Paramount sells VidCon, Cable TV Disputes, WNBA expands!

CREATORS
PARAMOUNT SELLS VIDCON TO UK FIRM

• Paramount Global is selling creator conference VidCon to London-based media firm Informa, which already owns fan conventions like Toronto Comicon

• Livestreaming platform Twitch has changed the default settings for a new “drop-in” option after some virtual creators noted that the feature could lead to some unintended face reveals.

• A new creator startup called COY Creator is launching a “business-in-a-box” platform that allows creators to consolidate content, live events, and merch, while giving creators 100% ownership over their data and distribution

ENTERTAINMENT
DISNEY’S WAR WITH CABLE TV

• Disney‘s networks, including ABC and ESPN, have gone dark across DirecTV, as another major carriage impasse in the challenged pay-TV business.

• According to a recent survey from TikTok, users of the social media app already have a larger affinity for going to the theaters – users are more than 44 percent more likely than non-users to go to the movies at least once per month.

• An anti-piracy coalition composed of major studios in the U.S. and across the globe is claiming victory against Fmovies, a significant streaming operation based in Vietnam.

SPORTS
WNBA EXPANDS TO PORTLAND

• Sportico has reported The WNBA has awarded Portland its 15th franchise, with the Bhathal family, who are minority investors in the Sacramento Kings, will be the owners of the team, which will start play in 2026.

• The NFL has voted to allow institutional investors to buy into franchises. The world’s richest league had stood apart from every other top-level global professional sports league by declining to allow private equity or other institutional investment in its teams.

• MSG Networks and YES Networks have created a digital-focused joint venture, Gotham Advanced Media and Entertainment (GAME), that will be launching a Gotham Sports App, which will become the exclusive regional online service for its properties, including the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, Brooklyn Nets, and New York Yankees.

PODCAST EPISODE
GUEST: SARAH ROMANKO

• On this week’s episode of Talk of The Town, we get to talk with Sarah Romanko. Throughout the episode, Sarah talked about her experience at UT Dallas, how she broke into VC, working at places like Able Partners, Sputnik ATX VC, Boss Me In, how Gen-Z is changing VC and how to empower diversity, and more.

SPONSORS

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• Zencastr is the ultimate all-in-one podcasting platform handling all your podcasting needs — record, edit, distribute, host, and monetize all from the same place. It’s never been easier to podcast.

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