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Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Fox News caves to Hunter Biden, TIME confronts Donald Trump on why he has stayed silent on Evan Gershkovich's detention, ABC News dismisses meteorologist Rob Marciano, Alden papers sue OpenAI and Microsoft, Instagram makes a major update to its algorithm, "The Fall Guy" eyes a $30 million+ opening, and more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

From Max to Min

CNN Photo Illustration

David Zaslav famously said in 2022 that Warner Bros. Discovery doesn't "have to have the NBA." It appears Wall Street disagrees.

WBD's already rock-bottom stock price plummeted nearly 10% on Tuesday after a report in The Wall Street Journal signaled the media conglomerate could be in for an expensive battle to maintain its NBA broadcast rights, with shares ending Tuesday at $7.36. That figure represents an all-time low for WBD, the parent company of CNN.

The Journal report — authored by Joe Flint, Amol Sharma, and Isabella Simonetti — said that NBCUniversal "is prepared to pay an average of about $2.5 billion a year" to air a set of NBA games, effectively doubling the current fee paid by WBD. Under the proposal, NBCU would air some league games on its broadcast network, potentially in prime time, and on its Peacock streaming service. The bid threatens to eclipse WBD, which has aired NBA games on its cable network TNT, a longtime NBA partner and key component of the company's business.

Industry insiders have repeatedly underscored to me how important it is for the network and WBD to retain the NBA broadcast rights. "It's a must have," stressed a media executive to me again on Tuesday. WBD had an exclusive negotiating window with the NBA, but it expired earlier this month, allowing other companies, such as NBCU, to make bids.

TNT has built a programming slate around the NBA games, most notably the highly rated "Inside the NBA" show. In fact, Charles Barkley just signed a new, 10-year deal in 2023 with WBD. Andrew Marchand, now a journalist at The Athletic, reported at the time for the New York Post that the deal over a 10-year period is worth "well in excess of $100 million and could approach $200 million." In other words, WBD has made significant investments hinging on maintaining the rights to the games.

While WBD maintains the rights to the NCAA March Madness tournament, as well as other sports such as the MLB, NHL, and NASCAR, the NBA remains crucial to the media conglomerate. As The Journal pointed out, "Without the NBA, though, Warner could have a harder time charging distributors as much for carriage of its channels."

Moreover, WBD just struck a deal with Disney and Fox Corporation to launch a forthcoming sports super-streamer. Losing the rights to NBA games could throw aspects of that business partnership into question. That's not to mention WBD's flagship streaming service, Max, has been advertising live sports to consumers as a key differentiator from other platforms. Losing the NBA would be a big blow to that pitch.

Spokespeople for both WBD and the NBA declined to comment.

Of course, it's possible that WBD will overtake NBCU's bid, or at least secure some NBA games. I'm told that WBD continues to sit at the negotiating table and has been having productive conversations. But given how cost-conscious Zaslav and chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels have been in their management of the company, the current state of play is surely not a welcome development, which is reflected in the company's share price.

A potential loss of the NBA rights could not come at a worse time for Zaslav, who has struggled to sell Wall Street on his vision for a one-stop, one-size-fits-all streamer to go toe-to-toe with Netflix. Since WBD first began trading on Wall Street in April 2022, the stock has lost roughly 70% of its value. While investors have been patient, shares plunging to a new all-time low on Tuesday can't help.

The optics are anything but great, given that executives such as Zaslav and Wiedenfels have been handsomely paid as investors have watched their assets evaporate over the years. According to financial disclosures made public earlier this month, Zaslav's 2023 compensation package grew to nearly $50 million, while Wiedenfels' topped $17 million.

While Zaslav is grappling with an enormous set of challenges, he is not alone. Legacy media companies are struggling immensely to keep their heads above water as consumers cut the cord in favor of alluring streaming options, a revolution brought on by Netflix that has brought once towering giants to their knees.

Disney boss Bob Iger has openly spoken at length about the innumerable challenges he is navigating, and Paramount Global is engaged in merger talks with David Ellison's Skydance Media as it fights to find a path forward for survival.

All of which makes sports rights even more crucial. Live sports are one of the final legs holding up the traditional cable television package, which has for years proved to be lucrative for companies such as WBD. As legacy media companies search for audiences and try to entice the public to sign up for their streaming platforms, securing these sports rights is as important as ever. And for Zaslav, whose company is struggling on Wall Street, the battle could not come at a more inopportune time.

As a second media executive told me Tuesday, "The NBA becomes even more of a must-have when other aspects of the business are not working."

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Fox Nation

Bowing to Biden: It's not every day that Fox News caves to the demands of Hunter Biden, but the right-wing network did just that on Tuesday. After receiving a legal threat from attorneys representing the son of President Joe Biden, Fox News removed a six-part miniseries from streaming platform Fox Nation. The miniseries, called "The Trial of Hunter Biden," featured sexually explicit images of Hunter Biden. In a statement, Fox News confirmed that it scrubbed the content. "This program was produced in and has been available since 2022," a spokesperson said in a statement. "We are reviewing the concerns that have just been raised and – out of an abundance of caution in the interim – have taken it down." CNN's Marshall Cohen has more here.

🔎 Zooming in: As Cohen noted, the removal was "a swift response" from Fox News. And it is likely because Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch do not wish to get the network entangled in any more messy legal drama. In fact, the network has settled a number of lawsuits — including paying a record $787 million to Dominion Voting Systems last year.

Timid Trump: Rarely does Donald Trump not have a bombastic statement to make about something — unless, of course, it is a matter concerning Russia. Which is why the disgraced former president likely hasn't had a word to say about Vladimir Putin's detention of The Wall Street Journal's Evan Gershkovich. When asked by TIME's Eric Cortellessa about his conspicuous silence during an interview for the magazine's cover story, Trump replied, "I guess because I have so many other things I'm working on." Uh huh. Trump went on to then make the interesting statement, "The reporter should be released and he will be released. I don't know if he's going to be released under Biden. I would get him released." 🤔

► Accompanying its cover story, TIME took the step of publishing a fact-check and full transcripts of its interviews with Trump. TIME's Washington bureau chief Massimo Calabresi walked Jake Tapper through the reasoning behind doing so, telling him that, given the stakes of the election, the magazine "thought it was valuable for the transcript to be out there."

THE INDUSTRY

CNN Photo Illustration/Lorenzo Bevilaqua/Walt Disney Television/Getty Images

Gone With the Wind: ABC News on Tuesday dismissed veteran meteorologist Rob Marciano after complaints of improper behavior. The news — which I've confirmed after Puck's Dylan Byers first reported it on Elon Musk's X (an aside, but why report it there?) — took ABC News staffers off guard, with those who work on "World News Tonight" learning of it via a Dataminr alert. The Daily Beast's Justin Baragona has more here.

🔎 Zooming in: Whispers about Marciano have circulated since at least 2022. He was previously barred from "Good Morning America," which was striking given he had been announced as the program's weekend anchor. After briefly and inexplicably vanishing from the network, he ultimately resurfaced on "WNT." At the time, when I inquired, ABC News repeatedly declined to comment on the matter. The Kim Godwin-led network on Tuesday held true to that practice, declining to comment yet again

THE FOURTH ESTATE

Eight print dailies — including The New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, The Denver Post, and Orange County Register — owned by Alden Global Capital slapped OpenAI and Microsoft with a lawsuit, alleging the companies stole their articles to train their A.I. products. (NYT)
As part of the Google News Initiative, Google will pay News Corp. $5 to $6 million a year to develop new A.I.-related content and products, Sahil Patel reports. (The Info)
Charlotte Tobitt has a useful cheat sheet that details which media organizations are siding with A.I. companies and which are pitting themselves against the developers. (Press Gazette)
RedBird IMI, the UAE-backed, Jeff Zucker-led investor firm, formally withdrew its bid to acquire the Telegraph newspaper and Spectator magazine. (Bloomberg)
A news outlet that wants a public editor? What a rare — and welcome — sight! The Dallas Morning News said it had hired Duke University journalism professor Stephen Buckley to the role. (Dallas News)
Ken Klippenstein resigned from The Intercept and started a Substack publication with a scathing assessment of the news media: "The reason so much of the news media sucks is they aren't writing for you. They're writing for their sources in Washington, for the industries they cover, for rich people, and for fancy awards committees. ... I want to write for you." (Ken Klippenstein)
Klippenstein's piece prompted pushback from current Intercept editor Ali Gharib, who told Diana Falzone that he is "always sad to lose talented colleagues, but plenty of journalists who remain at The Intercept have never and would never compromise their integrity." (Mediaite)
Geoff Bennett, the PBS NewsHour co-anchor, signed a deal with HarperCollins for a book that explores the history of Black comedy in America. (POLITICO)
The Athletic is raising the price on advertisements as the publisher approaches the 3 million subscriber mark for newsletters, Sara Guaglione reports. (Digiday)
Chris Morris writes about how Vulture has a game that might be the next Wordle "with a movie twist." (Fast Company)

ON THE FIELD

Fox Corporation is looking to ask for at least $7 million for 30-second spots at Super Bowl LIX, Brian Steinberg reports. (Variety)
NBCU and Roku will launch a NBC Olympic Zone hub ahead of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. (Awful Announcing)

IN THE MARKET

Amazon is slightly up in after-hours trading after its earnings report. On the advertising front, the company topped analyst expectations with $11.8 billion in revenue, up 24% YoY. (Variety)
SiriusXM ended the day down more than 7% after a disastrous earnings report in which the company said it lost 359K self-pay subscribers. (THR)

BYE, BYE BAKISH

Richard Rushfield calls the Paramount Global fiasco a "slow-motion murder in plain sight" and pours one out for outed boss Bob Bakish: "Let's pause to acknowledge another of the great leaders who has seen Hollywood through this extraordinary time. Now gone from our realm — and like [Bob] Chapek before him, in all likelihood never to be heard from by us ever again — he'll have just $50 million or so to comfort him through the long nights ahead." (The Ankler)
Matt Belloni: "In many ways, Bakish, who was officially fired and replaced today by a trio of underlings as Shari [Redstone] attempts to offload the entire company, was destined to fail as C.E.O. thanks to the decisions of the past." (Puck)
Paramount Global's stock ended Tuesday down 7%.

MEDIA MOVES

NewsNation named Michael Corn president of programming and specials and promoted Cherie Grzech to president and managing editor of news and politics. (Deadline)
The NYT named Laura Williamson the new editor-in-chief for The Athletic U.K. and Europe and announced David Jordan will take on a new role as head of global soccer. (NYT)
The NYT also hired Maxine Builder as deputy editorial director for Wirecutter. (NYT)
CNN hired Leigh Waldman and Brian Abel as Newsource correspondents. Meanwhile, CNN International hired Victoria Rubadiri for a new role. (CNN/CNN/CNN)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution hired Savannah Sicurella to cover the business of the region's entertainment industry. (TBN)
Jon Wilde was named editor in chief of Motorsport. (MotorSport)
Reuters Breakingviews hired Gabe Rubin as Washington columnist starting on May 13. (TBN)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Curtis Means/Pool/Reuters

Trump's Tale Trashed: A major narrative in right-wing media has been shot down. Judge Juan Merchan said that Donald Trump will indeed be permitted to attend his son's high school graduation. Merchan's statement, of course, runs counter to what the former president had repeatedly claimed during his fact-free rant sessions outside the Manhattan court where he is being tried. This lies reached millions via MAGA Media. Trump's dishonest narrative ran wild in that space, where prominent outlets and personalities portrayed him as a victim of the so-called deep state. That said, don't hold your breath that outlets such as Fox News, which pushed the narrative that Trump would not be able to attend his son's graduation, will correct it in a meaningful way! They'll just ignore this development and move on.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Teddy Schleifer reported that Elon Musk and David Sacks earlier this month "convened a dozen or so of America's most powerful business leaders for dinner," including Rupert Murdoch and Peter Thiel: "All were there as members of a burgeoning anti-Biden brain trust, united by a shared sense of grievance," Schleifer writes. (Puck)
Jesse Watters told a QAnon influencer at a book signing that he's a fan and follows him online, adding that he'd "be in touch." (MMFA)
Yes, he actually said it. Salem Media Group personality and Trump family friend Charlie Kirk said Jews "are experiencing the hate that we white people have been experiencing the last decade." (MMFA)
The New York Post inadvertently performed a self-own as it leveled a silly attack on The WaPo's Philip Bump: "The New York Post can't imagine a reporter who can, within *six hours*, pull information from public databases and get comment from different organizations. How did he work this magic?!?" (Mediaite)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Silas Stein/picture alliance/Getty Images

Instagram's Originality Filter: Instagram is making a major change to its all-important algorithm. The company said Tuesday that it will prioritize original content in user feeds, cracking down on aggregated posts. "When we find reposted content in recommendations, we will replace it with the original," Instagram boss Adam Mosseri said in an update posted to his account. "We'll also add a label to the repost linking back to the original, which will remain visible to the reposter's followers." Mosseri added that Instagram will also "remove aggregators from recommendations if they repeatedly share unoriginal content that they didn't enhance." The changes, Mosseri said, will roll out in the coming months. The Verge's Mia Sato has more here.

TOO MANY TABS

Meta's decision to foist A.I. on users across its platforms isn't just frustrating people — it's potentially making the company's problems, like spam and misinformation, worse, Ina Fried reports. (Axios)
Facebook's recommendation algorithm is promoting horrifying A.I.-generated images of dying, mutilated children, Jason Koebler reports. (404 Media)
Speaking of Meta, the company has hired former Elon Musk loyalist Esther Crawford, the executive who once boasted about sleeping on the X office's floor. (NY Post)
The TikTok Shop had over 500,000 U.S.-based sellers by the end of 2023, doubling the figure it posted just three months earlier, Alex Barinka reports. (Bloomberg)
The E.U. Commission president said a TikTok ban within the bloc is "not excluded." (POLITICO)
The former Google employees who were shown the door over their protest of Project Nimbus filed a complaint with the NLRB. (WaPo)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Universal Pictures

'The Fall Guy' Heads High: Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, two of the heroes of the box office last year, are readying to take the top spot at the box office this weekend. "The Fall Guy" is poised to earn more than $30 million when it opens Friday, Variety's Brent Lang reported, adding that some studio executives told Lang they believe it could rake in as much as $40 million. Those are not anything close to "Barbenheimer" numbers, but they would represent a solid showing. The question will be whether the word of mouth is strong enough for Universal Pictures to recuperate the $130 million budget. Lang has more.

OFF STAGE

The Rock's Amazon MGM Christmas crowd-pleaser "Red One" has "turned into a massive budgetary misadventure," Umberto Gonzalez reports. Per Gonzalez, Johnson was often tardy to the set and would not use a public restroom, choosing instead to urinate in a Voss water bottle. An Amazon MGM spokesperson denied on-set issues. (The Wrap)
Warner Bros. is in early talks to add Olivia Wilde and LuckyChap to its comic book movie "Avengelyne." (THR)
Daniel Radcliffe discussed with Chris Heath his wide-ranging career and how he escaped the specter of "Harry Potter." (The Atlantic)
Chris Hemsworth said he "got caught up in the improv and the wackiness, and I became a parody of myself" during "Thor: Love and Thunder." (Vanity Fair)
James Gunn addressed conspiracy theories about Henry Cavill's Superman. (Variety)
Tilda Swinton will star opposite Colin Farrell in Edward Berger's "The Ballad Of A Small Player" for Netflix. (Deadline)
Kendrick Lamar dropped a new song, "Euphoria," in response to Drake's diss tracks, escalating the rappers' beef. (Pitchfork)

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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