TheDesk.net

Woah. Hello, Bluesky! We're excited to be here. May we introduce ourselves? We cover business and policy matters involving the tech, media and telecom industries, how they're disrupting from within, and how they're influencing your lives — in a way that aims to not waste anyone's time. 👋

Netflix is now natively supported on non-broken Apple iPhone Duo models.

Microsoft wants up to 60,000 employees to leave the company so it can reallocate spending to artificial intelligence.

Skydance implements five-day, in-office workweek as company offers buyouts to employees.

A new Apple TV app released by Instagram this month is part of a broader strategy meant to challenge YouTube's dominance in the living room.

Netflix is the first big-name global streaming service to natively support Apple's new iPhone Duo.

Anthropic has dropped its public S-1 regulatory documents ahead of a planned IPO, which could take place in mid-November.

The FCC's lone Democratic voice is appealing to the commercial TV industry's largest lobbying group, hoping for pushback on FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's threats over political polling news coverage.

A California news anchor obtained a protective order against a woman who allegedly shot at a local TV station twice this month, after police told him that he was a likely target.

Update: In an email to The Desk on Friday, the NAB responded to @agomezfcc.bsky.social's letter.

A federal judge this week arraigned former Deadspin video editor Timothy Burke on a superseding indictment that restates computer hacking and conspiracy charges.

In a four-page letter, @agomezfcc.bsky.social has urged the broadcast industry's largest lobbying group to defend the right of local TV newsrooms to report on polls. The organization, NAB, often touts local TV news as proof that its broadcasters commit to public service.

Fubo has inked a deal with six broadcasters and one NBA team to offer more locally-televised games on its platform this season.

Elon Musk just wrote a $1 billion check to Skydance. CBS-owned local TV stations could be a major reason why. thedesk.net/2026/10/elon...

YouTube achieved more than 15 percent share of time spent with TV in August, but Americans spent more time with broadcast and cable TV collectively. Read more here: thedesk.net/2026/10/niel...

The CBS-owned station in Sacramento is launching a year-round news initiative aimed at helping Californians understand complex political issues that affect their daily lives.

A spokesperson for @freedom.press said its own unscientific poll "shows that 98 percent of the words that come out of Brendan Carr's mouth are unconstitutional bullshit." The organization did not release any information about its survey methodology.

A federal judge has arraigned former Deadspin editor Timothy Burke @bubbaprog.xyz aprog on charges brought under a superseding indictment related to his interception and leaking of password-protected Fox News video feeds several years ago.

Meta, the parent of Facebook and Instagram, was forced to report a 37 percent decline in operating income due to an impairment charge. The charge was the result of a settlement to end a lawsuit that claimed Meta knew its apps harmed the mental health of teenagers. thedesk.net/2026/10/meta...

New Mexico judge orders Meta Platforms to pay $25 billion in civil penalties over state privacy law violations. On this chart, you can see when the judge's order was signed... thedesk.net/2026/10/face...

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr engaged in election-related interference on Wednesday when he threatened radio and TV broadcasters for reporting on public opinion polls ahead of the midterm election.

Basketball on Broadcast: This year, more locally-televised basketball games will air on free broadcast TV following the collapse of the regional cable TV sports model in many parts of the country. Of the 30 NBA teams, 19 have deals with free TV broadcasters this season.

You can now stream live local newscasts from eight ABC-owned TV stations in major areas like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco on the free streaming audio platform TuneIn.

Dozens of Atlanta Hawks games will stream on Amazon's Prime Video this season; local games will also be available on WANF-TV in Atlanta.

The "Star Wars" altcast announced on Monday brings the total number of different ways to watch Super Bowl LXI to seven, including two completely different Spanish-language broadcasts and a special Pat McAfee version, for some reason.

No one else comes close.

EARNINGS ALERT: Netflix grows overall revenue 12 percent, sees 44 percent jump in net income during third quarter of 2026. Execs say price increases and advertising sales are boosting all revenue line items. Read more: thedesk.net/2026/10/netf...

Starz is back on Verizon Fios TV.

Go Knicks.

FIRST ON THE DESK: DIRECTV has inked a distribution deal with C15 Studio to add four free, ad-supported streaming sports channels, including one covering Formula 1.

@garlicbuffalo.gobirds.biz feel like we should send you a fruit basket for all the free publicity you’ve sent our way over the last two days.

Good morning. Hug an Eagles fan today, their team is 2-4 :(

@garlicbuffalo.gobirds.biz lulz

Monday saw the highest website traffic in two years, spurred largely by new interest from Philadelphia sports fans (bless, thank you). Significant bump in new followers and e-mail signups as well. Thank you for your support!

A reminder that Braiden Bell still doesn't have a job after he was unjustly fired for social media posts he made as a teenager.

FIRST ON THE DESK: SiliconDust is asking NextGen TV broadcast stations to drop their use of encryption technology during next month's Emergency Alert System test.

@garlicbuffalo.gobirds.biz Glad I gave you purpose and meaning here <3 Proud to be a part of your success story.

A reminder that the NFL has a game in Paris on Sunday.

@garlicbuffalo.gobirds.biz

❤️

A new $20M+ lawsuit against CBS News says Bari Weiss' network "traded the truth for clicks and profit" when it allegedly falsely portrayed a 15-year-old Md. teen as a Reflecting Pool vandal. @TheDesk.net breaks the story thedesk.net/2026/10/teen...

Skydance has reached a new agreement with Jon Stewart that will keep him at "The Daily Show" through 2028.

A group of news organizations are suing the Missouri Highway Patrol, seeking to overturn a policy decision that withholds the name of crash victims after decades of providing unredacted records.

Apple announces product launch event for Oct. 28. Analysts expect touchscreen laptop

FIRST ON THE DESK: C-SPAN will tap YouTube creators for its commercial-free Election Night coverage in November, including commentators from @theyoungturks.bsky.social

Nexstar has asked the FCC to uphold its earlier decision to eliminate a long-standing cap on the number of TV stations a company could directly own.