Biden’s White Noise, Disney’s New Hand, Cathie’s Leaky Ark

Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon brochure of Puck’s latest reporting.

First up today, Bill Cohan reveals a surprising new twist in activist investor Nelson Peltz’s budding proxy fight with Bob Iger and Disney. Plus, notes on David Zaslav’s tightrope act and Cathie Wood’s latest reemergence.

Then, below the fold: Matthew Belloni dissects Hollywood’s evolving definition of a flop, before explaining the deal math behind Jay Penske’s Golden Globes sale to CBS. Baratunde Thurston reflects on Biden’s messaging problem. Jonathan Handel suggest a quick fix for the actors’ A.I. contract fears. And on a special Thanksgiving week episode of The Powers That Be, Peter Hamby and Jon Kelly wonder if Zaz is losing the narrative, or whether it’s all noise.

WILLIAM D. COHAN

News and notes on the latest Wall Street swirl: Nelson Peltz’s fuzz math, Zaz’s denominator problems, and the latest leg of the ARK saga.

MATTHEW BELLONI

In a perverse side effect of the streaming age, Hollywood seems unwilling to call a flop a flop. Instead, the question of what is “profitable” or “value-additive” has become convoluted—especially if it involves a pure-play streamer or a Scorsese movie.

MATTHEW BELLONI

In a last-ditch, third-try effort, Jay Penske sold the Golden Globes telecast to CBS. The deal is a huge discount from NBC’s previous $60 million-per-year offering, but it prevents the awards from being the Billboards—at least for now.

BARATUNDE THURSTON

Reflections on media fragmentation in the Obama era, how Trump accelerated its breakup, and what Biden can do to find a new way forward.