Happy Friday and welcome back to The Daily Courant, your pocket guide to Puck’s latest reporting. Today, we lead with John Ourand’s definitive take on the precarious state of regional sports networks two years after Diamond Sports Group entered Chapter 11. At the time, the assumption was that the company’s bankruptcy would lead to a feverish fire sale for local sports rights—but instead, major streamers and local broadcasters have kept their powder dry. What are they waiting for? Plus, below the fold: Julia Ioffe chats with West Wing troublemaker Laura Loomer about last week’s N.S.C. purge and her nascent oppo research shop. Matt Belloni assesses the entertainment companies in the tariff crosshairs, CAA’s eyebrow-raising “buyouts,” SNL’s U.K. foray, and more. And exclusively for Inner Circle members, Lauren Sherman unpacks the Prada Group’s acquisition of Versace and the implications for the fashion landscape. Meanwhile, on the pods: Lauren grills Saks Global C.E.O. Marc Metrick on Fashion People about the retail supergroup’s vendor payment and customer return snafus. Julia Alexander rejoins The Grill Room to break down MLB’s “torpedo bat” innovation and the emerging creator economy slump. And on The Powers That Be, Lauren and Peter Hamby assess how Trump’s trade antics are sending jitters through fashion businesses.

SPORTS

Despite early predictions that regional sports networks were headed for surefire extinction, the vultures circling Diamond Sports Group’s 2023 bankruptcy have largely been kept at bay. In fact, Diamond’s remarkable resurrection as Main Street Sports has restored the model many had written off, having strategically convinced large distributors that supporting R.S.N.s would prevent local broadcasters from amassing excess leverage. The development has incited a bifurcation across teams between electing for local broadcast channel vs. R.S.N. distribution, with varying degrees of success. Yet whichever path leagues and their franchises take, John concludes, the winners of this platform tug-of-war will be the companies with the strongest business models. Read Now

WASHINGTON

Last week, the far-right provocateur Laura Loomer took credit for engineering an unprecedented purge at the National Security Council. Armed with little more than printed articles and screenshots, the 31-year-old walked into the West Wing and emerged having secured the termination of at least five N.S.C. staffers, including respected National Security Agency director and four-star general Timothy Haugh. Meanwhile, just days before the purge, Loomer launched Loomered Strategies, a self-proclaimed opposition research outfit offering “executive-level vetting” to political clients. In conversation with Julia, Loomer admits that her firm is currently a party of one, but “we all have goals and aspirations.” Read Now

HOLLYWOOD

In this punchy roundup of the week’s most pressing Hollywood talking points, Matt evaluates how Trump’s tariff onslaught could impact the ad businesses for numerous high-profile entertainment companies, gets an earful from disgruntled CAA insiders about Bryan Lourd’s seemingly measly “buyouts” for employee equity holders, digs into the wacky spat between The White Lotus’s creator and composer, assesses Lorne Michaels’ succession quandary for SNL’s maiden voyage in the U.K., and much more. Read Now

FASHION

With all the economic uncertainty surrounding Trump’s tariffs, many fashion industry insiders were skeptical that the Prada Group’s much-anticipated acquisition of Versace would go through. But yesterday afternoon’s press release—and a $1.4 billion price tag—quelled all fears, confirming that Capri Holdings C.E.O. John Idol had, at last, gotten his deal. In this Inner Circle–exclusive report, Lauren breaks down the sale and its inevitable downstream effects and lingering questions: How will Versace’s Dario Vitale adapt to the transition? Might Lorenzo Bertelli ascend to the Prada throne?  And how will the deal impact the rest of the fashion industry? Read Now

FASHION

In the never-ending saga of American department stores, Saks Global’s acquisition of the Neiman Marcus Group for $2.7 billion will go down in history as one of the most complicated—and consequential—plot points. Lauren and Saks Global C.E.O. Marc Metrick run through the list of complaints against the luxury department store supergroup, which includes Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf Goodman—from issues with paying vendors to customer return snafus. Then Marc outlines why he believes the deal was inevitable, and why it’ll be better for the customer in the long run. Listen Now

MEDIA

Puck’s resident streaming guru, Julia Alexander, swings by the pod to discuss a handful of hot-button media topics: the MLB’s crafty use of the “torpedo bat” to boost ratings, the challenges and opportunities for CNBC in the looming SpinCo era, and the early signs of stagnation in the creator economy. Listen Now

FASHION

Lauren Sherman joins Peter to discuss how Trump’s trade war is rippling through the fashion industry, from the punishing tariffs facing Victoria’s Secret to the geopolitical pressure on luxury brands like The Row. Listen Now

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