The Grill Room
Finally, a media podcast about what’s actually happening in the media—not the over-sanitized, legal-and-standards-approved version you read online. Every Tuesday and Friday, join Dylan Byers, Puck’s veteran media reporter, and Julia Alexander, a longtime media analyst, as they sit down with TV personalities, moguls, political pundits and industry executives for raw, honest, sometimes salacious conversations about the business of media and its biggest egos. “The Grill Room,” an homage to the exclusive dining room within The Four Seasons where a generation of media executives consummated deals and traded gossip, is produced in partnership with Audacy Podcasts. The Grill Room is an extension of In the Room, Dylan’s private email for Puck, where he chronicles the intrigue and inside stories behind what’s really going on in the media industry—from the board room to the newsroom to the green room and everything in between. Subscribe here: https://puck.news/dylanbyers
Episodes
Sam Koppelman, co-founder of Hunterbrook Media, joins Dylan to discuss his company’s thesis: that investigative reporting still has real value and is worth investing in. Three years in, Koppelman says the company is profitable, and he gets into how they balance journalistic ethics with keeping investors happy. They also dig into Hunterbrook’s recent dispute with The New York Times over overlapping investigations.
CNBC’s Alex Sherman joins Dylan to discuss ESPN’s upcoming Super Bowl debut and its ambitious multi-platform strategy, in which the network plans simultaneous broadcasts across ABC, ESPN, Disney+, and other channels. They also weigh the ripple effects of Troy Aikman’s contract dispute, then turn to the bidding picture for future World Cup rights and why Disney may hold the strongest hand.
The Ringer’s Bryan Curtis and Business Insider’s Peter Kafka join Dylan for a deep dive into the media reporting beat—and how sports-media talent and business pressures are reshaping coverage. They discuss finding distinct angles on popular beats, why they’re bullish on newsletters, and how talent’s growing leverage has become a genuine brand headache for networks like ESPN.
Julia and Dylan dig into Netflix’s recent bloodletting and what it reveals about the deeper challenges facing the streamer. They discuss whether Netflix’s business model can realistically challenge YouTube, and why YouTube’s creator ecosystem and engagement model are so difficult to replicate. Then they turn to Skydance and whether it can invest in its long-term growth while facing constant pressure to reduce debt...
In this special live recording from Puck’s In the Arena, Dylan convenes NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman, Gotham FC owner Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, and Project Level exec Jason Wright to discuss the state of women’s soccer and women’s sports writ large. They get into the NWSL’s media deals, the league’s expansion plans, turning World Cup curiosity into real fandom, and plenty more.
Julia and Dylan reunite to examine Skydance’s post-merger playbook, and how David Ellison intends to manage an $80 billion debt load and deliver $6 billion in promised synergies. They also get into the fate of CNN and CBS News, which hinges on the power struggle between Mark Thompson and Bari Weiss, as neither seems eager to cede influence. The lingering question, of course: can the company create sustainable growth after the...
In a special recording live from Puck’s In the Arena conference, Amazon Prime’s Charlie Neiman and NBA media exec Bill Koenig join Dylan to assess the the first year of the NBA–Amazon media partnership and their future for distribution, monetization, and fan engagement. They dig into the viewership numbers that exceeded expectations, Amazon’s broader sports programming strategy, the streamer’s pla...
Julia and Dylan reunite to discuss the leadership changes rippling across Paramount–WBD, Mattel, and Condé Nast, and what they portend for the future of media companies. They consider whether established players can redefine their products at a moment when media increasingly overlaps with technology, creators, and other industries.
Jeff Blackburn, C.E.O. of Tennis Channel, joins Dylan to discuss how the network is expanding its audience and digital distribution, and its role in the broader tennis ecosystem. Blackburn explains how he’s elevating ATP and WTA 1000 events into major properties—and floats the possibility of pursuing major tournament rights down the road.
Julia and Dylan reunite to walk through a busy week in media: the coordinated pushback from news organizations against White House press restrictions, the Paramount–WBD merger and its implications for CNN and CBS News, the buzz around Letterboxd as a target for Sony or The New York Times, app launches from Front Office Sports and Wired, and more.
From world events to everyday decisions, economics explains it all. Platypus Economics makes it clear, useful, and actually fun. Available now: link.pscrb.fm/f0281/PE_TGR
LightShed’s Rich Greenfield stops by for a quick debrief on the settlement between David Ellison and the state attorneys general, and the many political and media implications lurking behind the deal. Then Julie Pace and Kristin Heitmann of the Associated Press join Dylan to lay out the AP’s pivot from serving newspapers to catering to tech platforms in the age of A.I.
Julia and Dylan dig into Paramount’s Nashville-or-Texas brinksmanship with Rob Bonta and the red-state logic behind it, then unpack the Bari Weiss ratings discourse and Nielsen’s shifting methodology. They debate how mainstream media should cover the AI extinction-risk debate, weigh in on Ari Emanuel’s memoir, and close with ESPN’s talent-pay math on Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Tom Brady.
Jessica Tarlov, co-host of Fox’s “The Five” and author of the new book, “I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends,” joins Dylan to discuss why she believes respectful, fact-based debate beats “Molotov cocktail” tactics, how her conservative co-hosts have sharpened her own politics, and why she thinks Fox—not MSNBC—will be the key TV battleground for Democrats heading...
Julia and Dylan break down this weekend’s high-stakes relaunch of 60 Minutes under Bari Weiss and Nick Bilton, and dig into MS Now’s new $8-a-month membership bet on parasocial fandom with talent like Rachel Maddow. They also cover the newspaper skirmish between Robert Allbritton’s rebranded Washington Sun and a rebuilding Washington Post.
Rebecca Kutler, president of MS Now, joins Dylan ahead of the network's first-ever DTC launch to unpack the philosophy behind its new membership community. She explains why MS Now is starting from strength: a top cable ranking, a digital business outpacing outlets like The Atlantic, and YouTube numbers beating ABC, NBC, and CBS News combined, and how that fuels a bet on “super fans” and “future fans” alike. ...
Jessica Lessin, the founder, editor in chief, and C.E.O. of The Information, joins Dylan and Julia to unpack the record growth behind her 13-year-old subscription business. She explains her bet on China coverage as rivals shutter Asia bureaus, the push into finance reporting to track AI’s reshaping of Wall Street, and her expansion into video with TITV and a new AI Deep Dive show. Lessin also weighs in on the “informati...
Julia and Dylan make the case that climate and weather coverage—supercharged by an incoming Super El Niño—could become news media’s next dominant storyline. They discuss why outlets like CNN and the New York Times are investing early, how AI skepticism is boosting trust in authoritative reporting, and why reframing weather through food, sports, and daily life could turn it into a real subscription business.
Julia and Dylan spar over Stan Druckenmiller’s A.I.-assisted Wall Street Journal op-ed and what it signals for trust in media. Julia argues transparency is essential as A.I. creeps into newsrooms and op-eds alike, while Dylan makes the case that the line between “using A.I.” and “writing” is blurrier than purists admit...
Peter Hamby joins Dylan to decipher new polling on the Democratic Party’s perception problem—to wit, Trump may be historically unpopular, but voters still don’t love Democrats, either. Then they dig into the A.O.C.-Mamdani favorability gap, why Bernie’s brand of populism ages better than the “intersectional” variety, and the Gavin Newsom content-studio model for winning back young men and Latino ...
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