{{ 'now' | timezone: 'America/New_York' | date: '%b %d, %Y' }} |
|
|
|
Greetings from Los Angeles, and welcome to the inaugural
Inner Circle edition of In the Room. If you’re not an Inner Circle member yet, you can upgrade your subscription here to get all future Wednesday sends. This gives you access to all of Puck’s most exclusive insider reporting, as well as our sister brand, Air Mail. You can afford it—or expense
it!
In tonight’s edition, new reporting on the early phases of the CBS News and CNN integration, which is already underway despite the enduring political hurdles. Of course, the real challenge to this tie-up is the uncertainty surrounding Bari Weiss’s role and whether David Ellison can find a capable executive who is willing to play her Friday. Ya know, besides Tom.
🎙️ Plus, on the latest episode of The Grill Room,
Versant Media C.E.O. Mark Lazarus shared his grand ambitions for MS NOW, CNBC, Golf Channel, and more—and explained how he hopes to diversify the cable spinco. We also discussed MS NOW’s digital expansion, Crooked Media’s licensing deal, and other media topics du jour. Follow The Grill Room on Apple,
Spotify, or wherever you prefer to listen.
Also mentioned in this issue: Barry Diller, Lachlan Murdoch, James Murdoch, Jimmy Pitaro, Alex MacCallum, Virginia
Moseley, Mark Thompson, Ben Sherwood, David Rhodes, Jay Penske, Kyla Scanlon, Kara & Scott, Sharyn Alfonsi, and many more. |
- More
Fox-Roku: The more I dive into Lachlan Murdoch’s $22 billion Roku acquisition, the more I appreciate the logic. Yes, this deal will expand Fox’s audience—the combined company will have a bigger share of monthly viewing than Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney—and boost advertising. But I failed to fully appreciate the leverage it gives Fox in terms of its negotiations with both distributors and streaming platforms. As Rich Greenfield has noted, Fox now gets
two bites of the apple: It can leverage its own distribution platform while negotiating carriage for Fox, Fox News, and FS1, and take ad inventory from Disney+, HBO Max, and all the other streaming services it will now distribute. Whether that justifies the price tag depends on Fox’s ability to maintain and grow Roku’s popularity amid growing competition. But 100 million households is a formidable start.
- Barry, Live!: Barry
Diller’s People Inc. announced this week that it has acquired the Austin-based food festival Hot Luck, a small but notable gambit that may signal a run on the events space by publishers who are eager to diversify their revenue streams. As you know, Jay Penske bought a 50 percent stake in South By Southwest five years ago, and James Murdoch acquired the parentcos of both Art Basel and Tribeca Film Festival before his recent takeover of New York
and the Vox Media Podcast Network. As I reported last month, James intends to incorporate both into his global thought-leadership events thesis.
The most notable signal here is Barry’s own interest in acquiring the entirety of MGM Resorts, where People Inc. is already a stakeholder. Barry described MGM as a “perfect hedge in a world that is changing so
unpredictively fast”—presumably alluding, in part, to the disruptive power that A.I. will have on the publishing industry.
|
|
|
|
A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR |
From Emmy-winning creator and star Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary is ABC’s award-winning comedy about a
group of dedicated teachers doing their best with what they’ve got. “Still at the top of its class,” says Collider, Abbott Elementary continues to charm audiences with its sharp writing, unforgettable ensemble, and emotional depth. For your Emmy consideration in all eligible categories including Outstanding Comedy Series. Watch The Trailer Here |
|
|
|
- CNN’s
creator play: CNN has signed economic analyst-influencer Kyla Scanlon as a contributor, another instance of a legacy outlet bringing an independent creator into its fold. Kyla, who is best known for her TikTok and Instagram analysis, has more than a million followers across social platforms. Will that be a boon for CNN? It’s hard to see the thumb-scrolling crowd navigating over to linear when they’re already getting Kyla’s content on their phone for free.
Of course,
that underscores the shifting power dynamics. Historically, a legacy brand like CNN conferred credibility on the contributor and gave them new distribution. Today, a creator like Kyla arrives with her own audience and distribution structure, and lends her credibility to an institution increasingly anxious about its own relevance. In any event, it’s all upside for her and probably just a money job. - And finally…: Kara Swisher
says she’s going to leave CNN if David Ellison closes his acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, stating that she doesn’t want to work for the Ellisons or “their handpicked minions.” Scott Galloway suggested he’d join the network if the price was right.
Therein lies the success of their dynamic on Pivot.
|
24.5 million: The average viewership for Game 5 of the NBA Finals on ESPN, the capstone to
the most-watched NBA Finals and NBA Playoffs in nearly three decades. (Congrats, Jimmy.)
18.04 million: The average viewership for last Friday’s World Cup match between the United States and Paraguay, the high-water mark for a group stage that is already up 152 percent from the 2022 average. (Congrats, Lachlan.)
And now, the main event… |
|
|
|
David Ellison’s search for the right executive to help Bari Weiss run her two-headed CNN–CBS
News monster might require a unicorn—someone with solid television news experience, a pliable journalistic backbone, and the willingness to play the loyal number two. In other words, he needs a supersized Tom Cibrowski. |
|
|
|
Earlier this week, Tom Cibrowski, the president and executive editor of CBS News and
unwitting Sancho Panza of the network’s Bari Weiss era, found himself in a delegation of Paramount technical staff on a tour of Warner Bros. Discovery’s Techwood Campus—the 30-acre production complex in Midtown Atlanta that serves, among other things, as the global headquarters for CNN. Days earlier, Tom also joined this team on a tour of the network’s true executive headquarters at Hudson Yards, about a mile and a half down 10th Avenue from the CBS Broadcast Center. |
|
|
|
A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR |
Chase Infiniti stars in THE TESTAMENTS, Hulu’s new coming-of-age drama series set in the world of The Handmaids Tale. Variety calls it “an
exemplary follow-up to the original series,” and a “magnificent coming of age story.” Also starring Ann Dowd and Lucy Halliday, THE TESTAMENTS is for your Emmy® consideration in all eligible categories including Outstanding Drama Series.
Watch The Trailer
Here |
|
|
|
The visits, I’m told, gave the Paramount folks an opportunity to preview the control rooms, production
studios, and other facilities they will inherit once David Ellison secures his merger of the two companies, barring interference from objecting Democratic state attorneys general. As I reported in March, David intends to combine production and operations for CNN and CBS and run it out of the aforementioned WBD real estate—a welcome upgrade to the dark
and aging warren that CBS employees have long called home. As you know, David has hefty debt obligations, and a divestiture of the CBS Broadcast Center would at least help his $6 billion-plus synergy effort.
For the journalists concerned, news of these visits offered the most tangible sign yet that the integration of their two storied news networks was already underway. “I can’t believe it’s actually happening,” one CNN reporter texted me. Indeed, it’s been happening. A
month ago, I reported that David had met with CNN chairman and C.E.O. Mark Thompson. Shortly thereafter, Paramount executives presided over a video conference
in which Mark and his top deputies, who were in Los Angeles, presented Bari, Tom, and others in New York with an overview of their operations. Virginia Moseley, CNN’s executive editor, outlined the network’s newsgathering and editorial processes. Alex MacCallum, the chief operating officer and leading light of the network’s digital transformation, presented the site’s nascent streaming service and subscription strategy. (Guys, whatever you do, hold on to
Alex…)
By now, you’ve surmised that there are going to be quite a few cooks in this new kitchen. And that’s before factoring in the most critical variable—the impending addition of another executive, as I first reported in May, to assist Bari in her oversight of the two newsrooms. So long as David is committed to giving Bari full editorial
control of both networks, this executive will need to fit into a rather difficult Venn diagram: skilled enough to manage the complex operations of a global broadcast, cable, and digital business; modest enough to power-share with a headstrong newsroom leader; and compliant enough to go along with David’s strategic imperatives and Bari’s political whims. A tall order, to say the least, and one that effectively disqualifies every Ben Sherwood– or David
Rhodes–style TV veteran whose name has been floated. Alas, the people who know how to run TV news organizations tend to want to run them, themselves. |
To wit, this job listing would also appear to disqualify Mark, who has the experience to run the
combined operations but probably wouldn’t be willing to power-share alongside Bari and under David. Mark came to CNN on the condition that he could serve as both C.E.O. and editor-in-chief. Meanwhile, his New York Times and BBC rearing would likely make him an unreliable executor of any Trump-inflected back-channeling from the Ellisons. Let me just put it this way: Mark certainly could have finessed a smoother, more subtle preemption of Sharyn
Alfonsi’s “Inside CECOT” package than Bari did, but it’s not clear that he would have.
What David may really be searching for is a bigger version of Cibrowski himself. Tom is the one operational partner who has proven willing to assist Bari’s mission in a beta role. Alas, I’m told the Paramount front office does not believe he has the stature and strategic chops necessary for this broader assignment. That may seem uncharitable given the battle scars he’s
already endured in keeping this circus tent from toppling over. But, in fairness, with CNN now in the picture, we’re talking about a mandate that goes well above and beyond his current assignment. Legendary TV executives from Roone Arledge to Roger Ailes oversaw much smaller fiefdoms. Tom, a longtime ABC News veteran, came to this job from running that network’s Bay Area affiliate.
Inarguably, there is a simpler solution to this challenge, which
is to rein in Bari and hand control to someone more qualified. The need for this bizarre and anomalous management layer exists only because of David’s decision to vest so much authority in an inexperienced newsroom leader whose instincts are often better suited to provocation than institution-building. But that would require David to revoke one of the foundational assumptions underpinning his entire news strategy: that Bari's iconoclastic sensibility is worth the accompanying turbulence. All the
available testimony suggests David still believes in Bari and in that original thesis. Then again, it’s hard to imagine he wants to endure the past nine months all over again. |
|
|
|
A professional-grade rundown on the business of sports from John Ourand, the industry’s preeminent journalist, covering the leagues,
players, agencies, media deals, and the egos fueling it all. Plus, the latest intel from Eriq Gardner on the sports legal beat. |
|
|
|
Puck founding partner Matt Belloni takes you inside the business of Hollywood, using exclusive reporting and insight to explain the
backstories on everything from Marvel movies to the streaming wars. |
|
|
|
Need help? Review our FAQ page or contact us for assistance. For brand partnerships, email ads@puck.news. You received this email because you
signed up to receive emails from Puck, or as part of your Puck account associated with {{customer.email}}. To stop receiving this newsletter and/or manage all your email preferences, click here. |
Puck is published by Heat Media LLC. 107 Greenwich St., New York, NY 10006 |
|
|
|
|
