Happy Friday and welcome back to The Daily Courant, your pocket guide to the best new reporting from Puck. Today, after spending a long week running around New York for the annual TV upfronts, Matt Belloni doles out his candid, highly subjective, and officially unofficial TV Upfronts Awards. Honors go to the Best Tragicomedy (David Zaslav and JB Perrette for the HBO Max rebranding exercise), Buzziest Buzzword (non-cannibalization), Most Tone-Deaf Corporate Slogan (“There’s only ONE YouTube”), and many, many more… Plus, below the fold: Lauren Sherman digs into the challenges facing LVMH on the heels of Bernard and Alexandre Arnault’s recent visit to the Oval Office. Julia Ioffe looks into Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau’s unusual starring role in the Afrikaner “refugee” drama in Washington. And John Ourand chronicles the migration of pedigreed business executives to big-time college athletic director jobs. Meanwhile, on the pods: Dylan Byers is joined by Fox’s Jeff Collins on The Grill Room to discuss how the network is navigating the industry’s decline. On Fashion People, Lauren rings up renowned casting director James Scully to discuss the inspiration behind his N.Y. boutique, Jamestown Hudson. And on The Powers That Be, Peter Hamby and John Ourand unpack MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s decision to posthumously reinstate Pete Rose decades after his lifetime ban.

Hollywood’s annual advertiser cash grab has evolved from an absurd and expensive platform for the TV networks to spin their programming to an even more absurd and expensive showcase for the streamers. It’s a carnival worthy of its own honors and salutations. Read Now

The LVMH royal family’s courtship of Trump at the inauguration, once mocked, now looks wisely proactive, with Bernard and Alexandre returning to meet with the president in the Oval Office. Were they lobbying for a luxury carve-out on looming 20 percent tariffs? Read Now

CONGRESS: Protect Community Banks from Credit Card Mandates The Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Mandates will raise costs, limit credit access, and devastate local financial institutions. Credit unions and community banks in all 50 states strongly oppose this bill—and for good reason. It threatens to upend the payments system, harming smaller institutions card programs while corporate megastores like Walmart and Target cash in. Carve-outs don’t work—we’ve seen that before. Congress must reject false promises from retail giants and stand with the nearly 10,000 community-based institutions serving over 140 million Americans. Say NO to Durbin-Marshall.

Once upon a time, not long ago, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau was a Harvard Law grad and former Scalia clerk who became a D.C. legal bigwig and then ambassador to Mexico. So how did he become the kind of guy welcoming white Afrikaner “refugees” at Dulles? Read Now

Once the domain of backslapping good ol’ boys who excelled at shaking alumni down for donations, big-time college A.D. jobs are increasingly being filled by actual business executives. Read Now

Jeff Collins, Fox’s head of advertising sales, joins Dylan to discuss the network’s strategic focus on live sports and news, which has led to significant growth despite the broader decline across the cable industry. Jeff breaks down how Fox’s diverse portfolio is fueling ratings and advertiser demand, and also explains why the upfronts remain a crucial moment for the business. Listen Now

CONGRESS: Protect Community Banks from Credit Card Mandates The Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Mandates will raise costs, limit credit access, and devastate local financial institutions. Credit unions and community banks in all 50 states strongly oppose this bill—and for good reason. It threatens to upend the payments system, harming smaller institutions card programs while corporate megastores like Walmart and Target cash in. Carve-outs don’t work—we’ve seen that before. Congress must reject false promises from retail giants and stand with the nearly 10,000 community-based institutions serving over 140 million Americans. Say NO to Durbin-Marshall.

James Scully, renowned casting director and longtime retail insider, joins Lauren for a wide-ranging chat about his career and the evolution of the fashion industry since his early days working with Karl Lagerfeld and Jean Paul Gaultier. He also discusses his move from New York City to suburban Hudson, co-founding Jamestown Hudson, the evolution of retail from large department stores to niche boutiques, the impact of Vogue’s celebrity covers, and so much more. Listen Now

John Ourand joins Peter to discuss MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s decision to posthumously reinstate Pete Rose and restore the Hit King’s Hall of Fame eligibility decades after his lifetime ban. Did Manfred’s recent visit with Donald Trump play any role in the decision? John also breaks down his week at the upfronts in New York, where networks leaned into their sports deals to woo advertisers. Listen Now

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