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Monday, January 30, 2023

You've survived January's final Monday. Big Tech braces for a big earnings week, CNN boss Chris Licht talks to The LAT, the Schlapps go missing from Fox News, TikTok and Twitter prepare for testimony on Capitol Hill, "The Last of Us" offers viewers what could ultimately be 2023's best hour of TV, and more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Shakeup at Showtime

CNN Photo Illustration/Andreas Rentz/MTV/Getty Images

Goodbye, Showtime. Hello, Paramount+ With Showtime.

The premium television network is getting its first name change in the channel's 47-year history, Paramount Global boss Bob Bakish announced to staffers Monday. The change, a nod to the company's continued evolution as it adapts to the rapidly changing media landscape, will take effect later this year and be across both linear and streaming.

It's the latest example of the furious arms race within the industry as companies swallow others and/or merge portfolios to grow their streaming platforms in hopes of battling others for subscriptions. Merging Showtime and Parmount+ on streaming will be a far more compelling offering to consumers versus trying to convince them to subscribe to each service separately.

"With Showtime's content integrated into our flagship streaming service ... Paramount+ will become the definitive multiplatform brand in the streaming space — and the first of its kind to integrate streaming and linear content in this way," Bakish wrote in his memo.

The integration efforts won't will almost certainly result in layoffs at the company as synergy efforts get underway — an unfortunate reality that Bakish alluded to in his memo.

"While we are confident this is the right move for our company, our consumers, and our partners, we know this change brings uncertainty for the teams working on these brands and businesses," Bakish said. "We are committed to being as transparent and thoughtful as possible throughout this process, and we expect to share additional details in the coming weeks."

The move also signals that customers can expect a far more tailored offering from Showtime. The network's boss, Chris McCarthy, told staffers that the channel "will divert investment away from areas which are underperforming and that account for less than 10% of our views."

Which is to say that Showtime will focus on its hits, such as "Yellowjackets," while no longer being as ambitious in experimenting with other material.

On Monday that was quite apparent. Showtime canceled "Let the Right One In" and "American Gigolo," while also choosing not to move forward with "Three Women."

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Big Tech's Big Week: Get ready for a week of pivotal earnings from the tech sector. Snap and Spotify are set to go first, reporting Tuesday. Then Meta will report its earnings Wednesday. And the week will be capped with Apple, Amazon and Alphabet all reporting Thursday. The series of earnings will offer new indications on how well — or perhaps poorly — the advertising market is fairing. As CNBC's Jonathan Vanian wrote, investors are "hoping for some signs of recovery this week." More from Vanian here.

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/Jai Lennard

CNN + Comedy: CNN boss Chris Licht is ready to inject some comedy into the veins of the news network. On Monday, the outlet announced that it will air Bill Maher's "Overtime" segments during "CNN Tonight" on Fridays at 11:30pm. And, in a Q&A with LAT's Stephen Battaglio, Licht said the network is "in conversations with culturally relevant individuals from the worlds of entertainment, sports and comedy who can bring fresh and unique perspectives to the news." But, Licht poured cold water on the notion he will do a topical comedy show in prime time. "No," he said. "I worked on a comedy show. And it took over 200 people to produce an actual comedy show. So no, I would not be so foolish as to, in one fell swoop, hurt the brand of comedy and news by trying to do a comedy show on CNN." Read more of the wide-ranging interview here.

Pickets at HuffPost?: The HuffPost Union on Monday warned that its members are prepared to go on strike if an agreement can't be reached with management by Tuesday at midnight. The union's strike pledge said that there are "many unresolved issues" to come to terms on. But a BuzzFeed spokesperson told me that they are optimistic about getting a deal done. Deadline's David Robb has details here.

IN THE INDUSTRY

HarperCollins plans to cut 5% of its North American workforce, according to a memo from CEO Brian Murray. (Publishers Weekly)
The Recount has been acquired by The News Movement, which Ben Smith described in his story as a video-based news organization started by former BBC and News Corp. executives. (Semafor)
Yasmin Vossoughian reveals why she has been off the air recently, telling viewers that a common cold led to her developing Myocarditis. (MSNBC)
Former WaPo exec editor Leonard Downie Jr. agues that newsrooms should "strive not just for accuracy based on verifiable facts, but also for truth." (WaPo)
For a piece that published over the weekend, I spoke to Margaret Sullivan and Bill Grueskin about the dilemma news organizations faced when deciding how to show the videotaped beating of Tyre Nichols. (CNN)
Jon Allsop noted that some observers "were critical of how major outlets handled the immediate run-up to the release of the footage." (CJR)
Corbin Bolies chronicles Insider's D.C. troubles, reporting that "nearly all of the original Washington, D.C. bureau team is gone." (Daily Beast)
The BBC faces an impartiality risk because its journalists have a "lack of understanding of basic economics," a review of the outlet's economic coverage has concluded. (Telegraph)
CBS News is partnering with BET for a new original prime time series focused on stories that matter to Black America. (Variety)
Fox and Hulu have secured a new deal that allows the streamer to continue to carry the network's prime time shows. (Deadline)
The WGA West is lacing into Warner Bros. Discovery (reminder, CNN's parent) ahead of a possible writers strike. (Deadline)

MEDIA MOVES

Bina Venkataraman is leaving the Boston Globe to become a columnist at The WaPo. (Twitter)
Meg Dalton has been tapped by WNPR as deputy director of storytelling. (Twitter)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Nelson Almeida/AFP/Getty Images

Schlapps Silenced: It's not just you. Matt Schlapp and his wife Mercedes have been MIA from Fox News since he was accused of sexual assault. Mediaite's Aidan McLaughlin observed that the husband-and-wife duo "have been off the air" at Fox, where they are frequent guests, since the accusation earlier this month against the influential CPAC organizer and American Conservative Union chair. McLaughlin also noted that the right-wing talk channel has yet to cover the allegation. A spokesperson for Fox News did not comment when asked about the duo's absence.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Matt Gertz argues that the Paul Pelosi attack video "shows the right's conspiracy theory machine is out of control." (MMFA)
Parker Malloy: The "Sean Hannity types in the world" are smart enough to know such conspiracy theories don't hold water, "but they also know that there's really no downside to stoking conspiracy theories." (Present Age)
Philip Bump's take: "There's actually only one conspiracy theory: Democrats are evil." (WaPo)
Trump filed a lawsuit against Bob Woodward for releasing the audio recordings of interviews that he gave for the book "Rage." (Bloomberg)
Bill Gates says the mainstream media "did more to spread" conspiracy theories about him and vaccines because reporters constantly raise the issue. (Mediaite)
Former National Enquirer boss David Pecker is set to meet with Manhattan prosecutors, Kara Scannell reports. (CNN)
Jeff Gerth examines the American media's coverage of Trump and Russia, and what it means as the country enters a new political cycle. (CJR)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Bryan van der Beek/Bloomberg/Getty Images

TikTok's Time: It's a journey all Big Tech executives must undergo, and now it's finally TikTok's turn. The short-form video giant's chief executive, Shou Zi, is expected to testify before Congress in March, The WSJ's John McKinnon scooped Monday. The hearing will come at a crucial moment for TikTok, as the company faces various bans across the country and negotiates a plan with the federal government to remain operational in the U.S. CNN's Brian Fung has details here.

TOO MANY TABS

Speaking of Capitol Hill hearings: Former Twitter executives Vijaya Gadde, James Baker, and Yoel Roth are expected to testify before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee next week. Expect the "Twitter Files" to saturate the hearing. (WaPo)
Elon Musk's Twitter has made its first interest payment on its $12.5 billion in debt. (Bloomberg)
Mark Zuckerberg is being profiled by Sky. (Deadline)
Meta is killing the experimental social app Move. (TechCrunch)
Instagram's AIM-like away message feature is expanding to Europe and Japan. (The Verge)
Spotify has launched a "women of Iran" playlist. (Variety)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/HBO Max

A Lasting Impression: It's been about 24 hours, but it's hard to not still be thinking about the astonishingly brilliant third episode of HBO's "The Last of Us." I will avoid spoilers here, but suffice to say that I agree with CNN's Brian Lowry who wrote that the series "just made an early claim to one of the best TV episodes of 2023." Over at Rolling Stone, Alan Sepinwall argued that the "achingly beautiful gay love story" at the center of the episode illustrates the series is "about humans first, and gory creatures a very, very distant second." And Esquire's Henry Wong wrote,"There are plenty of reasons why the sequence felt fresh, not least because this series has so far played out like a very familiar adventure quest. But the most obvious is that LGBT representation in videogames, and by extension their adaptations, has not been historically rich."

► Series co-creators Craig Main and Nick Druckmann spoke to LAT's Tracy Brown about the episode.

► The episode sent Linda Ronstadt's "Long, Long Time" surging on the streaming charts.

'Avatar' Keeps Swimming: It's official: James Cameron now owns three of the top four all-time highest grossing movies at the worldwide box office. "Avatar: The Way of Water" has now passed "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," joining "Titanic" and the original "Avatar" in the top 4. Approximately 70% of the film's total gross has come from outside the U.S., which is why perhaps it hasn't generated as much buzz as a movie like "Top Gun: Maverick," which relied on domestic sales for 48% of its overall haul.

► Vox's Alex Abad-Santos writes about how "Avatar" can clear $2 billion and still "feel irrelevant."

OFF STAGE

"Laverne & Shirley" star Cindy Williams dies at 75. (CNN)
Alec Baldwin and "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed will be charged Wednesday over fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins. (Deadline)
Marilyn Manson is facing another lawsuit for sexual assault. (THR)
Apple Music is starting to capitalize on the upcoming Super Bowl, announcing a "Rihanna's Road to Halftime" promotion. (Billboard)
Netflix has dropped the trailer for "Murder Mystery 2." (YouTube)
The live-action adaption of "One Piece" will premiere on Netflix this year. (Variety)

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Jon Passantino. Have feedback? Send us an email here. We will see you back in your inbox this time tomorrow.