Disney’s Sports Moonshot, S.B.F.’s Brady Fantasy, Zero Dark McGurk

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

Today, we lead with Julia Alexander’s candid insider analysis of Paramount+: why Bob Bakish reined in its ambitions, how it could provide value for David Ellison or Byron Allen, and whether it has any business existing in the first place.

Plus, below the fold: Julia Ioffe explains why everyone in D.C. seems to have a bone to pick with Brett McGurk, the controversial Biden whisperer who has survived four administrations. Teddy Schleifer details R.F.K.’s running mate bake-off and S.B.F.’s waylaid Tom Brady ’24 scheme. On The Town, Matt Belloni is joined by Lucas Shaw for a rollicking postmortem of the Grammys. And on a special episode of The Powers That Be, Jon Kelly and John Ourand analyze the stunning news that ESPN is creating a Hulu-style sports streaming consortium before digging into the Super Bowl media gossip.

JULIA ALEXANDER

Sure, the streaming home of the Super Bowl, now being circled by numerous potential acquirers, has reined in its ambitions—decreasing spending and licensing its best content to its competitors. But the real challenge for Par+ comes down to its technology.

JULIA IOFFE

Everyone in Washington has an opinion of McGurk, the controversial Blob star, president whisperer, and veteran foreign policy player. But is he a cunning opportunist or simply the best diplomat in a town filled with them?

TEDDY SCHLEIFER

Exclusive reporting on some of the most bewildering murmurs emanating from the political donor inner sanctum: R.F.K.’s attempt to add Andrew Yang to his ticket and Sam Bankman-Fried’s plan to draft Tom Brady for president. Good luck!

MATTHEW BELLONI

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the highlights, lowlights, and most pressing music industry questions after the 2024 Grammy Awards. They check in on the music business, including the ongoing feud between Universal Music Group and TikTok, Taylor Swift’s new album announcement, and more.