The Brief – Wednesday 25 February – Paramount makes higher bid, CBS loses a contributor and ITV and Disney extend deal

💰Paramount Skydance has increased its bid for Warner Bros Discovery, raising the stakes in the bidding war with Netflix. The bid, which raises its previous $30 a share offer, came after a deadline which had been set by the board of WBD last week. (The Guardian)

❗Dr Peter Attia is stepping aside as a contributor to CBS News after correspondence between Jeffrey Epstein and the researcher and health media writer was revealed in the release of the Epstein files from the Department of Justice (DOJ). Attia was brought on by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss as part of her overhaul of the network news division. (Hollywood Reporter)

👐 ITV and Disney have announced a deal which brings two Hulu Original series, “The Stolen Girl” and “The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox” from Disney+ to ITV1 in exclusive primetime linear slots. The extension reflects the continued evolution of the two companies relationship and expands streaming discovery to a broader audience. (ITV)

🤖 Anthropic has claimed DeepSeek and two other Chinese AI companies misused its Claude AI model in an attempt to improve their own products. The three companies are accused of “distilling” Claude, or training a smaller AI model based on a more advanced one. Though this is a “legitimate training method” Anthropic has said “it can be used for illicit purposes.” (The Verge)

📰 A former Google boss, Matt Brittin is being increasingly talked up by industry insiders as the successor to become the next BBC director-general after two frontrunners ruled themselves out of contention. (The Times)

➡️ Creative suite maker Canva has announced its acquisition of startups Cavalry, which works on animation and MangoAI, which focuses on improving ad performance. (Techcrunch)