The Town with Matthew Belloni

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss why Fox is refusing to renegotiate their media rights deal with the NFL until their current deal expires after the 2029 season, the impact of the FCC repealing the local television ownership cap, and David Ellison’s contractual pledge with theater owners to release at least 30 movies per year under WarnerMount (02:30). We finish the show by announcing a slate of live events for The Town this fall (31:18).

Host: Matt Belloni

Gust: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Get your tickets to ELECTION introduced by Matt Belloni on Friday, August 21st here: https://www.americancinematheque.com/now-showing/the-town-presents-election-08-21-2026/

Nominated for 25 Emmy Awards, including OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES.

The Dog Stars only in theaters and IMAX August 28.
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Matt is joined by Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall to make the case for why Disney should exit the streaming business and focus only on producing and licensing its content. Steven digs into why Disney is well-positioned to leave streaming, the strength of its IP, and what Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro had to say about Steven’s idea (02:24). Matt finishes the show with another weekend box office prediction for ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ (24:13).

Host: Matt Belloni

Gust: Steven Cahall

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Nominated for 25 Emmy Awards, including OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES.

This episode is brought to you by Accenture. https://Accenture.com/Spotify
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Matt is joined by Puck’s Eriq Gardner to discuss the March 2027 trial date that has been set for the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery antitrust case and what it means for the likelihood of this merger going through. They highlight the $650 million per quarter ticking fee Paramount has to pay in the meantime, how the November midterm elections could play a factor, who has the best leverage, whether Netflix could end up back in the mix, David Ellison’s New York Times column, and the other major legal issues at play (02:03). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about Season 4 of 'Ted Lasso' (30:08).

Host: Matt Belloni

Gust: Eriq Gardner

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Nominated for 25 Emmy Awards, including OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES.

This episode is brought to you by Accenture. https://Accenture.com/Spotify
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Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to catch up with the biggest news around town, including a record-breaking opening weekend for 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day,' WarnerMount trial-date jockeying, and YouTube’s new deal with Peacock (02:24). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about a ‘Barbie’ sequel (31:03).

Host: Matt Belloni

Gust: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Nominated for 25 Emmy Awards, including OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES.
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Matt and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw finish The Town’s first Future Blockbusters Draft by filling the remaining five slots on their teams (01:12).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

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This episode is brought to you by Accenture. https://Accenture.com/Spotify
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices