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Wednesday, March 20, 2024

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Reddit gets ready to roar on Wall Street, Apollo makes a play for Paramount Pictures, Bob Chapek talks to CNBC about ESPN's future, Condé Nast staffers protest more planned cuts, Lev Parnas puts right-wing media on blast, Don Lemon says Linda Yaccarino was left out of the loop when Elon Musk canceled his X partnership, Apple takes heavy incoming fire, The NYT calls Netflix's "Three Body Problem" a "galaxy-brained spectacle," and so much more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Murdoch's Harry Mess

CNN Photo Illustration/Mike Segar/Reuters

Rupert Murdoch is at risk of being personally dragged into another major lawsuit.

Lawyers for Prince Harry and a number of other notable public figures, including Guy Ritchie and Hugh Grant, asked a U.K. court on Wednesday for permission to amend their lawsuit against Murdoch's British newspaper company, leveling the explosive allegation that the billionaire media mogul was personally involved in covering up wrongdoing.

The lawsuit, filed in 2019, accuses News Group Newspapers, the parent company of The Sun tabloid and defunct News of the World, of illegal privacy invasions, including hacking. The illicit behavior occurred from the mid-1990s until 2016, according to the lawsuit.

Lawyers for the Duke of Sussex now want to include claims that Murdoch personally provided "knowingly false" information on the matter. They also allege Rebekah Brooks, a top Murdoch lieutenant who currently oversees his British newspapers, of having also "lied and/or gave deliberately misleading evidence."

Executives at the newspaper group, including Murdoch, publicly promoted the false claim that there was only "one rogue reporter" in the News of the World scandal and attempted to "buy" the silence of senior executives, Harry's lawyers said. The lawyers added that "they would not have been carrying out this extensive concealment and destruction strategy without the knowledge and approval of Rupert Murdoch and [his son and then-executive chairman] James Murdoch."

NGN aggressively pushed back on the allegations, with a spokesperson saying in a statement that they amounted to a "scurrilous and cynical attack on their integrity" and "have nothing to do with seeking compensation for victims of phone hacking or unlawful information gathering."

"Some of these allegations date back to events now thirty years old and relate to allegations which are irrelevant to the matters which are now in issue between the parties," the spokesperson added.

The high-profile suit threatens to further mar the legacy of Murdoch as the nonagenarian enters the twilight of his career and comes in the wake of multiple damaging lawsuits against Fox News, the highly-profitable crown jewel of his global media empire.

And the case brewing in the U.K., which is set to go to trial early next year, has the potential to have larger ramifications, rippling across the pond to the U.S. Not only is Murdoch at the center of the lawsuit, but his former deputy turned Washington Post chief executive and publisher Will Lewis is also facing allegations of engaging in the alleged cover-up. (It goes without saying that Lewis has denied all wrongdoing.)

The phone hacking scandal rocked Murdoch's media empire more than a decade ago and marked one of the lowest moments in the billionaire's career. At the time, NGN issued an apology to victims, Murdoch shut down the popular News of the World, and the company has since settled hundreds of legal cases stemming from the scandal.

Illegal phone hacking was not unique to Murdoch's U.K. publications. The bad behavior extended to other outlets, with the country's notoriously aggressive tabloid press doing whatever it could to dig up celebrity dirt. Just last year a court ruled that Harry was also the victim of "extensive" phone hacking by Mirror Group Newspapers. Harry is also suing the publisher of the Daily Mail. And he said that Murdoch's newspapers paid his brother, Prince William, a "large sum" to settle hacking claims.

On Wednesday, NGN said it wants to put its own scandal to bed.

"These proceedings have now been going on for over fifteen years," the spokesperson said, "and NGN is seeking to bring them to a close."

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Reddit's IPO Roar: The Redditors are heading to Wall Street — literally. Expect to see the social media company's leadership ring the opening bell Thursday as it debuts on the stock exchange under the RDDT symbol. In addition, I'm told, chief executive Steve Huffman will appear on CNBC in the 9am ET hour to mark the occasion. The company on Wednesday priced its IPO at $34 a share, which was on the high end of the expected range. The offering values "the front page of the internet" at $6.5 billion, a substantial drop from the $10 billion private valuation it once commanded. CNBC's Leslie Picker has more here.

🔎 Zooming in: "The pricing was a favorable signal for start-ups and venture capitalists, who have been closely watching Reddit's offering as a test for private tech companies angling to brave the public markets," The NYT's Mike Isaac and Lauren Hirsch pointed out.

THE INDUSTRY

CNN Photo Illustration/AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images

The Play for Paramount: What will Shari Redstone do? The WSJ's Jessica Toonkel, citing sources, reported Wednesday that Apollo Global Management has made an $11 billion offer to purchase Paramount Pictures. The play for the Hollywood studio behind blockbuster hits like "Mission Impossible" comes as Paramount Global evaluates a very different offer from Skydance Media. Toonkel noted that Redstone has resisted selling the studio à la carte, but underscored that Apollo's offer "is more than the entire market capitalization of Paramount Global, which is currently around $7.7 billion." Read Toonkel's full story here.

► 📈 The Street likes the idea! Paramount Global shares jumped on the news, ending the day up nearly 12%.

CNN Photo Illustration/CNBC

First in Reliable | Chapek's ESPN Conjecture: Bob Chapek is breaking his silence. The former Disney chief granted his first post-firing interview to CNBC's Alex Sherman for a documentary on the future of ESPN airing on Thursday. In a clip shared with me (which you can see here), Chapek gave credence to the notion that Bob Iger may have offered a glimpse at ESPN's financials late last year in a potential move to spin off the sports network. "If you were preparing to do that, one might assume that a separation of the business that you were going to spin, would be a wise move so that you don't mix oceans, as they say," Iger told Sherman. It goes without saying that having the former Disney boss speculate on what the current boss aims to do with the business is going to raise some eyebrows inside — and outside — the Magic Kingdom. Sherman's documentary, with more from Chapek and plenty of others, goes live on CNBC.com at 6am.

IN THE MARKET

Nelson Peltz "is America's most overrated activist investor," Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian write. (Fortune)
TKO Group will pay $335 million to settle a pair of class-action lawsuits brought by former UFC fighters who alleged the company violated antitrust laws. (Variety)
NBCU said it will incorporate generative A.I. into its ad sales. (Deadline)
Meanwhile, Disney said it will boost its ad exchange to make purchasing spots on its streamers easier. (Deadline)

THE FOURTH ESTATE

William D. Cohan looks at the Jeff Zucker-led RedBird IMI play for the Telegraph and Spectator: "Assuming RedBird IMI is prevented from owning the two publications, Zucker's immediate focus, naturally, will be to recoup the loan secured by them. How does he do that? By putting the publications up for sale again and hoping that there's enough of a bidding war to get the purchase price for The Telegraph and The Spectator above £600 million." (Puck)
Condé Nast employees on Wednesday afternoon "marched to executives' offices to protest additional layoffs that they say were threatened during labor negotiations," Katie Kilkenny reports. (THR)
"The whole affair is embarrassing," Dylan Byers writes, "and, no matter what you think of the leadership or the union, it's a very sad, dismal turn of events for a storied publisher that, not so long ago — in the Tina-Graydon heyday, when it employed the best writers, threw the best parties, and set the cultural zeitgeist — wouldn't have been caught dead in a situation like this." (Puck)
Israeli forces "detained Palestinian journalists and health workers, blindfolded them and stripped them down to their underwear in Al-Shifa Hospital, in northern Gaza," Abeer Salman, Khader Al Za'anoun, Ibrahim Dahman, Sana Noor Haq, Kareem Khadder, Lauren Izso, and Tim Lister reported. "Palestinian reporters and hospital staff described scenes of humiliating interrogations where colleagues had been undressed and left outside in the cold." (CNN)
Over 8,000 complaints have been submitted to the BBC concerning its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. (Press Gazette)

MEDIA MOVES

NBC News named Hallie Jackson as anchor of the Sunday edition of "NBC Nightly News." (Variety)
CBS News hired Rhona Tarrant as executive editor of CBS News Confirmed, the outlet's new verification initiative. (Paramount)
Gizmodo promoted Rose Pastore to executive editor. (TBN)
Fortune Media expanded its European operations, adding Alex Wood Morton as executive editor for print, digital, and live events; Grethe Schepers as list director; Irena Raltcheva as commercial director; and Peter Vanham as editorial director for leadership. (Fortune)
The NYT promoted Derek Arthur to an audio producer, shifted Ryan McCarthy to the climate desk as an editor, and re-hired Jess Bidgood as managing correspondent for the "On Politics" newsletter. (NYT/NYT/NYT)
Bloomberg hired Lindsay Blakely as a reporter. (TBN)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Jose Luis Magana/AP

The Impeachment Implosion: Former Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas ripped Fox News and top right-wing media stars on Wednesday for lying about President Joe Biden, during no-holds-barred remarks at a House Oversight Committee hearing. In the hearing, which took place as part of the GOP impeachment inquiry into Biden, Parnas called out top Republicans for "pushing a false narrative" about the president and Ukraine before turning his eye on the dishonest media machine that amplified their lies to the masses. "The same goes for John Solomon, Sean Hannity and media personnel, particularly with Fox News, who use this narrative to manipulate the public ahead of the 2020 elections," Parnas said. "Sadly, they are still doing this today as we approach the 2024 elections." NBC News' Sarah Fitzpatrick and Summer Concepcion have details.

► The hearing didn't play out live on television, however, with Deadline's Ted Johnson noting that the major networks "took a pass on full coverage."

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

MAGA Media has "been sending subtle (and not so subtle) messages to their supporters that they ought to be willing and prepared to go to jail on behalf of the Trump movement," Madeline Peltz reports. (MMFA)
A great point by Alyssa Farah Griffin: While right-wing commentators like Mark Levin are ripping Republican billionaires for not stepping up to help Trump, neither are the very wealthy right-wing media stars: They're "not ponying up." E tu, Sean Hannity? (Mediaite)
Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes praised Daily Wire personality Candace Owens for being "on a tear" and engaging "in a full-fledged war against the Jews." (MMFA)
Elon Musk's X has been taking action against accounts that reveal the identity of a neo-Nazi cartoonist, David Gilbert reports. (WIRED)
Don Lemon appeared on Aidan McLaughlin's "Press Club" to talk about his Musk sit-down, revealing that the X owner left Linda Yaccarino out of the loop on the cancelation of his partnership. (Mediaite)
Fox Corporation argued it shouldn't be part of Smartmatic's $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox News. (Deadline)
Kate Middleton conspiracy theories are thriving like never before, Max Colchester and David Luhnow report: "Recent weeks have shown that too little information, and too little access, is also perilous: The vacuum is likely to be filled by fake news and cranks on social media." (WSJ)
Tiffany Hsu writes about conspiracies Middleton is dead: "In her invented death, the princess joins a host of other celebrities and public figures — from President Biden to Elon Musk — whom scores of online detectives have declared in recent months to be clones, body doubles, A.I.-generated avatars or otherwise not the living, breathing people they are." (NYT)
A wild story from Daniel Arkin on actual fake news: "Crime stories drove readers to GoFundMe campaigns, only the victims didn't exist." (NBC News)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Apple Versus Silicon Valley: The biggest players in Silicon Valley are teaming up Avengers-style against Apple to protest the iPhone-maker's mandatory — and awfully high — commission for purchases. Meta, Microsoft, X, and Match Group all filed a legal petition on Wednesday, joining Fortnite-creator Epic Games in protesting how the company has complied with a court order to allow for alternate payment processing. Apple has for years charged a notorious 30% fee for purchases made in its all-powerful App Store. But it still plans to charge a similar fee (27%) for purchases it will allow outside of its walled garden. "The Apple Plan comports with neither the letter nor the spirit of this Court's mandate," the four companies said in their brief Wednesday. The WSJ's Aaron Tilley and Bradley Olson have more here.

► More bad news for Tim Cook: "The Justice Department is poised to sue Apple Inc. as soon as Thursday, accusing the world's second most valuable tech company of violating antitrust laws by blocking rivals from accessing hardware and software features of its iPhone," Bloomberg's Anna Edgerton, Kartikay Mehrotra, and Leah Nylen reported Wednesday evening, sending shares sliding.

TOO MANY TABS

Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee participated in a classified briefing Wednesday on TikTok. Chair Mark Warner said afterward he would "like to get as much of the content declassified as possible." (The Hill)
Stephen Neukam and Stef W. Kight reported that TikTok hawks were "banking" on the briefing into "scaring their colleagues into action." (Axios)
The E.U. is set to adopt new guidelines next week that will require platforms such as X, TikTok, and Facebook to reduce risks to elections or face penalties, Foo Yun Chee and Jaspreet Singh report. (Reuters)
Google was fined $271 million by France after the company failed to negotiate fair agreements with media publishers. (Bloomberg)
Threads boss Adam Mosseri announced the platform is testing a new feature that aims to give users "more control" over their experience on the platform by letting them "swipe right on a post to like it, or swipe left to show they're not interested." (Threads)
OpenAI's custom GPT chatbot store is replete with spam, Kyle Wiggers points out. (TechCrunch)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Netflix

Journey to Trisolaris: The wait is nearly over. Netflix's highly-anticipated adaption of Liu Cixin's bestselling sci-fi book "The Three Body Problem" is set to make its debut on the platform Thursday. The series — adapted for television by Alexander Woo and "Game of Thrones" creators D.B. Weiss and David Benioff — is earning generally positive reviews from the critics, boasting a 76% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with 37 reviews in. The NYT's James Poniewozik, who we always trust, called it a "galaxy-brained spectacle" with "scale and mind-bending turns" that may leave viewers too "starry-eyed to notice" some of its flaws. TIME's Judy Berman wrote that Benioff, Weiss, and Woo "have been remarkably successful at transforming Liu's work into a gripping sci-fi thriller, without either dumbing it down or boring viewers." Personally, having just read the book last year, I'm stoked!

► In an interview with The NYT's Chris Vognar, Benioff noted "GOT" took time to catch on. In other words, don't expect "Three Body" to be a cultural phenomenon in season one: "It wasn't a behemoth out of the gate. In case anyone from Netflix is listening: It took years for that show to become big, and they had faith in it and stuck with it."

OFF STAGE

March Madness is here! Alex Weprin says it is a gift for television networks "in need of a jolt." (THR)
YouTube TV's best feature (multi view) is heading to iPhones and iPads just in time for the tournament. (The Verge)
Richard Simmons revealed he has skin cancer. (CNN)
The final season of Netflix's "The Crown" has earned an impressive eight BAFTA nominations, a record for the streamer. (Deadline)
Sydney Sweeney argued that her "Madame Web" role was a smart business decision, despite the movie's disastrous reviews. (Variety)
NBCU added features to Peacock ahead of the Olympics. (Deadline)
The Oscars audience surged to 21 million in delayed viewing. (Deadline)
Netflix's Millie Bobby Brown-led "Damsel" has garnered 50.8 million views, up 40% from the movie's opening weekend. (The Wrap)
Brian Cox will voice Santa for Netflix's animated "That Christmas" opposite Bill Nighy and Fiona Shaw. (THR)
David Schwimmer will star in "Goosebumps" season two. (Variety)
J.K. Rowling threatened to sue a "Harry Potter" fan site over lies it posted about her. (Deadline)
Guess who's back, back again? Eminem will put out a new album in 2024, per Dr. Dre. (THR)
Olivia Rodrigo is releasing on Friday bonus tracks from her "Guts" album. (Variety)
A third and ostensibly final "Downton Abbey" film is in the works. (BBC)
Netflix dropped the trailer for "A Man in Full," its forthcoming series starring Jeff Daniels. (YouTube)
Netflix released a peek at the third season of "Bridgerton." (YouTube)
Netflix also offered the first look at the Korean sci-fi horror series, "Parasyte: The Grey." (YouTube)

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Jon Passantino and produced with the assistance of Liam Reilly. Have feedback? Send us an email. You can follow us on Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn. We will see you back in your inbox tomorrow.

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