☀️ New PAR+ Regime Makes First Series Buy
OPENAI reveals new app approach / Depp pic gets U.S. distro / IG creator awards
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, October 7, 2025.
Where there’s nothing like dropping the puck on a new NHL season when it’s going to be 82 degrees in NYC. Don’t worry, everything’s just fine.
SO: The 2 remaining members of Rush are going on a 50th anniversary tour starting in June at SOFI. Tix on sale Oct. 17, register for pre-sale here.
AH: Sorry, America, the UFC fight at the White House next summer to celebrate America’s 250th birthday will take place on Trump’s birthday — not yours. So, I’m gonna guess The Tonys will go with Sunday, June 7 for sure instead of #fightnight Sunday, June 14.
AND: The man involved in the Mark Sanchez assault situation is now suing Sanchez and FOX CORP.
THEN: OPENAI is further coming for everyone else’s lunch, essentially allowing folks to access some apps like SPOTIFY and ZILLOW within CHATGPT — or launching its own app store, if you will.
I.e. Yet another way CHATGPT is trying to become your first, go-to stop on your phone or . . . whatever device Altman has Jonny Ive cooking up (perhaps literally — the project sounds like it’s having some overheating and computer power issues according to the FT, that could likely result in missing a 2026 debut notion).
Yes, Hollywood — it’s time to start thinking about this too. Can TVs be too far off? Whereby perhaps OPENAI at some point sees itself as the solve for folks having to know where any particular show, or sports game, is streaming.
“Hey CHATGPT, play me that new Nicole Kidman show about rich people doing shady things. No, the other one.”
Granted, others have tried and failed at creating this notion already in #bigtech — but take a moment to think about a world with TVs run by CHATGPT as an OS (or at least as a “top destination app” on TVs) with fully accessible 3rd party streaming apps, and what that would mean for business.
SO: While yes, the new OPENAI deal with chipmaker AMD got all of the headlines yesterday — this ☝️ is the development, that most were not mentioning, to really pay attention to.
AND: SIRIUSXM podcaster Alex Cooper is launching her own UNWELL CREATIVE AGENCY to work with brands on campaigns with a specific focus on Gen Z women.
The comp seems to be MAXIMUM EFFORT from Ryan Reynolds and George Dewey, although other celebs have also taken a shot at this business line to varying degrees of success.
Its first campaign is with GOOGLE and will feature Cooper — here is her IG reel promoting the effort.
THEN: INSTAGRAM is launching its own creator awards called Rings because . . . why not? It also totally told its AI created this image on its own using The Ring 2002 horror movie logo style font for . . some reason.
ALSO: PAR bought The Free Press for $150M and made Bari Weiss, someone who has never worked in TV news or led an organization anywhere near this size, Editor-in-Chief of CBS NEWS. She’ll report into PSKY CEO David Ellison, not CBS head George Cheeks.
CBS NEWS still also has a President in Tom Cibrowski, who reports into Cheeks, which won’t cause any chaos for employees whatsoever.
The Free Press will still run as a separate business — and still also be run by Weiss. TBD if we start seeing the brand pop up / get promoted in CBS News broadcasts.
About that $150M pricetag — The Free Press raised about $20M roughly a year ago at a $100M valuation, from investors such as ALLEN & CO, ANNOX CAPITAL and CENTRE STREET PARTNERS, as well as individuals like Marc Andreesen, David Sacks and Howard Schultz, according to Axios.
We’ll see how this all manifests — but I’ll just bring up this very wise advice from PSKY investor / head of REDBIRD CAPITAL Gerry Cardinale at the press day that PSKY leadership did 2 months ago after the deal closed, when commenting about the CBS NEWS division:
“Don’t buy into a news organization, whether it’s broadcast or print, if you want to influence it. That’s just bad business, right?
Because the investment piece, the kernel of the entire investment thesis is independence and objectivity. If you can’t get your head around that, don’t buy it.”
WAKEUP HOUSEKEEPING
This is going out a little earlier than usual today as I’m off to the airport — if you’re at the Bloomberg Screentime conference tomorrow eve or Thurs in L.A. and see a bald 6’4 guy who looks like he’s from Jersey and should probably be writing a newsletter instead of making one more trip to the food truck, say hello!
📺 THE SILVER TV 🎥
