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CBS Sports has suspended Tony Romo from his broadcast duties following his arrest on suspicion of driving while intoxicated; he is the second NFL play-by-play personality to face criminal charges over the past year, after Fox's Mark Sanchez caught a case for battery.
CBS Sports suspends NFL analyst Tony Romo after arrestJuly 31, 2026 - Romo was arrested and cited earlier in the week for driving while under the influence of alcohol and other alleged crimes.thedesk.netIn an interview with a former lobbyist turned conservative writer, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the agency is investigating recent broadcast network affiliation swap announcements. The FCC cannot legally scrutinize those deals.
FCC reviewing recent affiliation swap announcement, Chairman Carr saysJuly 31, 2026 - The FCC generally cannot interfere in broadcast-related transactions involving network affiliation deals, but Carr is going to try anyway.thedesk.netSiriusXM is decreasing its use of retention discounts when customers call to cancel their plans, instead pointing price-sensitive radio listeners to lower-priced service tiers.
SiriusXM plots turnaround through more sports, fewer discountsJuly 30, 2026 - SiriusXM is hoping sports fans will find its new plans attractive across programming and pricing; the company is easing off discounts to retain customers.thedesk.netAMC channels are coming soon to YouTube TV's lower-priced, genre-based packages.
AMC channels coming to lower-priced YouTube TV packagesJuly 30, 2026 - A new carriage deal with YouTube TV will allow the platform to offer AMC's channels in lower-priced packages and resell access to AMC Plus.thedesk.netHoward Stern's time at SiriusXM is almost fully done. The company is reorienting its business around live sports and related programming, and a new $5 per month sports-only plan is being dangled in front of new and existing customers.
SiriusXM plots turnaround through more sports, fewer discountsJuly 30, 2026 - SiriusXM is hoping sports fans will find its new plans attractive across programming and pricing; the company is easing off discounts to retain customers.thedesk.netDisney has urged the FCC to toss petitions made by national groups challenging its ABC broadcast licenses, calling their actions politically motivated.
Disney urges FCC to toss petitions challenging ABC broadcast licensesJuly 30, 2026 - In a letter submitted to the FCC, Disney said some national advocacy groups have targeted its ABC broadcast network for purely political reasons.thedesk.netA former Nexstar news director is backing a fired colleague who was dismissed three years ago for writing and circulating a memo critical of her station's Pride Month coverage.
Former Nexstar news director defends colleague who wrote controversial Pride Month memoJuly 24, 2026 - The ex-news director, Ted Linn, said former WOOD-TV News Director Amy Fox was following Nexstar's editorial policies when she penned a controversial memo on Pride Month coverage.thedesk.netNearly two dozen groups, including @mediaanddemocracy.bsky.social @penamerica.bsky.social @publicknowledge.bsky.social @aclu.org @eff.org sent a letter to Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro supporting the company's ongoing fight against the FCC's politically-motivated investigations.
Free speech groups back Disney in ongoing fight with FCCJuly 29, 2026 - The letter says Disney should continue defending its First Amendment rights as it challenges the FCC’s early license renewal order for eight ABC-owned stations.thedesk.netA decision by the FCC will likely make it harder to find robot vacuums like the Roomba in the near future. [9to5]
Almost all future robot vacuums were just banned by the US government - 9to5MacAlmost all future robot vacuums were just banned by the US government, though no one is coming for current models. Here are the details.9to5mac.com"The Five" and "Jesse Watters Primetime" were the most-watched shows on cable TV.
thedesk"ABC World News Tonight" was the most-watched program in America last week, attracting an average audience of 7.66 million viewers, per Nielsen data. "NBC Nightly News" was in second place with an average audience of 6.14 million viewers.
Almost every cable news outlet in America posted audience gains in July as Americans watched Supreme Court coverage, sought information on developments heading into the midterm election and tuned in to America 250 celebrations.
Fox News remains top in cable ratings during July; NewsNation, MS NOW log growth milestonesJuly 29, 2026 - Fox News Channel led cable news in July, averaging 2.33 million Monday-Sunday primetime viewers and nearly 1.5 million total-day viewers.thedesk.netA killer of local newspapers is likely to emerge as one of the key owners of Cumulus Media in its post-bankruptcy era, according to FCC filings.
Filings: Alden Global exec likely to emerge as major Cumulus Media stakeholderJuly 29, 2026 - Alden Global has been criticized over the years for cutting jobs and reducing local news investments at newspapers under its ownership, causing concern among radio industry watchers a...thedesk.netNow you can watch "Power" from Starz and "Chainsaw Man" from Crunchyroll through a special discount bundle on Prime Video.
Prime Video debuts Starz-Crunchyroll bundleJuly 29, 2026 - Starz and Crunchyroll have launched a new U.S. streaming bundle through Prime Video, giving customers access to both services for $17 per month.thedesk.netA former Comcast retail worker is suing the company after he claims employees were subjected to the humiliating ritual of being pied in the face over low sales performances.
Employees pied in face over low sales goals, ex-Comcast worker says in lawsuitStore employees who missed performance goals were tied to a chair and hit in the face with a cream pie by higher-performing co-workers, the lawsuit claims.thedesk.netA conservative columnist from the New York Times is one of several new hires at CBS News to contribute to its news magazine program "60 Minutes."
CBS adds new correspondents to "60 Minutes" ahead of fall premiereJuly 28, 2026 - Sebastian Junger, Gianna Toboni and CBS Senior Global Affairs Correspondent Trevor Phillips will serve as contributors.thedesk.netLive sports from the CW Network is coming to the ESPN app on Monday.
CW Sports to stream live on ESPN App starting August 4July 28, 2026 - The launch will see the debut of "WWE NXT" from the CW Network on the ESPN app, with a two-hour program running that week.thedesk.netNewsNation is hosting a town hall event focused on the topic of artificial intelligence, with the special airing tonight
NewsNation to host town hall on artificial intelligence on Tuesday“The Future is Now: A NewsNation Town Hall” will be moderated by Chris Cuomo from the network’s New York studio.thedesk.netApple thinks buying a phone should be like buying a car. [9to5Mac]
Apple shuts down iPhone Upgrade Program, here's what's next - 9to5MacApple today officially launched its new Apple Upgrade leasing program, covering iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. As part of...9to5mac.comThe next time you look for news on Facebook or Instagram, the search results and answers returned might be powered by an unexpected source: Newsmax. This isn't new — Facebook and Instagram have been incorporating more right-of-center news outlets into their AI-powered results for months.
Facebook parent Meta signs AI licensing agreement with NewsmaxJuly 28, 2026 - Newsmax is one of several right-of-center news outlets to ink a partnership with Meta Platforms in recent months; others include Fox News Media, the Daily Caller and the Washington Ex...thedesk.net