☀️ SKYDANCE Day 2: Time For C-Suite Raises!

Mornin! Here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026.

Where who says YOUTUBE is just for the kids?

Apparently, the 96-year-old Warren Buffett is a major contributor to that dominant YOUTUBE share in the NIELSEN Gauge report each month, spending hours on the platform in the evenings while relaxing in his recliner.

Favorites include Bill Murray movie clips, old Frank Sinatra performances and apparently, uh, O’zbekiston Got Talent, according to the WSJ — which, as we all know, is the Uzbekistan version of America’s Got Talent.

But don’t you worry, Hollywood — Warren also still enjoys a good TCM marathon. When he can remember the correct channel number, of course.

WELL: Digger, it’s been real . . . but business is business.

PLUS: CBS got 28.4M viewers for its CHIEFS vs. RAIDERS game on Sunday, the biggest NFL audience so far this season, giving 60 Minutes a boosted audience of 10.2M.

• That’s its biggest audience since March, but basically flat vs. the episode that aired in the slot a year ago.
• Again, 60 Minutes numbers are basically continuing to do what they usually do, and we’ll have to wait til 2027 to see if it nets out up or down YoY.

AH: The WNBA just had its most-watched first round playoffs ever, averaging 1.3M viewers over 10 games across ESPN, AMAZON PV and USA NETWORK — although we’ll see if that continues into the 2nd round with Caitlin Clark’s INDIANA FEVER now out of the mix (and driving the biggest TV audience in that first round).

• This follows regular season TV audience increases of 17% YoY at ESPN and 9% at CBS.

ALSO: APPLE TV will stream its F1 races in Dolby Atmos audio starting with the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin later this month.

OH: APPLE will also announce its new smart home products made with LG next week (doorbell, thermostat, security cameras, etc.).

YAH: Lawyer Bryan Freedman, publicist Melissa Nathan and digital strategist Jed Wallace were named by 5 women in a new lawsuit claiming the trio coordinated in various combinations to launch false online smear campaigns against them on behalf of clients. The trio has dismissed the allegations and, in some cases, countersued.

THEN: Burgeoning microdrama platform ATWIST has enlisted Mario Lopez and Paris Hilton to appear in new series for Halloween month — Honey, I Think Our House Is Haunted and Unboxing the Killer Doll, respectively — with HARTBEAT producing another show and Jesse Tyler Ferguson directing/producing one called Theater Kids vs. Zombies. Here’s Mario’s show preview:

REST IN PEACE: Goes out a screen legend, Eva Marie Saint, who died at the age of 102 this week.

AS ALWAYS: Email me anytime at seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com or connect with me here on LINKEDIN.

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🤑 SKYDANCE Day 2 — Let’s Give Ourselves Raises!

Yes, it’s exec payday time at the company with crippling debt to service . . . so, obviously, it’s time for raises!

I mean, remember — they are running 2 studios now, and have a lotta cuts to make . . . er, elsewhere. “Tough decisions” deserve pay bumps, after all.

Oh, and don’t forget extra cash for some top WBD execs who already made well over $100M in stock gains in the studio sale. #FFS