot. He was unveiled at a press event this week. This is what he looks like. Give him a name.
ESPN emerges as a contender to offer live MLB out-of-market games, and in-market games from the Cleveland Guardians, San Diego Padres, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies, on its streaming platforms. [the New York Times]
In September, ESPN will introduce a new streaming bundle that includes ESPN Unlimited and NFL Plus for $40 per month. The bundle will offer access to NFL RedZone and NFL Network, along with ESPN's cable channels and ESPN Plus.
#BREAKING: Comcast's NBC Universal (NBC Sports, Peacock) and Netflix are in advanced discussion with Major League Baseball about securing rights to regular-season games and the Home Run Derby, according to a report.
Most cable, satellite and streaming pay TV customers have no-cost access to Fox One, and customers of four pay TV service have included access to ESPN Unlimited, starting today.
#BREAKING: Newsmax has appointed Fubo co-Founder and CEO David Gandler to its Board of Directors. The move comes after Newsmax reached a deal with Disney to distribute its cable news channel on Hulu with Live TV, a service that is merging with Fubo.
Apple TV Plus is now $13 per month, making it one of the most-expensive streaming services on the market (but also one of the cheapest ad-free streaming plans).
In a TV interview on Tuesday, Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy said his company decided to settle the Dominion defamation lawsuit for $67 million because of the political leanings of the judge overseeing the case. The judge, Eric Davis, is a Democrat who also ruled over Dominion's case against Fox News.
A proposed class-action lawsuit filed by Charter shareholders accuses the company and its executives of downplaying the impacts of the Affordable Connectivity Program's expiration on its broadband business. Charter, which operates Spectrum, has logged Internet customer declines since the ACP ended.
NEW: NBC Universal says WWE Network's library of shows and specials will remain on Peacock through the end of the year. Starting in 2026, 🤷♂️ That said, Peacock is getting "Saturday Night Main Event" four times a year, and will offer next-day episodes of Smackdown from USA.
Nexstar CEO Perry Sook says he is "confident" regulators will approve his $6 billion deal to acquire TEGNA, saying the regulatory and legal environments are shifting in favor of broadcast mega-mergers.
ESPN and WWE are kicking off their content distribution partnership a bit earlier than expected, with ESPN Unlimited set to host a new showcase event called "Wrestlepalooza" in September.
Renee Baldwin, a long-time TV make-up artist for ABC and ESPN who recently worked at Newsmax, was shot to death in her home on Sunday; police arrested her 27-year-old son, who has since been charged with murder.
A make-up artist for Newsmax and ESPN was found shot to death in her Virginia home on Sunday. Her 27-year-old son has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Is CNN an acquisition target for Sinclair? Warner Bros Discovery is in the process of separating its cable networks business, and CNN could go on the auction block.
CNN's streaming channel CNN Headlines using a news package from WJLA, a D.C. television station owned by Sinclair. Nearly all Sinclair-owned local stations are CNN affiliates.
Nearly half of Americans believe journalists are losing influence in society, and even fewer believe journalists act in the public interest, according to the findings of a new research study from Pew Research Center.
The sale impacts WQAD-TV in Davenport, Iowa, and KSDK-TV in St. Louis. Like their acquisitions from Allen Broadcasting, this deal does not put Nexstar in new Illinois touching markets. Rather, it doubles up their presence in DMAs that extend across state borders.
Philo is implementing a rare price adjustment on some of its long-time, loyal customers; some will pay 56 percent more for live TV.
Some long-time Philo customers who were paying just $16 per month for the live TV service will see a 56 percent increase in their bill come October.
Sling TV launches Sling Select, a smaller bundle including Fox News, FX, and FS1, for $20/mo in some places and rising to $25-$30 with ABC, Fox, and NBC access (Matthew Keys/TheDesk.net) Main Link | Mediagazer Permalink
Read the e-mails sent by the CEOs of Nexstar Media Group and TEGNA to their employees on today's $6 billion merger. We've added links that offer additional background on some of the initiatives and points mentioned in the e-mails.
CNN has relaunched its free streaming channel, called CNN Headlines, which now offers live programming during certain hours of the day. The streaming channel is available on Prime Video (without a subscription), Pluto TV and Plex.
Also, the account is a social media "repeater" of Steve Herman's profile on Mastodon. His Bluesky account is here: @newsguy.bsky.social
This is not the Voice of America. Equipment we've reviewed bears the trademark of NRK, Norway's public service broadcaster. NRK is in the process of vacating its Washington, D.C. news studios.
#BREAKING: Newsmax says its ad sales jumped 28.5 percent during the second financial quarter (Q2) of the year; the company earned $46.4 million in revenue, but logged a financial loss because of its settlement with Dominion. thedesk.net/2025/08/news...
Google has agreed to pay $30 million to settle a civil lawsuit that alleges its subsidiary business YouTube violated state privacy laws by collecting personal data associated with underage users. Google has denied wrongdoing.
Dr. Phil McGraw is facing a federal lawsuit by one of his broadcast TV partners on allegations of fraud and breach of contract. [Multicast News]
The $6.2 billion acquisition of TEGNA by Nexstar is already facing opposition, with some groups warning it will cause cable and satellite TV blackouts to increase. Both companies have used blackouts as a tactic in the past to drive up the cost of their retransmission fees.
I think most, like me, assumed DirecTV got its local TV feeds straight from the broadcaster, not from antenna farms. But, this week, DirecTV said, well, actually...
Public TV stations will be deprived of federal grants to build out their next-generation emergency alert systems because Congress decided to cut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
INBOX: Newsmax says it will report its second quarter (Q2) financial earnings on Tuesday; the Q2 report was supposed to be delivered earlier this month, but the company said it needed to delay them due to business-related matters. We now know they were working on settling the Dominion case.
In a letter to the FCC this month, officials at satellite broadcaster DirecTV are siding against a proposal to transition all signals to NextGen TV, saying the company would have to invest millions to support the new standard.
INBOX: Fox News will interview Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during "Special Report" at 6 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday.
No more woke, potentially life-saving severe weather alerts! (Brilliant lobbying by broadcasters!) - via @matthewkeys.net open.substack.com/pub/multicas...
CNN is adding more live news to its streaming channel CNN Headlines, which reimagines CNN Headline News for the 21st Century, with a mixture of live programming and virtually no commentary or Beltway analysis.
Congressional funding cuts will have ramifications for a program called the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS), which assisted public TV stations with delivering advanced emergency alert notifications through NextGen TV. The program will stop in September.
We're one media merger away from this becoming an actual cable news channel.
Versant Media will consolidate sports programming from USA Network and Golf Channel under a single brand identity called "USA Sports" later this year. The move is similar to one made by Warner Bros. Discovery, which airs live events under the TNT Sports branding across three cable channels.
No one likes the MSNBC rebrand.
Newsmax has settled a three-year defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems for $67 million; the cable news channel said it didn't feel it could get a fair trial in Delaware. The judge overseeing the Newsmax case also presided over the Dominion-Fox News lawsuit.
Starz saw fewer streaming and cable TV subscribers during the second financial quarter (Q2) of the year, its first fiscal quarter since spinning out from Lionsgate.
The press conference is starting.
LIVE: Awaiting remarks from U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin following discussions held earlier today. [ABC News]
Fox Weather will debut a four-part documentary on Hurricane Katrina, 20 years after the storm impacted Louisiana.
Source: Fox interested in bundling Fox One with Peacock, Paramount Plus.
Opinion: What does Sinclair's "comprehensive strategic review" of its business really mean? Possibly more journalism layoffs. (by Kirk Varner) thedesk.net/2025/08/kirk...
Google's insistence on pushing AI-generated search summaries are harming news publishers and their ability to financially support their operations, according to a new member survey released by Digital Content Next this week.
"Thank you, press. Thank you, press. Thank you, press. Thank you, press. Thank you, press." "EVERYBODY GET OUT OF THE ROOM!"
LIVE: ABC News coverage of historic summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. [ABC News]
Comscore: Fox News Digital outpaces CNN in monthly unique visitors for the first time in July, with 92.4 million monthly unique visitors. CNN saw sharp year-over declines, with multiplatform views down 42 percent.
The developers of an AI-powered search engine called Search-dot-com have offered $35 billion to acquire Chrome from Google, topping Perplexity's bid by $500 million. Executives assure it is not a publicity stunt — they have major plans for Chrome if their bid is successful.