Wall Street’s Sportsbook, ESPN’s New Road Map, Ticketmaster’s Secret Court
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Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon digest of Puck’s best new reporting.
First up today, Eriq Gardner dissects the crafty legal tactics by which Taylor Swift was dragged into the scorched-earth legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, and assesses the odds that the world’s biggest pop star will be deposed. (Eriq also has a semi-related update on Live Nation and Ticketmaster, another Swift antagonist, which is facing a monumental class action…)
Plus, below the fold: Marion Maneker chats with Art Basel chief executive Noah Horowitz about adding Qatar to the fair's archipelago of destinations. Sarah Shapiro talks to Jen Rubio and Jessica Schinazi about their attempts to re-differentiate the $1.4 billion luggage brand Away. Peter Hamby and Dylan Byers chew over Wendy McMahon’s abrupt ouster from CBS News and the chatter surrounding the Biden health exposé Original Sin. And exclusively for Inner Circle members, Julia Alexander looks into how Jimmy Pitaro can make ESPN (the app) an essential daily product.
Meanwhile, on the pods: Matt Belloni is joined by Hot Ones host Sean Evans on The Town to discuss how he created one of the most popular celebrity talk shows in media. On The Varsity, John Ourand and Bill Cohan break down Wall Street’s view of the sports media landscape. And on The Powers That Be, Peter and Eriq dig deeper into the post-Eras Tour racketeering lawsuit against Live Nation.
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Eriq Gardner |
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News and notes on the cynical effort to pull Swift into the Blake Lively–Justin Baldoni legal vortex, and the pop star’s curious silence. Plus, how the Swift saga connects back to the government’s attempt to break up Live Nation—and whether there will finally be “karma” for Ticketmaster.
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Marion Maneker |
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Art Basel’s entrée into the Gulf, which will occur in February, takes advantage of the balmy climate, the walkable downtown, and, above all, the money sloshing around Qatar, a petrostate-cum-financial center.
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Sarah Shapiro |
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Steph and Jen’s direct-to-consumer luggage brand Away had competitors reaching for beta blockers when it first entered the space with built-in phone chargers and a unicorn valuation. Now, after surviving a travel-crushing pandemic, a new C.E.O. (yes, another one) is answering the call to re-differentiate the brand in a much more saturated market.
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Peter Hamby |
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A candid conversation on the Biden “cover-up” book that’s got everyone talking. Plus, the latest chatter surrounding the abrupt “resignation” of CBS News chief Wendy McMahon.
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Julia Alexander |
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ESPN hopes its new D.T.C. streaming service… err, app… will become the first stop for sports fans looking to watch a game, place a bet, play fantasy, and anything else sports-related. But it’s a lot harder than it looks—just ask Netflix.
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Matthew Belloni |
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Matt is joined by Sean Evans, host of Hot Ones, to discuss how he turned a niche internet interview show into one of the most popular celebrity talk shows in media. Sean discusses the business behind the show, how long it took to start making money, whether he views Hot Ones as a competitor to late night, and what the future holds for both him and the show. Matt closes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning.
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John Ourand |
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Bill Cohan drops by the pod to break down Wall Street’s view of the sports media landscape. Bill explains why he’s bullish on Warner Bros. Discovery, what investors want from sports rights, what’s really behind the Skydance-Paramount holdup, and much more.
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Peter Hamby |
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Eriq Gardner |
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Eriq Gardner joins Peter to unpack the Swifties’ intensifying racketeering lawsuit against Live Nation, along with two other serious cases the company is facing: a long-running civil suit from fans and an antitrust case from the Justice Department. Then Eriq explains how Taylor Swift got dragged into the legal drama between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, and whether this news could hurt Taylor’s reputation.
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