Edgar Bronfman Jr. has raised a total of $5.5 billion for a bid for Paramount Global's parent, National Amusements Inc., a source familiar with the process tells Axios.

The big picture: Bronfman submitted an initial $4.3 billion bid Monday night to meet a deadline that would put his offer in for consideration. He plans to submit a higher bid in the coming days.

State of play: The bid could scuttle an $8 billion agreement struck last month between Paramount and Skydance Media.

• It would also draw out an already long and complicated sale process for Paramount. NAI, which controls 77% of Paramount's voting power, began talking with Skydance about a deal last December.

Yes, but: A bid for $5.5 billion is much smaller than Skydance's $8 billion deal, but Bronfman believes his bid could win out because it doesn't include a $4.5 billion valuation for Skydance Media, which dilutes Paramount shareholders, the source says.

• 👀 Bronfman's proposal doesn't include any immediate cash-out for class B shareholders of Paramount, although that could change.

Zoom in: Bronfman submitted the proposal two days ahead of the end of a 45-day "go-shop" period that allows Paramount's special committee to consider superior bids to the Skydance deal.

• Paramount's special committee is expected to review the bid tomorrow. Bronfman expects the 45-day "go shop" window to be extended as he increases his bid value, the source says.
• A source familiar with his thinking says he would plan to assume the role of CEO if his bid proved successful.

By the numbers: Bronfman's initial bid includes $2.4 billion for NAI ($1.75 billion in equity and $650 million in debt) and $1.5 billion to add to Paramount Global's balance sheet to pay down the firm's debt, the source confirms.

• The $1.5 billion investment matches the commitment Skydance, along with its financing partner Redbird Capital Partners, made to invest in Paramount via its offer last month.
• It also covers the $400 million break-up fee associated with the Skydance deal, which still requires regulatory approval.

Between the lines: Bronfman has been in talks with financing and strategic partners to join his bid, Axios has reported, including Steven Paul, the producer behind "Baby Geniuses," "Ghost Rider" and "Bratz: The Movie."

• A list of deal partners obtained by Axios includes Paul, Fortress Investment Group, BC Partners Advisors L.P., and a slew of family offices and individual entrepreneurs, including Brock Pierce and Nurali Aliyev.

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The Washington Post on Sunday published its first-ever story built from the work of a new AI tool called Haystacker, which allows journalists to sift through large datasets — video, photo or text — to find newsworthy trends or patterns.

Why it matters: In an interview, WaPo chief technology officer Vineet Khosla said the company is committed to building many AI tools in house because they can address the specific needs of trained journalists.

• "It's a far superior product than just the general purpose stuff you get from Big Tech," he said.

Zoom out: That ethos is reminiscent of the Post's efforts to build an in-house content management system nearly a decade ago called Arc XP that serves the special needs of news publishers.

• Asked whether the Post would ever license Haystacker to other newsrooms, Khosla said that's not the company's focus right now.
• But, he added, "I'm pretty sure this, or some variation of it, is going to make it back to the industry at large. ... There is no intention of keeping it just for us."

State of play: Haystacker was built by the Post's engineering team in conjunction with its newsroom.

• The tool, which took more than a year to build, is used primarily by the Post's visual forensics and data journalism teams.
• Haystacker can be used across any large dataset that's available to the Post through a public API, or backend interface, or through a data partnership in which the data is given to Post journalists or is licensed by the newsroom.

The big picture: This is the third major AI tool the Post has debuted in the past few months.

• Last month it launched an AI-driven chatbot on its site that responds to user queries about climate with answers pulled from Post articles.
• It also debuted a new article summary product that summarizes a given article using generative AI.

What to watch: The Post has yet to strike a deal to license its content to an AI firm, although it works with major large language models to build its internal tools.

• Khosla told Axios last month that the Post "will talk to any company that helps us expand our journalism, but we also want it to be fair."

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Ahead of the 2024 election, Fox News viewers should expect the network to appeal to a broader audience of Democrats and independents, in addition to its conservative base.

Why it matters: "I think if you build it, they will come. And independents, Democrats are coming to our shows more and more," anchor Bret Baier told Axios in an interview from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

State of play: Baier and fellow anchor Martha MacCallum are on the ground for special coverage of the convention, including interviews with major Democratic politicians and surrogates, such as Harris campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and more.

• The two anchors were hoping to host a debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump, although Trump said Monday that Harris' campaign told his team she wouldn't participate in a September debate.
• Baier said Fox News has proven itself to be a fair and tough debate moderator over the years. "We're continuing to make that case," he said. "We hope to be in the mix for the October [debate] that the Harris campaign is agreeing to, and we'll see how those conversations continue."

Zoom out: An Axios/Harris 100 Poll from earlier this year found that Fox News has gained ground this year with more independents and Democrats in terms of trust.

• A recent YouGov poll on media trust found that Fox News' audience is split 54% Republican, 22% Democrat and 28% independent.

Between the lines: "We're seeing that when there are big news nights, we're getting tuned in from all corners. And so I think that now in the cable news landscape when something big is happening, people turn on Fox."

• To that end, Fox News drew nearly as many viewers as CNN for its simulcast of CNN's debate in June.

Zoom out: More Democrats appear willing to go on Fox News now that some of the dust has settled following the Jan. 6 Capitol siege and Fox News' $787 million defamation settlement with Dominion Voting Systems last year.

• "Most politicians want to go where the eyeballs are," Baier said. "They realize the power of reaching especially in swing states where we have a dominant viewing audience."

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"Call Her Daddy" host Alex Cooper is moving to SiriusXM.

Why it matters: Cooper signed an exclusive licensing deal with Spotify back in 2021, but the company has since pivoted its strategy away from exclusive hosting deals and more toward monetization and distribution deals.

Zoom in: SiriusXM announced today that the deal with Cooper will include a "comprehensive programming development strategy for exclusive content" starting in 2025, Axios' Kerry Flynn writes.

• SiriusXM has exclusive advertising and distribution rights for "Call Her Daddy" and shows from The Unwell Network, Cooper's talent network that includes "Hot Mess With Alix Earle" and "Pretty Lonesome with Madeline Argy" and is a subsidiary of her media company, Trending.
• The deal includes global ad sales rights for video and audio versions of the shows. SiriusXM also noted Cooper's events will be a part of the company.

Zoom out: SiriusXM has secured other megadeals. It signed a three-year deal with SmartLess Media, run by Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes, worth more than $100 million earlier this year. In 2022, it bought Conan O'Brien's Team Coco for $150 million.

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A federal judge granted a temporary injunction against an upcoming streaming joint venture formed by Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery after a rival streamer sued it on antitrust grounds.

Why it matters: The companies' Venu Sports JV was supposed to launch later this month but now faces an uncertain future.

Catch up quick: In February, Fubo TV filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block the streaming service, arguing the joint venture would give participating networks less incentive to make their channels available on Fubo and other distributors, as well as charging Fubo above-market rates.

• The other side: "We believe that Fubo's arguments are wrong on the facts and the law and that Fubo has failed to prove it is legally entitled to a preliminary injunction," the three companies said in response to the ruling, adding that they will appeal the ruling.

The big picture: Venu was seen as a way for the three companies to reach the increasing number of sports fans who do not subscribe to a pay-TV service.

• Venu would include content from linear TV networks housed by the three companies, which include ESPN, ABC, TNT and Fox, among others. It was set to cost $42.99 per month at launch.

Yes, but: It's uncertain how large the audience would be for an offering like Venu, as it does not include networks from Paramount or Comcast.

• ESPN is also launching a streaming service next year that could cannibalize the audience for both.
• A similar offering, Echostar's Sling TV, has existed for years but struggled to catch on with less than 2 million subscribers.

What's next: Venu has yet to announce a launch date, but Fubo's lawyers revealed during the trial that it was slated for Aug. 23.

Each Meta employee, on average, accounted for more than $1 million in revenue in the first half of 2024, a company record.

Why it matters: Meta made steep cuts in late 2022 and early 2023, but they haven't impacted its business growth — thanks in large part to AI-driven improvements to the social media giant's recommendation system and ads platform.

Catch up quick: Apple's changes to its app-tracking policies in 2021 caught Meta so off guard that it had to issue a rare update in between regular quarterly earnings reports to warn investors of the impact on its business.

Yes, but: Fast forward three years and Meta's business isn't just the biggest it's ever been — it's also the most efficient.

What's next: To date, Meta's AI tools have been built primarily to help advertisers choose targets and optimize ad placement more easily and efficiently.

• Meta's next big investment will be developing genAI products that allow advertisers to make and test many new iterations of ads' creative content.

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