Sharidise Lost, Beauty’s Star Banker, Hunter and Hunted

Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your pocket guide to Puck’s latest reporting.

First up today, Dylan Byers reveals how David Zaslav’s unforced error in WBD’s NBA rights negotiations cracked a window for Brian Roberts’ staggering $2.5 billion-per-year bid. Plus, Zaz’s $1,600 olive branch to ex-CNN anchor Don Lemon.

Then, below the fold: Bill Cohan divulges the details of the latest Ellison-RedBird bid for Paramount. Tina Nguyen scrutinizes the far right’s new malleability on Israel. Rachel Strugatz profiles the Aryeh of the beauty industry. On Somebody’s Gotta Win, Tara Palmeri and MSNBC anchor Ali Velshi discuss his forthcoming book, Small Acts of Courage. And on The Powers That Be, Eriq Gardner joins Peter Hamby to dissect Hunter Biden’s multi-front legal war against Fox News.

DYLAN BYERS

Warner Bros. Discovery’s inability to lock down its NBA rights, thus allowing NBC to bid them up, represents David Zaslav’s latest headache—and, perhaps, unforced error. And it may offer a taste of the negotiating tenor in a potential future WBD-NBCU combination.

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WILLIAM D. COHAN

Inside the Paramount M&A calamity as Shari and Gerry rejigger their deal, Gabelli signals his C.V.R. venom, and Apollo licks its teeth.

TINA NGUYEN

Yes, the majority of the party is still fervently aligned with Netanyahu and his war in Gaza. But a growing number of House lawmakers, bolstered by the isolationist (and occasionally antisemitic) far right, are beginning to view Israel more as a bargaining chip than a sacred cow.

RACHEL STRUGATZ

Vennette Ho, the Aryeh of beauty (Google it), is helping Sarah Gibson Tuttle’s nail brand, Olive & June, explore an exit. It’s the latest sign of a dynamic (and maybe even frothy) market and an ascendant banker pulling the strings.