SPORTS & MEDIA
John Ourand
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January 8, 2026
Gentleman, Start the Fire Sale Rumors
After a landmark settlement, a slew of unfavorable publicity, and the departure of its commissioner, NASCAR may finally have to make real room for outside investment. Could it all push the France family to go full sale? Plus: some Fox Sports kremlinology.
Dylan Byers
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January 7, 2026
The Tony Accords
Tony Dokoupil’s disastrous debut as anchor of CBS Evening News highlights the uncomfortable truth about Bari Weiss’s tenure: While her politics take center stage, it’s her inexperience that’s her real liability.
Can Netflix Make Podcasts Into Must-See TV?
As the streamer embarks on its experimental, expensive, and inevitably risky foray into the world of hosting sports video podcasts, it’s unclear whether the platform is set up to actually satisfy viewer expectations. Herewith, three suggestions that could make all the difference.
John Ourand
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January 5, 2026
Amazon’s NFL Playoff Jackpot
When the streamer landed a potentially classic playoff matchup between the Bears and Packers this weekend, it looked like the league could be catering to a new favored partner—but executives on all sides of the equation pointed to the thorny decision tree the league stares down this time of year.
Dylan Byers
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January 2, 2026
Common Sense & Sensibility
A candid chat with Common Sense Media founder Jim Steyer on what lies in the hearts of Silicon Valley’s biggest bigwigs and what the A.I. bros are doing to your children. Plus, thoughts on Sundar, Zuck, and his brother Tom’s California gubernatorial bid.
Julia Alexander
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December 29, 2025
Will Amazon Go All In With the NFL?
Why Prime Video should win a major NFL package on top of Thursday Night Football, the real endgame for podcasts on Netflix, the future of the UFC-Paramount partnership, and other sports media predictions for 2026.
Dylan Byers
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December 26, 2025
The Weiss Flag
It’s tempting to view Bari Weiss’s first big blunder—pulling a 60 Minutes segment critical of the administration’s deportation efforts—as purely political, which it may have been. But it may have been the product of something more mundane: Bari doesn’t know how to lead a newsroom.
John Ourand
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December 22, 2025
Netflix’s Circus Maximus
The Jake Paul–Anthony Joshua fight may have bored the in-arena crowd, but it perfectly illustrated Netflix’s live-sports playbook, where ringside celebrity, global reach, and social media chatter far outweigh the competition itself.
Dylan Byers
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December 19, 2025
The 2025 Media State of the Union
The inherent tension of the journalist-as-brand model, the continued erosion of institutional authority, the potential for an A.I. newsroom: Industry leaders weighed in on all this and more at a panel this week to unveil the results of our latest Puck–Orchestra survey.
John Ourand
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December 18, 2025
The Spirit of $76 Billion
A candid chat with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst about the NBA’s next frontier after its massive $76 billion rights deal—its attempt to make it big in Europe, potentially dip into the Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund pot, and set up a true Champions League–style format.
Dylan Byers
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December 17, 2025
The Gulf of Semafor
As Semafor expands further into the Gulf, it’s becoming clear that Justin Smith and Ben Smith’s media baby is looking a lot more like the former than the latter.
Has Cable Hit Rock Bottom?
Amazingly, cable just posted its first quarterly sub growth since 2017, thanks to YouTube TV and Hulu+Live TV and the rise of sports-centric skinny bundles. Is it too much to call it a comeback?
Dylan Byers
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December 12, 2025
The Lanzone That Time Forgot
Don’t waste your tears on Yahoo, the Internet 1.0 relic that collapsed into Verizon and then the warm embrace of private equity. C.E.O. Jim Lanzone explains how the Apollo-owned company is poised to make the most of its post-search distribution, and why niche is the new scale.
John Ourand
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December 11, 2025
South Bend & Down
Athletic director Pete Bevacqua alienated most of the college football world in his rant following the school’s exclusion from the College Football Playoff. But he’s found a defender in his old homies at NBC.
Dylan Byers
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December 10, 2025
A Weiss Christmas
While The Free Press is flush with holiday spirit, Bari’s job reinventing CBS News is proving more vexing, amid anchor dreams dashed and the age-old challenge of enacting institutional change.
When Will EA Get in the Game?
The world’s second-largest video game publisher is no longer simply battling other game makers for eyeballs. It’s also competing against Netflix, Amazon, TikTok, etcetera. Does that make its entrée into the sports rights wars inevitable?
John Ourand
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December 8, 2025
TNT Sports’s No Man’s Land
No matter which company wins the battle for parentco WBD, TNT Sports could face an unappetizing future. The leagues may feel the pain, too.