Good morning. Here's the latest on Bruce Springsteen, Elon Musk, Live Nation, Radio Free Europe, Chuck Todd, Jennifer Lopez, "Fortnite," and much more... |
Today is an epic — pardon the pun — day for Comcast and the wider media business.
Comcast's NBCUniversal is holding a grand opening extravaganza for Epic Universe, the first major theme park to open in the US in 20+ years.
Universal says Epic is the "most technologically advanced theme park" ever. It cost an estimated $7+ billion and took more than six years to build, so this is a whole-of-company launch; all four hours of NBC's "Today" show are live from Epic Universe this morning to show off the park to viewers, and all of Comcast's top execs are in Orlando for tonight's opening ceremony. Fans are expected to camp out overnight ahead of Thursday's official opening day.
This moment is about more than a single company's awesome new roller coasters. It's about media giants meeting the growing demand for live experiences. As Comcast president Mike Cavanagh told analysts last month, the theme park biz is unique because it "is, within media, not at all exposed to the shift in time on screens from one venue to another." Parks are the opposite of screen time.
Universal's parks promote NBCU's intellectual property, of course — Epic has a "How to Train Your Dragon" world — but feature partner IP, too, like The Wizarding World of Harry Potter from Warner Bros. (CNN's parent) and my family's current favorite, Super Nintendo World.
"Live experiences, parks experiences have been thrilling to people," Cavanagh said, "and we think we lean into that and continue to do so."
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CNN's Natasha Chen checked out the new park during a media preview last month. What stood out: "Universal's use of the most advanced technology available coupled with intentional design to build a sense that the visitor is truly in a fantastical space with no glimpse of the outside world."
Universal execs highlight trackless ride systems, augmented reality, and high-resolution projections within the rides and around the park's worlds. (They say Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry is the company's most impressive attraction to date.)
There's been lots of chatter about how Comcast's expansion in Orlando will impact Disney, but as Disney's CFO Hugh Johnston has said, "the history of other non-Disney parks opening in Florida has been positive for Disney bookings."
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Theme parks as media rivalries |
Both Universal and Disney "have honed in on theme parks as a profit-generating part of their business that is less volatile than the ever-changing media, television and film markets," the LAT's Samantha Masunaga reports about "theme park rivalry."
My daughter Sunny turns 8 today, so yes, I have already been saving up $$ for another trip to Orlando to visit Disney and Universal.
But both companies have to pay very close attention to economic headwinds. "Industry executives and analysts have begun to fear that the trade and culture wars sparked by the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House could hit demand among visitors to Florida this year," the FT's Daniel Thomas and Eri Sugiura wrote earlier this month. "One executive expressed concern that the White House’s actions could deter overseas visitors, as well as risk an economic slowdown that could sap appetite among domestic visitors for daily tickets that will be priced at more than $100." Read on...
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Colbert 'trolls corporate bosses' |
☝️ That's the headline over at HuffPost, accurately summing up Stephen Colbert's monologue last night. He pointed out that President Trump keeps pressuring ABC, even after Disney settled for $16 million last December, then described the current controversy involving Trump, CBS and a possible settlement by Paramount.
"Ladies and gentlemen I am a proud company man," Colbert said. "I love who I work for, and I will stand up against these scurrilous accusations that Paramount is engaged in corporate and political malfeasance... For the low price of $50 million."
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Live Nation links up with Trump ally |
The entertainment giant Live Nation, locked in an antitrust battle with DOJ officials who want to break up the company, is adding one of Trump's closest advisors to its board of directors. Richard Grenell, who is both Trump's presidential envoy for special missions and the newly installed president of the Kennedy Center, was named to the board last night.
Antitrust advocates immediately connected his appointment to Live Nation's legal woes. Here's my full story for CNN.com...
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'No retreat, baby, no surrender' |
Andrew Kirell writes: Bruce Springsteen has no surrender. For the first two nights of his Europe 2025 tour, Bruce delivered scripted remarks railing against a “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous” Trump administration. And after both shows, he was the subject of Trump’s fury on social media. Following the first night, Trump called the Boss a “dried out prune” and demanded he “KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT.” After the second show, the president threatened a “major investigation” into Springsteen (and Beyoncé and Oprah Winfrey and Bono).
Last night in Manchester, England, Springsteen went for round three. He did not mention Trump's tirade; instead, he repeated the speeches verbatim and sent a clear message by switching up the night's opening song. This time it was "No Surrender."
>> This morning, Springsteen dug in even further, surprise-releasing a six-song live EP recorded the first night of the tour, including most of his anti-Trump speeches.
>> Neil Young jumped into the fray on Tuesday to call out Trump's threats against Springsteen and other musicians. "I am not scared of you. Neither are the rest of us," Young wrote on his website. "STOP THINKING ABOUT WHAT ROCKERS ARE SAYING. Think about saving America from the mess you made."
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Elon faces the media again |
Hadas Gold writes: Now that Elon Musk has stepped back from DC and into his businesses, he sat down for a few on-camera interviews on Tuesday. He didn’t seem too thrilled.
His first chat was with Bloomberg’s Mishal Husain as part of the Qatar Economic Forum. Musk made some news by revealing that he'll spend "a lot less” on politics in the future. Musk appeared more and more rankled as Husain pushed him on issues like his Tesla pay, his conflicts of interest and DOGE's lofty goals. At one point, he likened Husain to an "NPC," and when she asked about South Africa pushing through Starlink approvals to cozy up to Trump, Musk shifted to ask Husain why South Africa has "racist laws," repeatedly asking her, "Why do you like racist laws?"
Musk’s second interview, with CNBC’s David Faber, was less combative — though the mogul didn't appreciate some gentle prodding. When Faber brought up Business Insider’s reporting on self-driving Tesla vehicles, Musk was dismissive, replying, "Business Insider is not a real publication." And when Faber questioned DOGE’s cost-saving math, Musk grew irritated: "Why are you attacking this, given that we've made so much progress?"
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Lifeline for Radio Free Europe |
"The European Union has agreed to provide emergency funds to help keep Radio Free Europe afloat after the Trump administration stopped grants to the pro-democracy media outlet," Gavin Blackburn reports for Euronews.
RFE/RL recently, very belatedly, received its April funding from the Trump admin, but it continues to sue for the remainder of its allotted $$$, so the EU's emergency support is a big boost.
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>> "Over 80 editors from leading European news outlets signed a petition calling for the scrapping of legislation in Hungary that aims to restrict foreign-funded media and rights groups, a step critics say is meant to stifle criticism of the government," Anita Komuves reports. (Reuters)
>> Will Sommer writes that MAGA media star-turned-deputy FBI director Dan Bongino is "now being treated as a 'deep state traitor' for telling [MAGA fans] that the wild theories he used to preach and they still collectively believe in aren't true. It's a plight facing the broader administration, and really, the whole country." (The Bulwark)
>> Chuck Todd "is launching a new app-based show." Instead of hosting Sunday mornings on NBC, he'll host Sunday nights on Noosphere, a startup journalist-creator platform. (Bloomberg)
>> "With the expected continued slide of Warner Bros. Discovery's linear TV business, S&P Global Ratings has cut the media company’s credit rating to junk status." (Variety)
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AI hallucinates book titles |
Liam Reilly writes: Bluesky users noticed something curious yesterday in the print editions of the Chicago Sun-Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer: Their 2025 summer reading lists included real authors, but most of the titles were fake. The writer who produced the insert told 404 Media's Jason Koebler that the piece was partially produced using AI. It was supplied by an outside content partner, and a Sun-Times rep said no one at the paper had reviewed the section in advance.
>> In a statement, the Sun-Times said "this should be a learning moment for all of journalism" — that "our work is valued because of the relationship our very real, human reporters and editors have with our audiences."
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At its developer conference yesterday, Google announced that "it is rolling AI Mode out to all Google users in the US, as well as adding several new features to the platform," David Pierce reports over at The Verge. His headline: "AI Mode is obviously the future of Google Search."
>> Geoffrey Fowler says that while the AI-powered search tools "might help us find stuff we couldn’t before," accuracy remains "very much an issue and may not be solved anytime soon." (WaPo)
>> Google also demonstrated new smart glasses and announced a $250-a-month subscription for AI power users. (Reuters)
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>> In a major win for Epic Games, "Fortnite" is available again on Apple's app store in the US. (Reuters)
>> "Apple is preparing to allow third-party developers to write software using its artificial intelligence models, aiming to spur the creation of new applications and make its devices more enticing," Mark Gurman reports. (Bloomberg)
>> "Almost half of young people would rather live in a world where the internet does not exist," a British Standards Institution survey found. (The Guardian)
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Entertainment odds and ends |
>> On the streaming services that offer both ad-supported and ad-free options, ad-supported tiers now make up 46% of all subscriptions, according to Antenna's latest data. (Deadline)
>> L.A. mayor Karen Bass signed an executive order yesterday and vowed to "make it easier to shoot movies and shows" in the city. (THR)
>> Jennifer Lopez "is being sued for posting photos of herself at a Hollywood party, with the photographer and a paparazzi agency saying she failed to get permission to use them." (BBC)
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