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 Wednesday, August 12, 2026.
Where Alex Cooper’s UNWELL empire got a nice boost of confidence today, to the tune of a half-billion dollars. Yeah, that’ll do it.
Patrick Whitesell’s SILVER LAKE-backed WTSL is making an undisclosed investment in UNWELL, valuing the production and marketing firm at $500M.
This is the first outside investment UNWELL has taken to date.
BUT: Bob Iger is apparently buying the LAKERS (how much money did we pay him!?). Ah, I see he’s getting an “assist” from Josh Kushner’s THRIVE CAPITAL, according to ESPN, which pegs the deal at $12B (they know LeBron left, correct?).
- The team was literally just sold 10 months ago for $10B, and HBO clearly ended Winning Time way too early.
OH: The NY YANKEES are also taking some PE investment money (at a slightly higher valuation than UNWELL), with APOLLO investing $2.6B in the franchise, and probably some internal investments to handle all of the incoming ticket requests this fall from the Wall Street bros.
- This makes for the 53rd private equity deal in professional sports so far in 2026 (with Bob Iger at #54). There were 71 in 2024 by the time the year rounded out, and we still have 5+ months left this year.
AND: HBO is taking its Emmys campaigning up a notch, throwing a Deborah Vance & Friends & Enemies LIVE! at the Fonda Theater in L.A. on Friday, with Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder performing in character on stage (the show is already sold out).
SO: The Jonas Brothers are the halftime act for the NFL opening week game in Australia on NETFLIX.
AH: ORACLE is prepping yet another round of job layoffs this month, after a previous round in March.
THEN: SNL U.K. will return on September 12 with 6 new episodes, and will return for more in 2027. The OG SNL has yet to set its return date.
WELL: Mel Gibson is really hoping David Ellison wants to make the Lethal Weapon 5 script that apparently exists. Danny Glover is now 80, and was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2023, but no word on how that would really factor into the picture.
Back on PARAMOUNT Mountain . . .
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