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SiriusXM and iHeartMedia are in talks for a merger, according to The New York Times. iHeartMedia has more than 860 stations, and SiriusXM had more than 33 million subscribers in 2025, according to the outlet. Both companies have been embracing the podcast industry, which has surpassed the popularity of AM/FM talk radio, per TechCrunch. According to the outlet, podcasts account for 40% of spoken-word audio listening time, compared with 39% for traditional radio. Forbes notes that both companies’ podcast ventures are part of their growth strategy. SiriusXM’s roster includes talents such as Alex Cooper, Howard Stern, and Stephen A. Smith, who signed a three-year contract in 2025 valued at $36 million, according to The Athletic. iHeartMedia works with talents including Charlamagne Tha God. As previously reported by AFROTECH™, iHeartMedia signed Charlamagne Tha God to a five-year, $200 million deal in 2025. The move also expanded The Black Effect podcast, a joint venture the two share,...
A jury has ruled on the industry practices of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. CNN reports the U.S. Department of Justice and 39 state attorneys general, including those from New York and Washington, D.C., sued Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, in 2024. Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster in 2010 and now controls 86% of the market for concerts and 73% overall when sports are included , according to Jeffrey Kessler, an attorney for the states, per The Boston Globe. Live Nation’s dominance is at the center of a court case. It owns or controls more than 265 concert venues and generated $22 billion in annual revenue at the time of the lawsuit, according to court records. The lawsuit states that its presence in the live-events sector was harmful to attendees, performers, and small promoters and venue operators. The lawsuit also alleges that Live Nation established a “ self-reinforcing ‘ flywheel,” charging customers, and then using the revenue to book artists for long-term...
The Associated Press is scaling back its focus on newspapers and print journalism — a move that could signal broader shifts across the media industry. On Monday, April 6, 2026, the organization offered buyouts to an unspecified number of U.S.-based journalists, the outlet reports . The News Media Guild, the union representing AP journalists, said more than 120 of its members received offers. The shift comes as the news organization leans further into visual journalism and explores new revenue streams, including partnerships tied to AI . Newspaper clients, once a primary source of revenue, now account for just 10% of AP’s income, declining 25% over the past four years, per the outlet. “The AP employs hundreds of talented journalists who are willing and able to adjust to the changing media landscape,” the union said in a statement, according to AP. “However, the company refuses to offer them appropriate training and tools. Instead, AP continues to get rid of experienced staff and...
NBCUniversal is announcing a round of layoffs. Layoffs Explained Business Insider reports that nearly 12 U.S.-based employees on the global streaming product team will be laid off, in addition to dozens more who could be impacted internationally, according to an employee. For those who will be laid off internationally, a consultation process is expected, per another source, the outlet noted. The two individuals said the layoffs will specifically affect employees who worked at the South African streamer Showmax, which has released works including “Spinners,” “Catch Me a Killer,” and “Khaki Fever.” The platform had “substantial annual losses,” according to Deadline. Showmax Being Shutdown Showmax was co-operated by NBCUniversal and French broadcaster Canal+. This came after a $2 billion deal in September 2025 for Canal+ to acquire Showmax parent company MultiChoice, according to a separate Deadline article. Now, Showmax is being shuttered. Canal+ called the venture an “expensive...
Group Black is facing another lawsuit. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Group Black launched in 2021. Its founders, Richelieu Dennis, Bonin Bough, and Travis Montaque, were on a mission to invest in Black-owned media, which led to a $75 million commitment from GroupM, under a wider goal to deploy at least $500 million by the end of 2022. Group Black was described as a “first-of-its-kind media collective and accelerator, rooted in the advancement of Black-owned media properties,” in a news release. Its founding member companies were Essence, Holler, PlayVS, Afropunk, The Shade Room, and Baller Alert. “Group Black is providing a real, tangible way for Black ownership to take root and thrive in an environment that has traditionally excluded or marginalized Black ownership,” said Dennis in the news release. Montaque commented, per the release: “We started Group Black to infuse diversity into the next generation of creativity and storytelling, and create scaled solutions for brands. The...
Netflix, Inc. has amended its acquisition agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to an all-cash offer at $27.75 per share, replacing the previously proposed cash and stock deal, the company announced in a press release on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Financing for the transition will come from a combination of cash on hand, available credit facilities, and committed funding, notes the release. “Today’s revised merger agreement brings us even closer to combining two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world and, with it, even more people enjoying the entertainment they love to watch the most,” WDB president and CEO David Zaslav said in the release. Per the press release, Netflix said the all-cash structure provides “enhanced certainty” for WBD shareholders, easing concerns about fluctuations in Netflix’s stock price. The company added in the release that the revised offer is expected to accelerate the transaction timeline, with a shareholder vote anticipated by April 2026....
As a child, Oprah Winfrey understood she was destined for greatness. While many are familiar with her industry start as a broadcast reporter turned television host, she initially aspired to be an actress. However, that was frowned upon by her father, she admitted on the “NXT Chapter Podcast,” hosted by Bishop T.D. Jakes. “I had to make a decision. I’m going to go to college , and I’m going to end up, I thought, teaching. I will teach acting,” she explained. She then received a call during her sophomore year at Tennessee State University from a local television station, which she described as being divinely orchestrated. The station learned about her through a competition she had won in Nashville, TN. She was 16 years old at the time and the only Black girl in the contest. At age 17, Winfrey began working as a part-time radio announcer at Nashville’s WVOL Radio Station. She became the city’s youngest and first Black female news anchor at a station, Poynter reports. She later became...
Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. has turned down Paramount’s $108 billion bid. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, Netflix agreed to acquire Warner Bros in a deal with a total enterprise value of approximately $82.7 billion (equity value of $72.0 billion). The boards of directors for both Warner Bros and Netflix are in favor of the deal. Netflix states the agreement would position it to define the “ next century of storytelling.” “For more than a century, Warner Bros. has thrilled audiences, captured the world’s attention, and shaped our culture. By coming together with Netflix, we will ensure people everywhere will continue to enjoy the world’s most resonant stories for generations to come,” President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., David Zaslav, commented in a Dec. 5 press release. Days later, Paramount entered the race for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., making a rival bid of $30.00 per share, for an overall enterprise value of $108.4 billion, per a separate AFROTECH™ article....
Paramount has placed an all-cash bid for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. (WBD). As AFROTECH™ previously reported, WBD had reached an agreement with Netflix to be acquired for a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion ( equity value of $72.0 billion). The deal would include Warner Bros.’ film and television studios, HBO Max, and HBO, but not Discovery or its cable networks such as CNN and TNT, per NBC News. The deal was approved unanimously by both companies’ board of directors. However, for the acquisition to be finalized, it would require approval from the Justice Department’s antitrust division and, likely, the European Commission and other governments globally, notes NBC News. President Donald Trump has shared his thoughts on the matter, per the outlet, stating, “Well, that’s got to go through a process, and we’ll see what happens. They have a very big market share. When they have Warner Bros., that share goes up a lot.” Paramount has now also placed a bid to purchase WBD. According...
Netflix has announced a $72 billion deal, to acquire Warner Bros., valuing it at $82.7 billion including debt, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. The transaction is anticipated to impact both the entertainment and technology sectors. Since the news broke, some observers, according to Fortune, have raised concerns about its impact on Hollywood, while analysts point to artificial intelligence and high-performance computing as key factors. Melissa Otto, head of research at S&P Global Visible Alpha, told the outlet that discussions of the deal often overlook the role of Google and its tensor processing unit (or TPU) chips. TPUs, as Exhibit Magazine notes, are custom chips designed specifically for deep learning tasks. “What TPU chips do really, really well is in the modality of video in generative AI,” Otto said, explaining that they essentially turn mathematical representations into moving pictures in much the same way graphics processing units, or GPUs, revolutionized natural language...
The New York Times reported on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, that it has filed a lawsuit against AI start-up Perplexity for alleged copyright infringement. According to the media company, Perplexity continues to use its content despite multiple requests over the past 18 months to stop until an agreement can be reached. Founded in 2022 by former OpenAI engineer Aravind Srinivas and other entrepreneurs, Perplexity is a free AI-powered answer engine that aims to provide “accurate, trusted, and real-time answers to any question,” according to its website. Filed in a New York federal court, the suit claims Perplexity’s search engine pulls large portions of information from The Times’ website or database to generate responses for users, which goes beyond fair use by offering content that directly competes with the newspaper. “Perplexity provides commercial products to its own users that substitute for The Times, without permission or remuneration,” the suit said, per The Times. The Times also...
iHeartRadio is making its stance loud and clear when it comes to AI’s use on its platform. According to Billboard, Tom Poleman, iHeartRadio’s chief programming officer and president, said in a letter that the company will not be using AI-generated personalities or “play AI music that features synthetic vocalists pretending to be human.” Additionally, its podcasts published will follow this new program, “Guaranteed Human,” as well. “…iHeart is one of the last truly human entertainment sources and our listeners come to us for companionship, connection, and authenticity — something AI can’t replicate,” Poleman said. The announcement comes at a time when AI artists are making waves in the music industry, including Solomon Ray, an AI-generated “Mississippi-made soul singer,” with an EP called “A Soulful Christmas,” Christian Today reports. Christopher “Topher” Townsend, a conservative Hip-Hop artist, is the human behind Solomon Ray. The AI artist he created has garnered more than 324,000...
Louis Carr is the new president of BET. According to a press release shared with AFROTECH™, Paramount announced that Carr will step into the role after nearly four decades at the company. He is credited for his efforts in the multicultural advertising landscape and for bridging the gap between global corporations and Black and Brown communities. Under his leadership, BET has secured partnerships with Procter & Gamble, Walmart, Unilever, McDonald’s, Meta, and Toyota, among others. Carr’s impact at BET led to billions in advertising sales and investments in diverse communities. “Louis’ leadership has been integral to BET’s success for nearly four decades,” said Paramount TV Media Chair George Cheeks, to whom Carr will report in his newly appointed role, according to the release. “His vision for the future will drive innovation, deepen BET’s cultural impact, and position the brand for continued growth.” Carr will be tasked with carrying forward BET’s foundation of strengthening its...
Even successful entrepreneurs face investments that don’t work out. Kevin Hart, known for his comedy and film career, has shared one of his most difficult business experiences: investing in his friends’ ventures. Kevin Hart On His Worst Investment In a clip from an episode of “The Late Late Show with James Corden” in August 2022, Hart discussed his various business ventures and revealed, midway through the interview, that his worst business decision came from supporting friends’ ideas. “The worst business investment that I’m currently involved in is the business of investing in your friends,” he said to Corden at the time. “You never want your friends to feel like their ideas are not good ideas, but thus far, these ideas have been an endless pit of bankruptcy,” he also added on the show. On the 2022 episode, Hart highlighted one particular venture as the most regrettable: a friend’s company that designed headphones that could open up into speakers. The concept was intended to allow...
Tech company Bending Spoons is set to acquire one of the internet’s early pioneers, AOL. Based in Milan, Italy, Bending Spoons, known for apps such as Evernote, a note-taking platform, and Remini, a photo-enhancement application, is purchasing AOL from private-equity firm Apollo Global Management, The Wall Street Journal reports. The deal comes after Bending Spoons’ recent expansion, which included securing $2.8 billion in debt financing for AOL and other investments. As part of the deal, AOL could be valued at $1.5 billion. Bending Spoons said it plans to maintain and develop AOL’s operations over the long term, according to the outlet. The company also owns Brightcove, a video distribution and analytics platform, and recently announced plans to acquire video platform Vimeo for $1.38 billion, TechCrunch reports. In a statement, per The Wall Street Journal, Bending Spoons described AOL as an “important and beloved business with a brand that has stood the test of time.” The outlet...