Happy Friday, and welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon clipbook of Puck’s best new reporting.

First up today, Matt Belloni has the inside story of how Sony Pictures, the studio that spent more than $100 million to produce the megahit KPop Demon Hunters, ended up ceding all the upside to Netflix on what looks likely to become a billion-dollar franchise. Despite all of Sony’s talk of “winning” the streaming wars by staying out of them, this might be the deal that proves how costly that strategy can be…

Plus, below the fold: Julia Ioffe gets the readout from intelligence sources on the potential ripple effects of the Trump-Putin summit. Lauren Sherman weighs in on the Jenna Lyons–Banana Republic rumor mill exclusively for Inner Circle members. Ian Krietzberg and Character.AI C.E.O. Karandeep Anand discuss the company’s post-scandal pivot from artificial companionship to entertainment. And John Ourand reveals how CBS Sports president David Berson is getting ready to spend his Ellisonbucks.

Meanwhile, on the pods: Dylan Byers and Julia Alexander link up on The Grill Room to dissect how legacy media companies can capitalize on the creator economy. On Fashion People, Lauren and Marie-Louise Scio, the C.E.O. of Pellicano Hotels Group, reflect on the hospitality industry’s evolution. And on The Powers That Be, Peter Hamby connects with Lauren to assess the new media forces shaping pop culture.

Sony Pictures really needed a big box office hit this summer. Instead, the studio sold the sensation of the season to Netflix and will earn only a tiny fraction of what will likely become a billion-dollar franchise for the streamer. How did that happen?

Putin is swaggering into his meeting with Trump, brimming with arrogance as state propaganda hammers the idea that Russia is on the cusp of victory. As one person close to Putin told me, however, there’s a case for cautious optimism that the summit in Alaska could be the beginning of the war’s end.

Those Jenna Lyons-to-Banana rumors are specious, but they were a byproduct of Gap Inc. C.E.O. Richard Dickson’s urgency to continue his turnaround and pour new life into old brands—including some that arguably don’t need to exist.

A year after Character.AI was sued over the suicide of a teen who allegedly became obsessed with its chatbot, the company’s new C.E.O., Karandeep Anand, opens up about the company’s evolving business model, its $2.7 billion Google deal, and pivoting from companionship to entertainment.

After a quiet decade of bidding activity—passing on the NBA, NHL, NASCAR, etcetera—CBS Sports president David Berson is ready to spend his Ellisonbucks. UFC was just the opening statement.

Julia Alexander swings by the pod to dig into the recent slew of licensing deals, à la ESPN-McAfee and Fox-Portnoy, which allow creators to maintain their independence while benefiting from additional exposure and revenue. This leads to a broader conversation about the challenges and opportunities for legacy media companies in adapting to the creator economy writ large.

Lauren’s guest is Marie-Louise Scio, C.E.O. of Italy’s Pellicano Hotels Group, which includes Hotel Il Pellicano, La Posta Vecchia Hotel, and the Mezzatorre Hotel & Thermal Spa. They discuss the rise of the Instagram holiday, getting resort retail right, and how Marie-Louise used her fashion-industry connections and design background to change the way hospitality works all over the world.

Lauren Sherman joins Peter to assess how much magazine covers actually move the cultural needle in today’s digital-first media landscape. While big stars are still lining up for attention-grabbing shoots, Lauren suggests these expensive productions now mostly serve industry insiders, celebrity egos, and social media feeds. Peter and Lauren also explore the shrinking footprint of legacy magazines and the growing dominance of digital platforms in shaping pop culture.

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