SPORTS & MEDIA
Eriq Gardner
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March 30, 2026
Their Eyes Were Watching Goodell
The NFL’s bid to fix blown calls with centralized, A.I.-assisted officiating—framed as insurance against a referee lockout—risks morphing into a far messier test case at the intersection of gambling, union power, and the future of human labor on the field.
Dylan Byers
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March 27, 2026
He’s Just Not That Into YouTube
An important, and frankly disturbing, conversation from Jim Steyer’s Common Sense Media Summit with the attorneys general of New Mexico and California, where landmark cases against Meta and YouTube may presage social media’s Big Tobacco moment.
John Ourand
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March 26, 2026
Netflix at the Bat
The streaming giant invested in a lightweight MLB package to see whether it could fully eventize the industry’s most tonnage-friendly sport. So far, the jury’s out.
Dylan Byers
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March 25, 2026
Guns & Rosslyn
As the search for Politico’s next editor-in-chief drags into its third month, promising but obvious candidates are falling fast while sources say Axel Springer C.E.O. Mathias Döpfner is close to picking a winner. Just don’t expect it to be anyone obvious.
Nielsen, Schmielsen
The venerable TV tracking company has become something of an industry punching bag after a methodological wrinkle showed broadcast beating streaming. What happens if we lose the faith entirely?
John Ourand
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March 23, 2026
Is Goodell Overplaying His Hand?
The NFL wants more money from its broadcast and streaming partners and hasn’t been shy about its desire to rip up its current, and still-young, contract to get it. On the media side, there are quiet but growing questions about whether the league’s ask is too high.
Dylan Byers
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March 20, 2026
CNN’s Open Mic Night
The new set for Anderson Cooper’s AC360 has all the trappings of a 1950s radio show, with retro mics and paper maps. While C.E.O. Mark Thompson may be overseeing a makeover that skews creator-relatable, it undermines CNN’s news authority, especially during a war. At least Twitter enjoyed it.
John Ourand
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March 19, 2026
The World Baseball Classic Gold Rush
Tuesday’s U.S.–Venezuela blockbuster affirmed the World Baseball Classic as a sports and ratings powerhouse, with an audience equal to some World Series games. Now that the tournament is living up to its name, how can baseball make the most of it?
Dylan Byers
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March 18, 2026
Little Allbritton
As the son of a yesteryear D.C. media baron, and the moneyman behind Politico, Robert Allbritton is still fighting for credit. Now he’s rebranding NOTUS, his post-Politico plaything, by hiring reporters and once again going after The Washington Post.
YouTube’s March Madness Competition Killer
The world’s biggest streaming company just unleashed a sports-centric skinny bundle that will air every game for about the same price as a combined ESPN/HBO Max/Par+ subscription. Is the appeal limited to superfans, or is this just the beginning of YouTube TV’s master plan?
John Ourand
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March 16, 2026
Can Netflix Be Big in Japan?
The streaming giant used the World Baseball Classic’s huge Japanese audience to test live sports, while MLB gained a deep-pocketed streaming partner ahead of its 2028 rights talks.
Dylan Byers
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March 13, 2026
The Snows of Kalorama
It had all the trappings of a turning point for 'The Washington Post,' with dozens of executives, editors, and reporters summoned to Jeff Bezos’s local manse for an unhurried, candid, even conciliatory discussion about what’s gone wrong with the paper since the centibillionaire bought it in 2013. But what attendees say they didn’t discuss is how to save it.
John Ourand
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March 12, 2026
The Jordan NASCAR Rules
During the ’90s, the GOAT helped the NBA ascend to new heights of global popularity and profitability. Now, as the high-profile owner of 23XI, he’s having a similar effect on NASCAR’s usually sleepy spring season. And, of course, his team won the season’s first three races.
Dylan Byers
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March 11, 2026
The CNN–CBS Marriage Plot
The long-awaited match made in TV news heaven is getting closer to reality. But will the matrimony of Paramount’s CBS News and Warner Bros.’ CNN produce harmony and much-needed cost-savings, or layoffs and infighting? And who is going to run the show?
Adam Silver’s Next Windfall
As regional sports networks collapse, Adam Silver may be sitting on the streaming industry’s most coveted new package—and Amazon, Google, and a host of hungry newcomers all want in.
John Ourand
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March 9, 2026
Gary Bettman’s Heated Rivalry Fantasies
The NHL is having a breakout season thanks to its competitive parity, emerging stars, Olympic buzz, and, yes, Heated Rivalry. But with the NFL rights renegotiations about to potentially blow up the sports media marketplace, commissioner Gary Bettman knows that his league will need to stay limber to maintain its gains.
Dylan Byers
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March 6, 2026
Ellison’s Shell Game & Döpfner’s U.K. Blitz
News and notes on the conspicuous silence of Jeff Shell amid the PSKY–Warners deal heat. Plus, how RedBird finally offloaded The Telegraph to Axel Springer in an all-cash coup that nobody saw coming.