You're living through history: This is the 18th time that the four major sports leagues (NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB) are in action on the same day, Sports Internet's Kendall Baker notes.
Bonus: Major League Soccer and college football are also on air tonight.
The big picture: More than ever, America's past-times are (sometimes) serving as a respite from our charged politics, and today offers something for everyone.
Fox Business has officially pulled out of Saudi Arabia's Future Investment Initiative.
The big picture: The network was the last remaining American media sponsor of "Davos in the Desert," with CNN, CNBC and Bloomberg all previously withdrawing over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo had been scheduled to speak at the conference, but she will no longer attend unless an "unrestricted interview" with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is offered, Axios has learned.
Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO Chris Ripley said at the NAB Show New York that his company’s rumored ad-supported streaming service, Stirr, will launch soon.
Why it matters: Sinclair is trying to grab a piece of the cord-cutting population, and will compete with dozens of local and national networks. CBS News already has an ad-supported news streaming service. This year, Fox News announced its own subscription service Fox Nation.
Less than three months after President Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker agreed to negotiate a trade deal, talks between the two parties have stalled, mainly over the issue of "non-auto industrial goods," reports the WSJ.
The big picture: A European official told Axios' Jonathan Swan that in Trump’s private discussions at the United Nations, it became clear to his European interlocutors that Trump was still very much preoccupied by the U.S. trade deficit with the EU. They also got the impression that Trump remained fixated on automobile imports and thought this was his strongest point of leverage over his negotiating partners. The lack of progress in trade talks and the looming risk that Trump will introduce auto tariffs threatens to disrupt the world’s largest commercial partnership.
The $220 billion U.S. advertising industry is facing an unprecedented wave of scandal and controversy, causing frustration amongst marketers, consumers and lawmakers.
Why it matters: Advertising was supposed to become more transparent in the digital era, but instead it's gotten murkier, leading to more fraud, shady business practices, discrimination, and even national security issues.
Democratic candidates running for Congress this year have raised more than $1 billion, while Republicans took in $709 million through September, according to a Washington Post analysis by Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Anu Narayanswamy.
Adapted from The Washington Post. Note: Data from 2018 are for general election candidates only; previous years are for all candidates. Chart: Harry Stevens/Axios
Why it matters: Democrats' record-shattering sum "highlights the party’s zeal to retake the House and Senate and underscores the enormous amount of money flowing into the midterm races."
Commercial buildings account for nearly one third of U.S. total energy use. Roughly 25% of that third comes from air cooling, making it one of the main contributors to utility grid stress, especially in hot temperatures at peak times of the day.
Yes, but: Air cooling is also one of the easier electrical loads to shift to off-peak demand times. Thermal Energy Storage (TES) is an established technology that reduces grid stress by shifting cooling-energy use from high-peak periods, when demand and rates are highest, to off-peak periods, when rates are lower, and is becoming increasingly prevalent.
NowThis, the millennial social video outlet that's part of Group Nine Media, has launched a polling site in partnership with progressive polling firm PredictWise.
Why it matters: It's part of NowThis' push to engage its progressive, millennial audience ahead of the midterms.
The U.S. box office is projected to hit a record-breaking $12 billion in 2018, proving past critiques wrong of how movie theaters cannot sustain in the age of streaming and home viewing, per the Hollywood Reporter.
Why it matters: Studios are realizing there is more attendance potential in the off-seasons of fall and spring than being part of summer's blockbuster lineup. Box office totals are expected to be up 10% from 2017. Marvel's "Venom" had an $80 million debut from the weekend of Oct. 5–7 — the best opening ever for that month.
