Daily 10/1: Streaming consolidation, creator payments, and community data control

The Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger has entered its closing stage after court approval. TikTok is bringing brand-deal payments inside its creator platform, while Reddit is shutting down RSS and its public API over AI scraping concerns.

• [Deadline] The Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger cleared its final legal hurdle ↗

  A federal judge approved the September 21 settlement between Paramount and the state attorneys general who sued to block the merger. The ruling removes the final legal obstacle and puts the Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery transaction on track to close next week. Combining their film studios, television networks, and streaming services would give the merged group a larger content and distribution base against Netflix and YouTube. The deal has moved from a proposed consolidation to an imminent reshaping of the streaming market.

• [Tubefilter] TikTok brings brand-deal payments inside the platform with TikTok One Pay ↗

  TikTok is adding payments to TikTok One, the platform where creators and brands arrange sponsored campaigns. Creators can receive money within 30 days, compared with the 60- to 90-day waits common in brand deals. TikTok is extending its role from content distribution and brand matching into contracts and settlement. The move pushes creator platforms toward directly operating the flow of money generated by sponsored content.

• [TechCrunch] Reddit will shut down RSS and its public API because of AI scraping ↗

  Reddit says RSS has become a surface for large-scale scraping and automated abuse, and will end RSS support on November 13. The company plans to shut down its public API in March 2027 while expanding licensing deals that let AI companies use forum content. Reddit's second-quarter revenue outside advertising grew 24% year over year to $43 million. The decision shows community content moving away from the open web toward platform-controlled data assets and licensing products.