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SPORTS
&
MEDIA

Thompson would not have taken the top CNN job if he didn’t intend to impose dramatic transformations that more thoughtfully align the network’s editorial efforts with its business ambitions.

Mark to Market

And so the Mark Thompson era officially begins at CNN…
Dylan Byers • September 1, 2023
Dylan Byers • August 30, 2023
Mark Thompson Gets the CNN Treatment
Mark Thompson
The former New York Times C.E.O., who rescued the company from its financial nadir and morphed it into a best-in-class digital media behemoth, will become the next chairman and C.E.O. of CNN.
Eriq Gardner • August 28, 2023
Ruhles of the Game
Stephanie Ruhle’s swift ascent in journalism owed, in large part, to her years in the trenches on Wall Street, genuine financial acuity, and rolodex.
A recent shareholder lawsuit against Under Armour, which calls into question an on-air report by former Bloomberg and current MSNBC star Stephanie Ruhle, reveals the complexity and nuance of how some financial journalism is produced.
Mark Thompson would be seen as a serious choice who could potentially reshape CNN’s digital and streaming efforts, and who at the very least might erase the stain of the Chris Licht era.
Dylan Byers • August 25, 2023
CNN Enters Its Max Era
As Zaslav works to convince NYT and BBC vet Mark Thompson to take over CNN, the D.T.C. braintrust at Hudson Yards is testing the limits of the post-cable future with a plan to finally begin live-streaming the network’s primetime talent on Max.
Dylan Byers • August 23, 2023
Trump’s Fox Politics & A CNN Tickle
The Republican debate will be most notable, of course, for the absence of the Republican frontrunner, and for testing whether the Murdochs can remain at the center of the media universe without the monster they made.
Demand for the MLS increased by more than 6x the average of all series in the U.S. after Messi joined the league.
Julia Alexander • August 22, 2023
Apple’s Messi Complex
Is a streamer’s money better spent on live sports or on creating new TV series and films? For Apple, it may be a unique value prop.
Bob Iger and Tim Cook at the Allen & Co conference in 2016.
Dylan Byers • August 18, 2023
Could Apple be the “Strategic Partner” of Iger’s Dreams?
Apple has rarely shelled out meaningful capital in M&A, often deciding to build competing products within its rounded walls. But its interests in streaming, and sports, might make ESPN an alluring target—no matter how far-fetched the notion might have once seemed.
CNN’s post-Licht leadership quadrumvirate announced a new primetime lineup that will see Abby Phillip and Laura Coates taking over the 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. hours, respectively.
Dylan Byers • August 17, 2023
CNN’s Deck Chairs & An End to “The Neeraj Problem”
News and notes on the cable news trade—CNN’s shakeup, the youth double-down, and CBS News’ new chapter.
Dylan Byers • August 9, 2023
The Iger Mini-Gamble
Notes on ESPN’s $1.5 billion gambling deal with Penn.
Dylan Byers • August 2, 2023
The Iger Mouseketeer Plot Twist
Days after Matt’s scoop about Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ return to help their old boss, the town’s attention is focused precisely where you’d expect it…: succession.
Eriq Gardner • July 31, 2023
Trump Has Subpoenaed Fox News for Tucker’s Unaired Jan. 6 Interview
The former president is demanding the network turn over footage and communications that he could use to defend himself against a civil lawsuit from police officers who blame him for the Capitol riot.
Former CNN anchor Christine Romans exited the network on Friday after a 24-year run.
Dylan Byers • July 30, 2023
CNN Senioritis
NBC and MSNBC are just as vulnerable as CNN to the inexorable decline of the linear television business. But for many in Hudson Yards, it seems, the grass is greener over at 30 Rock.
Former CNN president Jeff Zucker, who was unceremoniously removed from his position some 18 months ago.
Dylan Byers • July 27, 2023
Notes on CNN (& That Zucker Story)
I didn’t want to write about ‘that Variety story,’ largely because it mentions me. But it’s all everyone is talking about, so here goes… Plus some news on CNN’s prime time strategy and an update on a former Zucker deputy.
CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins in 2018. The network’s primetime strategy remains tethered to Chris Licht’s decision to install Collins—an impressive political correspondent, but an inexperienced anchor—as the 9 p.m. host.
Dylan Byers • July 23, 2023
Life After Licht Isn’t a Picnic
Yes, yes: CNN’s troublesome leader is gone, but a low-lying anxiety about the future nevertheless remains quite intact.
John Harris is return to Politico as the outlet’s first-ever global editor-in-chief.
Dylan Byers • July 19, 2023
The Politico Animal
The return of John Harris to the top of Politico signals that the scrappiness and the ambitions of the old days may be back again—and now turbo-charged by Axel Springer’s war chest, and their own deep desire for influence.
No one anticipated that Bob Iger was going to go on national television and effectively hang a “For Sale” sign on ABC’s door.
Dylan Byers • July 14, 2023
Iger’s Fire Sale Stream of Consciousness
Scenes from Sun Valley as Disney wades further into its “everything’s on the table” era.
Dylan Byers • July 12, 2023
Notes from Sun Valley
Andreessen’s weird screed, the Iger news ricochet, and all the intrigue and high school cliques.
ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro.
Dylan Byers • July 5, 2023
Panic Inside Bristol
Yes, everyone knows that ESPN has been quietly downsizing for years, but the recent talent purge highlights the growing anxiety around the business’s transformation. And yet many in the industry fear the worst is yet to come.