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The latest stories published on The Desk.
Amazon to shut down Freevee in August
The Freevee app will officially close in August, at which point streamers will be directed to the Prime Video app for free and premium content from Amazon.
Dr. Phil’s media company Merit Street declares bankruptcy
The company was unable to secure a new round of funding; separately, Merit Street Media is suing distribution partner Trinity Broadcasting for breach of contract.
AT&T completes sale of DirecTV stake to TPG Capital
AT&T has sold its remaining stake in satellite and streaming pay television provider DirecTV to TPG Capital.
NewsNation achieves growth milestone in June
NewsNation achieved a major milestone in June, becoming the top basic cable network in the United States in terms of total day growth, according to data from Nielsen.
Paramount agrees to settle Trump lawsuit for $16 million
Paramount Global says it will pay $16 million to settle a news distortion lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump last year.
Synamedia joins National Content & Television Cooperative
The deal allows NCTC members to tap into broadband and video solutions from the tech firm.
Fox News dominates Q2, beats broadcast networks in ratings
The Fox News Channel continued to outpace its broadcast rivals during the second quarter of 2025, beating ABC and NBC in total viewers and overtaking CBS for the month of June.
Hub: Samsung, LG remain dominant in U.S. homes
Newer TV models released by Roku and Amazon under their own brand name are growing in popularity, while Samsung and LG's share of home dipped in 2024.
FilmRise, Shout Factory to merge, will rebrand as Radial Entertainment
FilmRise and Shout Factory, two studios that provide a significant amount of content to streaming services, are merging and will rebrand to Radial Entertainment, the companies announced on Tuesday.
Charter says fiber lines were deliberate cut in California
The vandalism left more than 50,000 Spectrum residential, business and government subscribers without service in mid-June.
Sinclair agrees to settle FCC probe over children’s programming
The broadcaster will pay $500,000 but will not have to admit any wrongdoing; the probe began last September under a different administration.
Gray Media promotes Jessica Laszewski to GM role in Wausau
Gray Media has named Jessica Laszewski as the next General Manager of WSAW, the CBS affiliate in Wausau, Wisconsin. The appointment becomes effective July 21, 2025, and marks a return to the station for Laszewski, who previously served as its News Director.