☀️AMAZON, AGBO Layoffs Add to ’26 Job Woes
Basic Cable’s big week on NETFLIX / Sundance bidding war won / Brian Robbins sets up shop
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, January 28, 2026.
Where SNAP and TIKTOK are folding, and META and GOOGLE / YT are standing in the courtroom Texas hold ’em social media case beginning this week in CA.
SNAP and TT chose to make an undisclosed settlement with the woman suing the platforms, claiming the social media companies engineered their products to hook young users.
As for GOOGLE and META, their lawyer likes their chances!
AND: Here are your WGA Awards film nominees.
HUH: The TV Academy is merging the Outstanding Talk Series and Outstanding Scripted Variety Series Emmy categories . . . but there are some other quirks here that I definitely need to tap in Katey Rich for (I’m sure she’ll have you covered to explain in layman’s terms).
THEN: Caitlin Clark will join the NBA pre-game show on NBC for 2 of its 7 upcoming Sunday night games — this Sunday, and again one Sunday in March TBA.
STOCK WATCH: AMC THEATRES hit a new all-time low yesterday, closing at $1.45 a share.
YUP: In a shock to no one, APPLE TV will debut the new Ted Lasso season this summer amidst the men’s ⚽️ World Cup revelry. And yes, he’ll be back in the U.K. coaching a women’s soccer football club.
SO: Here’s how ANTHROPIC’s AI revenue is looking, according to The Information:
2026: $18B, up 20% from its forecast last summer.
That’s about $12B less than PARAMOUNT.
2029: $149B in its optimistic projections, and as we were reminded yesterday — what is ANTHROPIC CEO Dario Amodei if not optimistic!
That’s a little bigger than COMCAST.
HOWEVER: It also punted becoming “cash flow positive” until 2028.
BUT: If you want in, the company is looking to raise another $10B.
YEAH: Your KEURIG cups are still not functionally recyclable, according to the TRUTH IN ADVERTISING org in its new FTC complaint issued this week, with hopes to correct KEURIG from implying otherwise in its communications . . . despite having been reprimanded for this already in 2023.
KEURIG’s 2024 plans for plastic-free, compostable pods (plus a new machine to use them) that emerged after that 2023 reprimand and settlement have yet to materialize.
WELL: Taylor, I hope you know what SLEEP NUMBER you are — Travis Kelce just took a stake of less than 5% in the mattress company, which is actually a nice thematic pairing for his beer business.
OK: Sorry, tequila or mobile phone services — Sydney Sweeney is going with lingerie for her big business venture, launching SYRN (Which is ‘siren,’ or I guess uh, think of syringe? Somewhere DAZN is in the corner laughing).
Trespassing around the Hollywood sign to hang your bras on it was . . . well, let’s just say it’s clear what lessons she took from the AMERICAN EAGLE thing.
OH: META spent about $6M on TV ads in local markets of 8 select state capitols and D.C., selling the idea that its massive AI data centers were notable job creators. 🤭 Oddly, no mention of the concerns around, uh, potential strain on local power and water resources compared to the . . . handful of jobs they will likely create.
GOOD NEWS: Hollywood — you’ve gotten a lot more important to the Super Bowl since Covid, according to this new ISPOT analysis of big game ads.
PLUS: SPOTIFY says it paid out $11B+ to the music industry last year (labels, publishers etc), which is about 54% of SPOTIFY’s total 2025 revenue.
ALSO: Add Philip Glass to the list of folks saying #hardpass to performing at the Kennedy Center under the Trump administration, saying the values of the organization under its new leadership are no longer a match for an artistic work named after Abraham Lincoln (he was to perform a symphony called “Lincoln”). Lee Greenwood is booked for a Honky Tonk Time Machine show on Feb. 5, but otherwise appears available to sub in.
TODAY IN LAYOFFS
So nice to see this segment of the newsletter having a strong return to start 2026 after such a robust 2025 . . . and, folks, it’s a bad day for middle management. Let’s start off directly in Hollywood.