ABC Says News of Kimmel's Demise Is 'Inaccurate'

ABC says a Page Six report that Jimmy Kimmel Live! will end in 2027 is “inaccurate,” and that any claims about the show’s future right now are “purely speculative.” 

The denial came after Page Six reported Tuesday that Kimmel’s contract would not be extended and that the current 24th season would be his last. A source familiar with the situation told the outlet, “His contract is not getting extended.” 

An ABC Entertainment spokesperson repeated the same line to multiple outlets: the report is inaccurate, and talk about what happens after the current deal is premature. What is settled is the existing contract. Kimmel signed a one-year extension in December 2025 that keeps him on ABC through at least May 2027.

Former CBS News CEO 'Concerned' About 60 Minutes

Former CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon says she is “absolutely concerned” that the DNA of “60 Minutes” is being rewritten in real time and that a push to transform the program may be dismantling the very thing it is meant to protect.

Speaking at the Status Summit, McMahon said she would not declare “60 Minutes” dead until she sees the next edition, but she warned that the problem facing the show may have been misdiagnosed.

“Am I concerned that the DNA of ’60 Minutes’ is being rewritten in real time. Am I concerned that, in the quest to transform, that the problem has been misdiagnosed. And we are potentially changing, dismantling, the very thing we are meant to protect? Yes. I am absolutely concerned,” she said. 

“But I will stop short of weighing in on the death of ’60 Minutes’ until I see this next ’60 Minutes.’”

Streaming Prices Rising 3 Times Faster Than Inflation

Streaming prices have jumped more than three times the rate of inflation since 2022, turning “cutting the cord” into a collection of auto-drafting subscriptions that now rival the worst cable and satellite hikes of the past.

Watching all eight major streamers without ads or bundle deals costs about $151 a month. Four years ago the same lineup ran about $90.

• Apple TV has tripled since its 2019 launch at $4.99, a 200 percent increase despite one of the thinnest libraries among major services. 
• Disney+ launched at $6.99 with no ads in 2019 and now charges $11.99 with ads—or 172 percent more than its original price. 
• Paramount+’s cheapest tier is up 80 percent in five years. 
• Netflix Premium has risen 125 percent since 2013.

In the past year alone:  Apple TV jumped 50 percent and Peacock’s tiers rose about the same. 

Households Prefer Live + Streaming Combos

A narrow majority of U.S. internet households — 51 percent — would prefer a video subscription that combines live television with their favorite streaming services, according to a new Parks Associates report.

Of those households, 27 percent wanted a traditional live-TV bundle paired with on-demand streaming, while 24 percent favored a skinny bundle combined with streaming services.

A skinny bundle is a limited-channel pay-TV or streaming package, often grouped by genre such as entertainment, sports or news, and priced below full traditional lineups. Among current streaming pay-TV subscribers — including users of YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo and DIRECTV Stream — 68 percent found the skinny-bundle idea appealing.

PA Radio: FCC Approves Transfer of WPSU To WHYY

The FCC on Wednesday approved the $1 transfer of Penn State University’s public radio and television stations, WPSU-FM and WPSU-TV, to Philadelphia public media company WHYY, clearing a path to keep the outlets on the air.

The stations serve about 1.5 million people in central and northern Pennsylvania. WHYY and Penn State applied for FCC approval on July 30. The decision is a key step for WPSU, which had been slated to close.

Local Radio Staffing Sees Small Increase

Radio newsrooms posted modest staffing gains in 2025, with the typical full-time news staff returning to two employees after a dip the prior year, according to the latest RTDNA/Newhouse School at Syracuse University survey. 

The average newsroom grew to 3.8 full-time employees while part-time staffing held steady at 1.7. Non-commercial stations again lifted the overall median, reporting three full-time staffers versus one at commercial stations. Gains appeared across most market sizes; large markets saw the biggest increase, adding 2.7 employees on average, and no market segment reported a decline.

Hiring rebounded. Both replacement and new hires averaged 0.9 positions each, and the median hire count reached one for the first time in nine years. Reporters were by far the most commonly replaced and newly hired role, followed by sales and promotional positions.

Old-School Newspaper War Brewing In DC

The Washington Post said Wednesday it is on track to break even by the end of 2026 after years of losses and cutbacks, and it permanently named acting publisher and CEO Jeff D’Onofrio to those roles. A spokesperson said the paper is “on its closest path to profitability in five years” and has sold more than 300,000 individual subscriptions year to date.

CNN reports the same day, the digital outlet formerly known as NOTUS relaunched for online readers as The Washington Sun, dropping the acronym for News of the United States amid a rapid expansion in Washington. Editor Tim Grieve wrote that “Washington journalism is in a moment of generational change. We’re rising to meet it.”

The timing was not accidental. Earlier this year NOTUS hired aggressively while the Post laid off hundreds of employees—about a third of its staff. Owner Robert Allbritton, who previously founded Politico, has framed the Post’s business struggles as an opening for competitors. The Atlantic and The New York Times have also hired numerous Post alumni.

Good Morning! Let's Start With The Pulse for Thursday, Sep 10

Radio Broadcasting

Radio Reach: AM/FM radio is the dominant way to reach 13- to 34-year-olds with advertising in the car. Americans ages 13–34 spend just under an hour a day listening to audio in vehicles. 

Bay Area Shuffle: Big Reid is taking over mornings on 102.9 KBLX immediately as Connoisseur Media reshuffles on-air and behind-the-scenes roles across its Bay Area radio cluster.

Billy Has Surgery:  Billy Joel had a shunt implanted in his brain to treat normal pressure hydrocephalus and told fans he is improving and “not going anywhere.”

Bay Area Radio: Connoisseur Shuffles Staffers

Big Reid is taking over mornings on 102.9 KBLX immediately, joining Freska and replacing Rudy Ortiz, as Connoisseur Media reshuffles on-air and behind-the-scenes roles across its Bay Area radio cluster.

Reid had been hosting afternoons on urban adult contemporary KBLX while also handling nights on contemporary hit station KMVQ-FM (99.7 NOW). 

The company said replacements for the newly opened KBLX afternoon shift and 99.7 NOW evening shift will be announced later.

Billy Joel Discloses Brain Surgery

Billy Joel had a shunt implanted in his brain to treat normal pressure hydrocephalus and told fans he is improving and “not going anywhere.”

The 76-year-old singer announced the surgery on SiriusXM’s The Billy Joel Channel, saying doctors recommended the procedure after his May 2025 diagnosis. He initially rejected the idea, then researched it and went ahead.

“It actually improved things,” Joel said. “My memory got better. My balance got a little better. My ability to function was better.”

R.I.P.: Barry Melrose: Former NHL Player, ESPN Analyst

Barry Melrose, the former NHL defenseman and coach who became one of hockey’s most recognizable and beloved television analysts during nearly 30 years at ESPN, died Wednesday. He was 70. 

His wife, Cindy, informed longtime ESPN partner Steve Levy of Melrose’s death. Melrose had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2023, a diagnosis that forced his retirement from the network he first joined in 1996. 

ESPN called him “one of the most distinctive and trusted voices in hockey,” praising his deep knowledge, candor, and unmistakable passion. Colleagues and the league echoed that assessment. Longtime studio partner John Buccigross described Melrose as his “best friend at ESPN” and “a big brother figure of rock solid values.” 

Radio History: Sept 10

➦In 1920...KNX Los Angeles began broadcasting as 6ADZ. Although KNX received its first formal broadcasting station license on December 8, 1921, the station has traditionally dated its founding to September 10, 1920, starting with broadcasts conducted by Fred Christian over his amateur station, 6ADZ. Christian was a former shipboard radio operator, who later explained that he began the broadcasts in order to provide something to listen to by customers who had constructed receivers from parts purchased at the store. Christian began making broadcasts with a five-watt vacuum-tube transmitter, operating on the standard amateur wavelength of 200 meters (1500 kHz).

KNX - 1925

Initially there were no specific standards in the United States for radio stations making transmissions intended for the general public, and numerous stations under various classifications made entertainment broadcasts. However, effective December 1, 1921, the Department of Commerce, regulators of radio at this time, adopted a regulation that formally created a broadcasting station category, and stations were now required to hold a Limited Commercial license authorizing operation on wavelengths of 360 meters for "entertainment" broadcasts or 485 meters for "market and weather reports" (833 and 619 kHz). By the end of 1922 over 500 stations would be authorized nationwide.

The Revamped 60-Minutes Launches This Sunday

The remade “60 Minutes” under CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss will premiere its 59th season Sept. 13 with correspondent Jon Wertheim’s in-depth look at the Los Angeles Rams, oddsmakers’ Super Bowl favorites.

“60 Minutes” has frequently opened seasons with sports stories after a late-afternoon NFL game. Last year’s premiere, Wertheim’s profile of UFC CEO Dana White, drew more than 10 million viewers and ranked as the week’s most-watched non-sports program. 

CBS News faces pressure for a strong ratings start after major upheaval at the program. Following a season in which ratings rose 9%, Weiss fired correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, who said she pushed them to insert right-wing talking points. She also dismissed executive producer Tanya Simon and replaced her with screenwriter and documentary filmmaker Nick Bilton, who has no prior TV news experience.

Longtime correspondent Scott Pelley accused Weiss of “murdering” the program and putting “her thumb on the scale” for more favorable coverage of the Trump administration. He was dismissed with cause after confronting management at a June 1 meeting. 

CBS denied the claims.

CNN Reports Fox News Is Suppressing 'MAGA' News

Peter Navarro

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro accused Fox News of “suppressing MAGA news” and enforcing a “shadow ban” on some of President Donald Trump’s surrogates in a Tuesday op-ed, as a dispute over coverage of Trump’s election-fraud claims intensifies.

Navarro also defended longtime Fox host and Trump ally Maria Bartiromo, whom the network ousted last week, and addressed his own role in the episode that led to her departure.

CNN reports the clash dates to mid-July, when Trump delivered a prime-time speech alleging election vulnerabilities, including supposed Chinese interference. Fox News carried the speech live, unlike some other networks, but did not linger on the conspiratorial claims. “Fox & Friends,” often described as the president’s favorite show, did not mention the speech the next day.

Bartiromo's Exit Remains Shock of Summer At FOX News

Maria Bartiromo and Attorney Bryan Freedman

Fox News Media has ended Maria Bartiromo’s shows and said she is no longer with the company, a sudden break that stunned politics and cable news even as she remains under contract—and entitled to pay—through 2028.

A Fox spokesperson said Thursday, “Effective today, Maria Bartiromo is no longer with FOX News Media.” The network called the move “a business decision.” Bartiromo last hosted Mornings With Maria on Fox Business on Aug. 7 and her Fox News program on Aug. 9. She was then told her shows would end and that she would not return even for an on-air sign-off. Executive producer Patrick Ignozzi left after the announcement.

The rupture followed a July dispute over coverage of President Trump. On July 15, Fox Business senior vice president of programming Ralph Giordano texted Bartiromo’s producers, including Ignozzi, directing them not to cover Trump’s planned primetime speech on election integrity. Trump delivered the speech July 16, repeating long-disproven doubts about the 2020 election, alleging Chinese interference and calling for stricter voting rules before the midterms.

Ignozzi forwarded the guidance to Bartiromo. According to Peter Navarro, speaking Friday to Puck’s Dylan Byers, Bartiromo screenshotted the message and sent it to him, saying management would not let her cover the speech—or was “censoring” it. Navarro said he passed that information “up the chain.”

Staff Layoffs Reported At Connoisseur Stations

Connoisseur Media laid off close to 70 employees across its radio stations in a companywide round of cuts that began Tuesday, according to staff who were let go. More specific details are not available.

Eddie Volkman

Chicago radio veteran Eddie Volkman reportedly among the lay-offs. Volkman had been hosting mornings on suburban Joliet classic hits station The 9-6-7 WSSR and spent the past decade across the cluster that now includes Connoisseur’s Chicago-area stations. 

He is best known for co-hosting mornings at B96 WBBM-FM from 1986 to 1994 and again from 1997 to 2008. “Today was my last day with the company, and I am another unfortunate casualty of the radio industry,” Volkman wrote. “Luckily, I really wasn’t doing it for the money, but rather for my love of the radio and the business.” 

Connoisseur, based in Westport, Connecticut, and led by founder and CEO Jeff Warshaw, grew sharply after completing its acquisition of Alpha Media in September 2025. The combined company has operated more than 200 stations in dozens of markets. Since the deal closed, Connoisseur has sold or shuttered stations in smaller markets, including clusters in Iowa, while shifting resources toward larger markets such as the San Francisco Bay Area. 

The company has not publicly detailed the scope of Tuesday’s cuts or named all of the stations involved. 

Jeff Warshaw

When the Alpha deal closed last year, Warshaw said Connoisseur planned to add staff rather than cut its way to growth. The latest reductions come as other major radio groups, including iHeartMedia, Audacy and Cumulus, have also trimmed on-air and programming jobs this year.

When Connoisseur closed on Alpha in September 2025, Jeff Warshaw framed the deal as a scale play for a local operator. Connoisseur jumped from 11 stations to more than 200 across 47 markets and into the top 10 U.S. radio groups. The pitch: large local sales staffs, live talent, events, community presence, and digital marketing layered on top of radio. He explicitly rejected the iHeart-style “cut your way to prosperity” model and said the company would add people, not strip them.

Alpha was attractive because it already had strong positions in midsize markets Connoisseur liked—Portland, San Antonio, Salt Lake City, San Jose, Louisville, Palm Springs—but had been starved of investment after bankruptcy and later staff cuts. Warshaw’s bet was that Connoisseur’s operating style could improve stations Alpha could not fund.

The public philosophy is localism and staffing. The portfolio math pulls the other way.Alpha arrived with many tiny markets—Warshaw cited towns as small as 7,000 people—and those stations cannot support “huge sales staffs” and live lineups. He has said Connoisseur could not keep subsidizing operations that jeopardize the whole company. That is why the small-market purge is explicit and unfinished.