Happy Monday, and welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon compendium of Puck’s best new reporting. First up today, Dylan Byers chronicles the boardroom culture shift as blue chip advertisers, many of whom established a tactical distance from Fox News in recent years, quietly return to the network—the latest data point evidencing how C.E.O. Lachlan Murdoch is benefiting from a broader political realignment. Plus, below the fold: Leigh Ann Caldwell explores the liberation of Mitch McConnell and its implications for the MAGA agenda. Bill Cohan envisions the potential death of private equity’s favorite tax loophole. Marion Maneker combs through the auction numbers for New York’s Old Master season. And Sarah Shapiro charts the ascent of “antidepressant fashion.” Meanwhile, on the pods: NBC Sports president Rick Cordella joins John Ourand on The Varsity to present a 30,000-foot view of the NFL’s media rights negotiations. On Impolitic, John Heilemann rings up constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe to discuss the challenge of guardrailing Trump’s sprawling agenda. And on The Powers That Be, Jon Kelly reunites with Peter Hamby to dissect the administration’s decision to cut ties with several D.C. publications.

MEDIA

Last week, Fox Corporation chairman and C.E.O. Lachlan Murdoch kicked off the company’s earnings call by touting a record $781 million in EBITDA for the quarter, fueled by 20 percent growth in advertising revenue—a surge that Murdoch attributed to the presidential election and live sports. And yet, what Lachlan said next was even more remarkable: Since the election in November, Fox News had seen “increased demand from existing blue chip advertisers as well as new clients coming to the network due to its record share of audience,” which now comprises 70 percent of cable news viewership. As advertisers that have long shunned Fox News (or at least its more crackpot-friendly time slots) quietly come back, could this be the mainstreaming of Trump’s America—or an even broader cultural shift? Read Now

WASHINGTON

This week, the Senate is expected to vote on two of Trump’s most controversial nominees: Tulsi Gabbard as D.N.I., and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead H.H.S. As Leigh Ann reports, both will likely be confirmed, as two would-be defectors have fallen in line: Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician, has said he’ll vote for Kennedy, while Todd Young and Susan Collins will vote for Gabbard. But no one can say with any certainty what Mitch McConnell will do—and not just on how he’ll vote on Trump’s most oddball nominees. This enigma amplifies growing questions about how McConnell plans to spend his hard-earned, no-bullshit twilight era. Will the relentless partisan pit himself against his president and a growing number of colleagues in his conference? Read Now

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

Peacock’s THE DAY OF THE JACKAL   When an elite assassin, the Jackal (Eddie Redmayne), carries out his latest kill, it catches the attention of a British intelligence officer (Lashana Lynch), who starts hunting him down. -- 2 SAG AWARD^® NOMINATIONS Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series – Eddie Redmayne Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series -- “Breathless adventure until the very end” - VARIETY “Eddie Redmayne is truly compelling” - THE DAILY TELEGRAPH “A top-notch thriller, with dazzling action sequences and smart storytelling.” - TV LINE --   All episodes are streaming now on Peacock.

WALL STREET

Last week, Bill relayed the surprisingly bipartisan support that Trump appeared to be enjoying among the top machers of the financial services industry. Save for a few offenses, like the J6 blanket pardons and the blaming of D.E.I. for the plane-helicopter collision, the banker and investor class has been pretty much happy with the dawn of Trump II. But the president may have crossed the line by targeting the most sacred cow in the roughly $6 trillion private equity industry: the carried interest loophole. On Thursday, Trump proposed eliminating the provision in the tax code that allows the “alternative assets” crowd to enjoy a luxurious 23.8 percent capital gains tax treatment on by far the biggest part of their compensation, rather than the ordinary top income tax rate of 40.8 percent or so. A Wall Street reckoning may be nigh… Read Now

ART

The Old Master sales are generally hit or miss. It’s the nature of the category, which still behaves more like a trading floor between dealers than a retail channel to collectors, which means there’s a much higher tolerance for lower sell-through rates. Nevertheless, overall sales for this Old Master season in New York were 20 percent higher than last year, when the combined sales of Old Master works, works on paper, and various collections of art and collectible antiques totaled a little more than $72 million. As Marion notes, in terms of raw dollars spent, the category isn’t declining. In fact, it seems to be behaving just like the rest of the art market, where bidders and buyers start becoming scarce above the million-dollar mark. Read Now

FASHION

The time for winter wares and post-holiday markdowns is wrapping up, and retailers are fine-tuning their spring buys. Sales floors, accordingly, are beginning to reflect the newest consumer narrative: styles that speak to luxury, functionality, and wearability all at once. Sarah’s reporting highlights the fact that consumers, especially Americans, are obsessed with comfort and practicality—and almost always prioritize them over style—but right now, there’s the added tension of all the crazy stuff that’s happening in our world. Call it antidepressant fashion? Read Now

SPORTS

NBC Sports president Rick Cordella joins John from Super Bowl weekend in New Orleans for an in-depth conversation on the business of the NFL and the evolving landscape of sports media, breaking down the NFL’s unparalleled ability to draw massive viewership and the complexities of media rights negotiations. Then he offers a preview of what’s in store for NBC’s NBA coverage and next year’s Winter Olympics. Listen Now

WASHINGTON

John is joined by constitutional scholar nonpareil Laurence Tribe to discuss the radical challenge to the prevailing legal order by Donald Trump’s actions and agenda. Tribe maintains that it’s no exaggeration to say, just three weeks into the new administration, that Trump, Elon Musk, and their allies are engaged in an incipient coup d’état; and that the courts—including the Supreme Court, despite its diminished reputation and recent bent toward overt partisanship—remain the best and maybe only remaining guardrail against the unfolding assault on our democratic system. Once considered a likely pick for the high court himself, Tribe also reflects on what it would be like to be one of the Supremes in this fraught and unprecedented moment. Listen Now

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

Peacock’s THE DAY OF THE JACKAL   When an elite assassin, the Jackal (Eddie Redmayne), carries out his latest kill, it catches the attention of a British intelligence officer (Lashana Lynch), who starts hunting him down. -- 2 SAG AWARD^® NOMINATIONS Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series – Eddie Redmayne Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series -- “Breathless adventure until the very end” - VARIETY “Eddie Redmayne is truly compelling” - THE DAILY TELEGRAPH “A top-notch thriller, with dazzling action sequences and smart storytelling.” - TV LINE --   All episodes are streaming now on Peacock.

MEDIA

Jon Kelly joins Peter to talk about the NFL’s 18-game fantasy. They analyze the viability of lengthening the NFL season and whether it’s a smart business decision, and envision the potential for major streamers to get involved. Then they dissect the Trump administration canceling its subscriptions to several D.C. publications—and whether this could actually impact their bottom lines. Listen Now

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