☀️ NETFLIX, AMAZON Cannes Action, DISNEYFOX Enlists Feig

Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LINKEDIN here if ya like or email me at seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on Tuesday, May 19, 2026.

Where the sports media community appears to be tripping over itself this morning to find just the right overly-hyperbolic word to describe last night’s SPURS vs. OKC double OT Game 1 (a great game to be sure, but it’s Game 1 of a Conference Final — let’s see if you’re still even mentioning it in conversation come mid-June).

Alas, my heart goes out to the NHL’s BUFFALO SABRES, who lost a game 7 in OT at home — a game getting far less ink from the hoops-head sports community this morning (to be fair, NBA playoff audiences out-rate NHL playoff audiences by about 3x to 4x).

But that all means it’s now the newly beloved time of year in the sports season: My local team is actually doing well in the playoffs. How can I watch them at the lowest cost possible as a #cordcutter?

Consider this scenario in the 2026 sports-rights universe, where, yeah, the NFL — the 1 sport that puts all local-team games on free TV in their local markets through the playoffs — is the problem. #NiceTryFOX

The NHL is still very much in the cable TV bundle — so as a #cordcutter, that’s $50 for HBOMAX and ESPN D2C for a month to watch the conference finals. Then it’s time to fire up your digital antenna as the Stanley Cup is on ABC this year (it alternates years with TNT).

Over in the NBA, if you’re, say, a KNICKS fan . . . all of their upcoming CAVS games are on ESPN (except for 1 game on ABC Saturday). All SPURS vs. OKC games are on free-to-air NBC, ahem.

So, just a #protip for KNICKS #cordcutter fans — SLING has a $20 / month ESPN subscription plan, or a $15 bundle for a week, which gets you the first 4 games if you start tonight (or you can do $5 day passes as ya like if you’re going out to a bar/a friend’s for any games).

Or, if you’re an NHL & NBA fan, a $46 SLING mini-package covers you for a month across ESPN and TNT . . . though you’ll have to use your antenna to watch the other NBA games on NBC, and Stanley Cup games on ABC — broadcast isn’t included in the SLING package.

Of course, you can also pay $83 and get a good ol’ YOUTUBE TV cable TV bundle for a month to watch all of these basketball and hockey games. Yeah — those NBA player salaries don’t come out of the team owners’ pockets, America.

And you say people complain that American sports rights aren’t fan-friendly? I just don’t see it.

YEAH: Gotta love this weekend’s PGA Championship winner — and by all accounts the nicest person in the PGA — Aaron Rai’s answer to how he was going to celebrate: “Probably later tonight, we’ll go to Chipotle.” Live that dream, Aaron.

AND: Colbert is throwing a wrap party with a “Fired and Festive!” theme Thursday night at a nearby venue after the finale taping ends. No word on whether it’s inside Black Rock (reference link here for the kids).

AH: Ya gotta love the U.K. banking giant that couldn’t sound more British than if it tried quoting lines from Snatch while eating a shepherd’s pie, STANDARD CHARTERED, announcing that it’s cutting about 8k roles over the next 4 years due to AI ‘efficiencies’.

BUT: The ⭐️ AI statement of the year goes to the bank’s CEO Bill Winters (or likely his AI) for putting this 💩 spin on lining his pockets: “It’s not cost-cutting; it’s replacing in some cases lower-value human capital with the financial capital and the investment capital we’re putting in.”
SO: Maybe try CHIPOTLE, lower-value human capital!

OH: Don’t forget it’s META AI-induced layoffs day tomorrow, for all who celebrate.

THEN: Here is your March Gauge from NIELSEN, with YOUTUBE up to a 13.2% share of TV viewing (as always, this includes music listening, podcasts, etc. in the mix).

A combined PAR / WBD would still have a lower share than AMAZON PRIME, even with March Madness in full effect.

BUT NOTE: Viewership of PAR and WBD apps that happen on platforms like ROKU and AMAZON PRIME gets counted toward those sources, not PAR &WBD, if the viewer subscribed to PAR+/HBO MAX/DISCO+ via those platforms.

AND: This was a great NYT video walking through the destruction caused at U.S. military bases in the Middle East so far — destruction that the U.S. government has both downplayed and restricted access to satellite imagery to confirm. So, just a stellar example of how great journalism shows what’s really happening in the world when governments attempt to hide it, including America’s.

PLUS: This was a fascinating visual look at a potential new discovery of a new hidden pathway in the body by which cells and toxins move (yes, I had a lot of NYT reading to catch up on this weekend after Upfronts).

FINALLY: In the spirit of The Ankler’s look at the realities of job searching in 2026 Hollywood yesterday — I’ll move my weekly Wakeup Tuesday Job Board up here today.

If you’re looking to hire someone — drop me a note to be included here: seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com or connect with me on LINKEDIN here.