The Grill Room

In this special doubleheader, NBC’s Steve Kornacki joins Dylan, followed by Ali Velshi, Kornacki’s successor at MS Now, to pull back the curtain on how election night really works: the methods, the challenges, and the technology used to make sense of real-time voting data. They weigh the inherent limits of polling, explain why visual storytelling is so essential to helping audiences process a flood of data, size up how long we should expect to wait for results, and more.

Julia and Dylan reunite to chew over a smorgasbord of media headlines: The New York Times’s tiff with Hunterbrook over matters of credit—and the Times’s murky crediting policy— Google’s latest earnings, Instagram’s re-pivot to long-form content, lingering Buck-Aikman fallout, and more.

Sam Koppelman, co-founder of Hunterbrook Media, joins Dylan to discuss his company’s thesis: that investigative reporting still has real value and is worth investing in. Three years in, Koppelman says the company is profitable, and he gets into how they balance journalistic ethics with keeping investors happy. They also dig into Hunterbrook’s recent dispute with The New York Times over overlapping investigations.

CNBC’s Alex Sherman joins Dylan to discuss ESPN’s upcoming Super Bowl debut and its ambitious multi-platform strategy, in which the network plans simultaneous broadcasts across ABC, ESPN, Disney+, and other channels. They also weigh the ripple effects of Troy Aikman’s contract dispute, then turn to the bidding picture for future World Cup rights and why Disney may hold the strongest hand.

The Ringer’s Bryan Curtis and Business Insider’s Peter Kafka join Dylan for a deep dive into the media reporting beat—and how sports-media talent and business pressures are reshaping coverage. They discuss finding distinct angles on popular beats, why they’re bullish on newsletters, and how talent’s growing leverage has become a genuine brand headache for networks like ESPN.

Julia and Dylan dig into Netflix’s recent bloodletting and what it reveals about the deeper challenges facing the streamer. They discuss whether Netflix’s business model can realistically challenge YouTube, and why YouTube’s creator ecosystem and engagement model are so difficult to replicate. Then they turn to Skydance and whether it can invest in its long-term growth while facing constant pressure to reduce debt.

In this special live recording from Puck’s In the Arena, Dylan convenes NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman, Gotham FC owner Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, and Project Level exec Jason Wright to discuss the state of women’s soccer and women’s sports writ large. They get into the NWSL’s media deals, the league’s expansion plans, turning World Cup curiosity into real fandom, and plenty more.

Julia and Dylan reunite to examine Skydance’s post-merger playbook, and how David Ellison intends to manage an $80 billion debt load and deliver $6 billion in promised synergies. They also get into the fate of CNN and CBS News, which hinges on the power struggle between Mark Thompson and Bari Weiss, as neither seems eager to cede influence. The lingering question, of course: can the company create sustainable growth after the cost-cutting ends?

In a special recording live from Puck’s In the Arena conference, Amazon Prime’s Charlie Neiman and NBA media exec Bill Koenig join Dylan to assess the the first year of the NBA–Amazon media partnership and their future for distribution, monetization, and fan engagement. They dig into the viewership numbers that exceeded expectations, Amazon’s broader sports programming strategy, the streamer’s plans for NBA Europe, and much more.

Julia and Dylan reunite to discuss the leadership changes rippling across Paramount–WBD, Mattel, and Condé Nast, and what they portend for the future of media companies. They consider whether established players can redefine their products at a moment when media increasingly overlaps with technology, creators, and other industries.