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Afternoon Edition

November 21, 2025

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Paramount, Comcast, and Netflix have tendered opening and non-binding offers for Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount’s was the only bid for all of WBD, which would involve a large-scale combination of CBS Sports and TNT Sports.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]] and David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Paramount, Comcast, Netflix Submit Bids for All or Part of WBD [[link removed]]

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The high-stakes race to acquire all or part of TNT Sports parent company Warner Bros. Discovery has begun in earnest, with three other media titans making initial bids.

CBS Sports parent company Paramount [[link removed]], NBC Sports parent company Comcast, and Netflix have tendered opening and non-binding offers, according to industry sources and multiple reports, conforming to a Nov. 20 deadline to do so.

Paramount is believed to have made the lone bid of the three for all of WBD, which would involve a large-scale combination of CBS Sports and TNT Sports, and the company’s effort is backed in part by Oracle executive chair Larry Ellison, the world’s second-richest person and father of Paramount chair and CEO David Ellison.

Comcast [[link removed]] and Netflix [[link removed]], conversely, are said to have focused their respective interests on WBD’s film and television studios and the HBO Max streaming service.

Those initial bids mark a more tangible move by Paramount, Comcast, and Netflix after each had taken more reserved stances publicly on the WBD subject during recent earnings calls.

None of the involved entities have commented, but WBD is aiming for the strategic review process [[link removed]] to be complete by end of year. A more formal round of bidding involving binding offers is expected soon.

A move to potentially sell all or part of WBD stands alongside a previously announced plan [[link removed]] to split WBD into two separate entities, with the majority of the sports assets going to a forthcoming Discovery Global. A sale, as a result, would need to surpass the planned upside from that endeavor.

In the meantime, WBD is proceeding on development of a new sports-focused streaming service [[link removed]] that would operate within Discovery Global. That is happening as WBD CEO David Zaslav recently said the impact of sports on HBO Max subscription growth was minimal [[link removed]].

Washington Issues

In any purchase scenario, regulatory issues will be front and center as the Federal Communications Commission this year has become much more aligned with the leanings of U.S. President Donald Trump. Along those lines, Paramount could face a far easier approval path after it previously reached a legal settlement with Trump to enable its $8 billion merger [[link removed]] earlier this year with Skydance Media compared to Comcast, which operates MS Now and has been a frequent target of attack by the president.

Comcast co-CEO Mike Cavanagh, however, recently downplayed that concern on a recent earnings call, and said, “More things are viable than maybe some of the public commentary that’s out there.”

Editors’ note: RedBird Capital, a stakeholder in Paramount Skydance, is also an investor in Front Office Sports through RedBird IMI.

SPONSORED BY PEPSI

NYC Classics and New Favorites at MetLife Stadium

MetLife Stadium might be home to two NFL teams, but the real competition is happening in the concession stands. In the newest episode of Stadium Eats presented by Pepsi, [[link removed]]Front Office Sports and NYC food creator @theerichammer run through a tasting lineup that includes Hoboken hot beef, a Colombian hot dog, spicy rigatoni, the filet sandwich, chicken parm, and brisket tots.

We taste it all, rate it, and break down every bite from price to flavor to determine which dish you [[link removed]]need on your next trip to MetLife.

Catch the full episode [[link removed]] to see which New York favorite comes out on top.

MLS Taking Unprecedented Seven-Week World Cup Break in 2026 [[link removed]]

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The 2026 MLS schedule will feature an unprecedented break in play during the FIFA men’s World Cup and the long-awaited opening of Inter Miami’s new stadium.

For the first time in league history, there will be no matches played during the majority of a summer edition of the World Cup. MLS will pause action for seven weeks from May 25 to July 16, as FIFA’s signature tournament is played in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico [[link removed]]. The league will restart after the World Cup semifinals. All clubs will still play the standard 34 regular-season matches, though.

In 2022, when the Qatar World Cup was pushed to November and December to avoid extreme heat, MLS moved the finish of its season up by about a month to finish before the global tournament started.

But in 2018, MLS paused for just nine days during the World Cup in Russia, after taking breaks of roughly two weeks in 2014 (Brazil) and 2010 (South Africa). MLS, which launched in 1996, did not take World Cup breaks in 2006, 2002, or 1998.

A record number of MLS players are expected to make World Cup rosters next summer, and five league stadiums will host matches.

The new scheduling strategy comes as MLS prepares to shift to a fall-to-spring calendar [[link removed]] in 2027 to align with top international leagues. That will include a shortened 14-match bridge season that will run from February through May 2027. Once the calendar shift takes place, future summer World Cups (the 2034 edition in Saudi Arabia may be moved to the fall) will take place during the MLS offseason.

Turning Up the Heat

Inter Miami will play its first MLS match at its new stadium April 4 against Austin FC.

The 25,000-seat venue has been under construction since 2023, with an estimated cost between $350 million and $450 million, as part of a larger, roughly $1 billion Miami Freedom Park [[link removed]] mixed-use development.

Originally, Inter Miami was hoping to open the stadium this season, in an effort to capitalize on the presence of Lionel Messi. Thankfully for the club and MLS, he recently signed a contract extension through 2028 [[link removed]].

SPONSORED BY WENDY’S

Call the Play: Tendys + Diet Dr Pepper®

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Sack your hunger with NEW Wendy’s [[link removed]] ® [[link removed]] Tendys and a refreshing Diet Dr Pepper® [[link removed]]. Every bite of these juicy tenders pairs perfectly with a cold, crisp Diet Dr Pepper®, delivering a game-ready experience worthy of the Flavor Hall of Fame.

So whether you’re dipping your way through a tailgate or on your living room sideline, Wendy’s® Tendys and a Diet Dr Pepper® [[link removed]] are the ultimate flavor lineup for game day, snack time, or anytime you want a winning meal.

The CW Says Nielsen WWE Ratings Drop ‘Lacks Credibility’ [[link removed]]

Worcester Telegram

While much of sports media is enjoying the lift from Nielsen’s new audience measurement process, a real-life conflict has emerged in the normally staged world of pro wrestling.

The CW, the Nexstar-controlled outlet that is among several entities showing World Wrestling Entertainment or All Elite Wrestling programming, has taken direct aim at Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel, the enhanced methodology that went into effect Sept. 1 [[link removed]].

Since the new process started, a wide variety of leagues and sports have seen viewership boosts, including Major League Baseball [[link removed]], the National Football League [[link removed]], and college football [[link removed]]. The CW, however, has seen audience declines of nearly 10% in the last two months, with even sharper declines in key demos, and is speaking out about it.

“The sudden and substantial discrepancy in WWE NXT viewership reported by Big Data, relative to long-established viewing patterns, is inexplicable and lacks credibility,” The CW said in a statement. “A comparison with data from all other measurement products (including others from Nielsen itself) exposes a fundamentally flawed methodology in Big Data. We are disappointed by Nielsen’s lack of cooperation, transparency, and accountability with its network partners as we work to resolve this issue.”

Big Data + Panel, bringing in tens of millions of additional data points from set-top boxes and smart TVs, is designed to capture more accurately viewership that is already occurring—something that particularly benefits sports given the live nature of the competition.

Wrestlenomics, a site focused on the business of pro wrestling, detailed other recent declines [[link removed]] in pro wrestling viewership, including on WWE SmackDown on USA Network, AEW Dynamite on TBS, and AEW Collision on TNT. The time period in question since the arrival of Big Data + Panel, however, is the most crowded and competitive in sports during the entire year, with the end of seasons in baseball and golf overlapping with the starts of new ones for football, basketball, and hockey.

Out-of-home measurement, something also expanded this year by Nielsen [[link removed]], typically does not benefit pro wrestling as much as in other sports, given it’s not often first-choice programming at sports bars and other similar communal settings.

Nielsen told Front Office Sports that when applying Big Data + Panel methodology to year-ago numbers for WWE NXT on The CW and comparing them to the recent period, the decline is a “minimal” 5%. Further study into the issue, however, is planned.

Wider Debate

The CW complaint is not the first in sports to be directed at Nielsen since the arrival of Big Data + Panel. Soon after the new process started, NFL officials also complained about their audiences being undercounted [[link removed]] in some respects. In particular, NFL chief data and analytics officer Paul Ballew told FOS that “we’re happy with the steps we’ve taken forward for 2025, but there’s more work to be done.”

That issue resonated even more loudly given the NFL’s status as the most-watched programming of any type in all of U.S. television.

Discussion between the NFL and Nielsen on specific measurement-related issues continues, but since that initial outcry, game audiences for the league have risen to an average of 17.7 million [[link removed]]. That is up 6% from last year and the best such figure at this point of the season since 2015.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY Is This Trinity Rodman’s Last NWSL Match?

FOS illustration

Since the College Football Playoff began in 2015, data from the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database says severance pay for fired football coaches has nearly quadrupled and is expected to exceed $169 million for just 10 head football coaches this year. Amy Privette Perko, the CEO of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, joins to explain whether football buyout money is impacting funding for other athletic departments like women’s and collegiate Olympic sports.

Meanwhile, the puck drops on the third PWHL season Friday, with two new expansion teams in Seattle and Vancouver joining this season ahead of potential expansion from 8 to 12 teams by 2026–27. Jayna Hefford, PWHL’s EVP of hockey operations, previews the season and discusses whether any of the seven new cities in the league’s Takeover Tour this year might be considered for future expansion franchises.

And after meeting in an epic semifinal last year, Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit meet Saturday in San Jose for the NWSL championship in what could be Trinity Rodman’s last game with the Spirit before she hits the free-agent market. FOS women’s sports reporter Annie Costabile joins Baker Machado to preview the big game.

Watch the full episode here [[link removed]].

SURVEY

Want a chance to win $250? Help Front Office Sports improve by taking a few minutes to complete a brief survey [[link removed]]. As a thank-you, we’re offering a chance to win a $250 Amazon gift card and an item from the new FOS merch collection.

STATUS REPORT Three Up, One Push

Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Bears ⬆ The NFL team, enjoying a surprise run into playoff contention [[link removed]], is getting heightened attention from the league and broadcasters as its Dec. 7 matchup against the NFC North archrival Packers has been moved from 1 p.m. ET to a featured late-afternoon slot at 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox. The schedule flex will also see a Bengals-Bills game that same day shift from the 4:25 p.m. ET window to 1 p.m. ET.

CBS ⬆ The network has the luxury of airing a primetime-worthy NFL matchup in its early Sunday afternoon window this weekend: Colts-Chiefs at 1 p.m. ET. Indianapolis (8–2) is a half-game behind the Patriots and Broncos for the best record in the league, while Kansas City (5–5), the most-watched team in the NFL, is fighting to keep its playoff hopes alive. Colts-Chiefs, which wasn’t thought to be a premier matchup when the schedule was released in May, could end up being the marquee game of Week 12. Fox has Eagles-Cowboys at 4:25 p.m. ET, NBC has Buccaneers-Rams on Sunday Night Football, and ESPN has Panthers-49ers on Monday Night Football.

Anthony Kim ⬆ The former PGA Tour superstar who joined LIV Golf in 2024 [[link removed]] after a nearly 12-year absence from the professional sport is tied for fourth place after two rounds at the PIF Saudi International, an Asian Tour event. While Kim has made almost $2 million in prize money on LIV, his best finish to date was T-25 at this year’s Dallas tournament. In addition to a $5 million purse, the Saudi International has significant Official World Golf Ranking points up for grabs, too. Kim is currently No. 1,803 in the world.

Premier League ⬆⬇ The top flight of English men’s pro soccer, and by many accounts that world’s preeminent entity in the sport, agreed Friday to introduce a new spending cap designed to align with pan-European standards. The financial standards—a revised version of its Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules—will restrict teams to spending 85% of their soccer revenue and net profit or loss on player sales, joined with an additional rolling allowance of 30%. Exceeding that threshold could result in points deductions. The new structure also closes prior loopholes that had existed, such as selling capital assets.

Editors’ Picks Liberty Hiring Longtime Warriors Assistant As Head Coach [[link removed]]by Annie Costabile [[link removed]]The New York job sat open for the last two months. Joey Votto Could Be MLB Media’s Hottest Prospect: ‘No-Brainer’ [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]NBC and Netflix are now in the mix for MLB talent. NBA Ratings Up 30% Through First Month Despite Star Injury Woes [[link removed]]by Colin Salao [[link removed]]The NBA added NBC and Amazon as new media partners this season. DAILY TRIVIA Factle Sports

Can you list the top 5 highest-paid men’s college basketball coaches?

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Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Show [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]] Edited by Lisa Scherzer [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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