CBS News' interview with President Trump Sunday night drew a whopping 13.2 million viewers, according to preliminary Nielsen data shared with Axios by a CBS source familiar with the figures.

Why it matters: It marks the highest-rated "60 Minutes" episode since Jan. 10, 2021.

• That episode aired shortly after the Jan. 6 Capitol siege and drew 14.87 million viewers.
• It featured interviews with then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and Trump's phone call pressuring Raffensperger to find votes to overturn his election loss.

Context: The viewership data, which only includes figures from Nielsen's panel and not its big-data segment, is preliminary and subject to change marginally.

📺 Zoom out: The interview itself was a huge get for CBS, considering the network's complicated history with Trump.

• Paramount in July paid $16 million to settle a voter interference lawsuit filed by Trump last October.
• Paramount has made efforts to court conservatives in the months since. Last month, it acquired The Free Press, a digital media outlet founded by former New York Times writer and editor Bari Weiss, and made Weiss editor-in-chief of CBS News.

Between the lines: Sunday night's interview, anchored by CBS News' Norah O'Donnell, made headlines not just for the news that broke during the 90-minute exchange, but also for what was omitted from the 28-minute portion that aired live on TV and the extended 73-minute version posted online.

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Vox Media's board has discussed possibly spinning out its podcast network and separating it from the publishing business, three sources familiar with those conversations told Axios.

Why it matters: Separating the businesses could reap greater shareholder value than trying to invest in the entire company as a whole.

🎧 State of play: Vox Media has received active interest in its podcast network from strategic and financial sponsors, which is what's driving those conversations, sources told Axios.

• Vox Media's largest shareholder, Penske Media Corporation, is possibly interested in the company's digital publishing assets, but not the podcasting network, sources told Axios.
• Buyers have had discussions about the value of Vox Media's publishing assets as it weighs possible interest from PMC.
• Spinning out the podcast business would presumably yield more value for PMC as a Vox Media shareholder, because it would be valued at a much higher growth multiple than the publishing arm.

Context: In 2023, Vox Media raised $100 million from PMC, home to publishing brands such as Variety, Rolling Stone and Billboard and events such as SXSW and Dick Clark Productions, to help weather a turbulent digital ad market.

💰By the numbers: Vox Media was valued at around $1 billion after a $200 million funding round in 2015. It was valued at around $500 million following the injection of cash from PMC.

• Between those transactions, Vox Media invested significantly in scaling its digital publishing business.
• It acquired New York Magazine's parent company, New York Media, which was valued at $105 million, in 2019. And it acquired digital publisher Group Nine Media in 2022 in an all-stock deal.
• In recent years, Vox Media has consolidated some of its brands. It sold the gaming site Polygon in May. In 2023, it spun out NowThis, a site it acquired in the Group Nine Media deal.

Zoom out: The conversations, which are exploratory and in early stages, represents how much Vox Media's business has shifted.

• Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff told Axios earlier this year the podcast network is the company's fastest-growing business.

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For the first time in many years, Forbes' owners are not actively trying to sell the company, chief content officer Randall Lane told Axios on stage at the Haymaker Group Media Summit yesterday.

Why it matters: Forbes' owner — a Hong Kong-based investment firm called Integrated Whale Media — has been trying to offload the publisher for years, but concerns about foreign ownership and disagreements over the company's valuation have stymied previous efforts.

• "Right now, there is no process. There is no sale," Lane said.
• "Our ownership has said, 'You know what, guys? Just focus on building the business. Continue to grow the business.'"

⏪ Catch up quick: The Forbes family sold a majority stake (95%) to IWM in 2014. The family retains a 5% stake in the company and board seats.

• IWM been trying to liquidate its investment for years. But its past two attempts — a 2021 blank check merger and a 2023 private sale — were scuttled, in large part due to foreign ownership concerns.
• Koch Inc.'s private equity arm, Koch Equity Development, was in talks for a bid to buy Forbes in partnership with another individual investor last year, but those discussions died down amid disputes over the asset's value.

Zoom out: Forbes owns a 40% stake in a business called Marketplace, which offers consumers insights and reviews on topics such as personal finance, health and investing.

• Marketplace for years has fueled incredible growth for Forbes and its other outside investors.
• Asked how Marketplace will fare in a world where Google search traffic is plummeting for publisher review sites, Lane said he wasn't concerned. "Those guys have proven very good at figuring things out and riding waves. So if anyone's going to figure it out, they will."

Gannett, the largest newspaper publisher in the U.S., is rebranding to USA Today Co. effective Nov. 18, the company said today.

📰 Why it matters: The rebrand is meant to lean into the community focus of USA Today and help reinforce the company's reputation as nonpartisan. USA Today's network is comprised of more than 200 local news publications.

• "We are changing our name and rebranding to embrace our most notable masthead — which is committed to delivering fact-based news, unbiased coverage and essential content that meets audiences in the center," the company's CEO and chair Mike Reed said in a statement.

Zoom out: The rebrand comes as Gannett and other media companies face lawsuits and editorial pressure from the Trump administration.

• President Trump last year sued the Des Moines Register, which is owned by Gannett, and its top pollster, alleging "brazen election interference" and "fraud" over a poll the newspaper published showing Trump on track to lose Iowa in the 2024 presidential election.

Between the lines: In a statement, Gannett emphasized the rebrand coincides with the launch of USA Today's "USA 250" editorial initiative, which honors America's 250th birthday.

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At least 25 million people tuned into the final game of the World Series on Fox Saturday night, boosting the overall ratings across the seven-game series to more than 14 million viewers.

Why it matters: It was the highest-rated World Series finale since 2017 — an important milestone for the MLB as it continues to finalize its lucrative new set of media rights deals through 2028.

🏀 The big picture: This year's World Series ratings shine especially when compared to the NBA Finals on ABC.

• The NBA Finals, despite a strong showing for Game 7, averaged just 10.3 million viewers this year.
• Still, the NBA was able to strike a very lucrative media rights package last year worth $77 billion over 11 years.

Zoom in: Saturday night's nail-biter between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers is likely to have drawn more viewers when final Nielsen ratings are released on Tuesday.

📈 Zoom out: The World Series caps a strong season of ratings for the MLB, which has seen viewership surge in response to rule changes that make the game faster and more engaging to follow.

• The 2025 regular season saw double-digit viewership increases across all of the networks that air its national games, including ESPN, Fox Sports, TNT Sports and MLB Network.
• MLB had its most-viewed postseason in the U.S. this year since 2017.
• The 2025 Wild Card — the first round of the MLB postseason — set viewership records this year.

State of play: MLB is currently finalizing a new set of multiyear distribution deals that will almost certainly be bolstered by strong viewership.

• The MLB is reportedly eyeing a package that would see ESPN licensing the league's digital out-of-market games, NBC acquiring all of the league's Sunday night games and Wild Card playoff games, and Netflix getting the rights to air MLB's Home Run Derby.

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Spotify today beat analyst estimates for its third-quarter revenue and user growth, but it issued mixed guidance for the current quarter, sending share prices falling after the market opened.

Why it matters: Spotify has proven that its investments in AI product innovation and price hikes are working, but the company's ad business remains a weak spot.

• Ad-supported revenue fell 6% year over year for the quarter, despite its ad-supported monthly active user base growing 11% year over year last quarter.

🎥 Zoom out: Spotify is looking to invest more in video as a way to grow its ad business.

• In its earnings report, the company said it now has nearly 500,000 video podcasts in its catalog, and more than 390 million users have now streamed a video podcast on its platform.
• Last month, it struck a deal with Netflix to distribute select video podcasts from Spotify Studios and The Ringer, including "The Bill Simmons Podcast" and "The Rewatchables."
• Netflix isn't currently selling separate ads in the episodes, but Spotify's pre-existing sponsorships will now be exposed to this new audience.
• The move comes as Netflix ramps up its own podcast push, exploring a deal with iHeartMedia, per Bloomberg, and reaching out to talent agents at WME, UTA and CAA to sign podcast creators, per the Hollywood Reporter.

📊 By the numbers: Spotify's video investment reflects the broader advertising reality that digital video is where the money is.

• According to PwC, digital video advertising is projected to reach $98.6 billion in 2029, whereas digital audio is $8.4 billion.

The big picture: Spotify announced in September that its CEO and founder Daniel Ek, who led the audio giant for almost 20 years, is stepping aside and will transition to a new role as executive chair beginning next year.

• Longtime executives and co-presidents Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström will replace him.

Alltogether, a new collective founded by longtime news ad sales executive AJ Frucci, is helping independent creators tap into the corporate ad market, Frucci tells Axios.

Why it matters: Independent journalists have built loyal followings but often lose access to lucrative brand advertising once they leave legacy newsrooms.

• Frucci, who has led sales teams at major news publishers such as Axios, Puck and Vox Media, believes that dynamic has created "a white space" in the market.

🤝 Zoom out: While there are newsletter platforms that offer some automated and direct ad sales support, they don't always offer the same level of high-touch sales support and relationship building necessary to broker bigger cross-platform sponsorship deals for creators that span podcasts, events and newsletters.

Zoom in: The new collective serves as a direct channel for premium brands to access the work of major journalists who have decided to go independent via their own podcasts and/or publishing platforms like Substack and beehiiv.

• Alltogether's founding portfolio of journalist creators includes some of the biggest names in business, technology and political news, including Alex Heath's Sources, Alex Kantrowitz's Big Technology, Casey Newton's Platformer, Alex Konrad's Upstarts, and Mosheh Oinounou's Mo News.
• Frucci is also in advanced discussions with Rachael Bade, formerly the co-author of Politico's popular Playbook newsletter, to represent her for her forthcoming newsletter, which she will author as an independent journalist, Axios has learned.

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