“Guys, you can trust David Ellison” - David Ellison, 2026
Save the date! A judge has set March 2027 for the Warnermount trial. The two parties in the antitrust fight over the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger were after very different timelines, with Paramount’s requested November date and the states’ requested April date. This, again, seems like a win for the state AGs. Read more at Variety
The news comes soon after Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison had an op-ed published in the New York Times pushing forward his case in the court of public opinion.
Ellison opens his op-ed stating that the important voice you haven’t heard from yet in his bid for Warners is his own. Why so silent, David? It’s because he cares for the sanctity of news, you see…
I believe that anyone who oversees a news organization — I am chief executive of Paramount, which owns CBS — shouldn’t put a finger on the scale, especially on matters involving his own company. So when California’s attorney general, 11 other state attorneys general and, a day later, the Writers Guild of America sued to stop the deal, I stayed quiet. I quickly learned such restraint has costs. While I was silent, others were happy to write my story for me. No more.
What is that cost, Mr Ellison? Your lawyers have spoken about how this is a slam dunk and there’s no question that the deal is legally sound and should pass through.
His objective in writing is to try and quell concern over his holding of CNN. At the root of the lawsuit, he is viewing politics as the reason for the opposition to the merger. In particular, he is focused on the acquisition of CNN.
That has to be the reason. After all, he’s talking about doubling output in cinemas and the already evident increase to the volume of content released through Paramount+.
And that’s fine to argue if there was anything about that commitment that is binding in perpetuity. But all it takes is a couple of bad quarters for a change in strategy to be enacted.
Ellison writes:
I understand that promises from an executive in the middle of a merger invite skepticism. So judge us by the year we just had.
What should we focus on? The exodus of 60 Minutes talent fleeing the show because they aren’t happy with the politicised direction that Ellison’s CBS is taking the show? The massive declines in audience for the CBS Evening News once Ellison’s news chief Bari Weiss took over? The streamed UFC fight from the White House lawn, an event that was anything but apolitical? Is it the private dinner you hosted for the President?
The very approval of the merger is questionable, with reports that investigating staff were ready to flag objections to the merger before their bosses just waived it through.
There’s a reason people aren’t giving David Ellison the benefit of the doubt.
Let’s give David Ellison the final word.
Trust can’t be argued back, but it can be earned back — story by story, day by day.
But when does this start, David?
News Desk
More on the Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger
Paramount posted mixed Q2 earnings as Paramount+ added roughly two million subscribers to reach 81.6 million worldwide, even as linear TV kept declining. Read: Deadline
Ari Emanuel has proposed an editorial board to oversee CNN to ease concerns about Ellison family influence and help clear the way for the merger. Read: TheWrap
Casting & Greenlights
Viola Davis is returning to television in Ascent, a Paramount+ corporate thriller from John Logan, playing an elite fixer forced to use her skills to protect her estranged daughter. Read: The Hollywood Reporter
Amazon has picked up the Baywatch reboot for Prime Video across much of Europe, Canada, Latin America and India, though no Australian streaming home has been confirmed yet. Read: The Hollywood Reporter
Amazon has ordered a US version of LOL: Last One Laughing, the “try not to laugh” format that has already run in more than 25 countries. Read: Deadline
CBS has ordered a comedy pilot, Hilda! (In Lights!), about a 70-year-old Nebraska woman with no experience chasing a lifelong dream of Broadway stardom. Read: The Hollywood Reporter
Renewals & Return Dates
Colin from Accounts has set A US date, Thursday, 10 September, for its third and final season on Paramount+. Read: Deadline
The Artful Dodger has been renewed for a third and final season at Disney+ and Hulu, with Thomas Brodie-Sangster returning as Jack Dawkins. Read: Deadline
UKTV’s Bergerac reboot has been recommissioned for a third series after its second run averaged 1.3 million viewers, the network’s second-highest-rating drama this year. Read: C21Media
Streaming & Business
Stranger Things, Bluey and The Pitt were the most-streamed shows of the first half of 2026, according to Nielsen. Read: The Hollywood Reporter
Spotify has crossed 300 million Premium subscribers, roughly three times Apple Music’s size, adding seven million paid subscribers in Q2 despite price rises. Read: Variety
TKO Group says UFC’s Freedom 250 event at the White House lost $30 million despite averaging 8.2 million viewers on Paramount+, its biggest live exclusive to date. Read: Variety
Broadcast Management Group used LiveU’s remote production tools to stream Amazon Prime’s inaugural Obsessed Fest live to TikTok in an eight-hour vertical-format broadcast. Read: TVNewsCheck
Culture & Tech
AI-generated Jimmy Kimmel monologues have been spreading across YouTube while the real host is on his summer break, with one fake clip drawing nearly 800,000 views before removal. Read: LateNighter
Apple is reportedly eyeing fitness as the centrepiece of its future smart glasses and headsets, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Read: Road to VR
Lego has unveiled an official The X-Files set, more than a decade after Brisbane fan Brent Waller first designed it, complete with eight minifigures including Gillian Anderson‘s Scully. Read: Polygon
Trailer Park
Blood Sacrifice debuts on Netflix August 20. The five-part series is from George Kay (Lupin, Hijack).
Following the brutal murder of two police officers, a tenacious detective reluctantly joins forces with his estranged ex-cop father to catch the killer.
Note: Despite the name, this apparently has nothing to do with Julianna Margulies’ character in ER…
Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe debuts on Netflix August 31.
Hathaway Noa leads a rebel group in a fight against the corrupt Earth Federation government. But when he meets a mysterious woman, his resolve is tested.
The Girls: A Khloe Kardashian Project debuts on Hulu August 21.
Step inside Khloé Kardashian's inner circle as her closest friends navigate the highs and lows of motherhood, marriage, dating, business, and life in the spotlight.
Honest Renovations returns with hosts Jessica Alba and Lizzy Mathis for season 4 August 14 on The Roku Channel.
Here The Whole Time debuts on Netflix August 19.
Felipe just wanted a quiet summer with his artsy mom and every musical he could binge... when his childhood crush knocked on his door to join the party.
That’s the newsletter for the today.
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