The Intersect (Newsletter)

All - I will be leaving the Union-Tribune this week. Thank you to everyone at the U-T. It has been a special experience for me and I hope for others as For 13 years, my idea of the company was that we could all work together, shoulder to shoulder, directed only by our shared love of our work, our belief in one another and our ability to lear together. The Union-Tribune is a special place.

The world’s largest streaming service added better-than-expected paid customers during the past three months, much of that from efforts to clamp down on password sharers and convert them to an advertising-based plan. But its business strategy still led to some mixed revenue results — missing Wall Street projections. The company reported earnings of $3.29 a share, a bit better than most Wall Street analysts expected. But, revenue was light — coming in at $8.2 billion vs.

The people, who are inside both publishers’ inner circles and asked not to be identified for fear of retribution, said the owners have held talks about a deal where The Times is folded into Penske’s PMC Media empire that includes Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, and Variety. It would allow Soon-Shiong, who last week unloaded ownership of The San Diego Union-Tribune to vulture-capital firm Alden Capital, a way out of a legacy news organization bleeding money.

Paramount, the entertainment conglomerate behind television stalwart CBS and a movie machine that banked big money on flicks like Top Gun, may be looking to unload all or part of the company in what would be a blockbuster deal, according toCharlie Gasparino of Fox Business, who has close sources within New York’s biggest financial players. Any acquisition interest in the studio would months after Chief Executive Officer Bob Bakish hinted last March that he would entertain deal talks.

Tinseltown moguls like Disney’s Bob Igercounter that studio talent isn’t being '“realistic” about their demands as the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA join the picket lines together for the first time since 1960. The entire industry is financially reeling since COVID lockdowns exacerbated streaming’s disruption of how the world views movies and television.

Initially, Iger had expressed his intention to step down by 2024, as he mentioned in a recent CNBC interview. However, he returned to the company in November, reclaiming his position from Bob Chapek, who had been appointed CEO in early 2020. During his extended tenure, Iger aimed to groom a successor to take over as CEO. This extension isn't the first time Iger has prolonged his role.

The clock is ticking. Hollywood actors are set to strike against major studios at midnight Wednesday, posing a potential catastrophic blow to an already beleaguered entertainment industry grappling with writers on picket lines. There’s still a last gasp of hope as SAG-AFTRA and studio moguls agreed to bring in a federal mediator to assist in resolving their intense contract dispute. However, doubts about the possibility of avoiding a strike linger as the union expresses concerns a deal can be made.

Patrick Soon-Shiong, L.A.’s richest man who owns stakes in the Lakers basketball team and various meteoric medical companies, sold newspaper San Diego Union-Tribune to rival publisher MediaNews Group for an undisclosed price. New owner Alden Capital, the private-equity firm known for buying cheap and gutting companies to squeeze profit, now has a stranglehold on Southern California news with control of The Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, and others.

Fox News chief Suzanne Scott, under pressure to keep the conservative-leaning channel’s primetime shows as a ratings winner after the firing of Tucker Carlson, unveiled a new lineup that positions Jesse Watters in the pole position. Watters inherits the 8 p.m. slot once lorded.by Carlson and Bill O’Reilly.

Zaslav, of course, is not a chief executive afraid of making big decisions. He pulled the plug on CNN’s streaming service last April, just weeks after Discovery closed its $43 billion acquisition of WarnerMedia from AT&T. Then a series of misfortunate internal events followed: Don Lemon’s botched reassignment, media powerhouse Brian Stelter’s ouster, and now CNN boss Chris Licht’s sacking on Wednesday. The Zazification of CNN has wreaked havoc on what was once Ted Turner’s prized jewel.