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Ari Emanuel's Endeavor announces it will go private, The White House lauds The Daily Caller for retracting an Easter story, musicians sign an open letter warning about the impact A.I. will have on the industry, President Joe Biden talks TikTok with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Jon Stewart rips into Apple, and so much more. But first, the A1. |
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The Battle for Tomorrowland |
CNN Photo Illustration/Reuters |
The battle for the future of Disney is about to reach its epic conclusion.
After waging a relentless months-long proxy war on the Magic Kingdom's current leadership, Nelson Peltz and his Trian Fund Management will learn on Wednesday whether they have succeeded in making chief executive Bob Iger and the Disney board bleed.
If Peltz emerges successful and secures a board seat for himself and Jay Rasulo, a Disney veteran who previously served as the company's chief financial officer, it will deal a seismic blow to Iger and the agenda he has outlined to steer the entertainment conglomerate into the future. With only two seats, Peltz and Rasulo would not have the raw power to outvote the Iger-supporting board, but they could certainly serve as a check on leadership, able to make significant noise and create headaches if they disagree with the strategic vision of the company.
But if Peltz falls short, Iger and the Disney board will have dodged a dangerous mouse trap and walk away from the brutal brawl with a vote of confidence from investors, having managed to defeat a prominent billionaire corporate raider who poured immense resources into an attempt to force a change in direction.
Which is all to say, the stakes are awfully high for Disney.
Disney's stock price has surged nearly 50% over the last six months, but the company's rising value has not deterred Peltz, who has loudly complained about several issues. The 81-year-old has raised concerns Iger could stay on longer than 2026 when his current contract is scheduled to end, voiced displeasure over what he has described as Disney's "woke" film strategy, and said he wants to see the company achieve "Netflix-like margins" (who doesn't?), among other things.
But criticizing the work of others is often easier than outlining clear proposals of your own. And given that Iger has already identified some of the same problems with the company as Peltz, it continues to remain unclear precisely what the billionaire would do differently, other than work to ensure the company properly plans for Iger's succession after botching it with Bob Chapek the last time around.
"I don't think [Peltz has] offered a turnaround plan that would be something that would get people saying, yeah, we need to get Peltz in there and change things," Barton Crockett, senior research analyst at Rosenblatt Securities, told CNN's Hadas Gold and Samantha Delouya.
To help persuade investors that Disney is on the right track, current leadership has recruited a number of industry heavyweights to publicly voice support for their current playbook, including: "Star Wars" creator George Lucas, billionaire philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs; JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon; and the grandchildren of Walt and Roy Disney, including Abigail Disney, who has been quite critical of leadership in the past.
But Peltz is not without some powerful allies of his own. Former Marvel Entertainment chief Ike Perlmutter is in his corner, along with the powerful advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services and the pension fund CalPERS.
The fight has not been cheap. Disney and Trian have spent more than $60 million trying to convince investors to vote for their side, a particularly challenging issue at a company where "mom and pop" investors control roughly 35% of shares. And on Wednesday afternoon, at 1pm ET, the results of the vote will be disclosed at the company's annual shareholder meeting.
That said, it's unlikely this hard-fought battle will end the raging war. Even if Iger and the board emerge victorious on Wednesday, Peltz and other restless investors have not been forever slayed, especially if the margin of the board vote is slimmer than Disney may prefer. The forces that have tormented Iger will be banished to the shadows, exiled outside of the Magic Kingdom for now. But they'll still be lurking in the distance — and if Disney's stock price were to fall, they'll likely be ready to spring back into action.
"The fact that it has gotten this much traction tells you that there is a lot of dissatisfaction," a former Disney executive, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, told me Tuesday. "And even if Iger wins, it's not over." And for Iger, the ugly fight has punctured the notion that he is an unerring and untouchable King of Hollywood. While his actions rarely faced serious scrutiny, that is no longer the case. As one industry insider noted to me, "Iger has lost the aura of invincibility and infallibility." "Humility is not a word that comes to mind with Iger at this stage of his career. But this has been a humbling and humiliating experience for him and the board," the person said. "And one wonders after triumphing over Peltz whether they will learn any lessons from their mistakes or whether they will simply dismiss all of this — as they have before — as a nuisance and distraction." |
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- The latest reporting: Bob Iger and the Disney board "are poised to triumph over Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management" with the backing of Vanguard, Crystal Tse and Thomas Buckley report, citing sources. (Bloomberg)
- Meg James looks at how the "fight for Disney's future became a referendum" on Iger. (LAT)
- "The showdown between Disney CEO Bob Iger and an activist investor group culminating at Wednesday's annual meeting won't be the first time the entertainment giant has stared down a shareholder revolt," Lucas Manfredi and Drew Taylor write. "In fact, the last time this happened, Iger emerged the big winner." (The Wrap)
- The fight between Disney and Peltz "touches on some of the most complex issues confronting executives today, whether it is CEO succession or the role of corporations in confronting so-called 'woke' social issues," Rohan Goswami points out. (CNBC)
- Speaking of succession: Alex Sherman explains how Dana Walden "could defy critics and become Disney's first female CEO." (CNBC)
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CNN Photo Illustration/Amy Sussman/Getty Images |
Endeavor's Public Exit: Three years after going public, Endeavor said Tuesday that it will once again become a private company, with private-equity firm and majority shareholder Silver Lake buying the remaining stock in the Ari Emanuel-led company. The deal, which values Endeavor at $13 billion, will see Silver Lake pay $27.50 per share, a 55% premium above its market price on October 25, when it announced it was exploring strategic options. The move caps a rocky run on The Street for the company, where share prices failed to take off, ultimately landing on Tuesday about where they were at the close of trading on IPO day. 🔎 Zooming in: "The hope now is that by delisting, Endeavor can continue to make ambitious investments without being second-guessed by public-market shareholders," The NYT's Michael J. de la Merced explained. In a comment, Emanuel said, "We believe this transaction will maximize value for all of Endeavor's public stockholders and are excited to continue to unlock and invest in the growth opportunities ahead as a private company." | |
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- "Shari Redstone is getting one step closer to selling her media empire," Lauren Hirsch and Benjamin Mullin report. "Paramount ... has been discussing entering into exclusive talks with the media company Skydance for a potential deal." (NYT)
- "Members of the American Federation of Musicians voted to ratify the union's agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers," Caitlin Huston reports. (THR)
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- Q1 cable news ratings are out. In primetime, CNN averaged 594,000 total viewers and 121,000 in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 demo; MSNBC averaged 1.25 million total viewers and 121,000 in the demo. Meanwhile, the right-wing talk network Fox News towered above both, averaging 2.07 million total viewers and 233,000 in the demo in primetime. (Deadline)
- Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 National Magazine Awards! The Atlantic won four awards, The New York Times Magazine took home three, and New York magazine claimed two. The American Society of Magazine Editors specifically heralded Tim Alberta's devastating profile of former CNN chief Chris Licht as "among the most notable stories" to win this year. (ASME)
How is this ethical? Hedge fund Hunterbrook Capital has raised $100 million to launch a media company, Hunterbrook Media, and will make investments based on forthcoming stories it publishes. Ahead of Hunterbrook Media's debut story Tuesday, which was critical of United Wholesale Mortgage, the hedge fund shorted its position in the mortgage company. After the story published, UWM's stock fell more than 8%. Kate Duguid and Joshua Franklin have more here. ( FT) - 📚 Jesse Watters' "Get It Together" debuted atop The NYT Bestseller list; Margot Robbie and Andrew Mukamal's "Barbie" debuted in the No. 3 slot; and Peter Schweizer's "Blood Money" and Kara Swisher's "Burn Book" both remained on the list for the fourth consecutive week. (NYT)
- Nominees for the 28th Annual Webby Awards have been announced. (Webby Awards)
- Slate announced it will start publishing a daily crossword puzzle as news outlets continue to lean into engaging audiences with games. (Slate)
- CNN's Sunlen Serfaty spoke to Vanessa Etienne about her preventive double mastectomy and ovary removal after learning she was at risk for cancer: "Knowledge is power." (PEOPLE)
- The NYT Magazine announced that after 39 years, 37 of which were spent as director of photography, Kathy Ryan will retire. (NYT)
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- Miramax named Jonathan Glickman chief executive. (The Wrap)
- The WaPo named Annah Aschbrenner senior deputy campaign editor. (WaPo)
- The NYT named Seth Kelley as a senior producer and Priya Mathew as a senior booker. (NYT)
- Bloomberg News hired Dana Wollman as a technology editor. (TBN)
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CNN Photo Illustration/Kent Nishimura/Getty Images |
Egg on Their Face: You don't see this every day. The White House on Tuesday thanked The Daily Caller after the conservative outlet retracted a story that strongly suggested the Biden administration had placed a new ban on religious symbols on Easter eggs submitted for the annual art contest. In fact, such a ban had existed for decades. "It's important to acknowledge when a mistake has been made and take responsibility for it. So I want to recognize The Daily Caller for having the integrity to retract their story about the false claims that circulated this week about the Easter Egg Roll," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday. In its retraction, The Daily Caller acknowledged that the fact the ban had existed for some time "undercut the central assertion" of the article "and its newsworthiness." It added that it regretted the error and is "taking the necessary steps to ensure similar mistakes can be avoided in the future." As the White House said, kudos to them for owning the error and working to correct it! ► Unfortunately, not every outlet in right-wing media had the inclination to do the right thing. Notably, Fox News, which also published a misleading story on the matter under the headline "Religious-themed designs banned from White House Easter egg art contest" unaltered. A spokesperson for the outlet defended its story when I asked for comment Tuesday. "We stand by our reporting as it accurately quotes the '2024 Call for Youth Art' flyer which states Easter egg design submissions 'must not include any questionable content, religious symbols, overtly religious themes,'" the spokesperson said. "The story also includes on the record comments from American Egg Board President & CEO Emily Metz who explains that these longstanding guidelines are due to USDA rules." |
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- Ben Shapiro spoke to Megyn Kelly about The Daily Wire severing ties with Candace Owens, defending his company against critics who say the move showed he doesn't actually favor unfettered free speech: "As far as the free speech of it, as I've said before, The Daily Wire is a publisher, not a platform." (Daily Beast)
- Scotland authorities said J.K. Rowling's transphobic X post that sought to challenge the country's new hate crime law isn't being considered a criminal matter and that no action will be taken. (BBC)
- The Great Replacement Theory is everywhere in right-wing media nowadays. The latest example is courtesy of Ari Fleischer, who claimed Democrats have an "end game" to "let people come in illegally, get them work papers, which leads to green cards, which leads to voting." (MMFA)
- Fox Nation said James Patterson is launching a true-crime series on the streamer as it continues to beef up its catalog. (AP)
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CNN Photo Illustration/Amy Sussman/Kevin Winter/Monica Schipper/Getty Images |
Musicians vs. Machines: The world's most famous musicians are banding together to sound the alarm about the threat A.I. poses to their industry. More than 200 artists — including Billie Eilish, Kacey Musgraves, J Balvin, Ja Rule, Jon Bon Jovi, The Jonas Brothers, Katy Perry, Miranda Lambert, and others — signed an open letter on Tuesday spearheaded by Artist Rights Alliance that demanded companies "cease the use of artificial intelligence to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists." The letter added that "some platforms and developers are employing AI to sabotage creativity and undermine artists, songwriters, musicians and rightsholders" and that the industry must "protect against the predatory use of AI to steal professional artists' voices and likenesses, violate creators' rights, and destroy the music ecosystem." CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister has all the details. |
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- "TikTok came up today, yes": President Joe Biden reiterated concerns to Chinese leader Xi Jinping about TikTok, discussing the U.S.' "interest in divestiture," the White House said. (Bloomberg)
- Biden is now using Threads to post in the fediverse. (The Verge)
- Casey Newton checks in on Threads, nine months after it launched: "The first thing to say is that Threads really has beaten expectations. While some cynics declared it dead upon arrival, Threads now has more than 130 monthly users." (Platformer)
- Elon Musk's X is appointing two key staffers who will oversee safety across the platform as the company seeks to mend bridges with the advertising industry. Kylie McRoberts will become head of safety and Yale Cohen head of brand safety and advertiser solutions. (NBC News)
- Meta once again denied that it ever let Netflix read user DMs — a claim Musk keeps promoting. (TechCrunch)
- Reddit share continue to sea-saw. After dropping below its IPO debut price, the platform jumped nearly 10% to end Tuesday at $50.45.
- Yahoo is purchasing Artifact, the A.I. news app from Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom, Instagram's co-founders. (The Verge)
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CNN Photo Illustration/The Daily Show |
Stewart Bites the Apple: This certainly is not a good look for Apple. Jon Stewart on his Monday show alleged that the Tim Cook-led technology titan effectively moved to censor his Apple TV+ program, explaining that the company "wouldn't let" him air a segment critical of A.I. and dissuaded him from interviewing Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan. "They literally said, 'Please don't talk to her,'" Stewart said. "The Problem with Jon Stewart," which ran for two seasons on Apple TV+, came to an abrupt end last year after the comedian told staffers that Apple had expressed concerns about show topics he had planned, including China, Israel, and A.I. I reached out to an Apple spokesperson for comment, but did not hear back. CNN's Jordan Valinsky has more here. |
First in Reliable | CBS at CMT: The CMT Music Awards, set to take place on Sunday from 8-11pm ET, will feature several prominent personalities from CBS, which will once again broadcast the annual award show. Billy Bob Thornton, Emily Osment, Gayle King, Max Thieriot, and Montana Jordan will be among the presenters at this year's show, I'm told. The full list of presenters will drop on Wednesday. The CMT Awards will also feature performances from a number of artists, including Bailey Zimmerman, Cody Johnson, Jelly Roll, and Keith Urban. |
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- 🏀 The Iowa-LSU game averaged 12.3 million viewers, shattering the ratings record for the most-watched women's college basketball game, ESPN said. (The Athletic)
- A former employee of Yeezy and Donda Academy accused Kanye West in a lawsuit of wanting to install a jail at the school to "cage" students, among other things. West has not yet commented. (Rolling Stone)
- Three of the dancers suing Lizzo for alleged harassment, discrimination, and workplace violations called their former employer's decision to "quit" either social media or the industry "a joke," saying Lizzo "is desperately trying to play the victim." (The Wrap)
- Taylor Swift has officially joined the ranks of Forbes Magazine's list of the richest people in the world — reaching the three-comma club. (Forbes)
- The dueling official trailers for Max's "House of the Dragon" brought in over 80 million views in the first 72 hours. (Adweek)
- "Suits" stars Patrick J. Adams and Sarah Rafferty will host a rewatch podcast series about their former series for SiriusXM. (Deadline)
- "Grey's Anatomy" will soon be able to legally drink. ABC has renewed the hospital drama for a 21st season! (Deadline)
- ABC also renewed "9-1-1" for an eighth season. (The Wrap)
- I agree! Zoe Saldaña declared "it would be a huge loss for Marvel if they didn't find a way to bring back the 'Guardians of the Galaxy.'" (Variety)
- Brad Raffensperger, Georgia's secretary of state, jokingly said he can't pardon Larry David for breaking the state's voting law. (The Wrap)
- HBO gave the green light to a new comedy pilot from Tim Robinson, titled "The Chair Company." (Deadline)
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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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