Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon assortment of Puck’s best new reporting.

First up today, Eriq Gardner foreshadows a legal war over Warner Bros. Discovery as David Zaslav faces down the Revlon rule—the M&A law that obligates companies to secure the best deal for shareholders. But in an extraordinarily Trumpified auction process, what really defines the best bid? And how can anyone compare Paramount Skydance, Netflix, and Comcast when they’re all effectively bidding on different versions of the company?

Plus, below the fold: Peter Hamby ranks the field of underwhelming candidates vying to succeed California Gov. Gavin Newsom in ’26. Ian Krietzberg profiles a startup trying to become “OpenAI for sign language.” Marion Maneker digs into the art world scandal surrounding the Phillips Collection. And Sarah Shapiro scrutinizes fashion founder Erin Webb’s surprisingly successful “mono-product” playbook.

Meanwhile, on the pods: John Ourand reunites with The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand on The Varsity to discuss the NFL’s holiday-week scheduling strategy. And on The Powers That Be, Peter and Julia Alexander break down Apple’s early exit from its multibillion-dollar MLS rights deal and Netflix’s growing appetite for sports.

HOLLYWOOD

Echoes of the Diller–Redstone Paramount brawl and potential Delaware court battles are beginning to haunt the long road to resolution for David Zaslav’s sale of Warner Bros. Discovery.

A MESSAGE FROM INSTAGRAM

Instagram Teen Accounts default teens into automatic protections for who can contact them and the content they can see.

Nearly 95% of parents say Teen Accounts help them safeguard their teens online. And we’ll continue adding new protections, giving parents more peace of mind.

Explore our ongoing work to keep teens safe online.

WASHINGTON

In the Golden State, local politics is often national—and the governorship can be a path to the White House. But with a suffocating housing market, punishing taxes, and a persistent homeless crisis, the state’s crowded ’26 race has yet to produce a candidate that seems up to the challenge.

A.I.

Over the past half-decade, Nagish has emerged as one of the more promising companies harnessing A.I. to help hearing-impaired people with speech-to-text—and soon, real-time sign language translation.

ART

It’s not easy running an art museum: Trustees are tapped out, there’s pressure to keep admission accessible, and the boards are increasingly vocal. But when the Phillips Collection director decided to sell off a few works in order to commission some new ones, the art media showed their narrow-mindedness. Here’s what they got wrong.

A MESSAGE FROM INSTAGRAM

Last year, Instagram launched Teen Accounts, which default teens into automatic protections. Now, a stricter “Limited Content” setting is available for parents who prefer extra controls. 

Instagram will continue adding new safeguards, giving parents more peace of mind.

Learn more.

FASHION

The Nour Hammour co-founder and Déhanche principal has found success by choosing one category and sticking to it. It’s a risky strategy, but when it works, it works.

SPORTS

Varsity favorite Andrew Marchand reunites with John to debate the week’s biggest sports media plot lines: the NFL’s holiday-week stacked matchups and Amazon Prime’s outsize role in juicing viewership, MLB’s new media rights math, ESPN’s quiet strategic wins, and whether streamers like YouTube are ready to jump into the next bidding war. Plus: what Netflix’s poaching of ESPN talent like Elle Duncan really signals about the streamer’s accelerating pivot into sports.

SPORTS

Julia Alexander joins Peter to break down Apple’s early exit from its 10-year, multibillion-dollar MLS rights deal; why the partnership was probably doomed from the get-go; and what MLS should be looking for in its next partner. Then they consider Netflix’s growing appetite for sports, and whether the streamer will snag marquee one-off events like the Home Run Derby or NBA Slam Dunk Contest to help boost flagging ratings and monetize new audiences.

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