Hollywood Reporter

Netflix is spending $6 billion a year on content, choking basic cable and brusquely rattling the relationship business of the town as fears of a Google- or Apple-sized dominance send a chill down the entertainment industry's spine. The backlash is real but muted — mostly because few are willing to risk the wrath of a company that is spending $6 billion a year on programming and scored 54 Emmy nominations in 2016. But some executives, producers and agents who rely on deals with the streaming giant nonetheless increasingly view Netflix as an existential threat.

[Commentary] And now begins the Fox News chief's war against the Murdochs. It was James Murdoch’s cold calculation that ended the hand-wringing debate: Whither Fox News and its $1.2 billion in annual profits without Roger Ailes, no small concern of his older brother Lachlan and their father, Rupert? "Ailes is 76 and unhealthy, so how much longer could he last anyway?" the younger Murdoch is said to have asked, and to have argued: Since they would lose Ailes soon enough anyway, why not turn lemons into lemonade and get credit for kicking him out for being a sexist pig?

With Ailes nearly as much a subject in Cleveland at the Republican convention among political professionals as Trump himself (the rumor of Ailes replacing Paul Manafort as campaign manager is an active one, with a further rumor putting Trump in favor of this and his children against it), the negotiation continues. It has been reportedly slowed not just by Ailes’ war-like posture, but because Rupert Murdoch is in the middle of it, full of angst and ambivalence and regret, changing the terms of the negotiation on an hourly basis. In real ways, Roger's end is his.

[Michael Wolff is the author of a biography of Rupert Murdoch]

Although NBC’s Fourth of July weekend special Miley Cyrus: Bangerz Tour only drew three complaints from the more than two million viewers, the Federal Communications Commission is in the process of determining if the show violated its rules against broadcast indecency or profanity.

Aereo pleaded for its life to a New York federal judge, claiming it was "bleeding to death" in its current non-operational state.

US District Court Judge Alison Nathan reacted swiftly, knocking Aereo for having "jumped the gun in filing, without authorization, its motion for emergency consideration of preliminary injunction issues upon remand."

Aereo's motion has been stricken from the record, but the company told the judge, "Unless it is able to resume operations in the immediate future, the company will likely not survive.”

Cord-cutting, the bane of traditional cable and pay-TV, may finally have reached Europe.

A study published by UK research group IHS Technology found that “TV cord-cutting is now an undeniable phenomenon in a large number of European markets” with growth in traditional pay-TV declining in 12 European territories in the first quarter of 2014.

In a letter to US District Judge Alison Nathan, Aereo hints at a new plan.

"Under the Second Circuit’s precedents, Aereo was a provider of technology and equipment with respect to the near-live transmissions at issue in the preliminary injunction appeal," writes its lawyers. "After the Supreme Court’s decision, Aereo is a cable system with respect to those transmissions." And the implications of Aereo now wrapping itself under the cable system banner? "If Aereo is a 'cable system' as that term is defined in the Copyright Act, it is eligible for a statutory license, and its transmissions may not be enjoined (preliminarily or otherwise)," continues its lawyers.

Aereo reports that it is proceeding to file the necessary statements of account and royalty fees, and asserts that the Supreme Court's decision has overruled the 2nd Circuit decision in Ivi, a predecessor digital TV transmitter which once attempted to gain legitimacy through the paying of compulsory license fees. Even if the judge doesn't accept the argument, Aereo says there are still issues to be addressed about the "scope" of any preliminary injunction.

Mark Ruffalo, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and members of OK Go are asking the Federal Communications Commission not to change its network neutrality rules.

More than 50 stars have signed a letter to FCC Chairman Thomas Wheeler, calling his proposed changes to net neutrality a threat to artistic freedom.

"The open Internet has powered the creative community’s pursuits and offerings in the 21st century," reads the letter. "As members of this community, we urge the Federal Communications Commission to protect the open Internet as a vehicle for free expression and collaboration."

The letter goes on with crediting the Internet with allowing artists to connect with audiences in unprecedented ways. "It has eliminated the barriers of geography and taken collaborations to new levels. And it has allowed people -- not corporations -- to seek out the film, music and art that moves them," the letter continues.

President Barack Obama will headline a Democratic fundraising dinner on May 7 at the home of Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn and his wife, Cindy. Proceeds from the evening event will go to benefit the Democrats' House Senate Victory Fund.

Its chairman, Michael Bennett, also will be on hand, along with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-DA). In their invitation to the event, the Horns wrote that "with the midterm elections approaching, this event provides an opportunity to hear directly from President Obama on his positions on many issues that we all care deeply about, and to offer thoughts and suggestions. We urge you to join us in supporting the president's important goal of taking back the House of Representatives and holding the Senate to further his legislative agenda."

The US pay TV industry in 2013 recorded its first-ever full-year subscriber decline, SNL Kagan said in confirming what industry watchers had previously predicted.

Cable TV, satellite TV and telecom firms offering video services collectively shed 251,000 subscribers in 2013, led by continued cable losses, the research firm estimated. The industry added 40,000 video subscriptions in the fourth quarter, helped by a return to video sub growth at cable giant Comcast, but it wasn't enough to make up for losses earlier in the year.

As of the end of the year, the number of pay TV subscribers dipped to approximately 100 million, according to SNL Kagan. Losses from cable operators again fueled the overall drop. SNL Kagan estimates cable operators lost nearly 2 million video subscribers in 2013 and 388,000 in the fourth quarter to end the year with fewer than 54.4 million basic video subscribers.

Time Warner Cable CEO Rob Marcus told an investor conference in more detail why his company's board agreed to sell to Comcast, calling the proposed combination a dream deal with big upside potential. He said his management team was focused on maximizing shareholder value and enhancing consumers' user experience in evaluating possible deals.

"The combination truly is a dream combination," he concluded. "The value creation opportunity is huge." Marcus added that while the TWC board saw value upside if the company remained independent, it felt there was more upside with Comcast as the new owner.

Charter Communications, in which John Malone's Liberty Media owns a 27 percent stake, had also bid for TWC. Discussing his future after the close of the proposed deal, Marcus said: "Whether or not I'll be here [at the conference] next year...is a question that remains to be answered." The two companies have said they expect to close the deal by the end of 2014. With Comcast Cable boss Neil Smit set to run the combined company, industry observers have been wondering where Marcus may land next.