SPORTS & MEDIA
Dylan Byers
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May 2, 2025
Passing Redstones
Facing a Trump lawsuit, massive debts, and a $400 million kill fee if the Skydance sale falls through, Redstone has privately discussed settling with the president for as much as $20 million. In fact, according to sources close to the company, she’ll likely have to pay much more. “Shari has to make this deal,” said one source close to the principals. “There is no plan B.”
John Ourand
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May 1, 2025
NBA TV Unsolved Mysteries
Like other league-owned channels, the 26-year-old NBA TV was ravaged by cord-cutting, and left with little bargaining power in a bundled and streaming world. Now, without any exclusive games of its own, its future is a mystery.
Dylan Byers
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April 30, 2025
The Righteous Redstone
Amid Trump’s legal torture of CBS, Shari Redstone has played the role of a spineless placater—a desperate seller eager to settle and liquidate her position in the family heirloom. But her annoyance over CBS News’s coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict seems to be real—and so are her attempts to meddle with the newsroom’s independence.
Peacock’s Hoop Dreams
Comcast president Mike Cavanagh has touted Peacock’s NBA deal as a “launchpad” to streaming supremacy. But it’s not quite that simple.
John Ourand
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April 28, 2025
The Goodell-Harris Doctrine
The real story behind the Commanders’ return to D.C. proper is the NFL’s crafty public-private partnership financing structure that facilitates not only the creation of new stadiums, but also the feel-good stories around them.
Dylan Byers
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April 25, 2025
Scott Pelley’s Cri de Coeur & Owens Exit Theories
News and notes on the aftermath of the ‘60 Minutes’ saga.
John Ourand
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April 24, 2025
Iger’s ‘Remember the Titans’ Moment
In a fairly candid set of remarks, Bob Iger laid out an expressly lucid vision for Flagship—not only the product, but also the true stakes of its mission.
Dylan Byers
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April 23, 2025
Life of Ryan
In the dun-colored afterglow of Nuzzi-gate, Ryan Lizza is trash-talking his former employer and striking out on his own with a Substack and a notable disregard for nondisparagement clauses—while Nuzzi knuckles down on a book of her own.
The YouTube-Sports Mating Rituals
If you want to understand YouTube’s sports ambitions, stop thinking about the platform as another ESPN or Netflix, and see it for what it is: Google’s video gatekeeper.
John Ourand
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April 21, 2025
They Might Be Giants…
A frank conversation about the future of Major League Baseball fandom with San Francisco Giants C.E.O. Larry Baer and Fox senior V.P. of strategy and analytics Ben Valenta.
Dylan Byers
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April 18, 2025
Dude, Where’s My Carr?
News and notes on F.C.C. chairman Brendan Carr’s legacy media blitzkrieg and the many meanings of “public interest.”
John Ourand
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April 17, 2025
The Netflix-Sports Cat & Mouse Game
Sports needs Netflix exponentially more than Netflix needs sports. But with holiday NFL games, Women’s World Cup soccer, and a flirtation with the NBA, Netflix’s heart is growing fonder. And Rob Manfred is waiting by the phone.
Dylan Byers
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April 16, 2025
Wendy’s Double Jeopardy
CBS News C.E.O. Wendy McMahon’s tenure was already beset by controversies that have antagonized both the network’s current owner, Shari Redstone, and its future owner, David Ellison. Now, she’s taking heat for a ‘Wheel of Fortune’/‘Jeopardy!’ miscalculation that could cost Paramount eight-figure annual profits.
F1 and Done
Liberty Media’s sales pitch for Formula One’s U.S. media rights has thus far fallen flat due to the asking price, the sport’s time zone problems, and viewership numbers that lag behind social media enthusiasm and a broader cultural hype machine.
John Ourand
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April 14, 2025
The General Theory of McAfee
UTA’s Jerry Silbowitz candidly breaks down the evolving playbook for building lucrative, long-term, non-leaky sports media careers.
Dylan Byers
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April 11, 2025
Home Malone
Master of the cable universe John Malone is giving up his seat on the board of Warner Bros. Discovery, where he’s been an unwaveringly patient, big-picture strategist. What does his departure mean, if anything, to the future of WBD or his mentee, David Zaslav?
John Ourand
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April 10, 2025
An R.S.N. Vulture Awaits…
The bankruptcy of Diamond Sports was supposed to touch off a fire sale for local sports rights. Two years later, local broadcasters are still waiting to pounce.