The Hollywood Reporter vs TIME

Done Deal: Paramount Completes Warner Bros. Takeover, Creating Hollywood Giant

Paramount has completed its acquisition of Warner Bros., creating a new Hollywood giant. The deal was announced as a breaking news item on The Hollywood Reporter's news page.

Universal Presells Nolan's Odyssey Year-Early

Josh Stein argues that Universal’s decision to sell IMAX 70mm tickets for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey at midnight on July 17, 2025 — for screenings starting July 17, 2026 — represented a first for a major studio: collecting paying demand 12 months before a film existed. Roughly 25 IMAX 70mm locations were offered, 95% of seats sold within an hour, and about $1.5 million was collected from that small pool. Stein ties the event to a broader shift: counted, presold demand (from creators and auteur brands) can become a financeable asset, changing greenlight underwriting and capital-stack pricing. He cites parallel creator-market examples (A24’s Backrooms, Focus’s Obsession, Markiplier’s Iron Lung) and notes industry reactions including box-office results and major corporate deals and disclosure choices that reflect the value of measured demand.

• On July 17, 2025 (midnight Eastern), Universal put IMAX 70mm tickets on sale for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, for show dates beginning July 17, 2026.
• 95% of the available IMAX 70mm seats sold within an hour, producing roughly $1.5 million in gross from the deliberately small pool of about 25 locations.
• The Odyssey had a reported $250 million net production budget; its opening weekend later ran to $264.1 million worldwide, per Variety and Reuters.

AI Chatbot Shares Fragment Beyond ChatGPT, Comscore Data Shows

Comscore's Q2 2026 AI Intelligence Report reveals that AI chatbot usage is diversifying, with ChatGPT's share of prompts dropping from 70% to 50% between January and June 2026, while Gemini's share nearly doubled to 30% and Claude grew to 11%. Overall usage is expanding, with 35% of desktop and 29% of mobile users visiting an AI assistant in June 2026. Google AI Overviews are also more prevalent, appearing in 39.4% of desktop searches, up from 25.8% a year earlier. For publishers and marketers, this fragmentation necessitates multi-platform GEO strategies that track visibility and citations across various assistants. The report emphasizes that being sourced doesn't guarantee visibility, as Tripadvisor is sourced for 61% of travel queries but cited only 21%.

• ChatGPT's share of prompt volume fell from 70% to 50% between January and June 2026.
• Gemini's share nearly doubled from 17% to 30%, and Claude climbed from 2% to 11% in the same period.
• Google desktop searches with AI Overviews grew from 25.8% in July 2025 to 39.4% in June 2026.

Axios launches AI content feeds, revenue exceeds 2026 goal

Axios has achieved its 2026 revenue goal ahead of schedule and is introducing Axios Direct, a new product offering content feeds for AI models and agents, targeting three customer segments. The first feed, aimed at investment firms, will provide AI-era updates of Bloomberg terminals and RSS feeds. The second feed will enable companies with internal AI models to ingest Axios content directly, and the third will allow individual subscribers to access feeds via personal AI agents. Axios CRO Jacquelyn Cameron announced the plans at the Digiday Publishing Summit, noting two-year deals for the first feed and potential future participation in AI content marketplaces.

• Axios achieved its 2026 revenue goal in September 2026, ahead of the previous year's end-of-October.
• Axios will launch Axios Direct, a product providing content feeds for AI models and agents, targeting three customer types.
• The first Axios Direct feed is designed for investment firms and will be sold on an annual fee basis, with two-year initial deals.

AltaMed CEO Cástulo de la Rocha Named to TIME's 2026 Latino Leaders List

TIME magazine has named Cástulo de la Rocha, president and CEO of AltaMed Health Services, to its 2026 Latino Leaders list, which recognizes 13 U.S.-based trailblazers transforming their industries and communities. The recognition highlights de la Rocha's nearly five decades of leadership at AltaMed, a community health organization founded in 1969 as the East Los Angeles Barrio Free Clinic. Under his guidance, AltaMed has grown into one of the largest community health organizations in the nation, providing culturally competent healthcare and services to communities throughout Southern California. The full list and tributes appear in the September 28, 2026 issue of TIME.

• Cástulo de la Rocha, president and CEO of AltaMed Health Services, was named to TIME's 2026 Latino Leaders list.
• The list recognizes 13 U.S.-based trailblazers transforming their sectors and communities.
• AltaMed was founded in 1969 as the East Los Angeles Barrio Free Clinic.