NBC News is launching its first-ever, direct-to-consumer digital subscription product in the coming days, NBCUniversal News Group chief digital officer Chris Berend tells Axios.

Why it matters: It will offer NBC News' most loyal consumers access to all of the digital journalism it currently offers for free, such as podcasts, video shows and web articles, in one place without ads.

• That's a very different value proposition from the new All Access subscription product that CNN just launched, which is meant to be a "close sibling" of the network's core cable product.

Zoom in: The subscription includes access to all of NBC News' digital journalism, including content from Telemundo's Noticias news networks and NBC News' local affiliates. The new service will provide access to new newsletter content.

• 📱The main hub for the product will be the NBC News app, although subscribers can access the content via the NBC News website on mobile and desktop.
• 🔌 To start, subscribers will get access to 22 free ad-supported streaming channels, including NBC News Now, NBC Sports, Dateline 24/7, Sky News, Noticias Telemundo Ahora, and all of NBC News' local affiliate streaming channels.
• 🎙️They will also get access to 46 NBC News-produced podcasts, exclusive newsletter content, and subscriber-only videos, including new vertical video briefings from top talent and correspondent dispatches from the field.
• 📺 Access to the full versions of NBC News' linear TV shows, such as "Dateline," "Today," "Meet the Press" and "NBC Nightly News," will also be available on demand via the subscription shortly after they air.

By the numbers: The price of the new service, which will not have a distinct name, is not yet determined, but it will likely fall in the $4–$7 per month range, per Berend.

• The company's target consumer is "between the coasts," Berend says, which means NBC News isn't trying to compete with news brands such as the New York Times, Politico or Wall Street Journal.
• While Berend declined to provide subscriber goals, he believes the total addressable market for the new subscription is "pretty sizable," considering that NBC News' website reached over million 100 unique visitors in September.

How it works: Unlike CNN, which launched a metered paywall months before launching its all-access tier, NBC News doesn't plan to launch with a metered or dynamic paywall and would rather "inch our way into this," Berend says.

• Instead, the company will leverage the vast footprint from its linear and digital channels to market the new service. "I don't think you'll see us paywalling the sites anytime soon."

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CNN has struck a partnership with Kalshi, the world's largest global prediction market company, bringing Kalshi's data to its journalism across its television, digital and social channels, executives told Axios.

Why it matters: The collaboration marks the first major news partnership for Kalshi, as it looks to establish itself as the most authoritative source of information about the real-time probabilities of major cultural and political future events, CEO and co-founder Tarek Mansour tells Axios.

📊 Zoom in: As part of the partnership, CNN will get access to Kalshi's data through an API, or backend interface, that automatically updates in real time.

• That data will be featured on CNN's air through a real-time data ticker and can be referenced across CNN's platforms when journalists discuss news predictions.
• The partnership will include prediction market content related to politics, news, culture and weather.
• The integration will be championed by CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten, who will tap into real-time insights from Kalshi in his reporting on air, both via linear TV and CNN's new streaming subscription service.
• Enten and other CNN journalists will also have access to the data for analysis and fact-checking across CNN's channels, including digital and social stories.

How it works: Unlike other newsroom collaborations with prediction markets, CNN will not be paying to license Kalshi's data, per Mansour.

• But the partnership is exclusive, meaning CNN will not be working with any other prediction market data providers.
• "CNN is renowned for accurate, fact-based journalism and analysis that helps audiences understand what's happening," says CNN SVP of strategic partnerships and business development Sam Felix.
• "By partnering with Kalshi to showcase prediction market data in our programming, CNN journalists will have a fresh, data-based angle from which to explore and better understand the world around us," she adds.

👀 Zoom out: More newsrooms are inking prediction market deals as a way to expand their audiences and earn licensing revenue.

• Yahoo Finance debuted a new integration with Polymarket, a major prediction market company, last month.
• Sports Illustrated and Time both launched prediction market data deals with Galactic this year.

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Disclosure: The author is a paid contributor to CNN.

Netflix, Paramount and Comcast all submitted second-round bids to Warner Bros. Discovery's board yesterday, as the race to acquire Hollywood's hottest available asset closes in.

🤔 Why it matters: WBD's board now must weigh any potential regulatory hurdles presented by each bid against its business value.

• Regulatory probes could take many months to settle, delaying a deal while the streaming market becomes even more competitive.

State of play: Paramount was seen as an early front-runner after WBD announced it was formally open to a possible sale, but the narrative has changed in recent days.

• Netflix, sources say, has touted its access to capital, as well as having access to "clean money" in the wake of reports that suggest other bidders may be in talks with Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds to finance their offers.
• Bloomberg reported Monday that Netflix submitted a mostly cash offer for WBD's studio and streaming assets. A source confirmed to Axios that Netflix's bid does include some stock.
• Paramount was under pressure after the first round of bids to increase the amount it would pay per share closer to $30. Sources say it did present a more competitive bid in the second round, which includes debt financing from Apollo Global Management.
• The firm also is reportedly in talks with Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds to help finance its bid.
• Comcast, like Netflix, submitted a second-round bid solely for WBD's studio and streaming arm.
• Comcast is generally perceived as having a more challenging regulatory outlook than Paramount or Netflix, although any Justice Department suit to block the deal would need to be evaluated by an independent judge in court.

Zoom out: All bids are likely to receive regulatory scrutiny, although antitrust experts don't believe it would be impossible for any of the three suitors to prevail, should the DOJ sue to block a deal.

🏛️ The intrigue: A recent meeting between Trump administration officials discussed antitrust concerns around a Netflix bid, sources tell Axios.

• The meeting, which was first reported by the New York Post, suggests Comcast isn't the only bidder that would face scrutiny from the White House.

What to watch: Any deal would also need the blessing of European regulators, who tend to apply extra scrutiny to Big Tech companies. Comcast owns Sky News, a major player in the U.K.

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French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday endorsed the idea of cellphone bans in high schools, becoming the latest world leader to back restrictions on teen tech and social media use.

Why it matters: Data continues to suggest a correlation between children's smartphone use and poor mental and physical health.

State of play: Australia this month will become the first major democratic nation to ban children under 16 from popular apps such as TikTok and Instagram.

• 🇦🇺 Australia's move, which has faced pushback from teens and some consumer groups, has been heralded by other world leaders who say they are eyeing similar reforms.
• 🇰🇷 South Korea earlier this year passed a measure to ban cellphones in schools.
• 🇪🇺 The European Commission last week passed a nonbinding resolution banning children under 16 from social media without parental consent.
• 🇩🇰 Denmark's government last month said it also planned to ban access to social media for minors under 15.
• 🇧🇷 Brazil in September passed a new law that requires children under 16 to link their social media accounts to a verified guardian who can impose restrictions on their accounts.
• 🇳🇿 New Zealand's parliament passed a measure to ban cellphones in schools in 2024.

Zoom in: While more than a dozen U.S. states have introduced their own measures around ideas such as age verification online, there haven't been any substantial measures passed at the federal level.

• The Supreme Court earlier this year ruled that state lawmakers can keep forcing porn websites to verify users' ages, paving the way for more age verification efforts to be upheld in courts nationwide.

What to watch: There's new momentum in Congress around the issue.

• The House Energy and Commerce Committee just last week released a new package of more than a dozen bills designed to protect kids online and will host a hearing today to debate the measures.

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Omnicom will lay off about 4,000 employees, and an additional 10,000 people will be impacted by sell-offs, following the completion of its acquisition of rival Interpublic Group.

Why it matters: The cuts mark one of the biggest restructurings in the ad industry in years and comes as agencies adapt to new technologies and changing client demands.

Zoom in: Omnicom and IPG had about 120,000 employees in total as of 2024.

• About 4,000 people will be let go through the end of the year.
• Roughly another 10,000 people will be impacted as the company sheds businesses in certain locations, which will not necessarily be completed by year end.

What they're saying: Omnicom CEO John Wren tells Axios that at the onset he set the terms to be unbiased toward his company's employees.

• "I said we were going to take the approach that even though we were acquiring IPG, that the best person qualified for the particular job was going to be that one that survived into the future," Wren says.

What's next: Omnicom is planning to launch a new integrated tech platform at CES in January with the first 10 major clients going live in the first quarter.

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President Trump has escalated his attacks on woman reporters in recent weeks, calling them everything from "stupid," "ugly" and "piggy."

Why it matters: Press freedom groups have condemned his verbal escalations, calling his rhetoric an "unmistakable pattern of hostility."

Driving the news: The president on Thursday asked longtime CBS News chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes, "Are you stupid?" after she asked him about the suspect involved in the shooting of two National Guard members earlier this week.

• At a different press conference in Washington on Nov. 18, the president berated ABC News chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce.
• Days earlier, the president told a Bloomberg reporter, "quiet, piggy" as she asked him about the Jeffrey Epstein files during a press gaggle.

Zoom out: The escalated rhetoric comes as the White House has stepped up its offensive against the press corps at large.

• Last week it debuted a new section on its website meant to publicly shame newsrooms and journalists that it claims have reported biased stories.

E.W. Scripps, the family-controlled local broadcast conglomerate, on Wednesday adopted a shareholder rights plan, known as a "poison pill" tactic, to deflect a $538 million hostile takeover bid from the larger, family-controlled broadcaster Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Why it matters: The defensive tactic is meant to make it harder for Sinclair to gain a controlling interest in the company without board approval. It also buys Scripps' board more time as it considers other strategic alternatives.

Catch up quick: Sinclair last week proposed buying out the remainder of Scripps' shares for $7 apiece, after spending the last week increasing its position in the company to 9.9%.

• Scripps made it clear that the hostile bid was unsolicited and that its board "will carefully review and evaluate any proposals," including Sinclair's.

Zoom out: There have been examples in the media industry of poison pill tactics successfully thwarting hostile takeover attempts.

• Lee Enterprises, one of the last remaining independent public newspaper companies, was able to defeat a hostile takeover attempt by Alden Global Capital in 2022 after using a poison pill.

What's next: Scripps says its shareholder rights plan is effective immediately and will expire in one year.

Disney's "Zootopia 2" brought in roughly half a billion dollars over the weekend, marking the highest global animated box office opening of all time, and the biggest global debut of the year.

Why it matters: The film's stellar performance marks a significant win for Disney, which has seen mixed results for animated films at the box office this year.

• While Disney scored big with the live action remake of "Lilo & Stitch," Pixar's sole 2025 theatrical release "Elio" tanked at the box office.

🍿 By the numbers: "Zootopia 2" brought in $96.8 million over the weekend domestically and $400.4 million internationally, for a $497.2 million global total, per Comscore estimates.

• Across the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend, it earned $156 million domestically and $556.4 million globally.

Zoom out: Already, the movie has smashed several records, including becoming the fourth highest global opening of all time and the highest global opening for any animated film in Disney history.

Between the lines: Movie experts expected the sequel to smash records, given the critical success of the original film, which won Best Animated Feature at the 2017 Oscars and Best Animated Feature Film at the 2017 Golden Globes.

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